Method of interacting with an ultrasound probe, processing device, host, ultrasound device
By completing information transmission before the interaction between the host and the spatial information acquisition module of the ultrasound probe during ultrasound scanning, the problem of interference with echo signals in wired communication is solved, thus achieving high-quality ultrasound image acquisition and improving time efficiency.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- SONOSCAPE MEDICAL (WUHAN) CORP
- Filing Date
- 2024-12-26
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-26
AI Technical Summary
In complex environments such as hospitals, wired communication between the ultrasound probe and the host unit can easily lead to echo signal interference, affecting the quality of ultrasound images.
During the ultrasound scan, the host device completes the interaction with the spatial information acquisition module of the ultrasound probe before receiving the echo signal. It avoids interference by utilizing the time difference during the scan and completes the interaction in multiple scan cycles by decomposing the large command packet into multiple sub-command packets.
It effectively avoids interference of spatial information transmission with echo signals, maintains ultrasound image quality, and saves scanning time.
Smart Images

Figure CN122272078A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of ultrasonic equipment, and more specifically, to a method, processing device, host terminal, ultrasonic equipment, storage medium, and computer program product for interacting with an ultrasonic probe. Background Technology
[0002] Ultrasound equipment is a standard diagnostic tool in the medical field. Commonly used ultrasound equipment mainly consists of a main unit and an ultrasound probe. Existing ultrasound probes may include a spatial information acquisition module, which collects spatial information about the probe, such as its motion and coordinates. The main unit may include a processing device. During the acquisition of ultrasound images by an ultrasound probe with a built-in spatial information acquisition module, the processing device on the main unit can interact with the spatial information acquisition module within the ultrasound probe via wired or wireless communication to obtain the probe's spatial information. Based on this spatial information, the main unit can not only automatically switch between different ultrasound probes but also achieve 3D imaging using ordinary ultrasound probes, reducing medical costs.
[0003] The interaction between the host computer and the spatial information acquisition module of the ultrasound probe can be achieved through wired communication, such as IIC bus, SPI bus, or UART bus, or wireless communication, such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Since wireless communication methods are relatively sensitive to external environmental conditions and easily interfered with in complex environments like hospital departments with numerous electronic devices, wired communication is typically used for interaction between the spatial information acquisition module and the host computer. Simultaneously, the ultrasound probe also interacts with the host computer via wired communication to transmit ultrasound signals. To minimize space occupation and avoid altering the existing ultrasound equipment structure, the signal lines for transmitting spatial information acquired by the accelerometer sensor and for transmitting ultrasound signals between the ultrasound probe and the host computer are run in parallel. However, this parallel routing can easily cause interference between the wired communication between the host computer and the spatial information acquisition module and the echo signal returned by the ultrasound probe to the host computer, thus degrading the quality of the acquired ultrasound images. Summary of the Invention
[0004] The present invention was proposed in view of the above-mentioned problems. Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, processing device, host terminal, ultrasound equipment, storage medium, and computer program product for interacting with an ultrasound probe. This solution allows the ultrasound equipment to acquire spatial information of the ultrasound probe during scanning, which helps to avoid the problem of reduced ultrasound image quality while acquiring spatial information.
[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for interacting with an ultrasonic probe is provided, applied to a processing device at the host end of an ultrasonic device. The ultrasonic device further includes an ultrasonic probe connected to the processing device. The ultrasonic probe includes a spatial information acquisition module for acquiring spatial information of the ultrasonic probe and a signal transceiver module for transmitting ultrasonic signals and receiving echo signals. The method includes: for a current scanning cycle used to perform a single line scan operation, performing an interaction operation with the spatial information acquisition module during a first preset time period from the start of a first preset time of the current scanning cycle to the end of a second preset time; and starting to receive echo signals transmitted by the signal transceiver module at a third preset time of the current scanning cycle; wherein the first preset time is the start time of the current scanning cycle, or a time after the start time of the current scanning cycle; the second preset time is the third preset time, or a time before the third preset time, and the third preset time is a time before the end time of the current scanning cycle.
[0006] Optionally, the interactive operation is at least a portion of the target interactive operation between the processing device and the spatial information acquisition module. The target interactive operation includes sending a command packet to the spatial information acquisition module and receiving spatial information from the ultrasound probe from the spatial information acquisition module. The spatial information is generated by the spatial information acquisition module based on the command packet. When the current scanning cycle is the first scanning cycle for sending at least a portion of the command packet for the first time, before performing the interactive operation with the spatial information acquisition module in the ultrasound probe, the method further includes: comparing the duration of the target interactive operation with the duration of a first preset time period. If the duration of the target interactive operation is longer than the duration of the first preset time period, the command packet is decomposed into at least two sub-command packets, wherein the at least two sub-command packets are used to be sent one-to-one in at least two first scanning cycles. The first scanning cycle includes a first scanning cycle and at least one scanning cycle following the first scanning cycle. Each of the at least two first scanning cycles has at least one second scanning cycle corresponding to that first scanning cycle. The at least one second scanning cycle includes: the corresponding first scanning cycle, and / or at least one scanning cycle following the corresponding first scanning cycle. When the current scanning cycle is a first scanning cycle, the corresponding interactive operation includes: sending a sub-command packet corresponding to the current scanning cycle to the spatial information acquisition module within a first preset time period contained in the current scanning cycle. When the current scanning cycle is a second scanning cycle, the corresponding interactive operation includes: receiving at least a portion of the spatial information sent by the spatial information acquisition module within the first preset time period contained in the current scanning cycle.
[0007] Optionally, when the current scanning cycle is the first scanning cycle, the corresponding interactive operations include: sending a command packet to the spatial information acquisition module when the duration of the target interactive operation is less than or equal to the duration of the first preset time period; and receiving spatial information sent by the spatial information acquisition module.
[0008] Optionally, the method further includes: acquiring the status information of the ultrasound device, the status information being used to indicate whether the ultrasound device is in a scanning state; when the ultrasound device is not in a scanning state, sending a command packet to the spatial information acquisition module, and receiving the spatial information of the ultrasound probe sent by the spatial information acquisition module, the spatial information being generated by the spatial information acquisition module based on the command packet; wherein, the current scanning cycle exists when the ultrasound device is in a scanning state.
[0009] Optionally, the host computer also includes a host computer connected to the processing device. The host computer is used to send a scanning command to the processing device. The method further includes: receiving a scanning command sent by the host computer, and setting a preset flag bit to a preset value according to the scanning command. The preset value of the preset flag bit indicates that the ultrasonic device is in a scanning state, and the state information includes the value of the preset flag bit.
[0010] Optionally, the method further includes: for the current scanning cycle, sending an ultrasonic control signal to the signal transceiver module at a fourth preset time and stopping sending the ultrasonic control signal at a fifth preset time, wherein the ultrasonic control signal is used to control the signal transceiver module to transmit ultrasonic signals; wherein the fourth preset time is a time after the start time of the current scanning cycle; the fifth preset time is the third preset time, or a time before the third preset time; and the second preset time is the fifth preset time or the fourth preset time.
[0011] Optionally, the processing device includes a scanning module and a transmitting module. The transmitting module is used to send an ultrasonic control signal to the signal transceiver module to control the signal transceiver module to transmit ultrasonic signals. The method further includes: for the current scanning cycle, before a fourth preset time, the scanning module sends signal parameters and switch control information to the transmitting module, wherein the signal parameters include the transmitted waveform and transmitted voltage of the ultrasonic signal, and the switch control information is used to control the switching of the high-voltage switch in the transmitting module; the transmitting module sends the ultrasonic control signal to the signal transceiver module through the high-voltage switch according to the signal parameters.
