Peristaltic wave parameter measurement method and ultrasonic measurement system

Abstract

The invention discloses a peristaltic wave parameter measurement method and an ultrasonic measurement system, and the method comprises the steps: transmitting a first ultrasonic wave to the endometrium of a measured object, and receiving an ultrasonic echo returned by the endometrium, so as to obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal; processing the first ultrasonic echo signal to obtain a time-varying peristalsis parameter in the target area in the endometrium; on the basis of the time-varying creeping parameters in the target area, creeping wave array parameters representing the transmission state of the creeping wave arrays in the target area are obtained, each creeping wave array comprises one or more creeping waves, and the time interval between every two adjacent creeping waves in the same creeping wave array is not larger than a preset threshold value; and outputting the peristaltic wave array parameters. According to the peristaltic wave parameter measurement method and the ultrasonic measurement system, the peristaltic wave array parameters are used as new peristaltic wave related parameters to be quantified and output, and an objective peristaltic wave measurement tool is provided for a user.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with the application number 202011197750.4, the application date of October 30, 2020, and the title of "A Parameter Measurement Method for Peristaltic Waves and an Ultrasonic Measurement System". Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates to the field of peristaltic wave measurement, and particularly to a parameter measurement method for peristaltic waves and an ultrasonic measurement system. Background Art

[0003] Endometrial receptivity refers to the state in which the endometrium allows the blastocyst to localize, adhere, invade, and cause changes in the endometrial stroma, resulting in embryo implantation, that is, the ability of the endometrium to accept the fertilized egg. The correct evaluation of endometrial receptivity has important clinical significance in aspects such as selecting the implantation time and evaluating the pregnancy rate, and is an important part of the current reproductive evaluation standard system.

[0004] Endometrial peristaltic waves refer to the mechanical waves generated by the contraction of the myometrium driving the peristalsis of the endometrium. The frequency, direction, intensity, etc. of the peristaltic waves change with the menstrual cycle, and thus assist in sperm transport and embryo implantation, and are one of the important indicators for judging endometrial receptivity. At the same time, the uterine peristalsis law is affected by uterine diseases, so the research on peristaltic waves also has potential value for assisting in the diagnosis of uterine lesions.

[0005] However, there is currently no objective evaluation method for peristaltic waves, and it can only rely on the subjective judgment made by doctors observing the collected ultrasonic films repeatedly with the naked eye, which is time-consuming, has low friendliness, and the operator has poor repeatability. The peristaltic frequencies and directions judged by different doctors are not necessarily consistent. Therefore, the lack of objective auxiliary tools is the main obstacle to the further research and application of peristaltic waves. Summary of the Invention

[0006] A series of simplified concepts are introduced in the Summary of the Invention section, which will be further elaborated 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.

[0007] In view of the deficiencies of the prior art, the first aspect of the embodiments of the present invention provides a parameter measurement method for peristaltic waves, and the method includes:

[0008] Emitting a first ultrasonic wave to the endometrium of the object to be measured, and receiving the ultrasonic echo returned by the endometrium to obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal;

[0009] Process the first ultrasonic echo signal to obtain the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area of the endometrium;

[0010] Based on the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area, obtain peristaltic wave array parameters characterizing the peristaltic wave array transmission state in the target area. Each peristaltic wave array includes a single or multiple peristaltic waves, and the time interval between two adjacent peristaltic waves in the same peristaltic wave array is not greater than a preset threshold;

[0011] Output the peristaltic wave array parameters.

[0012] In one embodiment, the peristaltic wave array parameters characterizing the peristaltic wave array transmission state in the target area include at least one of the following:

[0013] The duration of a single peristaltic wave array, the number of peristaltic waves in a single peristaltic wave array, the interval time between two adjacent peristaltic wave arrays, the non-peristaltic time between two adjacent peristaltic wave arrays, the number of peristaltic wave arrays within a predetermined time, the average duration of peristaltic wave arrays within a predetermined time, and the average non-peristaltic time within a predetermined time.

[0014] In one embodiment, the obtaining of the peristaltic wave array parameters characterizing the peristaltic wave array transmission state in the target area based on the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area includes:

[0015] Generate a peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map according to the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area. The peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map represents the change of the peristaltic parameters with time and space;

[0016] Based on the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map, determine the peristaltic wave array parameters characterizing the peristaltic wave array transmission state in the target area.

[0017] In one embodiment, the method further includes:

[0018] Emit a second ultrasonic wave to the endometrium of the object to be measured;

[0019] Receive the second ultrasonic echo returned by the endometrium to obtain a second ultrasonic echo signal;

[0020] Process the second ultrasonic echo signal to obtain an ultrasonic image of the endometrium;

[0021] Determine the target area according to the ultrasonic image.

[0022] In one embodiment, the determining of the peristaltic wave array parameters characterizing the peristaltic wave array transmission state in the target area based on the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map includes:

[0023] Display the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map;

[0024] Obtain the annotation of the characteristic time points of the peristaltic wave arrays on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic waves;

[0025] Determine the peristaltic wave array parameters according to the time points corresponding to the annotation.

[0026] In one embodiment, the characteristic time points of the peristaltic wave arrays include the start time point and the end time point of a single peristaltic wave array, and the peristaltic wave array parameters determined according to the start time point and the end time point of the peristaltic wave array include the duration of the single peristaltic wave array.

[0027] In one embodiment, the characteristic time points of the peristaltic wave arrays include the end time point of the previous peristaltic wave array and the start time point of the next peristaltic wave array at the same position, and the peristaltic wave array parameters determined according to the end time point of the previous peristaltic wave array and the start time point of the next peristaltic wave array at the same position include the interval time between two adjacent peristaltic wave arrays.

[0028] In one embodiment, the characteristic time points of the peristaltic wave arrays include the end time point of the previous peristaltic wave array and the start time point of the next peristaltic wave array among two adjacent peristaltic wave arrays, and the peristaltic wave array parameters determined according to the end time point of the previous peristaltic wave array and the start time point of the next peristaltic wave array among two adjacent peristaltic wave arrays include the time without peristalsis between two adjacent peristaltic wave arrays.

[0029] In one embodiment, the obtaining the annotation of the characteristic time points of the peristaltic wave arrays on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic waves includes:

[0030] Receive a point selection operation on the characteristic time points of the peristaltic wave arrays on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic waves, and determine the position of the annotation according to the point selection operation;

[0031] Alternatively, display an adjustable cursor on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic waves, receive an adjustment operation on the adjustable cursor, and determine the position of the annotation according to the adjustment operation.

[0032] In one embodiment, the determining the peristaltic wave array parameters representing the transmission state of the peristaltic wave arrays in the target area based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic waves includes:

[0033] Based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic waves, obtain at least two peristaltic curves of the peristaltic parameters changing with time at at least two positions in the target area;

[0034] Extract the time points corresponding to when the peristaltic parameters on the at least two peristaltic curves reach a first threshold;

[0035] Divide the time points with an interval not exceeding the preset time interval into time points belonging to the same peristaltic wave array;

[0036] Determine the peristaltic wave array parameters according to the start time point and the end time point of the peristaltic wave array.

[0037] In one embodiment, the determining the peristaltic wave array parameters according to the start time point and the end time point of the peristaltic wave array includes:

[0038] Determine the duration of the peristaltic wave array according to the interval time between the start time point and the end time point of the same peristaltic wave array on the at least two peristaltic curves.

[0039] In one embodiment, the determining the peristaltic wave array parameters according to the start time point and the end time point of the peristaltic wave array includes:

[0040] Determine the interval time between two adjacent peristaltic wave arrays according to the interval time between the end time point of the previous peristaltic wave array and the start time point of the next peristaltic wave array among two adjacent peristaltic wave arrays on the same peristaltic curve.

[0041] In one embodiment, the determining the peristaltic wave array parameters according to the start time point and the end time point of the peristaltic wave array includes:

[0042] Determine the non-peristaltic time between two adjacent peristaltic wave arrays according to the interval time between the end time point of the previous peristaltic wave array and the start time point of the next peristaltic wave array among the time points of two adjacent peristaltic wave arrays on the at least two peristaltic curves.

[0043] In one embodiment, the determining the peristaltic wave array parameters representing the peristaltic wave array transmission state in the target area based on the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map includes:

[0044] Obtain a peristaltic curve of the peristaltic parameter changing with time at a predetermined position in the target area based on the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map;

[0045] Extract characteristic time points representing the peristaltic wave array transmission state on the peristaltic curve, and determine the peristaltic wave array parameters according to the characteristic time points.

[0046] In one embodiment, determining the peristaltic wave array parameters according to the characteristic time points includes:

[0047] If the duration during which the peristaltic parameter on the peristaltic curve is less than the first threshold exceeds the preset time, extract the start time point and the end time point at which the peristaltic parameter is less than the first threshold, take the interval between the start time point and the end time point as the peristalsis-free interval at the predetermined position, and determine the peristalsis-free time according to the interval time between the start time point and the end time point.

[0048] In one embodiment, determining the peristaltic wave array parameter according to the characteristic time point further includes:

[0049] Obtain two adjacent peristalsis-free intervals, and determine the duration of the peristaltic wave array between the two adjacent peristalsis-free intervals according to the interval time between the start time point of the latter peristalsis-free interval and the end time point of the former peristalsis-free interval.

[0050] In one embodiment, determining the peristaltic wave array parameter according to the characteristic time point includes:

[0051] Extract the second time point at which the peristaltic parameter on the peristaltic curve is greater than the second threshold;

[0052] Extract the first time point at which the peristaltic parameter adjacent to each second time point is greater than the first threshold, the first threshold is less than the second threshold, and the direction of the peristaltic parameter corresponding to the first time point is the same as the direction of the peristaltic parameter corresponding to the second time point;

[0053] Divide the first time points with an interval time less than the preset interval time into first time points belonging to the same peristaltic wave array, and determine the duration of the peristaltic wave array according to the interval time between the first first time point and the last first time point among the first time points belonging to the same peristaltic wave array.

[0054] In one embodiment, obtaining the peristaltic wave array parameter characterizing the peristaltic wave array transmission state based on the peristaltic parameter changing with time in the target area includes:

[0055] Automatically analyze the peristaltic wave array parameter characterizing the peristaltic wave array transmission state in the target area based on the machine learning algorithm according to the peristaltic parameter.

[0056] In one embodiment, outputting the peristaltic wave array parameter includes:

[0057] Display the peristaltic wave array parameter in at least one of the ways of graph, numerical value, and grade.

