An ultrasonic intelligent frequency band switching and multi-frequency band combined imaging system

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of ultrasonic imaging, in particular to an ultrasonic intelligent frequency band switching and multi-frequency band combined imaging system, which comprises an array element array, the array element array comprising a plurality of array elements; each array element comprises a plurality of stacked piezoelectric material layers, and the corresponding fundamental frequency of each piezoelectric material layer is different; and an ultrasonic movement control selection circuit is arranged to switch the conducting piezoelectric material layer, so as to change the resonant frequency of the multi-frequency band ultrasonic probe. In the prior art, the multi-frequency band imaging equipment needs to be manually adjusted in frequency and replaced, which is inconvenient to use. In the present application, the plurality of array elements in the array element array are adjusted, the plurality of stacked piezoelectric material layers and the selection circuit are arranged, the ultrasonic movement can switch the conducting piezoelectric material layer through the selection circuit when working, the resonant frequency of the multi-frequency band ultrasonic probe can be changed, the automatic frequency adjustment and scanning process can be realized, and the use experience is improved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of ultrasonic imaging, in particular to an ultrasonic intelligent frequency band switching and multi-frequency band combined imaging system. BACKGROUND

[0002] Ultrasound scanning, or medical ultrasonography, is a medical imaging technique based on ultrasound waves. The technique is based on the fact that ultrasound waves can be used to visualize internal organs of a patient, including size, structure, and pathological lesions, from outside the patient's body to assist doctors in making effective diagnoses of the patient's disease. An ultrasound scanning device refers to a medical instrument that applies the above-mentioned ultrasonography technique to image various tissue parts of a patient to assist medical diagnosis. During an ultrasound examination, due to the different depths, water content, density, and other parameters of different tissues, different tissues have different reflectivities of ultrasonic signals at different frequency bands.

[0003] In the prior art, in order to achieve a better scanning effect, the frequency band corresponding to the current examination item usually needs to be determined before the start of ultrasonic scanning. For example, Chinese patent CN201880095972.X discloses a switching method of examination mode and an ultrasonic device for improving the efficiency of operation. The switching method of examination mode includes: receiving a first operation instruction; in response to the first operation instruction, generating a first interface, the first interface including at least one ultrasonic probe information, the ultrasonic probe information including an ultrasonic probe type and an examination mode corresponding to the ultrasonic probe type, the examination mode corresponding to the ultrasonic probe type including at least one examination mode using a frequency exceeding a first threshold; receiving a second operation instruction; in response to the second operation instruction, determining a first target examination mode corresponding to a first target ultrasonic probe from the at least one ultrasonic probe information; and switching to the first target examination mode corresponding to the first target ultrasonic probe.

[0004] However, in actual implementation, the inventors have found that the above-mentioned technical solution is relatively inconvenient to use in the application process. SUMMARY

[0005] In view of the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, the present application provides an ultrasonic intelligent frequency band switching and multi-frequency band combined imaging system.

[0006] The specific technical solution is as follows:

[0007] An ultrasonic intelligent frequency band switching and multi-frequency band combined imaging system, comprising a multi-frequency band ultrasonic probe and an ultrasonic core connected to each other;

[0008] The multi-frequency band ultrasonic probe is provided with an array element array, and the array element array comprises a plurality of array elements.

[0009] Each of the array elements respectively comprises:

[0010] a plurality of layers of piezoelectric material, each layer of the piezoelectric material corresponding to a different fundamental frequency;

[0011] a selection circuit, a plurality of inputs of the selection circuit being connected to each layer of the piezoelectric material respectively, an output of the selection circuit being connected to an input of the ultrasonic movement, and a control end of the selection circuit being connected to a control end of the ultrasonic movement;

[0012] The ultrasonic movement controls the selection circuit to switch the piezoelectric material layer that is turned on, so as to change the resonant frequency of the multi-frequency ultrasonic probe.

[0013] In another aspect, the ultrasonic movement comprises:

[0014] a sampling module, the sampling module sequentially selecting the piezoelectric material layer and sending a measurement signal to the tissue to be examined, and then collecting the measurement echo;

[0015] a measurement module, the measurement module being connected to the sampling module, and the measurement module calculating the reflection gain of each group of the measurement echo to the tissue to be examined respectively;

[0016] a first determination module, the first determination module being connected to the measurement module, and the first determination module determining the piezoelectric material layer to be used in actual examination according to the reflection gain.