[0012] Optionally, the processing device includes a scanning module and a spatial information acquisition and control module. The scanning module is used to send interactive control information to the spatial information acquisition and control module. The method further includes: for the current scanning cycle, the scanning module sends interactive control information to the spatial information acquisition and control module; and within a first preset time period from the beginning of a first preset time to the end of a second preset time, the spatial information acquisition and control module performs interactive operations with the spatial information acquisition module within the first preset time period, including: the spatial information acquisition and control module performs interactive operations with the spatial information acquisition module based on the interactive control information within the first preset time period.
[0013] Optionally, the interactive control information includes a trigger signal. Based on the interactive control information, the space information acquisition and control module performs interactive operations with the space information acquisition module within a first preset time period. This includes: when the space information acquisition and control module receives the trigger signal or after a second preset time period has elapsed since the space information acquisition and control module received the trigger signal, the space information acquisition and control module begins to perform interactive operations with the space information acquisition module. The first preset time is the moment when the space information acquisition and control module receives the trigger signal or the moment after the second preset time period has elapsed since the space information acquisition and control module received the trigger signal.
[0014] Optionally, the processing device includes a scanning module, a transmitting module, and an echo signal processing module. The transmitting module sends an ultrasonic control signal to the signal transceiver module to control the signal transceiver module to transmit ultrasonic signals. The echo signal processing module receives the echo signals transmitted by the signal transceiver module. The method further includes: for the current scanning cycle, at a fourth preset time, the scanning module sends a first transmission control message to the transmitting module to control the transmitting module to start transmitting ultrasonic control signals to the signal transceiver module; at a fifth preset time, the scanning module sends a second transmission control message to the transmitting module to control the transmitting module to stop transmitting ultrasonic signals to the signal transceiver module. Control signals; at the third preset time, the scanning module sends a first reception control message to the echo signal processing module to control the echo signal processing module to start receiving the echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module; at the sixth preset time, the scanning module sends a second reception control message to the echo signal processing module to control the echo signal processing module to stop receiving the echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module; wherein, the fourth preset time is the time after the start time of the current scanning cycle; the fifth preset time is the third preset time, or, the time before the third preset time; and the sixth preset time is the time before the end time of the current scanning cycle.
[0015] Optionally, the ultrasound device further includes a host computer connected to the processing device. The host computer is used to send scanning parameters to the processing device. The method further includes: receiving scanning parameters sent by the host computer before the start of the current scanning cycle, wherein the scanning parameters include the duration of a first preset time period; and performing an interactive operation with the spatial information acquisition module during the first preset time period from the start of the first preset time to the end of the second preset time, including: starting timing at the first preset time and starting to perform the interactive operation; and stopping the interactive operation after the duration of the first preset time period indicated by the scanning parameters has elapsed since the start of timing.
[0016] According to another aspect of the present invention, a processing device is also provided, applied to the host end of an ultrasound device, the processing device being used to execute the above-described interaction method with the ultrasound probe.
[0017] Optionally, the processing device includes a scanning module and a spatial information acquisition and control module. The scanning module is used to send second control information to the spatial information acquisition and control module. The spatial information acquisition and control module is used to perform interactive operations with the spatial information acquisition module within a first preset time period based on the second control information.
[0018] Optionally, the processing device further includes a scanning module, a transmitting module, and an echo signal processing module. The transmitting module is used to send an ultrasonic control signal to the signal transceiver module to control the signal transceiver module to transmit ultrasonic signals. The echo signal processing module is used to receive the echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module. The scanning module is used to send transmission control information to the transmitting module to control the transmitting module to transmit ultrasonic control signals, and to send reception control information to the echo signal processing module to control the echo signal processing module to receive the echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module.
[0019] Optionally, the processing device is used to connect to a host computer and receive scanning commands and / or scanning parameters sent by the host computer. The scanning command is used to set a preset flag to a preset value. The preset flag being a preset value indicates that the ultrasound device is in a scanning state. The scanning parameters include the duration of a first preset time period.
[0020] According to another aspect of the present invention, a host terminal is also provided, which is applied to an ultrasonic device. The host terminal includes the processing device described above. The ultrasonic device includes an ultrasonic probe connected to the processing device. The ultrasonic probe includes a spatial information acquisition module for acquiring spatial information of the ultrasonic probe and a signal transceiver module for transmitting ultrasonic signals and receiving echo signals.
[0021] According to another aspect of the present invention, an ultrasonic device is also provided, including the aforementioned host unit and ultrasonic probe.
[0022] According to another aspect of the present invention, a storage medium is also provided, on which program instructions are stored, which, when executed, are used to perform the above-described interaction method with the ultrasonic probe.
[0023] According to another aspect of the present invention, a computer program product is also provided, including computer program instructions that, when executed, are used to perform the interaction method with the ultrasound probe as described above.
[0024] The aforementioned technical solution utilizes the time before the host receives the echo signal during the scanning process to complete the transmission of spatial information between the processing device on the host and the accelerometer module of the ultrasound probe. This effectively avoids the problem of spatial information transmission interfering with the reception of the echo signal, thus preventing a reduction in the quality of the acquired ultrasound images. Furthermore, this solution utilizes the inherent delay before the host receives the echo signal to complete the interaction between the processing device and the accelerometer module, which does not change the scanning cycle length, thus saving scanning time.
[0025] The above description is merely an overview of the technical solution of the present invention. In order to better understand the technical means of the present invention and to implement it in accordance with the contents of the specification, and in order to make the above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, specific embodiments of the present invention are described below. Attached Figure Description
[0026] The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the more detailed description of the embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings are provided to further illustrate the embodiments of the invention and form part of the specification. They are used together with the embodiments of the invention to explain the invention and do not constitute a limitation thereof. In the drawings, the same reference numerals generally represent the same parts or steps.
[0027] Figure 1 A schematic block diagram of the structure of an ultrasonic device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;
[0028] Figure 2 A schematic flowchart of a method for interacting with an ultrasound probe according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;
[0029] Figure 3 A timing diagram of an ultrasound scan according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;
[0030] Figure 4 A schematic flowchart illustrating the interaction between a processing apparatus and an ultrasonic probe according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.
[0031] Figure 5 A timing diagram of an ultrasonic device signal is shown according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation
[0032] 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 merely a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein. Based on the embodiments of the present invention described herein, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without inventive effort should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.
[0033] As mentioned above, the communication method between the ultrasound probe and the host processing device, which uses parallel signal lines for transmitting spatial information acquired by the accelerometer sensor and for transmitting ultrasound signals, can easily degrade the quality of the acquired ultrasound images. In related technologies, to avoid image interference during real-time ultrasound image output, some ultrasound devices only exchange spatial information between the host and the ultrasound probe when the ultrasound device is frozen or scanning is stopped, or they reserve a specific time for spatial information exchange between the host and the ultrasound probe during the acquisition of a single ultrasound image frame. The former limits the acquisition of spatial information by the ultrasound probe, while the latter leads to the loss of echo signals acquired during the reserved time, thus affecting the quality of the ultrasound images.
[0034] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this invention provides a method for interaction between a processing device on the host side of an ultrasound device and an ultrasound probe. This method can acquire spatial information of the ultrasound probe during the ultrasound scan process, which helps to avoid the problem of reduced ultrasound image quality while acquiring spatial information.
[0035] The interaction method with the ultrasonic probe provided in this embodiment of the invention is applied to the processing device on the host side of the ultrasonic equipment. The ultrasonic equipment also includes an ultrasonic probe connected to the processing device. The ultrasonic probe includes a spatial information acquisition module for acquiring spatial information of the ultrasonic probe and a signal transceiver module for transmitting ultrasonic signals and receiving echo signals.