[0058] The second aspect of the embodiments of the present invention provides a method for measuring parameters of a peristaltic wave, and the method includes:

[0059] Obtain the peristaltic parameters that change over time within the target area of the endometrium;

[0060] Based on the peristaltic parameters that change over time within the target area, obtain peristaltic wave array parameters characterizing the peristaltic wave array transmission state within the target area. Each peristaltic wave array includes a single or multiple peristaltic waves, and the time interval between two adjacent peristaltic waves in the same peristaltic wave array is not greater than a preset threshold;

[0061] Output the peristaltic wave array parameters.

[0062] A third aspect of the embodiments of the present invention provides a method for measuring parameters of a peristaltic wave, and the method includes:

[0063] Emit a first ultrasonic wave to the endometrium of the object to be measured, and receive the ultrasonic echo returned by the endometrium to obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal;

[0064] Process the first ultrasonic echo signal to obtain the peristaltic parameters that change over time within the target area of the endometrium;

[0065] Based on the peristaltic parameters that change over time within the target area, obtain peristaltic wave parameters characterizing the peristaltic wave transmission state within the target area;

[0066] Output the peristaltic wave parameters.

[0067] In one embodiment, the peristaltic wave parameters include at least one of the following: the transmission time of a single peristaltic wave, the average transmission time of at least two peristaltic waves within a predetermined time, and the number of peristaltic waves within a predetermined time.

[0068] In one embodiment, the obtaining peristaltic wave parameters characterizing the peristaltic wave transmission state within the target area based on the peristaltic parameters that change over time within the target area includes:

[0069] Generate a peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map according to the peristaltic parameters that change over time at different positions within the target area. The peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map represents the change of the peristaltic parameters over time and space;

[0070] Determine the peristaltic wave parameters based on the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map.

[0071] In one embodiment, the peristaltic wave parameters include the transmission time of a single peristaltic wave, and the determining the peristaltic wave parameters based on the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map includes:

[0072] Display the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map;

[0073] Obtain the annotation of the time points when the peristaltic wave on the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map reaches different positions within the target area;

[0074] Determine the propagation time of the peristaltic wave between the different positions according to the time points corresponding to the markings.

[0075] In one embodiment, the peristaltic wave parameters include the propagation time of a single peristaltic wave. Determining the peristaltic wave parameters based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave includes:

[0076] Obtain at least two curves of the peristaltic parameters changing with time at at least two positions within the target area respectively based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave;

[0077] Extract the corresponding time points of the same wave segment of the peristaltic wave on the at least two curves, and determine the propagation time of the peristaltic wave between the at least two positions according to the time interval between the corresponding time points.

[0078] In one embodiment, the corresponding time points include the time points corresponding to the peak value of the same wave segment, the starting point of the same wave segment, or the end point of the same wave segment on the at least two curves.

[0079] In one embodiment, the peristaltic wave parameters include the propagation time of a single peristaltic wave. Determining the peristaltic wave parameters based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave includes:

[0080] Obtain a peristaltic curve of the peristaltic parameters changing with time at a predetermined position based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave;

[0081] Extract the corresponding time points on the adjacent wave segments of the peristaltic curve, and determine the propagation time according to the time interval between the corresponding time points.

[0082] In one embodiment, obtaining the peristaltic wave parameters characterizing the propagation state of the peristaltic wave in the target area based on the peristaltic parameters changing with time in the target area includes:

[0083] Automatically analyze the peristaltic wave parameters according to the peristaltic parameters based on a machine learning algorithm.

[0084] In one embodiment, the peristaltic parameters include at least one of the following: peristaltic speed, tissue displacement, tissue strain.

[0085] A fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present invention provides a method for measuring parameters of a peristaltic wave, the method including:

[0086] Obtain the peristaltic parameters changing with time in a target area in the endometrium;

[0087] Obtain the peristaltic wave parameters of the peristaltic wave propagating in the target area based on the peristaltic parameters changing with time in the target area;

[0088] Output the peristaltic wave parameters.

[0089] A fifth aspect of an embodiment of the present invention provides an ultrasonic measurement system, the system comprising:

[0090] An ultrasonic probe;

[0091] A transmitting circuit for exciting the ultrasonic probe to emit a first ultrasonic wave towards the endometrium of the object to be measured;

[0092] A receiving circuit for controlling the ultrasonic probe to receive the ultrasonic echo returned by the endometrium to obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal;

[0093] A processor for:

[0094] Processing the first ultrasonic echo signal to obtain the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area of the endometrium;

[0095] Obtaining peristaltic wave array parameters characterizing the peristaltic wave array transmission state based on the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area, each peristaltic wave array including a single or multiple peristaltic waves, and the time interval between two adjacent peristaltic waves in the same peristaltic wave array being not greater than a preset threshold;

[0096] A display for outputting the peristaltic wave array parameters.

[0097] A sixth aspect of an embodiment of the present invention provides an ultrasonic measurement system, the system comprising:

[0098] An ultrasonic probe;

[0099] A transmitting circuit for exciting the ultrasonic probe to emit a first ultrasonic wave towards the endometrium of the object to be measured;

[0100] A receiving circuit for controlling the ultrasonic probe to receive the ultrasonic echo returned by the endometrium to obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal;

[0101] A processor for:

[0102] Processing the first ultrasonic echo signal to obtain the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area of the endometrium;

[0103] Obtaining peristaltic wave parameters characterizing the peristaltic wave transmission state based on the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area;

[0104] A display for outputting the peristaltic wave parameters.

[0105] The parameter measurement method and ultrasonic measurement system of peristaltic waves according to the embodiments of the present invention quantify and output the peristaltic wave array parameters as new peristaltic wave-related parameters, providing an objective measurement tool for peristaltic waves for users. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0106] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings.

[0107] Figure 1 Showing a schematic block diagram of an ultrasonic measurement system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0108] Figure 2 Showing a schematic flowchart of a parameter measurement method of peristaltic waves according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0109] Figure 3 Showing a schematic diagram of manually measuring peristaltic wave array parameters based on a spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0110] Figure 4 Showing a schematic diagram of manually measuring peristaltic wave array parameters based on a spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0111] Figure 5 Showing a schematic diagram of automatically measuring peristaltic wave array parameters based on a spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0112] Figure 6 Showing a schematic diagram of automatically measuring peristaltic wave array parameters based on a spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0113] Figure 7 Showing a schematic diagram of a display interface according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0114] Figure 8 Showing a schematic flowchart of a parameter measurement method of peristaltic waves according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0115] Figure 9 Showing a schematic flowchart of a parameter measurement method of peristaltic waves according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0116] Figure 10 Showing a schematic diagram of manually measuring peristaltic wave parameters based on a spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0117] Figure 11Schematic diagram showing manual measurement of peristaltic wave parameters based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0118] Figure 12 Schematic diagram showing automatic measurement of peristaltic wave parameters based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0119] Figure 13 Schematic diagram showing automatic measurement of peristaltic wave parameters based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0120] Figure 14 Schematic diagram showing a display interface according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0121] Figure 15 Schematic flowchart showing a method for measuring parameters of peristaltic waves according to another embodiment of the present invention. Detailed implementation manners

[0122] 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 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 in the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0123] In the following description, numerous specific details are given to provide a more thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention can be implemented without one or more of these details. In other examples, some well-known technical features are not described to avoid confusion with the present invention.

[0124] 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, providing these embodiments will make the disclosure thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art.

[0125] 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.

[0126] To thoroughly understand the present invention, detailed structures will be presented in the following description to illustrate the technical solutions proposed by the present invention. The alternative embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below. However, in addition to these detailed descriptions, the present invention may also have other embodiments.

[0127] Next, first refer to Figure 1 Describe an ultrasonic measurement system according to an embodiment of the present application. The ultrasonic measurement system can be used to implement the parameter measurement method of the peristaltic wave in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 Fig. shows a schematic structural block diagram of an ultrasonic measurement system 100 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0128] As Figure 1 shown, the ultrasonic measurement system 100 includes an ultrasonic probe 110, a transmitting circuit 112, a receiving circuit 114, a processor 116, and a display 118. Further, the ultrasonic measurement system may further include a transmit / receive selection switch 120 and a beam synthesis circuit 122. The transmitting circuit 112 and the receiving circuit 114 can be connected to the ultrasonic probe 110 through the transmit / receive selection switch 120.

[0129] The ultrasonic 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. The plurality of transducer elements can also form a convex array. The transducer is used to transmit ultrasonic waves according to the excitation electrical signal, or convert the received ultrasonic waves into electrical signals. Therefore, each element can be used to realize the mutual conversion of electrical pulse signals and ultrasonic waves, so as to transmit ultrasonic waves to the target area of the object to be measured, and can also be used to receive the ultrasonic echoes reflected by the tissue. During ultrasonic detection, which transducer elements are used to transmit ultrasonic waves and which transducer elements are used to receive ultrasonic waves can be controlled through the transmit sequence and the receive sequence, or the transducer elements can be controlled to be used for transmitting ultrasonic waves or receiving the echoes of ultrasonic waves in different time slots. The transducer elements participating in the ultrasonic wave transmission can be simultaneously excited by electrical signals to simultaneously transmit ultrasonic waves; or, the transducer elements participating in the ultrasonic beam transmission can also be excited by several electrical signals with a certain time interval to continuously transmit ultrasonic waves with a certain time interval.

[0130] During the ultrasonic imaging process, the transmitting circuit 112 sends the delayed and focused transmitting pulses to the ultrasonic probe 110 through the transmit / receive selection switch 120. The ultrasonic probe 110 is excited by the transmitting pulses to emit an ultrasonic beam to the tissue in the target area of the object to be measured. After a certain time delay, it 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 ultrasonic probe 110, obtains the ultrasonic echo signal, and sends these ultrasonic echo signals to the beam synthesis circuit 122. The beam synthesis circuit 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.

[0131] 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 measurement system 100 to execute the corresponding steps of the methods in the various embodiments of this specification.

[0132] The display 118 is connected to the processor 116. The display 118 can be a touch screen display, a liquid crystal display screen, etc.; or, the display 118 can be an independent display such as a liquid crystal display or a television outside the ultrasonic measurement system 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. For example, the display 118 can include a main screen and a touch screen. The main screen is mainly used to display ultrasonic images, and the touch screen is mainly used for human-computer interaction.