[0017] In another aspect, the measurement module comprises:

[0018] a pre-imaging module, the pre-imaging module pre-imaging according to the measurement echo to obtain a pre-imaging image;

[0019] a position determination module, the position determination module being connected to the pre-imaging module, and the position determination module determining a tissue region corresponding to the tissue to be examined for the pre-imaging image;

[0020] a gain calculation module, the gain calculation module being connected to the position determination module, and the gain calculation module calculating the reflection gain for the tissue region respectively.

[0021] In another aspect, the pre-imaging module comprises:

[0022] a pre-processing module, the pre-processing module performing band-pass filtering on the received measurement echo to remove noise signals to obtain a filtered signal;

[0023] an image reconstruction module, the image reconstruction module being connected to the pre-processing module, and the image reconstruction module generating the pre-imaging image according to the filtered signal.

[0024] In another aspect, the position determining module comprises:

[0025] An image stacking module, which stacks the pre-processed images after registration to obtain a stacked image;

[0026] An edge extraction module, which is connected to the image stacking module, and which segments tissue edges from the stacked image;

[0027] A connected domain identification module, which is connected to the edge extraction module, and which determines the tissue region corresponding to the tissue to be examined according to the tissue edges.

[0028] In another aspect, the gain calculating module comprises:

[0029] A gray scale mapping module, which extracts pixel gray scale values for each group of single pixel points in the tissue region, and generates pixel gains according to the pixel gray scale values;

[0030] A gain averaging module, which is connected to the gray scale mapping module, and which performs mean value processing on the pixel gains to obtain the reflection gain.

[0031] In another aspect, the ultrasonic movement further comprises:

[0032] A second determining module, which determines a plurality of associated frequency bands for the tissue to be examined;

[0033] A multi-frequency band imaging module, which selects a plurality of frequency band echoes collected by the piezoelectric material layer according to the associated frequency bands, and performs imaging according to the plurality of frequency band echoes.

[0034] In another aspect, the multi-frequency band imaging module comprises:

[0035] An image generating module, which performs image reconstruction according to each group of multi-frequency band echoes to obtain a frequency band image;

[0036] An image synthesizing module, which is connected to the image generating module, and which generates a synthesized image according to the frequency band image.

[0037] The above technical solution has the following advantages or beneficial effects:

[0038] In view of the problem that the multi-frequency band imaging device in the prior art needs manual frequency adjustment and replacement of the device, causing inconvenience in use, in the scheme, a plurality of array elements in an array element array are adjusted, a plurality of layers of piezoelectric material layers and a selection circuit are arranged, so that the ultrasonic movement can switch the piezoelectric material layer in conduction through the selection circuit when working, so as to change the resonant frequency of the multi-frequency band ultrasonic probe, thereby realizing the process of automatic frequency adjustment and scanning, and improving the use experience. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0039] Reference will be made to the accompanying drawings to more fully describe embodiments of the present application. However, the accompanying drawings are only used for illustration and explanation, and do not constitute a limitation on the scope of the present application.

[0040] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the embodiment of the present application;

[0041] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the ultrasonic movement in the embodiment of the present application;

[0042] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the measurement module in the embodiment of the present application;

[0043] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the pre-imaging module in the embodiment of the present application;

[0044] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the position determination module in the embodiment of the present application;

[0045] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the gain calculation module in the embodiment of the present application;

[0046] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the second determination module in the embodiment of the present application;

[0047] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the multi-frequency band imaging module in the embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0048] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings of the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, not all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0049] It should be noted that the embodiments in the present application and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other without conflict.

[0050] The present application will be further described below with reference to the drawings and specific embodiments, but is not limited by the present application.

[0051] The present application comprises:

[0052] An ultrasonic intelligent frequency band switching and multi-band combined imaging system, as shown in the accompanying drawings, comprises a multi-band ultrasonic probe 1 and an ultrasonic core 2 connected with each other. Figure 1

[0053] The multi-band ultrasonic probe 1 is provided with an array element array 3 comprising a plurality of array elements 31.