[0036] Please see Figure 1 The diagram shown is a schematic block diagram of the structure of an ultrasonic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, the ultrasound device may include: a main unit and n ultrasound probes connected to the main unit. Figure 1In this model, the probes are denoted by Probe0, Probe1, ..., Proben, where n ≥ 1. The host unit may include a processing device, and the ultrasound probe can be connected to the processing device. In some embodiments, the processing device may be mounted on a front-end board, and the host unit may include a front-end board. The processing device can be any type of processing device with data processing capabilities and / or instruction execution capabilities, including but not limited to microcontroller units (MCUs), central processing units (CPUs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc. Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, the processing device is an FPGA. The ultrasound probe may include a signal transceiver module and a spatial information acquisition module. Figure 1(Not shown). For example, the signal transceiver module may include a piezoelectric element, such as a piezoelectric crystal, for transmitting ultrasonic signals and receiving echo signals. Optionally, it may also include a first controller for controlling the operating mode of the piezoelectric element, the type of which may be, for example, an MCU. It is understood that when no first controller is provided within the ultrasonic probe, the piezoelectric element can directly receive ultrasonic control signals sent by the host and transmit ultrasonic signals according to the received ultrasonic control signals. When a first controller is provided within the ultrasonic probe, the first controller can control the piezoelectric element to transmit ultrasonic signals according to the ultrasonic control signals sent by the host. The spatial information acquisition module may include a spatial sensor for acquiring spatial information (including motion state information and coordinate information) of the ultrasonic probe. The spatial sensor may be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a magnetic navigator, etc. Optionally, the spatial information acquisition module may also include a second controller. Similarly, the type of the second controller may be, for example, an MCU. The second controller may be located externally to the spatial sensor or integrated internally within the spatial sensor. For example, the second controller can be used to send the spatial information of the ultrasound probe acquired from the space sensor to the space information acquisition and control module according to the command packet sent by the space information acquisition and control module in the processing device. In some embodiments, the first controller and the second controller can be integrated on the same component. For example, an MCU can be provided in the ultrasound probe, which can serve as both the first and second controllers. In other embodiments, the first controller and the second controller can also be independent components. For example, a first MCU and a second MCU can be provided in the ultrasound probe, with the first MCU serving as the first controller and the second MCU serving as the second controller. Multiple ultrasound probes can be provided simultaneously in an ultrasound device. For example, the first signal line between the space information acquisition module in each ultrasound probe and the processing device can be connected via serial communication. The first signal line can be, for example, an IIC bus, an SPI bus, a UART bus, etc. For an ultrasound device with multiple ultrasound probes, one ultrasound probe can be selected to perform the scanning operation during ultrasound scanning. Specifically, for the ultrasound probe performing the scanning operation, its signal transceiver module can be physically connected to the processing device on the host side. This physical connection can be achieved, for example, through a second signal line, which serves as the signal transmission path for the ultrasound signals between the processing device and the ultrasound probe. For ultrasound probes other than the one currently performing the scanning operation, there is no physical connection between the second signal line connecting the signal transceiver module of the other ultrasound probes and the processing device.
[0037] Please see Figure 2As shown, it is a schematic flowchart of a method for interacting with an ultrasound probe according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 As shown, the method of interacting with the ultrasound probe includes steps S210 and S220.
[0038] In step S210, for the current scanning cycle used to perform a single line scan operation, an interactive operation with the spatial information acquisition module is performed within a first preset time period from the start of the first preset time of the current scanning cycle to the end of the second preset time.
[0039] For example, when the ultrasound probe uses line scanning, a complete ultrasound image can be acquired through multiple line scanning operations. Specifically, the duration of one line scanning operation is one scanning cycle, and each line scanning operation can acquire ultrasound image data for one scan line. Within each line scanning cycle, there can be a first preset time and a second preset time. The time interval between the two first preset times or the two second preset times corresponding to two adjacent scanning cycles can be equal to or greater than the duration of one scanning cycle. For all scanning cycles to acquire a complete ultrasound image, each scanning cycle can have a first preset time period (hereinafter referred to as "the first preset time period for performing interactive operations") from the first preset time to the end of the second preset time for performing interactive operations with the spatial information acquisition module, or the first preset time period for performing interactive operations can exist only in some scanning cycles. Within the first preset time period of the current scanning cycle, the processing device on the host side can perform interactive operations with the spatial information acquisition module in the ultrasound probe. The interactive operation can be a unidirectional information transmission from the processing device to the spatial information acquisition module. For example, the processing device can send one or more sets of command data to the spatial information acquisition module within the current scan cycle. These command data instruct the spatial information acquisition module to send at least a portion of the spatial information corresponding to the command data back to the processing device. The interactive operation can also be a unidirectional information transmission from the spatial information acquisition module to the processing device. For example, the processing device can receive at least a portion of the spatial information acquired by the accelerometer module within the current scan cycle. The interactive operation can also be a bidirectional information transmission between the processing device and the spatial information acquisition module. For example, the processing device can send one or more sets of command data to the spatial information acquisition module within the current scan cycle and receive at least a portion of the spatial information acquired by the spatial information acquisition module in response to the receipt of the command data. The interactive operation between the processing device and the spatial information acquisition module of the ultrasound probe can be implemented via signal lines, such as IIC bus, SPI bus, UART bus, etc.
[0040] In step S220, for the current scanning cycle used to perform a single line scan operation, at the third preset time of the current scanning cycle, the echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module is received. The first preset time is the start time of the current scanning cycle, or a time after the start time of the current scanning cycle; the second preset time is the third preset time, or a time before the third preset time, and the third preset time is a time before the end time of the current scanning cycle.
[0041] For example, within a current scanning cycle, the interaction between the processing device and the spatial information acquisition module of the ultrasound probe can end at or before a second preset time. At a third preset time, the processing device on the host side can begin receiving the echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module of the ultrasound probe. The echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module can be sent to the processing device via a second signal line. The second preset time can be the third preset time or before the third preset time. It can be understood that the end time of the interaction between the processing device and the spatial information acquisition module of the ultrasound probe can satisfy the following: the end time is either the third preset time or before the third preset time. That is, the interaction between the processing device and the spatial information acquisition module is completed before the processing device receives the echo signal. During ultrasound scanning, because the waveform of the ultrasonic signal emitted by the ultrasound probe is a high analog voltage signal, it is not easily affected by serial communication interference. However, the echo signal received by the ultrasound probe is a weak signal, which is easily affected by interference. If communication between the processing device and the spatial information acquisition module is performed at this time, obvious interference will easily appear on the ultrasound image. In this embodiment, by ensuring that the interaction between the processing device and the spatial information acquisition module is completed before the processing device receives the echo signal, the aforementioned interference problem can be effectively avoided.