[0133] The display 118 can display the ultrasonic images obtained by the processor 116. In addition, while displaying the ultrasonic images, the display 118 can also provide a graphical interface for the user to perform human-machine interaction. One or more controlled objects are set on the graphical interface, and the user is provided with a human-machine interaction device to input operation instructions to control these controlled objects, so as to perform corresponding control operations. For example, an icon is displayed on the graphical interface, and the icon can be operated by using the human-machine interaction device to perform a specific function, such as drawing a region of interest box on the ultrasonic image, etc.

[0134] Optionally, the ultrasonic measurement system 100 may further include other human-machine 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-machine interaction device through an external input / output port, and 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.

[0135] Among them, the human-machine interaction device may 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 other instruction types. The input device can include one or a combination 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-machine interaction device may further include an output device such as a printer.

[0136] The ultrasonic measurement system 100 may further include a memory 124 for storing instructions executed by the processor, storing received ultrasonic echoes, storing ultrasonic images, etc. The memory can be a flash card, a solid-state memory, a hard disk, etc. It can be a volatile memory and / or a non-volatile memory, a removable memory and / or a non-removable memory, etc.

[0137] It should be understood that Figure 1 The components included in the illustrated ultrasonic measurement system 100 are only illustrative, and it may include more or fewer components. This application is not limited thereto.

[0138] Next, reference will be made to Figure 2 Describe a method for measuring parameters of peristaltic waves according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 2 FIG. is a schematic flowchart of a method 200 for measuring parameters of peristaltic waves according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0139] As Figure 2 shown, the method 200 for measuring parameters of peristaltic waves according to an embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

[0140] In step S210, a first ultrasonic wave is emitted to the endometrium of the object to be measured, and the ultrasonic echo returned by the endometrium is received to obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal;

[0141] In step S220, the first ultrasonic echo signal is processed to obtain the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area of the endometrium;

[0142] In step S230, peristaltic wavefront parameters characterizing the peristaltic wavefront transmission state in the target area are obtained based on the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area. Each peristaltic wavefront includes a single or multiple peristaltic waves, and the time interval between two adjacent peristaltic waves in the same peristaltic wavefront is not greater than a preset threshold;

[0143] In step S240, the peristaltic wavefront parameters are output.

[0144] Research shows that peristaltic waves do not exist all the time, but occur in bursts. Each burst of peristalsis includes a single or multiple peristaltic waves. After a period of rest, the next burst of peristalsis appears. Therefore, the relevant parameters of the peristaltic wavefront (which can also be called peristaltic wave cluster, peristaltic wave group, or peristaltic wave of each burst, etc.) have their clinical significance and potential research value. This application quantifies and outputs the peristaltic wavefront parameters characterizing the peristaltic wavefront transmission state, providing an objective measurement tool for peristaltic waves for users, which helps to conduct further quantitative clinical research and diagnostic evaluation on peristaltic waves and lays a foundation for improving the peristaltic wave evaluation system in the future.

[0145] Refer to Figure 1 , in step S210, the transmitting circuit 112 sends the transmit pulse to the ultrasonic probe 110 through the transmit / receive selection switch 120 to stimulate the ultrasonic probe 110 to emit a first ultrasonic wave to the endometrium of the object to be measured. The first ultrasonic wave can be directed at the entire endometrium or only at the target area in the endometrium. The target area can be determined by ultrasonic images (including but not limited to B-mode ultrasonic images, C-mode ultrasonic images), can be determined by peristaltic wave images, or can be directly determined according to a preset scanning strategy. After a certain delay, in step S220, the receiving circuit 114 controls the ultrasonic probe to receive the echo of the first ultrasonic wave through the transmit / receive selection switch 120 to obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal, and sends the first ultrasonic echo signal to the beam synthesis circuit 122. The beam synthesis circuit 122 performs processing such as focusing delay, weighting, and channel summation on the first ultrasonic echo signal, and then sends the beam-synthesized first ultrasonic echo signal to the processor 116 for processing to obtain peristaltic parameters.

[0146] In the embodiments of the present application, the processor 116 may process the first ultrasonic echo signal at any stage after beam synthesis processing to obtain peristalsis parameters, or may generate an ultrasonic image based on the first ultrasonic echo signal and perform related processing on the ultrasonic image to obtain peristalsis parameters. The first ultrasonic wave in the above text is the detection sequence of the peristaltic wave, which may share the same transmission scanning sequence as the ultrasonic image or may adopt a completely different scanning sequence. When the scanning sequences are independent, their transmission and reception parameters (such as frequency, focusing direction, transmission interval, transmission position, etc.) can also be set independently. For example, the scanning interval between adjacent two frames of echoes can be made shorter, so as to obtain a higher-precision detection in terms of time.

[0147] For a certain target position in space, when ultrasonic waves are continuously transmitted for a period of time and ultrasonic echoes are received, if the target position is moving, the ultrasonic echoes obtained at different times will change. Based on relevant comparisons, the change amount or change speed of the ultrasonic echoes at each moment can be detected, that is, displacement detection or velocity detection. Based on this, for the peristaltic endometrium, relevant comparisons can be used to obtain its peristalsis parameters, and the peristalsis parameters may include at least one of the following: peristalsis speed, tissue displacement, tissue strain. As one implementation, the displacement or velocity of each point in the region of interest can be obtained through a displacement detection method; as another implementation, the displacement of each point in the region of interest can be obtained through a displacement detection method, and then the velocity of each point can be obtained by calculating the gradient of the displacement in time.

[0148] There can be various specific methods for determining peristalsis parameters based on displacement detection. For example, a block-matching-based method can be adopted. For the ultrasonic echo signal at a certain position at a certain moment, search at different positions of the ultrasonic echo signal at another moment to find the position with the maximum cross-correlation with it. The difference between it and the original position is used as the displacement amount at these two moments. Further, in combination with the time difference between the two moments, peristalsis parameters such as peristalsis speed and peristalsis acceleration can be obtained. Another example is that a method based on the ultrasonic Doppler effect can be adopted to detect the movement speed of the tissue at a certain position at each moment in a principle similar to that of conventional blood flow imaging. Or, other displacement detection methods based on signal autocorrelation or cross-correlation can also be adopted, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0149] In one embodiment, when determining the target region based on the ultrasound image, the peristaltic wave parameter measurement method 200 further includes: controlling the ultrasound probe to emit a second ultrasonic wave towards the endometrium of the subject to be measured; receiving the second ultrasonic echo returned by the endometrium of the subject to be measured to obtain a second ultrasonic echo signal; processing the second ultrasonic echo signal to obtain an ultrasound image of the endometrium, including but not limited to a B-mode ultrasound image or a C-mode ultrasound image, etc. Thereafter, an interested region is determined in the ultrasound image, and the interested region corresponds to the target region of the endometrium. In some embodiments, multiple frames of ultrasound images of the endometrium can be obtained based on the second echo signal; after obtaining multiple frames of ultrasound images of the endometrium, according to requirements, the interested region can be determined on the first frame of the multiple frames of ultrasound images, or on the intermediate frame of the ultrasound images, or on the last frame of the ultrasound images. Exemplarily, the interested region can be a point, a line, a box, etc., and specifically can include a straight line, a curve, discrete points, continuous points, or a box of any shape. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the shape of the interested region.

[0150] Exemplarily, determining the interested region in the ultrasound image can be implemented in an automatic or manual manner. When the interested region is determined in a manual manner, the ultrasound image can be displayed, and the interested region can be determined in response to the user's selection operation on the ultrasound image. For example, the user can select the interested region in the ultrasound image through an input device such as a mouse.

[0151] When the interested region is automatically determined, the ultrasound measurement system can automatically identify the endometrium region in the ultrasound image and automatically select the interested region within the identified endometrium region according to a preset rule. For example, one or more interest points can be selected within the endometrium region as the interested region; or, a line segment can be selected in a certain direction of the endometrium region as the interested region. For example, the selected line segment can be a line segment extending from the cervical end to the uterine fundus end, etc. Of course, the above-mentioned automatic selection method of the interested region is only an example, and the embodiments of the present application can also automatically select the interested region based on other preset conditions, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. Exemplarily, after automatically identifying the interested region based on the ultrasound image, the position where the interested region is located can also be displayed on the ultrasound image, and the position where the interested region is located can be adjusted according to the user input.

[0152] In step S220, when obtaining the peristalsis parameters based on the ultrasound image, the corresponding peristalsis parameters can be obtained for each pixel point in the ultrasound image, or only for the pixel points in the endometrial region of the ultrasound image. Subsequently, the peristalsis parameters corresponding to the region of interest can be extracted therefrom. Alternatively, the corresponding peristalsis parameters can also be obtained only for the pixel points corresponding to the region of interest in the ultrasound image. For multiple frames of ultrasound images, the peristalsis parameters of each pixel point at the corresponding moment of each frame of ultrasound image can be obtained, so as to obtain the peristalsis parameters that change with time at each position within the target region.

[0153] In step S230, based on the peristalsis parameters that change with time within the target region, the peristalsis wavefront parameters of the peristalsis wavefront propagating within the target region are obtained. The peristalsis wavefront parameters can be used as an important indicator for evaluating endometrial receptivity, which helps to conduct further quantitative research and evaluation on the peristalsis wave.

[0154] As described above, each peristalsis wavefront includes a single or multiple peristalsis waves. If the time interval between two adjacent peristalsis waves is not greater than a preset threshold, they can be classified into the same peristalsis wavefront. Thus, the peristalsis waves of the endometrium during the acquisition time can be divided into several peristalsis wavefronts. Among them, the time interval between two adjacent peristalsis waves can be the time interval at the same position; the preset threshold is, for example, 30 seconds, but is not limited thereto. The preset threshold may be different for different subjects to be measured or for the same subject in different states. Exemplarily, the time interval between two adjacent peristalsis wavefronts is greater than the time interval between two adjacent peristalsis waves within the same peristalsis wavefront.

[0155] Exemplarily, the peristalsis wavefront parameters characterizing the propagation state of the peristalsis wavefront within the target region include at least one of the following: the duration of a single peristalsis wavefront, the number of peristalsis waves in a single peristalsis wavefront, the average duration of peristalsis waves in a single peristalsis wavefront, the interval time between two adjacent peristalsis wavefronts, the non-peristalsis time between two adjacent peristalsis wavefronts, the number of peristalsis wavefronts within a predetermined time, the average duration of peristalsis wavefronts within a predetermined time, and the average non-peristalsis time within a predetermined time.