[0054] Each array element 31 comprises:

[0055] A plurality of layers of piezoelectric material 4 are stacked, and each layer of piezoelectric material 4 corresponds to a different fundamental frequency.

[0056] A selection circuit 5 is connected to each layer of piezoelectric material 4, and the output end of the selection circuit 5 is connected to the input end of the ultrasonic core 2, and the control end of the selection circuit 5 is connected to the control end of the ultrasonic core 2.

[0057] The ultrasonic core 2 controls the selection circuit 5 to switch the piezoelectric material layer 4 that is turned on, so as to change the resonant frequency of the multi-band ultrasonic probe 1.

[0058] Specifically, in order to solve the problem of inconvenient use caused by manual frequency adjustment and equipment replacement in the prior art multi-band imaging device, in the embodiment, a plurality of array elements 31 in the array element array are adjusted, a plurality of layers of piezoelectric material 4 are stacked, and a selection circuit 5 is provided, so that the ultrasonic core can switch the piezoelectric material layer that is turned on through the selection circuit when working, so as to change the resonant frequency of the multi-band ultrasonic probe, thereby realizing the process of automatic frequency adjustment and scanning, and improving the use experience.

[0059] Specifically, the ultrasonic core 2 is configured with related computer programs and circuits, including driving circuits, processing circuits, communication circuits, etc., which can control the array element 31 to emit ultrasonic waves to the coupling object according to the arrangement mode of the array element array 3 and collect echo sequences, and then reconstruct images according to the echo sequences to obtain ultrasonic images. Among them, the array element 31 comprises a plurality of layers of piezoelectric material 4 with different components on the section, so that each layer of piezoelectric material 4 corresponds to a different fundamental frequency, thereby obtaining a wider inspection frequency band. The selection circuit 5 is a group of switch matrices, which can control the conduction and shutdown of each channel according to the control signal provided by the ultrasonic core 2. In the use process, the selection circuit 5 is controlled by the ultrasonic core 2 to select the piezoelectric material layer 4 to be accessed, and performs ultrasonic wave emission and reception, so as to change the frequency.

[0060] In one embodiment, as shown in the accompanying drawings, the ultrasonic core 2 comprises: Figure 2

[0061] ​​The sampling module 21 selects the piezoelectric material layer one by one and sends a measuring signal to the tissue to be examined, and then collects the measuring echo;

[0062] The measuring module 22 is connected to the sampling module 21, and the measuring module 22 calculates the reflection gain of each group of measuring echoes to the tissue to be examined;

[0063] The first determination module 23 is connected to the measuring module 22, and the first determination module 23 determines the piezoelectric material layer 4 used in the actual examination according to the reflection gain.

[0064] Specifically, in order to achieve better frequency band switching effect, before formally starting the scan, the sampling module 21 selects the piezoelectric material layer one by one and sends a measuring signal to the tissue to be examined, and then collects the measuring echo corresponding to the different piezoelectric material layer 4. Then, the measuring module 22 calculates the reflection gain of each group of measuring echoes to the area where the tissue to be examined is located, so as to determine the gain intensity of different resonance frequencies relative to the current tissue to be examined, so as to screen the frequency band with better imaging effect, and finally the first determination module 23 determines the piezoelectric material layer 4 used in the actual examination according to the reflection gain.

[0065] In one embodiment, as shown in Figure 3 The measuring module 22 includes:

[0066] The pre-imaging module 221 performs pre-imaging according to the measuring echo to obtain a pre-imaging image;

[0067] The position determination module 222 is connected to the pre-imaging module 221, and the position determination module 222 determines the tissue area corresponding to the tissue to be examined for the pre-imaging image;

[0068] The gain calculation module 223 is connected to the position determination module 222, and the gain calculation module 223 calculates the reflection gain for the tissue area.

[0069] Specifically, in order to achieve better frequency screening effect, in the embodiment, during the measurement, first, the pre-imaging module 221 performs pre-imaging according to the measuring echo to obtain a pre-imaging image, then the position determination module 222 performs image recognition for the pre-imaging image, and the tissue area actually corresponding to the tissue to be examined is identified from the pre-imaging image. For the tissue area, the gain calculation module 223 calculates the reflection gain for the tissue area, and finally the corresponding frequency is screened, so as to achieve better screening effect.