[0042] When the second preset time coincides with the third preset time, the processing device can also begin receiving the echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module of the ultrasonic probe at the second preset time. Exemplarily, the first, second, and third preset times can be time parameters directly set within the processing device (e.g., set within the firmware controlling the operation of the processing device). Exemplarily, the host device can include a host computer, which can be communicatively connected to the processing device. The first, second, and third preset times can also be time parameters sent from the host computer to the processing device. It is understood that the first, second, and third preset times can be user-defined or fixedly stored by a host computer connected to the processing device. The host computer can selectively send these times to the processing device based on the ultrasonic probe performing the scanning operation. For example, when the ultrasonic probe performing the scanning operation is probe A, the first set of time parameters is sent to probe A. When the ultrasonic probe performing the scanning operation is probe B, the second set of time parameters is sent to probe B. In one specific embodiment, the host computer can issue a timing command and a specific preset delay duration (e.g., 8 μs). The timing command can instruct the processing device to start timing at the beginning of the current scanning cycle. This beginning time can be recorded as the first preset time. The time reached after the first preset time and the first preset delay duration is recorded as the second preset time. The first preset delay duration can be set based on the duration required for the interaction between the processing device and the spatial information acquisition module. The time reached after the first preset time and the second preset delay duration can be recorded as the third preset time, or the time reached after the second preset time and the third preset delay duration can be recorded as the third preset time. At the third preset time, the processing device begins to perform the operation of receiving echo signals. The second preset time and the third preset time can be the same time. In this case, if the time reached after the first preset time and the second preset delay duration is recorded as the third preset time, then the second preset delay duration is the first preset delay duration. If the time reached after the second preset time and the third preset delay duration is recorded as the third preset time, then the third preset delay duration is 0. The processing device can begin receiving echo signals transmitted by the ultrasound probe when the timing duration reaches a preset delay duration. The host computer of the ultrasound equipment may also include a host computer connected to the processing device. The host computer may store preset software (e.g., PC software) for generating scan tables. When the scan operation begins, the host computer can send the scan table to the processing device. Different scan tables can be generated for different ultrasound probes. The scan table may include scan instructions and scan parameters. It is understood that the aforementioned timing instructions can be sent to the processing device together with the scan instructions, and the scan parameters may include the aforementioned preset delay duration. The processing device can begin executing the scan instructions after receiving the scan table sent from the host computer. It is understood that the start time of a scan cycle, i.e., the first preset time, can be defined by the user.The start time of the scanning cycle can be the time when the scanning table is received, the start time when the scanning command is executed, or the time when the time when the scanning table is received is reached after a custom preset time period (e.g., 1μs). This custom preset time period can optionally be included in the scanning parameters issued by the host computer.
[0043] The above-described technical solution utilizes the time before the host receives the echo signal during the scanning process to complete the transmission of spatial information between the processing device on the host and the accelerometer module of the ultrasound probe. This effectively avoids the problem of spatial information transmission interfering with the reception of the echo signal, thus preventing a reduction in the quality of the acquired ultrasound images. Furthermore, this solution utilizes the inherent delay before the host receives the echo signal to complete the interaction between the processing device and the accelerometer module, thus maintaining the scanning cycle length and saving scanning time.
[0044] Optionally, the interactive operation is at least a portion of the target interactive operation between the processing device and the spatial information acquisition module. The target interactive operation includes sending a command packet to the spatial information acquisition module and receiving spatial information from the ultrasound probe from the spatial information acquisition module. The spatial information is generated by the spatial information acquisition module based on the command packet. When the current scanning cycle is the first scanning cycle for sending at least a portion of the command packet for the first time, before performing the interactive operation with the spatial information acquisition module in the ultrasound probe, the method further includes: comparing the duration of the target interactive operation with the duration of a first preset time period. If the duration of the target interactive operation is longer than the duration of the first preset time period, the command packet is decomposed into at least two sub-command packets, wherein the at least two sub-command packets are used to be sent one-to-one in at least two first scanning cycles. The first scanning cycle includes a first scanning cycle and at least one scanning cycle following the first scanning cycle. Each of the at least two first scanning cycles has at least one second scanning cycle corresponding to that first scanning cycle. The at least one second scanning cycle includes: the corresponding first scanning cycle, and / or at least one scanning cycle following the corresponding first scanning cycle. When the current scanning cycle is a first scanning cycle, the corresponding interactive operation includes: sending a sub-command packet corresponding to the current scanning cycle to the spatial information acquisition module within a first preset time period contained in the current scanning cycle. When the current scanning cycle is a second scanning cycle, the corresponding interactive operation includes: receiving at least a portion of the spatial information sent by the spatial information acquisition module within the first preset time period contained in the current scanning cycle.
[0045] For example, for each scanning cycle of all scanning cycles used to acquire a complete frame of ultrasound image, the scanning cycle may include all target interaction operations between the processing device and the spatial information acquisition module of the ultrasound probe, or it may include at least some target interaction operations, or it may not include any target interaction operations. In a complete target interaction operation, the processing device may send a command packet to the spatial information acquisition module of the ultrasound probe. The content of the command packet may be used to request the acquisition of spatial information of the ultrasound probe. The command packet may include at least one set of command data, and each set of command data may constitute a complete command. A command may be used to instruct the spatial information acquisition module to send specific spatial information, such as the coordinate data of a certain dimension in the three-dimensional coordinates of the ultrasound probe, or, for example, the current velocity of the ultrasound probe. After receiving the command packet or the complete set of command data, the spatial information acquisition module may generate the corresponding spatial information of the ultrasound probe in response to the command packet / set of command data, and send the spatial information of the ultrasound probe to the processing device. The spatial information of the ultrasound probe may include the coordinate information and / or motion state information of the ultrasound probe. Coordinate information can be, for example, the coordinates of the ultrasound probe in a custom spatial coordinate system obtained by the spatial information acquisition module. Motion state information can be, for example, the current velocity (vector) and acceleration (vector) of the ultrasound probe. In the entire scanning cycle used to acquire a complete frame of an image, the target interactive operation can be completed through at least a portion of the scanning cycles. The scanning cycle used to perform at least a portion of the target interactive operation is the target scanning cycle. That is, the target scanning cycle can be the entire scanning cycle used to acquire a complete frame of an ultrasound image, or it can be a portion of the entire scanning cycle used to acquire a complete frame of an ultrasound image. The target scanning cycle can include a first scanning cycle and a second scanning cycle corresponding to each first scanning cycle. The number of first scanning cycles can be greater than or equal to one, and the number of second scanning cycles corresponding to each first scanning cycle can also be greater than or equal to one, and the second scanning cycles corresponding to different first scanning cycles are different. Specifically, it can be determined whether to complete all target interactive operations within a single scanning cycle based on the comparison between the duration required for the target interactive operation and the duration of a first preset time period within a single scanning cycle. In one specific embodiment, the spatial information acquisition module of the ultrasound probe and the processing device are connected via an SPI serial communication port with a clock frequency of 2MHz and a data rate of 16 bits / frame. The length of the SPI signal line is 2m. In this embodiment, the data size of the command packet is 48 bits (equivalent to 3 frames of data). The time required for a single frame of data transmission is approximately (16 bits) * (50ns / bit) = 800ns. The time required for the processing device to send a complete command packet to the spatial information acquisition module is approximately 800ns * 3 = 2400ns.Within a single scan cycle, the time it takes for the spatial information acquisition module to process the command packet after receiving all the data and generate the spatial information of the ultrasound probe, and then send it to the processing device, is approximately 3200 ns. After sending a single frame of data, the processing device needs to determine whether to continue sending command packet data; this determination takes approximately 400 ns during the transmission of all command packet data. Therefore, the duration of one target interaction operation is approximately 2400 ns + 3200 ns + 400 ns = 6000 ns = 6 μs, or approximately 6 μs. In this embodiment, if the current scan cycle