[0156] As an implementation manner, the peristalsis wavefront parameters can be determined based on the peristalsis wave spatio-temporal distribution map. Specifically, a peristalsis wave spatio-temporal distribution map is generated according to the peristalsis parameters that change with time within the target region. The peristalsis wave spatio-temporal distribution map represents the change of peristalsis parameters with time and space; the peristalsis wavefront parameters characterizing the propagation state of the peristalsis wavefront within the target region are determined based on the peristalsis wave spatio-temporal distribution map.

[0157] Specifically, the spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves represents the variation of peristaltic parameters with time and space. Generating the spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves may include: establishing a coordinate system for the spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves, where the coordinate system includes a first coordinate axis and a second coordinate axis, the first coordinate axis represents time, the second coordinate axis represents spatial position, and the first coordinate axis and the second coordinate axis can be interchanged; displaying the peristaltic parameters in the coordinate system of the spatio-temporal distribution map according to the time and spatial position corresponding to the peristaltic parameters. Exemplarily, in the spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves, the magnitude or direction of the peristaltic parameters can be represented by different colors or grayscales. Since the spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves contains the time information and spatial information of peristaltic waves, the peristaltic wave array parameters of the peristaltic waves transmitted within the target area can be further obtained according to the spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves.

[0158] For ease of understanding, Figure 3 an exemplary spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves is shown, and the region of interest corresponding to this spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves is linear. In Figure 3 the shown spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves, the horizontal axis represents time, the vertical axis represents spatial position, the dark parallelograms in the figure represent the forward peristaltic speed, and the light parallelograms represent the reverse peristaltic speed. It can be understood that Figure 3 the overall spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves represents that the peristaltic waves are transmitted from the corresponding position below to the corresponding position above. From Figure 3 it can be seen that the interval time between adjacent two peristaltic wave arrays is relatively long, and the interval time between adjacent two peristaltic waves within the same peristaltic wave array is relatively short. Therefore, if the interval time between certain two peristaltic waves is significantly longer than other interval times, then this longer interval time can be used as the demarcation between two peristaltic wave arrays.

[0159] Continuing to refer to Figure 3 , among the above peristaltic wave array parameters, the duration of a single peristaltic wave array is the interval between the start time of the first peristaltic wave and the end time of the last peristaltic wave within a single peristaltic wave array, which is represented as △t1 = t2 - t1 in Figure 3 ; the average value of the durations of at least two peristaltic wave arrays within a predetermined time is the average duration of peristaltic wave arrays within the predetermined time. The interval time between adjacent two peristaltic wave arrays refers to the interval time between adjacent two peristaltic wave arrays at the same position, that is, △t3 = t4 - t2. The time without peristalsis between adjacent two peristaltic wave arrays is the interval between the start moment of the latter peristaltic wave array and the end moment of the former peristaltic wave array, that is, △t2 = t3 - t2; the average value of at least two times without peristalsis within a predetermined time is the average time without peristalsis within the predetermined time. Figure 3 The number of peristaltic waves in the first peristaltic wave array in

[0160] Exemplarily, if multiple regions of interest are determined in an ultrasound image, multiple spatio-temporal distribution maps of peristaltic waves corresponding to the regions of interest can be generated respectively, and corresponding peristaltic wave array parameters can be obtained based on each spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves for comparative analysis. For example, the peristaltic performances of the anterior and posterior membranes of the endometrium may be different. Therefore, the spatio-temporal distribution maps of peristaltic waves of the anterior and posterior membranes of the endometrium can be obtained respectively, and the peristaltic wave array parameters can be determined respectively based on each spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves, so as to more intuitively observe the differences of peristaltic waves at each position.

[0161] The method of determining the peristaltic wave array parameters according to the spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves can be implemented as being automatically determined by the system or determined according to the received user input, that is, manually determined. Among them, the manual determination method specifically includes: displaying the spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves; obtaining the annotation of the characteristic time points of the peristaltic wave array on the spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves; and determining the peristaltic wave array parameters according to the time points corresponding to the annotation. Exemplarily, the system can prompt the user to annotate the characteristic time points required to determine the specific peristaltic wave array parameters or the user can select to annotate the characteristic time points required to determine the specific peristaltic wave array parameters, and the annotation received thereafter is used as the annotation of the characteristic time points required to determine the specific peristaltic wave array parameters.

[0162] As an example, the characteristic time points of the peristaltic wave array include the start time point and the end time point of a single peristaltic wave array. The peristaltic wave array parameters that can be determined according to the start time point and the end time point of the peristaltic wave array include the duration of the single peristaltic wave array. Refer to Figure 3 If the annotation of the start time point t1 and the end time point t2 of the peristaltic wave array obtained by the user, the duration of the peristaltic wave array can be determined as △t1 = t2 - t1. On this basis, by calculating the average value of the durations of at least two peristaltic wave arrays within a predetermined time, the average duration of the peristaltic wave arrays within the predetermined time can be obtained.

[0163] As another example, the characteristic time points of the peristaltic wave array include the end time point of the previous peristaltic wave array and the start time point of the next peristaltic wave array at the same spatial position among two adjacent peristaltic wave arrays. The peristaltic wave array parameters that can be determined according to the end time point of the previous peristaltic wave array and the start time point of the next peristaltic wave array among two adjacent peristaltic wave arrays include the interval time between the two adjacent peristaltic wave arrays. Continuing to refer to Figure 3 If the annotation of the end time point t2 of the previous peristaltic wave array and the start time point t4 of the next peristaltic wave array at the same spatial position obtained by the user, the interval time between the two peristaltic wave arrays can be determined as △t3 = t4 - t2. On this basis, by calculating the average value of at least two interval times within a predetermined time, the average interval time within the predetermined time can be obtained.

[0164] As another example, the characteristic time points of the peristaltic wavefronts include the end time point of the previous peristaltic wavefront and the start time point of the subsequent peristaltic wavefront among two adjacent peristaltic wavefronts within the entire target area. The peristaltic wavefront parameters that can be determined based on the end time point of the previous peristaltic wavefront and the start time point of the subsequent peristaltic wavefront among two adjacent peristaltic wavefronts include the non-peristaltic time between two adjacent peristaltic wavefronts. Continuing to refer to Figure 3 , if the user's annotations on the end time point t2 of the previous peristaltic wavefront and the start time point t3 of the subsequent peristaltic wavefront within the entire target area are obtained, then the non-peristaltic time between these two peristaltic wavefronts can be determined as Δt2 = t3 - t2. On this basis, the average non-peristaltic time within a predetermined time can be obtained by calculating the average value of at least two non-peristaltic times within the predetermined time.

[0165] Peristaltic wavefront parameters such as the number of peristaltic waves in a single peristaltic wavefront, the number of peristaltic wavefronts within a predetermined time, and the average duration of peristaltic waves in a single peristaltic wavefront can also be determined based on the annotations received on the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map. For example, the number of peristaltic waves in a single peristaltic wavefront and the number of peristaltic wavefronts within a predetermined time can be determined according to the number of times the user performs a click operation; the start time point and end time point of each peristaltic wave in a single peristaltic wavefront can be obtained, and the duration of each peristaltic wave in a single peristaltic wavefront can be calculated based on the corresponding time points of the annotations, and then the average duration of peristaltic waves in a single peristaltic wavefront can be calculated, and so on.

[0166] In a specific implementation, obtaining the annotation on the characteristic time point of the peristaltic wavefront on the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map can be as Figure 3 shown, that is, receiving a click operation on the characteristic time point of the peristaltic wavefront on the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map, and determining the position of the annotation according to the click operation. Or, it can also be as Figure 4 shown, displaying an adjustable cursor on the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map, receiving an adjustment operation on the adjustable cursor, and determining the position of the annotation according to the adjustment operation. Figure 4 The initial position of the adjustable cursor is shown on the left. The user can adjust the adjustable cursor, perform operations such as translation and width adjustment on it, so that it respectively corresponds to the characteristic time point to be annotated, that is, the characteristic time point can be determined according to the received user input, and then the peristaltic wavefront parameters can be determined according to the characteristic time point.

[0167] Of course, the specific manner of obtaining the annotation on the characteristic time point on the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map is not limited to the above two. For example, the user can also draw a line, draw a selection box, etc. on the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map, as long as the system can determine the annotation of the user on the characteristic time point of the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map.

[0168] In other embodiments, the ultrasonic measurement system can also automatically measure the peristaltic wave array parameters according to the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave, so as to simplify the user operation.

[0169] In one example, automatically determining the peristaltic wave array parameters based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave includes: obtaining at least two peristaltic curves of the peristaltic parameters changing with time at at least two positions within the target area based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave; extracting the time points corresponding to when the peristaltic parameters on at least two peristaltic curves reach a first threshold; dividing the time points with an interval time not exceeding a preset time interval into time points belonging to the same peristaltic wave array; and determining the peristaltic wave array parameters according to the start time point and the end time point of the peristaltic wave array.

[0170] Exemplarily, referring to Figure 5 , Figure 5 The left side is the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave. By scanning the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave vertically row by row, the peristaltic curves at the corresponding positions of each row can be obtained; Figure 5 The right side shows two peristaltic curves of the peristaltic parameters changing with time at the top position and the bottom position of the target area; the time points corresponding to when the peristaltic parameters on each peristaltic curve reach the first threshold are extracted. The first threshold can be a numerical value or a numerical range. The time points extracted from all peristaltic curves are arranged in ascending order. If the time difference between two adjacent time points is not greater than the preset time interval, they are classified as time points belonging to the same peristaltic array, so that the first time point (such as t1 in Figure 5 ) and the last time point (such as t2 in Figure 5 ) of the same peristaltic wave array can be obtained. Furthermore, the peristaltic wave array parameters are determined according to the start time point and the end time point of the peristaltic wave array. Figure 5

[0171] Specifically, for the duration of the peristaltic wave array among the peristaltic wave array parameters, determining the peristaltic wave array parameters according to the start time point and the end time point of the peristaltic wave array specifically includes: determining the duration of the peristaltic wave array according to the interval time between the start time point and the end time point of the same peristaltic wave array on at least two peristaltic curves, that is, Figure 5 the △t1 = t2 - t1 in . On this basis, the average duration of the peristaltic wave array within a predetermined time can be obtained by calculating the average value of the durations of at least two peristaltic wave arrays within the predetermined time.