[0070] In one embodiment, as shown in Figure 4 The pre-imaging module 221 includes:

[0071] The preprocessing module 2211 performs band-pass filtering on the received measurement echo to remove noise signals to obtain a filtered signal;

[0072] The image reconstruction module 2212 is connected to the preprocessing module 2211, and generates a preprocessed image according to the filtered signal.

[0073] Specifically, to achieve better imaging effect, in the embodiment, for each group of measurement echo, first, the preprocessing module 2211 performs band-pass filtering on the received measurement echo to remove noise signals mainly distributed in the low frequency band, thereby obtaining a filtered signal. Then, the image reconstruction module 2212 generates a preprocessed image according to the filtered signal to achieve a better image pre-reconstruction process.

[0074] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 22, the position determination module 222 includes: Figure 5

[0075] The image stacking module 2221 stacks the preprocessed images after registration to obtain a stacked image;

[0076] The edge extraction module 2222 is connected to the image stacking module 2221, and extracts tissue edges from the stacked image;

[0077] The connected domain identification module 2223 is connected to the edge extraction module 2222, and determines a tissue region corresponding to the tissue to be inspected according to the tissue edges.

[0078] Specifically, to achieve better position determination effect, in the embodiment, first, the image stacking module 2221 stacks the preprocessed images after registration to obtain a stacked image, and the stacking mode is mean stacking. Then, the edge extraction module 2222 extracts tissue edges from the stacked image, which correspond to the tissue edges of the tissue to be inspected and other tissues in the background. Finally, the connected domain identification module 2223 performs connected domain detection according to the tissue edges to obtain connected domains at different levels, and finally takes the connected domain closest to the center of the image and with the largest area as the actual tissue region.

[0079] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 23, the gain calculation module 223 includes: Figure 6

[0080] The gray scale mapping module 2231 extracts pixel gray scale values for each single pixel point in each group of tissue regions, and generates pixel gains according to the pixel gray scale values;

[0081] ​​Gain averaging module 2232 is connected to grayscale mapping module 2231. Gain averaging module 2232 performs averaging processing according to pixel gain to obtain reflection gain.

[0082] Specifically, to achieve better gain calculation results, in this embodiment, after determining the tissue region, the pre-image is first segmented based on the tissue region to obtain multiple pixels within that region. Subsequently, the grayscale mapping module 2231 extracts the pixel grayscale value for each individual pixel in each group of tissue regions, generates pixel gain according to the pixel grayscale value, and finally, the gain averaging module 2232 performs averaging processing based on the pixel gain to obtain the reflection gain.

[0083] In one embodiment, such as Figure 7 As shown, the ultrasonic mechanism 24 also includes:

[0084] The second determining module 241 determines multiple associated frequency bands for the organization to be inspected;

[0085] Multi-band imaging module 242 selects piezoelectric material layers according to the associated frequency bands to collect multi-band echoes and performs imaging based on the multi-band echoes.

[0086] Specifically, in order to achieve better imaging results, in this embodiment, a second determining module 241 is configured for large tissue areas. The second determining module 241 determines multiple associated frequency bands for the tissue to be examined. Then, the multi-band imaging module 242 selects the piezoelectric material layer to collect multi-band echoes according to the associated frequency bands and performs imaging according to the multi-band echoes, so as to finally synthesize an ultrasound image based on the echo sequence imaging of different frequency bands.

[0087] In one embodiment, such as Figure 8 As shown, the multi-band imaging module 242 includes:

[0088] Image generation module 2421 performs image reconstruction according to each group of multi-band echoes to obtain frequency band images;

[0089] Image synthesis module 2422 is connected to image generation module 2421. Image synthesis module 2422 generates a synthesized image according to the frequency band image.

[0090] Specifically, in order to achieve better imaging results, in this embodiment, after acquiring multi-band echoes, the image generation module 2421 performs image reconstruction according to each group of multi-band echoes to obtain frequency band images, and then the image synthesis module 2422 generates a synthesized image according to the frequency band images.