is the first scan cycle in the target scan cycle, before performing the interaction operation with the spatial information acquisition module in the ultrasound probe, it can be determined whether the target interaction operation can be completed within a first preset time period contained in one scan cycle. If the duration of the first preset time period is insufficient to complete the target interaction operation, the command packet can be split into at least two sub-command packets. Each of the split sub-command packets is then sent separately within the first preset time periods contained in multiple scan cycles. For example, the 6μs in the above embodiment can be compared with the duration of the first preset time period. When the duration of the first preset time period is less than 6μs, the command packet can be split into at least two sub-command packets. Each sub-command packet can include at least one set of command data. For each set of command data, it can include a complete command. For example, the complete command included in the set of command data can instruct the spatial information acquisition module to send the motion status information of the ultrasonic probe to the processing device. In this embodiment of the invention, the smallest decomposition unit can be used as the data size of each set of command data. For example, in the above embodiment, the command packet can be decomposed into 3 sub-command packets, and the data size of the decomposed sub-command packets can be 16 bits. The decomposition method can also be to calculate the maximum amount of data that can be transmitted within the first preset time period based on the duration of the first preset time period. In this case, the data size of the decomposed sub-command packets can be equal to or less than the maximum data size. It can be understood that for each sub-command packet, the data size of the sub-command packet satisfies the condition that the data of the sub-command packet can be transmitted within the first preset time period of the scanning cycle. For all sub-command packets, the data size of each sub-command packet can be equal or unequal. Different sub-command packets can be sent separately within different scan cycles. For ease of distinction and understanding, the scan cycle used to send the sub-command packets is referred to as the first scan cycle. After the processing device decomposes the command packet into at least two sub-command packets, each sub-command packet can be sent to the spatial information acquisition module within a first preset time period contained in its corresponding first scan cycle. For each first scan cycle used to send sub-command packets, the sub-command packet corresponding to that scan cycle is sent within the first preset time period contained in that first scan cycle.In some embodiments, where the sub-command packet may include a complete command, the spatial information of the ultrasound probe generated in response to the sub-command packet, sent by the spatial information acquisition module, can be received during the scanning cycle. Alternatively, the spatial information of the ultrasound probe generated in response to the sub-command packet, sent by the spatial information acquisition module, can be received in one or more scanning cycles following the scanning cycle. It is understood that the end time for receiving the spatial information of the ultrasound probe is within a first preset time period. For ease of understanding and description, the scanning cycle used to receive the spatial information corresponding to the sub-command packet sent in each first scanning cycle is referred to as the second scanning cycle. Each first scanning cycle corresponds to one or more second scanning cycles. In one embodiment, for each first scanning cycle, its corresponding second scanning cycle may include only the first scanning cycle itself, or only one or more scanning cycles following the first scanning cycle, or include both the first scanning cycle itself and one or more scanning cycles following the first scanning cycle. In some embodiments, after sending a sub-command packet for acquiring all coordinate information of the ultrasound probe within a first preset time period of a current first scanning cycle, the spatial information acquisition module cannot complete the transmission of the ultrasound probe's coordinate information within a single scanning cycle due to the large data volume of the ultrasound probe's coordinate information. In this case, the spatial information transmitted by the spatial information acquisition module can be acquired in batches within the first preset time period of each of one or more subsequent second scanning cycles. It is understood that any two first scanning cycles can be continuously distributed or discontinuously distributed (i.e., other scanning cycles exist in between). Any two second scanning cycles corresponding to the same first scanning cycle can be continuously distributed or discontinuously distributed (i.e., other scanning cycles exist in between). Preferably, no other first scanning cycles exist within the duration of all second scanning cycles corresponding to any first scanning cycle.
[0046] The above technical solution can automatically split the command packet when the time required for the target interaction operation exceeds the time that a single scanning cycle can provide for executing the interaction operation, so that the target interaction operation can be completed within multiple scanning cycles. This automated splitting scheme can effectively ensure the smooth transmission of spatial information.
[0047] Optionally, when the current scanning cycle is the first scanning cycle, the corresponding interactive operations include: sending a command packet to the spatial information acquisition module when the duration of the target interactive operation is less than or equal to the duration of the first preset time period; and receiving spatial information sent by the spatial information acquisition module.
[0048] For example, when the duration of the target interactive operation is less than or equal to the duration of the first preset time period, it can be considered that all operations of the target interactive operation can be completed within one scanning cycle. In this case, the command packet can be sent to the spatial information acquisition module without splitting the command packet. Within one scanning cycle, the processing device can send all the data of the command packet to the spatial information acquisition module. Furthermore, within this scanning cycle, the spatial information acquisition module can generate the spatial information of the ultrasound probe based on the command packet and send the spatial information of the ultrasound probe to the processing device. In this case, the current scanning cycle is taken as the entire target scanning cycle, which can be any one of the entire scanning cycles used to acquire a complete frame of ultrasound image.
[0049] When the time required for the target interactive operation is less than or equal to the duration of the first preset time period within a single scanning cycle, the above technical solution can complete the target interactive operation within that single scanning cycle. This ensures that the host can acquire spatial information as quickly as possible in a short period of time, so that the host can perform subsequent operations based on the spatial information.
[0050] Optionally, the method further includes: acquiring the status information of the ultrasound device, the status information being used to indicate whether the ultrasound device is in a scanning state; when the ultrasound device is not in a scanning state, sending a command packet to the spatial information acquisition module, and receiving the spatial information of the ultrasound probe sent by the spatial information acquisition module, the spatial information being generated by the spatial information acquisition module based on the command packet; wherein, the current scanning cycle exists when the ultrasound device is in a scanning state.
[0051] For example, the processing device can acquire the status information of the ultrasound equipment. The status of the ultrasound equipment can be either scanning or frozen, with the frozen state indicating that the ultrasound equipment is not in scanning mode. When the ultrasound equipment is not in scanning mode, the processing device does not receive echo signals, and the interaction within the ultrasound equipment may only involve the processing device and the spatial information acquisition module in the ultrasound probe. In this case, the processing device can send a command packet to the spatial information acquisition module of the ultrasound probe at any time when the ultrasound equipment is not in scanning mode. After receiving the command packet, the spatial information acquisition module can generate the spatial information of the ultrasound probe and send it to the processing device at any time after the ultrasound equipment is not in scanning mode and at any time following the sending of the command packet. For example, when the ultrasound equipment is not in scanning mode, the spatial information of the ultrasound probe may only include the coordinate information of the ultrasound probe.
[0052] The above technical solution adaptively selects the command packet transmission method according to the state of the ultrasound equipment, which can autonomously acquire the spatial information of the ultrasound probe even when the ultrasound equipment is not in the scanning state, ensuring that the processing device can interact with the ultrasound probe for spatial information in both the scanning and non-scanning states.
[0053] Optionally, the ultrasound device also includes a host computer connected to the processing device. The host computer is used to send a scanning command to the processing device. The method further includes: receiving a scanning command sent by the host computer, and setting a preset flag bit to a preset value according to the scanning command. The preset value of the preset flag bit indicates that the ultrasound device is in a scanning state, and the state information includes the value of the preset flag bit.
[0054] For example, the host computer of the ultrasound device may include a host computer and a processing device. The host computer can be connected to the processing device, and the connection method can be wired or wireless, which will not be elaborated here. The processing device may be, for example, a logic circuit for processing control signals and status management, such as a digital signal processor (DSP), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other microcontroller units. When a scan command is received, the processing device can set the value of a preset flag bit based on the scan command. This preset flag bit may be, for example, a bit in a specific hardware register. In a specific embodiment, when the ultrasound device is not in a scan state, the value of the preset flag bit may be set to 0 by default. When the processing device receives a scan command, it can set the value of the preset flag bit to 1, indicating that the ultrasound device is in a scan state. The processing device can obtain the value of the preset flag bit when needed to determine the status of the ultrasound device.