[0172] For the interval time between two adjacent peristaltic wave arrays among the peristaltic wave array parameters, determining the peristaltic wave array parameters of the peristaltic wave array according to the start time point and the end time point of the peristaltic wave array includes: determining the interval time between two adjacent peristaltic wave arrays according to the interval time between the end time point of the previous peristaltic wave array and the start time point of the next peristaltic wave array on the same peristaltic curve, that is, Figure 5where △t3 = t4 - t2. On this basis, the average interval time of peristaltic wave fronts within a predetermined time can be obtained by calculating the average value of at least two interval times within the predetermined time.

[0173] For the time without peristalsis between two adjacent peristaltic wave fronts among the peristaltic wave front parameters, the peristaltic wave front parameters of the peristaltic wave front are determined according to the start time point and end time point of the peristaltic wave front, including: determining the time without peristalsis between two adjacent peristaltic wave fronts according to the interval time between the end time point of the previous peristaltic wave front and the start time point of the next peristaltic wave front among the time points of two adjacent peristaltic wave fronts on at least two peristaltic curves, that is Figure 5 where △t2 = t3 - t2. On this basis, the average time without peristalsis within a predetermined time can be obtained by calculating the average value of at least two times without peristalsis within the predetermined time.

[0174] The number of peristaltic waves in a single peristaltic wave front, the number of peristaltic wave fronts within a predetermined time, the average duration of peristaltic waves in a single peristaltic wave front, and other peristaltic wave front parameters can also be automatically determined according to the peristaltic curve. For example, the number of peristaltic wave fronts within a predetermined time can be determined according to the number of start time points or end time points within the predetermined time; the number of peristaltic waves in a single peristaltic wave front can be determined according to the number of time points corresponding to when the peristaltic parameters reach the first threshold between the start time point and end time point of the same peristaltic wave front; the duration of each peristaltic wave in a single peristaltic wave front can be calculated according to the time interval between the start time point and end time point of a single peristaltic wave front, the time points corresponding to when the peristaltic parameters exceed the first threshold, and the time points corresponding to when the peristaltic parameters drop below the first threshold, and then the average duration of peristaltic waves in a single peristaltic wave front can be calculated.

[0175] In another embodiment, peristaltic wave front parameters characterizing the transmission state of peristaltic wave fronts in a target area are determined based on a spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves, including: obtaining a peristaltic curve of the change of peristaltic parameters with time at a predetermined position in the target area based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves; extracting characteristic time points representing the transmission state of peristaltic wave fronts on the peristaltic curve, and determining the peristaltic wave front parameters according to the characteristic time points. That is to say, in this embodiment, the peristaltic wave front parameters can be obtained based on the peristaltic curve at a single position.

[0176] Specifically, when the endometrium peristaltically moves continuously, when the next peristalsis starts, the previous peristalsis reaches the end of the target area. For example, if the target area is the line connecting the cervical end to the uterine fundus end, if the endometrium peristaltically moves continuously, then when the first wave segment reaches the uterine fundus end, the second wave segment at the cervical end starts. At this time, the peristaltic curve of the points on the endometrium is a wave-like curve, such as Figure 6As described above. Therefore, when the endometrium undergoes continuous peristalsis, the time difference between the two wave segments is the time interval between two peristalses, and is also the peristaltic wave transmission time during continuous peristalsis. The peristaltic wave array parameters can be obtained based on the peristaltic curve at a single position.

[0177] Specifically, a first threshold and a second threshold can be preset in advance. Both the first threshold and the second threshold can be a numerical value or a numerical range. Among them, the first threshold is the basic threshold. If the duration for which the peristaltic parameter on the peristaltic curve is less than the first threshold exceeds the preset time, the start time point and the end time point at which the peristaltic parameter is less than the first threshold are extracted, and the interval between the start time point and the end time point is used as the non-peristalsis interval at the predetermined position, and the non-peristalsis time is determined according to the time interval between the start time point and the end time point. It should be noted that this non-peristalsis interval is different from the non-peristalsis time of the entire target area, but corresponds to the interval time △t3 between adjacent peristaltic wave arrays in the above text.

[0178] After determining the non-peristalsis interval, the duration of the peristaltic wave array can be determined according to the non-peristalsis interval. Specifically, two adjacent non-peristalsis intervals are obtained, and the duration of the peristaltic wave array between the two adjacent non-peristalsis intervals is determined according to the time interval between the start time point of the latter non-peristalsis interval and the end time point of the former non-peristalsis interval.

[0179] As another implementation, determining the peristaltic wave array parameters according to the characteristic time points includes: extracting the second time points at which the peristaltic parameters on the peristaltic curve are greater than the second threshold; extracting the first time points at which the peristaltic parameters adjacent to each second time point are greater than the first threshold, the first threshold being less than the second threshold, and the direction of the peristaltic parameter corresponding to the first time point being the same as the direction of the peristaltic parameter corresponding to the second time point; dividing the first time points with an interval time less than the preset interval time into the first time points belonging to the same peristaltic array, and determining the duration of the peristaltic wave array according to the time interval between the first first time point and the last first time point among the first time points belonging to the same peristaltic wave array.

[0180] Specifically, if the magnitude of the peristaltic parameter at the second time point exceeds the second threshold, it is determined that there is effective peristalsis at this second time point, and the first time point at which the magnitude of the peristaltic parameter near this second time point is exactly the first threshold and the direction of the peristaltic parameter is the same is found. If the time difference between every two adjacent first time points is less than the preset interval time, they can be classified as the moments of the same peristaltic wave array. Subtracting the first first moment of the same peristaltic wave array from the last first moment, the duration of the peristalsis of this array can be obtained.

[0181] In the embodiments of the present application, in addition to determining the peristaltic wave array parameters of the peristaltic wave according to the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave, other methods can also be used to determine the peristaltic wave array parameters of the peristaltic wave transmitted in the target area. For example, based on a machine learning algorithm, the peristaltic wave array parameters characterizing the transmission state of the peristaltic wave array in the target area are automatically analyzed according to the peristaltic parameters. Specifically, the machine learning algorithm can obtain the peristaltic wave array parameters characterizing the transmission state of the peristaltic wave array by analyzing the morphological change law of the endometrium or by observing the start time and end time of the same peristaltic wave array, etc.

[0182] In step S240, the output peristaltic wave array parameters include: displaying the peristaltic wave array parameters in at least one of the ways of graphics, numerical values, and grades. For example, the peristaltic wave array parameters obtained as described above can be directly displayed in a numerical manner; several grades can be preset, each grade corresponding to a numerical interval, and the corresponding grade is determined according to the numerical interval to which the peristaltic wave array parameters belong, and the grade is displayed; different graphics corresponding to different peristaltic wave array parameters or different grades can be preset, and the graphics are displayed, etc.

[0183] In one embodiment, the peristaltic wave array parameters can be displayed on the same display interface as the ultrasonic image and the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave, which helps the user to better identify and locate the anatomical positions corresponding to the peristaltic wave array parameters and the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave. Figure 7 An exemplary display interface is shown. The ultrasonic image of the endometrium is displayed in the upper left corner of the display interface, and a polygonal region of interest is displayed in the ultrasonic image; the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave is displayed in the lower left corner, and the markings made by the user on the characteristic time points are displayed in the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave; the peristaltic wave array parameters obtained based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave are displayed on the right side of the display interface, specifically including the number of peristalsis per array, that is, the number of peristaltic waves in each peristaltic wave array; the duration of each peristaltic wave array and the average duration within a predetermined time; the time interval between every two adjacent peristaltic wave arrays and the average time interval within a predetermined time; the non-peristaltic time between every two adjacent peristaltic wave arrays and the average non-peristaltic time within a predetermined time.

[0184] The peristaltic wave parameter measurement method in the embodiments of the present application quantifies and outputs the peristaltic wave array parameters as a new peristaltic wave-related parameter, providing an objective measurement tool for the peristaltic wave for the user.

[0185] Now refer back to Figure 1, Embodiment of the present application also provides an ultrasonic measurement system 100, which can be used to implement the above-mentioned peristaltic wave parameter measurement method 200. The ultrasonic measurement system 100 may include components such as an ultrasonic probe 110, a transmitting circuit 112, a receiving circuit 114, a processor 116, a display 118, and a memory 124. Descriptions of each component can refer to the above text. Only the main functions of the ultrasonic measurement system 100 will be described below, and the details already described above will be omitted.

[0186] Among them, the transmitting circuit 112 is used to excite the ultrasonic probe 110 to emit a first ultrasonic wave to the endometrium of the object to be measured; the receiving circuit 114 is used to control the ultrasonic probe 110 to receive the ultrasonic echo returned by the endometrium of the object to be measured to obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal; the processor 114 is used to process the first ultrasonic echo signal to obtain the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area of the endometrium of the object to be measured; and based on the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area, obtain peristaltic wave array parameters characterizing the peristaltic wave array transmission state in the target area. Each peristaltic wave array includes a single or multiple peristaltic waves, and the time interval between two adjacent peristaltic waves in the same peristaltic wave array is not greater than a preset threshold; the processor 114 is also used to control the output device to output the peristaltic wave array parameters. For example, the peristaltic wave array parameters can be displayed on the display 118.

[0187] Other specific details of the ultrasonic measurement system 100 and the peristaltic wave parameter measurement method 200 implemented by the ultrasonic measurement system 100 can refer to the relevant descriptions above and will not be elaborated here.

[0188] Next, Figure 8 describe the peristaltic wave parameter measurement method according to another embodiment of the present application. Figure 8 is a schematic flowchart of the peristaltic wave parameter measurement method 800 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0189] As Figure 8 shown, the peristaltic wave parameter measurement method 800 of this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0190] In step S810, obtain the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area of the endometrium;

[0191] In step S820, based on the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area, obtain peristaltic wave array parameters characterizing the peristaltic wave array transmission state in the target area. Each peristaltic wave array includes a single or multiple peristaltic waves, and the time interval between two adjacent peristaltic waves in the same peristaltic wave array is not greater than a preset threshold;

[0192] In step S830, output the peristaltic wave array parameters.