[0091] The above merely preferred embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the embodiments and protection scope of the present application. Those skilled in the art should be able to understand that any equivalent substitutions and obvious changes made according to the present application description and drawings should be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. An ultrasound intelligent frequency band switching and multi-band combined imaging system, characterized in that, The multi-frequency ultrasonic probe and the ultrasonic core are connected with each other; The multi-frequency ultrasonic probe is provided with an array of elements, and the array of elements comprises a plurality of elements; Each of the elements comprises: A plurality of layers of piezoelectric material, each layer of piezoelectric material corresponding to a different fundamental frequency; A selection circuit, a plurality of inputs of the selection circuit being connected with each layer of piezoelectric material, an output of the selection circuit being connected with an input of the ultrasonic core, and a control end of the selection circuit being connected with a control end of the ultrasonic core; The ultrasonic core controls the selection circuit to switch the piezoelectric material layer that is turned on, so as to change the resonant frequency of the multi-frequency ultrasonic probe; The ultrasonic core comprises: A sampling module, the sampling module sequentially selecting each layer of piezoelectric material and sending a measurement signal to the tissue to be examined, and then collecting measurement echoes; A measurement module, the measurement module being connected with the sampling module, the measurement module calculating the reflection gain of each group of measurement echoes for the area where the tissue to be examined is located, so as to determine the gain intensity of different resonant frequencies relative to the tissue to be examined at present, and to screen out a frequency band with better imaging effect; A first determination module, the first determination module being connected with the measurement module, the first determination module determining the layer of piezoelectric material to be used during actual examination according to the reflection gain.

2. The ultrasound intelligent frequency band switching and multi-band combined imaging system of claim 1, wherein, The measurement module comprises: A pre-imaging module, the pre-imaging module performing pre-imaging according to the measurement echoes to obtain a pre-imaging image; A position determination module, the position determination module being connected with the pre-imaging module, the position determination module determining a tissue area corresponding to the tissue to be examined for the pre-imaging image; A gain calculation module, the gain calculation module being connected with the position determination module, the gain calculation module calculating the reflection gain for the tissue area.

3. The ultrasound intelligent frequency band switching and multi-band combined imaging system of claim 2, wherein, The pre-imaging module comprises: A preprocessing module, the preprocessing module performing band-pass filtering on the received measurement echoes to remove noise signals and obtain filtered signals; An image reconstruction module, the image reconstruction module being connected with the preprocessing module, the image reconstruction module generating the pre-imaging image according to the filtered signals.

4. The ultrasound intelligent frequency band switching and multi-band combined imaging system of claim 2, wherein, The position determination module comprises: An image stacking module, the image stacking module stacking the pre-imaging image after registration to obtain a stacked image; An edge extraction module, the edge extraction module being connected with the image stacking module, the edge extraction module segmenting the tissue edge from the stacked image; A connected domain identification module, the connected domain identification module being connected with the edge extraction module, the connected domain identification module determining the tissue area corresponding to the tissue to be examined according to the tissue edge.

5. The ultrasound intelligent frequency band switching and multi-band combined imaging system of claim 2, wherein, The gain calculation module comprises: A gray scale mapping module, the gray scale mapping module extracting a pixel gray scale value for each pixel point in each of the tissue areas, and generating a pixel gain according to the pixel gray scale value; A gain averaging module, the gain averaging module being connected with the gray scale mapping module, the gain averaging module performing mean value processing on the pixel gain to obtain the reflection gain.

6. The ultrasound intelligent frequency band switching and multi-band combined imaging system of claim 1, wherein, The ultrasonic core further comprises: A second determining module is configured to determine a plurality of associated frequency bands for the tissue to be examined; A multi-frequency band imaging module is configured to collect multi-frequency band echoes from the piezoelectric material layer according to the associated frequency bands and perform imaging according to the multi-frequency band echoes.

7. The ultrasound intelligent frequency band switching and multi-band combined imaging system of claim 6, wherein, The multi-frequency band imaging module comprises: An image generating module is configured to perform image reconstruction to obtain a frequency band image according to each set of multi-frequency band echoes; An image synthesizing module is connected to the image generating module and is configured to generate a synthesized image according to the frequency band images.

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