[0055] In the above technical solution, the processing device can set the value of the preset flag bit according to the scanning command of the host computer so as to record the status of the ultrasound equipment. In this way, the processing device can determine the status of the ultrasound equipment based on the value of the preset flag bit when needed, which is conducive to the autonomous execution of the interaction of spatial information between the processing device and the ultrasound probe.
[0056] Optionally, the method further includes: for the current scanning cycle, sending an ultrasonic control signal to the signal transceiver module at a fourth preset time and stopping sending the ultrasonic control signal at a fifth preset time, wherein the ultrasonic control signal is used to control the signal transceiver module to transmit ultrasonic signals; wherein the fourth preset time is a time after the start time of the current scanning cycle; the fifth preset time is the third preset time, or, a time before the third preset time; and the second preset time is the fifth preset time.
[0057] For example, for a given scanning cycle, the processing device can send an ultrasound control signal to the signal transceiver module starting at a fourth preset time and stopping transmission at a fifth preset time within that scanning cycle. The signal transceiver module can transmit an ultrasound signal upon receiving the ultrasound control signal. Specifically, for each scanning cycle used to acquire a complete frame of ultrasound image, there can be a fourth preset time and a fifth preset time within that scanning cycle. It is understood that the processing device can send an ultrasound control signal to the signal transceiver module after the start of the scanning cycle. Within a scanning cycle, the ultrasound control signal can be a series of continuous signals. The processing device can start sending the ultrasound control signal at a time after the start time of the scanning cycle and can stop sending the ultrasound control signal at the time it begins receiving the echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module or at a time before that time. The fourth preset time is after the start time of the scanning cycle, and the fifth preset time needs to meet the following conditions: it must coincide with or be before the time when the processing device begins receiving the echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module. That is, the fifth preset time can be the third preset time or it can be before the third preset time. In this scenario, the end time of the first preset time period (i.e., the second preset time) used for the interaction between the processing device and the spatial information acquisition module of the ultrasonic probe can coincide with the time when the processing device stops sending ultrasonic control signals to the signal transceiver module. That is, the second preset time can be the fifth preset time, in which case the interaction between the processing device and the spatial information acquisition module needs to be completed at or before the fifth preset time. Those skilled in the art will understand that when the processing device begins sending ultrasonic control signals to the signal transceiver module, the signal transceiver module can be considered to simultaneously begin emitting ultrasonic signals.
[0058] The above technical solution further limits the interaction time of the processing device and the ultrasonic probe in exchanging spatial information of the ultrasonic probe to before the processing device stops sending ultrasonic control signals (corresponding to the ultrasonic probe stopping emitting ultrasonic signals). This can effectively ensure that the interaction operation of the processing device and the ultrasonic probe in exchanging spatial information of the ultrasonic probe is completed before the processing device receives the echo signal, which helps to ensure that the received echo signal is not interfered with.
[0059] Optionally, the method further includes: for the current scanning cycle, sending an ultrasonic control signal to the signal transceiver module at a fourth preset time and stopping sending the ultrasonic control signal at a fifth preset time, wherein the ultrasonic control signal is used to control the signal transceiver module to transmit ultrasonic signals; wherein the fourth preset time is a time after the start time of the current scanning cycle; the fifth preset time is the third preset time, or a time before the third preset time; and the second preset time is the fourth preset time.
[0060] For example, the end time of the first preset time period (i.e., the second preset time) for the interaction between the processing device and the spatial information acquisition module of the ultrasound probe can coincide with the time when the processing device begins to send ultrasound control signals to the signal transceiver module. That is, the second preset time can be a fourth preset time, in which case the interaction between the processing device and the spatial information acquisition module needs to be completed at or before the fourth preset time.
[0061] The above technical solution further limits the interaction time between the processing device and the ultrasonic probe for exchanging spatial information of the ultrasonic probe to before the processing device starts sending ultrasonic control signals (corresponding to the ultrasonic probe starting to emit ultrasonic signals). This effectively ensures that there is no overlap in the time dimension between the interaction of spatial information of the ultrasonic probe between the processing device and the ultrasonic probe and the process of the processing device receiving echo signals.
[0062] Optionally, the processing device includes a scanning module and a transmitting module. The transmitting module is used to send an ultrasonic control signal to the signal transceiver module to control the signal transceiver module to transmit ultrasonic signals. The method further includes: for the current scanning cycle, before a fourth preset time, the scanning module sends signal parameters and switch control information to the transmitting module, wherein the signal parameters include the transmitted waveform and transmitted voltage of the ultrasonic signal, and the switch control information is used to control the switching of the high-voltage switch in the transmitting module; the transmitting module sends the ultrasonic control signal to the signal transceiver module through the high-voltage switch according to the signal parameters.
[0063] The processing device can divide its internal components into modules based on function, such as a scanning module, a transmission module, and a space information acquisition and control module. For example, the scanning module can be used as a core component to coordinate and control other modules within the processing device, ensuring its maintainability. Please continue reading. Figure 1 As shown, in Figure 1In the illustrated embodiment, the processing device may include a scanning module and a transmitting module connected to the scanning module. The scanning module can be used to send signal parameters and switch control information to the transmitting module. Exemplarily, the signal parameters may include the transmitted waveform and transmission voltage of the ultrasonic signal, and the switch control information may be of the type of electrical signal. The transmitting module can switch the high-voltage switch in the transmitting module according to the switch control information to realize the transmission of ultrasonic signals and the reception of echo signals. Specifically, switching the high-voltage switch is used to activate all channels of the transmitting module. In a specific embodiment, the transmitting module includes 64 channels for transmitting ultrasonic control signals, the signal transceiver module includes 128 array elements, and the processing device has a total of 128 receiving channels for receiving echo signals. The reception of echo signals requires that all receiving channels can receive the echo signal of the corresponding array element. The transmitting module and the signal transceiver module are connected via a high-voltage switch. Switching the high-voltage switch selects the array elements connected to the transmitting module. For example, in the first connected state, the high-voltage switch allows the ultrasonic control signal to be transmitted to 64 of the aforementioned 128 array elements; in the second connected state, it allows the ultrasonic control signal to be transmitted to the remaining 64 array elements. During the process of the transmitting module sending ultrasonic control signals to the signal transceiver module, the switching of the high-voltage switch ensures that all array elements can transmit ultrasonic signals and receive echo signals, which are then sent to their respective receiving channels.
[0064] In the above technical solution, by sending signal parameters and switch control information to the transmitting module before the fourth preset time, the high-voltage switch can be switched before the fourth preset time. This ensures that the transmitting module can send ultrasonic control signals to the signal transceiver module through the high-voltage switch starting from the fourth preset time. This helps to ensure the smooth transmission of ultrasonic signals and reception of echo signals.
[0065] Optionally, the processing device includes a scanning module and a spatial information acquisition and control module. The scanning module is used to send interactive control information to the spatial information acquisition and control module. The method further includes: for the current scanning cycle, the scanning module sends interactive control information to the spatial information acquisition and control module; and within a first preset time period from the beginning of a first preset time to the end of a second preset time, the spatial information acquisition and control module performs interactive operations with the spatial information acquisition module within the first preset time period, including: the spatial information acquisition and control module performs interactive operations with the spatial information acquisition module based on the interactive control information within the first preset time period.