[0193] The parameter measurement method 800 of the peristaltic wave is similar to the parameter measurement method 200 of the peristaltic wave in the above text. The main difference between the two is that the parameter measurement method 800 of the peristaltic wave does not limit the acquisition method of the peristaltic parameters. For example, the parameter measurement method 800 of the peristaltic wave can be determined in real time according to the first ultrasonic echo signal by the method described above, or can be determined according to the ultrasonic echo signal or ultrasonic image extracted from the storage medium, or directly extracted from the storage medium. In addition, the parameter measurement method 800 of the peristaltic wave is generally similar to the parameter measurement method 200 of the peristaltic wave. For specific details, please refer to the relevant descriptions above and will not be elaborated here.

[0194] The embodiment of the present application also provides an ultrasonic measurement system, which can be used to implement the above-mentioned parameter measurement method 800 of the peristaltic wave. The ultrasonic measurement system includes a memory, a processor, and an output device. A computer program run by the processor is stored on the memory. Among them, the processor can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof, and can use circuits, single or multiple application-specific integrated circuits, single or multiple general 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, and the processor can control other components in the electronic device to perform the desired functions. The memory may include one or more computer program products, and the computer program products may include various forms of computer-readable storage media, such as volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. One or more computer program instructions can be stored on the computer-readable storage media, and the processor can run the program instructions to implement the parameter measurement method 800 of the peristaltic wave in the embodiment of the present application and / or other various desired functions. The ultrasonic measurement system can be the ultrasonic measurement system 100 as Figure 1 shown.

[0195] The parameter measurement method of the peristaltic wave in the embodiment of the present application quantifies and outputs the peristaltic wave array parameters as a new peristaltic wave-related parameter, providing an objective measurement tool for the peristaltic wave for users.

[0196] Research shows that in addition to the relevant parameters of the peristaltic wave array, the relevant parameters of each peristaltic wave can also be used as an important index for evaluating endometrial receptivity. Next, the parameter measurement method of the peristaltic wave according to an embodiment of the present application will be described with reference to Figure 9 Describe the parameter measurement method of the peristaltic wave according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 9 is a schematic flowchart of the parameter measurement method 900 of the peristaltic wave in the embodiment of the present application.

[0197] As Figure 9 shown, the parameter measurement method 900 of the peristaltic wave in the embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

[0198] In step S910, a first ultrasonic wave is emitted to the endometrium of the object to be measured, and the ultrasonic echo returned by the endometrium is received to obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal;

[0199] In step S920, the first ultrasonic echo signal is processed to obtain the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area of the endometrium;

[0200] In step S930, peristaltic wave parameters characterizing the peristaltic wave transmission state in the target area are obtained based on the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area;

[0201] In step S940, the peristaltic wave parameters are output.

[0202] The peristaltic wave parameter measurement method 900 according to the embodiments of the present application quantifies and outputs the relevant parameters of each peristaltic wave, provides an objective measurement tool for peristaltic waves for users, helps to conduct further quantitative clinical research and diagnostic evaluation on peristaltic waves, and lays a foundation for improving the peristaltic wave evaluation system in the future.

[0203] Steps S910 and S920 of the peristaltic wave parameter measurement method 900 are basically the same as steps S210 and S220 of the peristaltic wave parameter measurement method 200, and specific reference can be made to the above text. The difference is that in step S930, the peristaltic wave parameters characterizing the peristaltic wave transmission state in the target area are obtained based on the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area, and these peristaltic wave parameters can be used as important indicators for evaluating endometrial receptivity, which helps to conduct further quantitative research and evaluation on peristaltic waves. Exemplarily, the peristaltic wave parameters include at least one of the following: the transmission time of a single peristaltic wave, the average transmission time of at least two peristaltic waves within a predetermined time, and the number of peristaltic waves within a predetermined time.

[0204] In one embodiment, a peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map can be generated according to the peristaltic parameters that change with time at different positions in the target area, and the peristaltic wave parameters characterizing the peristaltic wave transmission state in the target area are determined based on the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map. Specifically, the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map represents the change of peristaltic parameters with time and space, and its form is generally similar to the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map in the above text. Since the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map contains the time information and space information of the peristaltic wave, the peristaltic wave parameters characterizing the peristaltic wave transmission state in the target area can be further obtained according to the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map.

[0205] For the sake of easy understanding, Figure 10 an exemplary peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map is shown, and the region of interest corresponding to this peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map is linear. In Figure 10In the shown spatio-temporal distribution diagram of peristaltic waves, the horizontal axis represents time and the vertical axis represents spatial position. In the diagram, dark parallelograms represent forward peristaltic speeds, and light parallelograms represent reverse peristaltic speeds. It can be understood that Figure 10 the overall spatio-temporal distribution diagram of peristaltic waves indicates that the peristaltic wave is transmitted from the corresponding position below to the corresponding position above. That is, at time t1, the peristaltic wave is transmitted to one end of the target area, and at time t2, the peristaltic wave is transmitted to the other end of the target area. t2 - t1 is the transmission time of the peristaltic wave within the target area.

[0206] The method for determining peristaltic wave parameters based on the spatio-temporal distribution diagram of peristaltic waves can be implemented as being automatically determined by the system or determined according to the received user input, that is, manually determined. Among them, for the transmission time of a single peristaltic wave in the peristaltic wave parameters, the manual determination method based on the spatio-temporal distribution diagram of peristaltic waves specifically includes: displaying the spatio-temporal distribution diagram of peristaltic waves; obtaining the markings on the time points when the peristaltic wave is transmitted to different positions within the target area on the spatio-temporal distribution diagram of peristaltic waves; and determining the transmission time of the peristaltic wave between different positions according to the time points corresponding to the markings.

[0207] In one example, obtaining the markings on the time points when the peristaltic wave is transmitted to different positions within the target area on the spatio-temporal distribution diagram of peristaltic waves includes: receiving a click operation on the time points when the peristaltic wave is transmitted to different positions on the spatio-temporal distribution diagram of peristaltic waves, and determining the positions of the markings according to the click operation. Continuing to refer to Figure 10 , Figure 10 the bottom of the vertical axis of the shown spatio-temporal distribution diagram of peristaltic waves corresponds to the starting position of the target area, and the top corresponds to the ending position of the target area. If the user's markings on the starting time point t1 when the peristaltic wave is transmitted to the starting position and the ending time point t2 when it is transmitted to the ending position on the spatio-temporal distribution diagram of peristaltic waves are received, then the transmission time t of the peristaltic wave within the target area can be determined as t = t2 - t1.

[0208] In another example, an adjustable cursor can be displayed on the spatio-temporal distribution diagram of peristaltic waves, a adjustment operation on the adjustable cursor is received, and the position where the user-selected marking is located is determined according to the received adjustment operation. Refer to Figure 11 , Figure 11 The initial position of the adjustable cursor is shown on the left. The user can adjust the adjustable cursor, perform operations such as translation and width adjustment on it, so that it corresponds to the starting point t1 and the ending time point t2 of the peristaltic wave respectively. That is, according to the received user input, the transmission time t of the peristaltic wave can be determined as t = △t = t2 - t1.

[0209] Of course, the specific method for obtaining the annotation of the time points when the peristaltic wave is transmitted to different positions within the target area on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave is not limited to the above two. For example, the user can also draw lines or draw selection boxes on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave, as long as the system can determine the annotation made by the user on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave.

[0210] For the average transmission time of at least two peristaltic waves within a predetermined time in the peristaltic wave parameters, it can be obtained by taking the average after determining the transmission time of each single peristaltic wave within the predetermined time. For the number of peristaltic waves in the peristaltic wave parameters, it can be obtained according to the number of received annotations. For example, the user can click on the waveform of each peristaltic wave within a predetermined time on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave, and the number of received clicks is the number of peristaltic waves within the predetermined time.

[0211] In other embodiments, the ultrasonic measurement system can also automatically measure the peristaltic parameters according to the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave to simplify the user operation.

[0212] Specifically, in one example, for the transmission time of a single peristaltic wave in the peristaltic wave parameters, determining the transmission time based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave includes: respectively obtaining at least two curves of the peristaltic wave parameters changing with time at at least two positions within the target area based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave; extracting the corresponding time points of the same wave segment of the peristaltic wave on the at least two curves, and determining the transmission time of the peristaltic wave between the at least two positions according to the time interval between the corresponding time points. Among them, the corresponding time points can be characteristic points such as the wave crest, wave trough, starting point of the same wave segment, end point of the same wave segment, and intersection point of the same wave segment with the coordinate axis on the at least two curves. Exemplarily, the at least two positions within the target area at least include the two end positions of the target area, and then the transmission time of the peristaltic wave from entering the target area to leaving the target area can be obtained. For example, if the target area is a line segment, the at least two positions within the target area at least include the two end point positions of the line segment.

[0213] As Figure 12 shown, after obtaining the Figure 12 spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave on the left, scanning it row by row longitudinally, the peristaltic curve obtained for each row is the peristaltic curve changing with time at the corresponding position in space. Figure 12 The right side shows the peristaltic curves corresponding to the top position and the bottom position of the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave. Extract the corresponding time points of the same wave segment on each peristaltic curve. For example, the earliest time point of the first wave crest is t1, and the latest time point is t2, then the transmission time of the first wave segment of the peristaltic wave is t = t2 - t1. Exemplarily, the number of the earliest time points and the latest time points within a predetermined time can be determined as the number of peristaltic waves within the predetermined time.

[0214] In another embodiment, determining the transit time based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves includes: obtaining a peristaltic curve of the peristaltic parameters varying with time at a predetermined position based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves; extracting the corresponding time points on adjacent wave segments of the peristaltic curve, and determining the transit time of the peristaltic wave according to the time interval between the corresponding time points. Among them, the peristaltic parameters varying with time at a preset spatial position in the spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves can be extracted, a peristaltic curve of the peristaltic parameters varying with time at this position can be plotted, and the transit time of the peristaltic wave can be obtained according to the same peristaltic curve.

[0215] Specifically, when the endometrium peristaltic continuously, at the start of the subsequent peristalsis, the previous peristalsis reaches the end of the target area. For example, if the target area is the line connecting the cervical end to the uterine fundus end, when the endometrium peristaltic continuously, when the first wave segment reaches the uterine fundus end, the second wave segment at the cervical end starts. Therefore, the transit time of the peristaltic wave can be determined according to the time interval between the corresponding time points on adjacent wave segments.