[0066] Please continue reading. Figure 1 As shown, in Figure 1In the illustrated embodiments, the processing device may include a scanning module and a spatial information acquisition and control module. The scanning module can be used to send interactive control information to the spatial information acquisition and control module to control the spatial information acquisition and control module to perform interactive operations with the spatial information acquisition module of the ultrasound probe. Exemplarily, the interactive control information may include trigger signals and / or interactive instructions, etc. In some embodiments, the spatial information acquisition and control module may begin performing interactive operations with the spatial information acquisition module upon receiving all the interactive control information. In other embodiments, the specific content of the interactive instructions may include a preset duration. The spatial information acquisition and control module may perform interactive operations with the spatial information acquisition module after the preset duration, starting from the moment it receives all the interactive control information. The preset duration needs to satisfy the condition that the execution of the interactive operation can be completed within a first preset time period. It is understood that the sending time of the interactive control information may be before, after, or before the first preset time. Similarly, the sending time of the interactive control information needs to satisfy the condition that the execution of the interactive operation can be completed within the first preset time period.
[0067] The above technical solution uses the scanning module to send interactive control information to control the spatial information acquisition control module to acquire the spatial information of the ultrasound probe, which can help ensure that the interactive operation between the spatial information acquisition control module and the ultrasound probe is performed within the corresponding time period.
[0068] Optionally, the interactive control information includes a trigger signal. Based on the interactive control information, the space information acquisition and control module performs interactive operations with the space information acquisition module within a first preset time period. This includes: when the space information acquisition and control module receives the trigger signal or after a second preset time period has elapsed since the space information acquisition and control module received the trigger signal, the space information acquisition and control module begins to perform interactive operations with the space information acquisition module. The first preset time is the moment when the space information acquisition and control module receives the trigger signal or the moment after the second preset time period has elapsed since the space information acquisition and control module received the trigger signal.
[0069] For example, the interactive control information may include a trigger signal. The trigger signal may be a continuous signal; when the trigger signal is continuous, the end time of the scanning module sending the trigger signal can be considered the time when the spatial information acquisition control module receives the trigger signal. The trigger signal may also be an instantaneous signal; when the trigger signal is instantaneous, the time when the scanning module sends the trigger signal can be considered the time when the spatial information acquisition control module receives the trigger signal. The spatial information acquisition control module can begin executing interactive operations with the spatial information acquisition module upon receiving the trigger signal. The spatial information acquisition control module can also begin executing interactive operations with the spatial information acquisition module after a second preset time period following the receipt of the trigger signal. In a specific embodiment, the spatial information acquisition control module may have an internal delay program, specifically set to begin executing interactive operations with the spatial information acquisition module after a second preset time period following the receipt of the trigger signal. For example, the second preset time period can be user-defined and fixedly stored in the spatial information acquisition control module. The time when the spatial information acquisition control module receives the trigger signal can be the start time of a scanning cycle; in this case, the first preset time can be the time when the spatial information acquisition control module receives the trigger signal. The first preset time can also be the time reached after the spatial information acquisition and control module receives the trigger signal and a second preset time period has elapsed.
[0070] The above technical solution ensures that the spatial information acquisition and control module starts to perform interactive operation with the ultrasonic probe's spatial information acquisition module at the corresponding time by sending a trigger signal to the spatial information acquisition and control module, and further ensures that the end time of the interactive operation is before the start time of the processing device receiving the echo signal.
[0071] Optionally, the processing device includes a scanning module, a transmitting module, and an echo signal processing module. The transmitting module sends an ultrasonic control signal to the signal transceiver module to control the signal transceiver module to transmit ultrasonic signals. The echo signal processing module receives the echo signals transmitted by the signal transceiver module. The method further includes: for the current scanning cycle, at a fourth preset time, the scanning module sends a first transmission control message to the transmitting module to control the transmitting module to start transmitting ultrasonic control signals to the signal transceiver module; at a fifth preset time, the scanning module sends a second transmission control message to the transmitting module to control the transmitting module to stop transmitting ultrasonic signals to the signal transceiver module. Control signals; at the third preset time, the scanning module sends a first reception control message to the echo signal processing module to control the echo signal processing module to start receiving the echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module; at the sixth preset time, the scanning module sends a second reception control message to the echo signal processing module to control the echo signal processing module to stop receiving the echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module; wherein, the fourth preset time is the time after the start time of the current scanning cycle; the fifth preset time is the third preset time, or, the time before the third preset time; and the sixth preset time is the time before the end time of the current scanning cycle.
[0072] Please continue reading. Figure 1 As shown, the processing device may include: a scanning module, a transmitting module connected to the scanning module, and an echo signal processing module connected to the scanning module. Within one scanning cycle, the scanning module may send first transmission control information and second transmission control information to the transmitting module. The transmitting module sends an ultrasonic control signal to the signal transmitting module according to the first transmission control information, and stops sending the ultrasonic control signal to the signal transmitting module according to the second transmission control information. The signal transceiver module may transmit an ultrasonic signal according to the ultrasonic control signal and receive the echo signal obtained based on the transmitted ultrasonic signal. The scanning module may also send first and second reception control information to the echo signal processing module. The echo signal processing module starts receiving the echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module according to the first reception control information, and stops receiving the echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module according to the second reception control information. Specifically, the transmitting module may include a transmitting chip and a high-voltage switch. The first transmission control information may be a high-level transmission enable signal (…). Figure 1(Shown as "Transmit Enable"), the second transmit control information can be a command to switch the high-voltage switch. For example, the first transmit control information can be a transmit enable signal in a high-level state. When the scanning module sends the first transmit control information to the transmitting module, the transmitting chip of the transmitting module can output the transmit waveforms of all channels so that all array elements of the signal transceiver module can transmit the corresponding ultrasonic signals. The second transmit control information can be a command to switch the high-voltage switch. When the scanning module sends the second transmit control information to the transmitting module, the high-voltage switch in the transmitting module switches the transmitting chip of the transmitting module from the transmit state to the receive state. The echo signal processing module can receive the enable signal through a specific internal processing device ( Figure 1 The signal is controlled by a "receive enable" signal. The first and second receive control information can be internal receive enable signals at corresponding level states. For example, the first receive control information can be an internal receive enable signal in a high-level state, and the second receive control information can be an internal receive enable signal in a low-level state. It can be understood that the fourth preset time can be the time when the scanning module starts sending the first transmit control information to the transmitting module, the time when the transmitting module starts sending the ultrasonic control signal to the signal transceiver module, or the time when the signal transceiver module starts transmitting the ultrasonic signal. The fifth preset time can be the time when the scanning module starts sending the second transmit control information to the transmitting module, the time when the transmitting module stops sending the ultrasonic control signal to the signal transceiver module, or the time when the signal transceiver module stops transmitting the ultrasonic signal. The third preset time can be the time when the transmitting module starts sending the first receive control information to the echo signal processing module, or the time when the echo signal processing module starts receiving the echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module. The sixth preset time can be the time when the transmitting module starts sending the second receive control information to the echo signal processing module, or the time when the echo signal processing module stops receiving the echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module. It is understandable that the fourth preset time is after the start of the scanning cycle, the fifth preset time can coincide with the third preset time or be before the third preset time, and the sixth preset time is before the end of the scanning cycle.
[0073] The above technical solution sends control information to the transmitting module and the echo signal processing module through the scanning module to control the transmission of ultrasonic signals and the reception of echo signals. This helps to more accurately control the start and end times of transmitting ultrasonic signals and receiving echo signals, and further ensures that there is no interference from other signals or data transmissions during the period when the echo signal is received.
[0074] Optionally, the ultrasound device further includes a host computer connected to the processing device. The host computer is used to send scanning parameters to the processing device. The method further includes: receiving scanning parameters sent by the host computer before the start of the current scanning cycle, wherein the scanning parameters include the duration of a first preset time period; and performing an interactive operation with the spatial information acquisition module during the first preset time period from the start of the first preset time to the end of the second preset time, including: starting timing at the first preset time and starting to perform the interactive operation; and stopping the interactive operation after the duration of the first preset time period indicated by the scanning parameters has elapsed since the start of timing.