[0216] Exemplarily, referring to Figure 13 , when the endometrium peristaltic continuously, the peristaltic (such as velocity, displacement, strain, etc.) curve of the points on the endometrium is a wave-like curve, and the time difference between two adjacent wave peaks on the curve is the time interval between two peristalses (i.e., Figure 13 t1, t2, and t3 in Figure 13 ), and it is also the transit time of the peristaltic wave when the endometrium peristaltic continuously. Further, the time interval between the corresponding time points on every two adjacent wave segments within a preset time (i.e., Figure 13 t1, t2, and t3 in Figure 13 ) can be determined, and its average value can be calculated to obtain the average time interval of multiple wave segments, that is, the average transit time of each peristaltic wave during continuous peristalsis.

[0217] In the embodiments of the present application, in addition to determining the transit time of the peristaltic wave according to the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave, other methods can also be used to determine the transit time of the peristaltic wave in the target area. For example, the transit time of the peristaltic wave can be automatically analyzed based on a machine learning algorithm according to the peristaltic parameters. Specifically, the machine learning algorithm can obtain the transit time of the peristaltic wave by analyzing the morphological change law of the endometrium or by observing the start time and end time of the same peristalsis.

[0218] In one embodiment, peristaltic wave parameters such as the transit time, average transit time, and number of peristalses of the peristaltic wave can be displayed on the same display interface together with the ultrasonic image and the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave, which helps the user to better identify and locate the anatomical positions corresponding to the above parameters and the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave. Figure 14Shows an exemplary display interface. An ultrasonic image of the endometrium is displayed in the upper left corner of the display interface, and a zigzag region of interest is displayed in the ultrasonic image; a spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves is displayed in the lower left corner, and in this spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves, the user's markings on the start time point t1 and end time point t2 of the peristaltic wave are shown; on the right side of the display interface, the peristaltic wave parameters obtained based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves are shown, specifically including the transmission time n of m peristaltic waves 1 s, n 2 s, n 3 s...n m s, the average transmission time ns of m peristaltic waves, and peristaltic wave-related parameters such as the peristaltic direction, peristaltic spectrum, maximum amplitude, and average amplitude.

[0219] The peristaltic wave parameter measurement method of the embodiments of the present application quantifies and outputs the transmission time of the peristaltic wave as a new peristaltic wave-related parameter, providing an objective measurement tool for the peristaltic wave for users.

[0220] Now, referring back to Figure 1 , the embodiments of the present application also provide an ultrasonic measurement system 100. The ultrasonic measurement system 100 can be used to implement the above-mentioned peristaltic wave parameter measurement method 900. The ultrasonic measurement system 100 may include components such as an ultrasonic probe 110, a transmitting circuit 112, a receiving circuit 114, a processor 116, a display 118, and a memory 124. The relevant descriptions of each component can refer to the above text. Only the main functions of the ultrasonic measurement system 100 will be described below, and the details already described above will be omitted.

[0221] Among them, the transmitting circuit 112 is used to excite the ultrasonic probe 110 to emit a first ultrasonic wave to the endometrium of the object to be measured; the receiving circuit 114 is used to control the ultrasonic probe 110 to receive the ultrasonic echo returned by the endometrium of the object to be measured to obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal; the processor 114 is used to process the first ultrasonic echo signal to obtain the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area of the endometrium of the object to be measured; and obtain the peristaltic wave parameters characterizing the peristaltic wave transmission state based on the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area; the processor 114 is also used to control the output device to output the peristaltic wave parameters. For example, the peristaltic parameters can be displayed on the display 118.

[0222] Other specific details of the ultrasonic measurement system 100 and the peristaltic wave parameter measurement method 900 implemented by the ultrasonic measurement system 100 can refer to the relevant descriptions above and will not be elaborated here.

[0223] Next, referring to Figure 15 describe the peristaltic wave parameter measurement method according to another embodiment of the present application. Figure 15It is a schematic flowchart of a method 1500 for measuring parameters of peristaltic waves according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0224] As Figure 15 shown, the method 1500 for measuring parameters of peristaltic waves in this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0225] In step S1510, obtain peristaltic parameters that change over time within a target area in the endometrium;

[0226] In step S1520, based on the peristaltic parameters that change over time within the target area, obtain peristaltic wave parameters characterizing the peristaltic wave transmission state within the target area;

[0227] In step S1530, output the peristaltic wave parameters.

[0228] The method 1500 for measuring parameters of peristaltic waves is similar to the method 900 for measuring parameters of peristaltic waves in the above text. The main difference between the two is that the method 1500 for measuring parameters of peristaltic waves does not limit the way of obtaining peristaltic parameters. For example, the method 1500 for measuring parameters of peristaltic waves can be determined in real time according to the first ultrasonic echo signal by using the method described above, or can be determined according to the ultrasonic echo signal or ultrasonic image extracted from the storage medium, or directly extracted from the storage medium. In addition, the method 1500 for measuring parameters of peristaltic waves is generally similar to the method 900 for measuring parameters of peristaltic waves. For specific details, please refer to the relevant descriptions above and will not be elaborated here.

[0229] The embodiment of the present application also provides an ultrasonic measurement system, which can be used to implement the above-mentioned method 1500 for measuring parameters of peristaltic waves. The ultrasonic measurement system includes a memory, a processor, and an output device. A computer program run by the processor is stored on the memory. Among them, the processor can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. It can use 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, and the processor can control other components in the electronic device to perform the desired functions. The memory may include one or more computer program products, and the computer program products may include various forms of computer-readable storage media, such as volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. One or more computer program instructions may be stored on the computer-readable storage medium, and the processor can run the program instructions to implement the method 1500 for measuring parameters of peristaltic waves in the embodiment of the present application and / or other various desired functions. The ultrasonic measurement system can be implemented as the ultrasonic measurement system 100 as Figure 1 shown.

[0230] The peristaltic wave parameter measurement method according to the embodiments of the present application quantifies and outputs the peristaltic wave parameters as a new peristaltic wave-related parameter, providing an objective measurement tool for peristaltic waves to users.

[0231] In addition, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer storage medium, on which a computer program is stored. One or more computer program instructions can be stored on the computer-readable storage medium, and the processor can run the program instructions stored in the storage device to implement the functions (implemented by the processor) in the embodiments of the present invention herein and / or other desired functions, such as performing the corresponding steps of the peristaltic wave parameter measurement method according to the embodiments of the present invention. Various application programs and various data can also be stored in the computer-readable storage medium, such as various data used and / or generated by the application programs, etc.

[0232] For example, the computer storage medium can include, for example, a memory card, a storage component of a tablet computer, a hard disk of a personal computer, a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a USB memory, or any combination of the above storage media.

[0233] 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.

[0234] Those of ordinary skill in the art can realize that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are executed in a hardware or software manner depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians 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.

[0235] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are 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.

[0236] In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth. It will be understood, however, that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description.

[0237] Similarly, it should be understood that in order to streamline the present invention and aid in understanding one or more of the various inventive aspects, in the description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention, various features of the present invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof. However, the methods of the present invention should not be construed as reflecting an 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 features less than all the features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of the present invention.

[0238] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, except where features are mutually exclusive, any combination may be employed of all the features disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), as well as of all the processes or units of any method or apparatus so disclosed. Each feature disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise.

[0239] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that although some embodiments described herein include some features included in other embodiments but not others, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the present invention and form different embodiments. For example, in the claims, any one of the claimed embodiments may be used in any combination.

[0240] Embodiments of various components of the present invention may 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 in practice, a microprocessor or a digital signal processor (DSP) may be used to implement some or all of the functions of some of the modules according to embodiments of the present invention. The present invention may also be implemented as a device program (such as 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 may be stored on a computer-readable medium, or may be in the form of one or more signals. Such signals may be downloaded from an Internet website, or provided on a carrier signal, or in any other form.

[0241] It should be noted that the above embodiments are illustrative of the present invention rather than restrictive thereof, and alternative embodiments can be designed by those skilled in the art 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.

Claims

1. A method for measuring parameters of peristaltic waves, characterized in that, the method includes: obtaining peristaltic parameters that change over time in a target area of the endometrium, wherein the peristaltic parameters are used to characterize the changes in mechanical waves generated by the peristalsis of the endometrium; obtaining peristaltic wave array parameters that characterize the transmission state of peristaltic wave arrays in the target area based on the peristaltic parameters that change over time in the target area, each peristaltic wave array includes a single or multiple peristaltic waves, and the time interval between two adjacent peristaltic waves in the same peristaltic wave array is not greater than a preset threshold; outputting the peristaltic wave array parameters.

2. The parameter measurement method according to claim 1, characterized in that, the peristaltic wave array parameters that characterize the transmission state of peristaltic wave arrays in the target area include at least one of the following: the duration of a single peristaltic wave array, the number of peristaltic waves in a single peristaltic wave array, the interval time between two adjacent peristaltic wave arrays, the non-peristaltic time between two adjacent peristaltic wave arrays, the number of peristaltic wave arrays within a predetermined time, the average duration of peristaltic wave arrays within a predetermined time, and the average non-peristaltic time within a predetermined time.

3. The parameter measurement method according to claim 2, characterized in that, obtaining the peristaltic wave array parameters that characterize the transmission state of peristaltic wave arrays in the target area based on the peristaltic parameters that change over time in the target area includes: generating a spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves according to the peristaltic parameters that change over time in the target area, and the spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves represents the changes of the peristaltic parameters over time and space; determining the peristaltic wave array parameters that characterize the transmission state of peristaltic wave arrays in the target area based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves.

4. The parameter measurement method according to claim 3, characterized in that, the method further includes: emitting a second ultrasonic wave to the endometrium of the object to be measured; receiving the second ultrasonic echo returned by the endometrium to obtain a second ultrasonic echo signal; processing the second ultrasonic echo signal to obtain an ultrasonic image of the endometrium; determining the target area according to the ultrasonic image.

5. The parameter measurement method according to claim 3, characterized in that, determining the peristaltic wave array parameters that characterize the transmission state of peristaltic wave arrays in the target area based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves includes: displaying the spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves; obtaining the annotation of the characteristic time points of the peristaltic wave arrays on the spatio-temporal distribution map of peristaltic waves; determining the peristaltic wave array parameters according to the time points corresponding to the annotation.

6. The parameter measurement method according to claim 5, characterized in that, the characteristic time points of the peristaltic wave arrays include the start time point and the end time point of a single peristaltic wave array, and the peristaltic wave array parameters determined according to the start time point and the end time point of the peristaltic wave array include the duration of the single peristaltic wave array.

7. The parameter measurement method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The characteristic time points of the peristaltic wavefronts include the end time point of the previous peristaltic wavefront and the start time point of the subsequent peristaltic wavefront at the same position. The peristaltic wavefront parameters determined based on the end time point of the previous peristaltic wavefront and the start time point of the subsequent peristaltic wavefront at the same position include the time interval between two adjacent peristaltic wavefronts.

8. The parameter measurement method according to claim 5, wherein, the characteristic time points of the peristaltic wavefronts include the end time point of the previous peristaltic wavefront and the start time point of the subsequent peristaltic wavefront among two adjacent peristaltic wavefronts. The peristaltic wavefront parameters determined based on the end time point of the previous peristaltic wavefront and the start time point of the subsequent peristaltic wavefront among two adjacent peristaltic wavefronts include the time without peristalsis between two adjacent peristaltic wavefronts.

9. The parameter measurement method according to claim 5, wherein, the obtaining of the annotation performed on the characteristic time points of the peristaltic wavefronts on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic waves includes: receiving a point selection operation performed on the characteristic time points of the peristaltic wavefronts on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic waves, and determining the position of the annotation according to the point selection operation; alternatively, displaying an adjustable cursor on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic waves, receiving an adjustment operation performed on the adjustable cursor, and determining the position of the annotation according to the adjustment operation.

10. The parameter measurement method according to claim 3, wherein, the determining of the peristaltic wavefront parameters representing the peristaltic wavefront propagation state within the target area based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic waves includes: respectively obtaining at least two peristaltic curves of the peristaltic parameters varying with time at at least two positions within the target area based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic waves; extracting the time points corresponding to when the peristaltic parameters on the at least two peristaltic curves reach a first threshold; dividing the time points with an interval time not exceeding a preset time interval into time points belonging to the same peristaltic wavefront; determining the peristaltic wavefront parameters according to the start time point and the end time point of the peristaltic wavefront.

11. The parameter measurement method according to claim 10, wherein, the determining of the peristaltic wavefront parameters according to the start time point and the end time point of the peristaltic wavefront includes: determining the duration of the peristaltic wavefront according to the time interval between the start time point and the end time point of the same peristaltic wavefront on the at least two peristaltic curves.

12. The parameter measurement method according to claim 10, wherein, the determining of the peristaltic wavefront parameters of the peristaltic wavefront according to the start time point and the end time point of the peristaltic wavefront includes: determining the time interval between two adjacent peristaltic wavefronts according to the time interval between the end time point of the previous peristaltic wavefront and the start time point of the subsequent peristaltic wavefront among two adjacent peristaltic wavefronts on the same peristaltic curve.

13. The parameter measurement method according to claim 10, wherein, the determining of the peristaltic wavefront parameters of the peristaltic wavefront according to the start time point and the end time point of the peristaltic wavefront includes: Determine the peristalsis-free time between two adjacent peristaltic wave arrays based on the time interval between the end time point of the previous peristaltic wave array and the start time point of the next peristaltic wave array among the time points of two adjacent peristaltic wave arrays on at least two peristalsis curves.

14. The parameter measurement method according to claim 3, wherein, determining the peristaltic wave array parameters characterizing the peristaltic wave array transmission state in the target area based on the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map includes: obtaining a peristalsis curve of the peristalsis parameter changing with time at a predetermined position in the target area based on the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map; extracting characteristic time points representing the peristaltic wave array transmission state on the peristalsis curve, and determining the peristaltic wave array parameters according to the characteristic time points.

15. The parameter measurement method according to claim 14, wherein, determining the peristaltic wave array parameters according to the characteristic time points includes: if the duration of the peristalsis parameter on the peristalsis curve being less than the first threshold exceeds the preset time, extract the start time point and the end time point of the peristalsis parameter being less than the first threshold, take the interval between the start time point and the end time point as the peristalsis-free interval at the predetermined position, and determine the peristaltic-free time according to the time interval between the start time point and the end time point.

16. The parameter measurement method according to claim 15, wherein, determining the peristaltic wave array parameters according to the characteristic time points further includes: acquiring two adjacent peristalsis-free intervals, and determining the duration of the peristaltic wave array between the two adjacent peristalsis-free intervals according to the time interval between the start time point of the latter peristalsis-free interval and the end time point of the former peristalsis-free interval.

17. The parameter measurement method according to claim 15, wherein, determining the peristaltic wave array parameters according to the characteristic time points includes: extracting a second time point at which the peristalsis parameter on the peristalsis curve is greater than the second threshold; extracting a first time point at which the peristalsis parameter adjacent to each second time point is greater than the first threshold, the first threshold being less than the second threshold, and the direction of the peristalsis parameter corresponding to the first time point being the same as the direction of the peristalsis parameter corresponding to the second time point; dividing the first time points with an interval time less than the preset interval time into first time points belonging to the same peristaltic wave array, and determining the duration of the peristaltic wave array according to the time interval between the first first time point and the last first time point among the first time points belonging to the same peristaltic wave array.

18. The parameter measurement method according to claim 1, wherein, determining the peristaltic wave array parameters characterizing the peristaltic wave array transmission state in the target area based on the peristalsis parameter changing with time in the target area includes: automatically analyzing the peristaltic wave array parameters characterizing the peristaltic wave array transmission state in the target area according to the peristalsis parameter based on a machine learning algorithm.

19. The parameter measurement method according to any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein, outputting the peristaltic wave array parameters includes: Display the peristaltic wave array parameters in at least one of the ways of graphics, numerical values, and grades.

20. The parameter measurement method according to any one of claims 1 to 19, characterized in that, obtain the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area of the endometrium, including: emit a first ultrasonic wave to the endometrium of the object to be measured, and receive the ultrasonic echo returned by the endometrium to obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal; process the first ultrasonic echo signal to obtain the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area of the endometrium.

21. A parameter measurement method for peristaltic waves, characterized in that, the method includes: obtain the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area of the endometrium, wherein the peristaltic parameters are used to characterize the changes of mechanical waves generated by the peristalsis of the endometrium; obtain peristaltic wave parameters characterizing the peristaltic wave transmission state in the target area based on the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area; output the peristaltic wave parameters.

22. The parameter measurement method according to claim 21, characterized in that, the peristaltic wave parameters include at least one of the following: the transmission time of a single peristaltic wave, the average transmission time of at least two peristaltic waves within a predetermined time, and the number of peristaltic waves within a predetermined time.

23. The parameter measurement method according to claim 21, characterized in that, the obtaining peristaltic wave parameters characterizing the peristaltic wave transmission state in the target area based on the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area includes: generating a peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map according to the peristaltic parameters that change with time at different positions in the target area, and the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map represents the changes of the peristaltic parameters with time and space; determine the peristaltic wave parameters based on the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map.

24. The parameter measurement method according to claim 23, characterized in that, the peristaltic wave parameters include the transmission time of a single peristaltic wave, and the determining the peristaltic wave parameters based on the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map includes: display the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map; obtain the annotations of the time points when the peristaltic wave transmits to different positions in the target area on the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map; determine the transmission time of the peristaltic wave between different positions according to the time points corresponding to the annotations.

25. The parameter measurement method according to claim 23, characterized in that, the peristaltic wave parameters include the transmission time of a single peristaltic wave, and the determining the peristaltic wave parameters based on the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map includes: respectively obtain at least two curves of the peristaltic parameters changing with time at at least two positions in the target area based on the peristaltic wave spatio-temporal distribution map; extract the corresponding time points of the same wave segment of the peristaltic wave on the at least two curves, and determine the transmission time of the peristaltic wave between the at least two positions according to the time interval between the corresponding time points.

26. The parameter measurement method according to claim 25, characterized in that, the corresponding time points include the peak value of the same wave segment on the at least two curves, the starting point of the same wave segment, or the ending point of the same wave segment.

27. The parameter measurement method according to claim 23, characterized in that, the peristaltic wave parameters include the transmission time of a single peristaltic wave, and determining the peristaltic wave parameters based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave includes: obtaining a peristaltic curve of the peristaltic parameters changing with time at a predetermined position based on the spatio-temporal distribution map of the peristaltic wave; extracting the corresponding time points on adjacent wave segments of the peristaltic curve, and determining the transmission time according to the time interval between the corresponding time points.

28. The parameter measurement method according to claim 21, characterized in that, obtaining the peristaltic wave parameters characterizing the transmission state of the peristaltic wave in the target area based on the peristaltic parameters changing with time in the target area includes: automatically analyzing the peristaltic wave parameters according to the peristaltic parameters based on a machine learning algorithm.

29. The parameter measurement method according to any one of claims 1-28, characterized in that, the peristaltic parameters include at least one of the following: peristaltic speed, tissue displacement, tissue strain.

30. A parameter measurement method for a peristaltic wave, characterized in that, the method includes: obtaining the peristaltic parameters changing with time in a target area in the endometrium; obtaining the peristaltic wave parameters of the peristaltic wave transmitted in the target area based on the peristaltic parameters changing with time in the target area; outputting the peristaltic wave parameters.

31. An ultrasonic measurement system, characterized in that, the system includes: an ultrasonic probe; a transmitting circuit for exciting the ultrasonic probe to transmit a first ultrasonic wave to the endometrium of the object to be measured; a receiving circuit for controlling the ultrasonic probe to receive the ultrasonic echo returned by the endometrium to obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal; a processor for: processing the first ultrasonic echo signal to obtain the peristaltic parameters changing with time in a target area in the endometrium; obtaining the peristaltic wave array parameters characterizing the transmission state of the peristaltic wave array in the target area based on the peristaltic parameters changing with time in the target area, each peristaltic wave array includes a single or multiple peristaltic waves, and the time interval between two adjacent peristaltic waves in the same peristaltic wave array is not greater than a preset threshold; a display for outputting the peristaltic wave array parameters.

32. An ultrasonic measurement system, characterized in that, the system includes: an ultrasonic probe; a transmitting circuit for exciting the ultrasonic probe to transmit a first ultrasonic wave to the endometrium of the object to be measured; a receiving circuit for controlling the ultrasonic probe to receive the ultrasonic echo returned by the endometrium to obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal; a processor for: processing the first ultrasonic echo signal to obtain the peristaltic parameters changing with time in a target area in the endometrium; obtaining the peristaltic wave parameters characterizing the transmission state of the peristaltic wave in the target area based on the peristaltic parameters changing with time in the target area; a display for outputting the peristaltic wave parameters.

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