[0075] exist Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, the host computer of the ultrasound device may further include a host computer connected to the processing device. Figure 1 The PC software shown runs on a host computer. Furthermore, the host computer is connected to a monitor, whose interface can display various information during the ultrasound scan, such as ultrasound images. More specifically, the host computer can be connected to a processing device to send scan parameters. Before the start of the current scan cycle, the host computer can send scan parameters to the processing device. For example, the scan parameters may include the duration of a first preset time period for timing, and may also include scan commands and signal parameters. The scan module can start timing at a first preset time and begin interactive operations with the spatial information acquisition module at that first preset time. After the first preset time period, the interactive operations between the processing device and the spatial information acquisition module cease.
[0076] The above technical solution, by timing according to the duration of the first preset time period sent by the host computer, can ensure that each module inside the processing device accurately starts or ends the execution of a specific operation at a specific time. This is conducive to accurately coordinating the operation of each module so as not to interfere with each other, thereby ensuring that the acquired ultrasound images and the corresponding spatial information of the ultrasound probe meet the usage requirements.
[0077] Please see Figure 3 As shown, it is a timing diagram of an ultrasound scan according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 Taking the ultrasound equipment shown as an example, the scanning module can send a trigger signal (Start of line, SOL) to the spatial information acquisition and control module. This trigger signal... Figure 3The first signal line is displayed in the image. The time period corresponding to the protruding part of the signal line is the period when the scanning module sends a trigger signal to the spatial information acquisition and control module. The start time of a scanning cycle can be either the rising edge or the falling edge of this signal line. The rising edge of the signal line corresponds to the moment when the scanning module begins sending the trigger signal to the spatial information acquisition and control module, and the falling edge corresponds to the moment when the scanning module finishes sending the trigger signal. The first preset time can coincide with or follow the falling edge of the signal line. After a preset transmit delay (TD) from the moment the scanning module finishes sending the trigger signal to the spatial information acquisition and control module, the transmit enable (TX_EN) signal used to control the output of the transmitting module can be set to a high level. The transmit enable signal being high... Figure 3 The image shows the protruding portion of the third signal line. Within the preset transmission delay, the scanning module can send signal parameters to the transmitting module and switch the high-voltage switch to achieve ultrasonic signal transmission and echo signal reception. The signal parameters can include the transmission waveform and transmission voltage. When the transmission enable signal is high, the transmitting module can output the corresponding ultrasonic control signal. After the ultrasonic control signal is output, the scanning module can switch the high-voltage switch via the transmit / receive switch (T / R switch) signal to switch the transmitting module to the receiving state. The transmitting module is in the receiving state... Figure 3 The raised portion shown is the fourth signal line. From the moment the scanning module finishes sending the trigger signal to the spatial information acquisition and control module, after a preset receive delay (RD), it sets the receive buffer enable (RXBUF_EN) signal of the echo signal processing module to a high level to enable the echo signal processing module to receive the echo signal. This high-level receive enable signal... Figure 3The image shows the protruding portion of the fifth signal line. Specifically, the scanning module can perform interactive operations with the spatial information acquisition module within a preset receive delay (receivedelay, rx_buf_dly, RD). This receive delay can include a preset switching delay (T / R switch delay) and a preset transmit delay (transmitdelay, TD) for the transmit / receive switching switch signal. It can be understood that the scanning module can also perform interactive operations with the spatial information acquisition module within these preset switching and transmit delays. At the moment when the echo signal processing module finishes receiving the echo signal (this moment can be the moment after a preset reception duration from the moment the echo signal processing module starts receiving the echo signal, or the moment when the signal transceiver module finishes transmitting all the echo signals), the scanning module can send an end-of-line signal to the echo signal processing module. This end-of-line signal... Figure 3 The protruding part shown in the image is the second signal line. The echo signal processing module can determine the end of the current scanning cycle based on this termination signal.
[0078] Please see Figure 4 As shown, it is a schematic flowchart of the interaction between the processing device and the ultrasonic probe according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4In the illustrated embodiment, the processing device is an FPGA. The spatial information acquisition module of the ultrasound probe may include an MCU built into the ultrasound probe. This MCU is connected to the spatial sensor inside the ultrasound probe and can acquire the spatial information of the ultrasound probe detected by the spatial sensor. The FPGA can acquire the scanning status of the ultrasound device. If the ultrasound device is not in scanning status, the FPGA can continuously send all commands in the command packet to the MCU. After receiving the commands in the command packet, the MCU sends the spatial information of the ultrasound probe to the FPGA, which then uploads the spatial information of the ultrasound probe to a host computer connected to the FPGA. If the ultrasound device is in scanning status, the scanning module inside the FPGA can send a trigger signal (SOL) to the spatial information acquisition control module. The spatial information acquisition control module can select the sending method of the command packet based on the comparison between the preset receive delay (rx_buf_dly, RD) and the time required for the target interactive operation to acquire the spatial information of the ultrasound probe. Specifically, when the preset receive delay meets the time required for the target interactive operation, the FPGA can continuously send all commands in the command packet to the MCU. When the preset reception delay is insufficient to meet the time required for the target interactive operation, the command packet can be split into sub-command packets. The FPGA sends the sub-command packets to the MCU within the current scan cycle and receives the spatial information corresponding to the latest sent sub-command packet within the current scan cycle and / or one or more subsequent scan cycles. Then, it can be determined whether all commands within the command packet have been sent. If not, sub-command packets continue to be sent within the time period corresponding to the preset reception delay of the next scan cycle until all commands within the command packet have been sent. After receiving the command, the MCU sends the spatial information corresponding to the ultrasound probe to the FPGA, which then uploads the spatial information of the ultrasound probe to the host computer connected to the FPGA.
[0079] Please see Figure 5 As shown, it is a signal timing diagram of an ultrasonic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 In the middle, the time period between the first and third dotted lines in left-to-right order is a complete scanning cycle. Figure 5 In the illustrated embodiment, the processing device is an FPGA, and the spatial information acquisition module of the ultrasound probe may include an MCU built into the ultrasound probe. This MCU is connected to a spatial sensor within the ultrasound probe and can acquire the spatial information of the ultrasound probe detected by the spatial sensor. The first preset time period can be the period between the first and second dashed lines in a left-to-right order. During this time period, the FPGA and MCU interact. The signal state within the FPGA used for interacting with the MCU is... Figure 5 The signal is displayed as the third signal line in the image, indicating the MCU's signal status. Figure 5It is shown as the fourth signal line.
[0080] According to another aspect of the present invention, a processing device 600 is also provided, applied to the host end of an ultrasonic device, for performing the above-described interaction method with the ultrasonic probe.
[0081] Optionally, the processing device includes a scanning module and a spatial information acquisition and control module. The scanning module is used to send second control information to the spatial information acquisition and control module. The spatial information acquisition and control module is used to perform interactive operations with the spatial information acquisition module within a first preset time period based on the second control information.
[0082] Optionally, the processing device further includes a scanning module, a transmitting module, and an echo signal processing module. The transmitting module is used to send an ultrasonic control signal to the signal transceiver module to control the signal transceiver module to transmit ultrasonic signals. The echo signal processing module is used to receive the echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module. The scanning module is used to send transmission control information to the transmitting module to control the transmitting module to transmit ultrasonic control signals, and to send reception control information to the echo signal processing module to control the echo signal processing module to receive the echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module.
[0083] Optionally, the processing device is used to connect to a host computer and receive scanning commands and / or scanning parameters sent by the host computer. The scanning command is used to set a preset flag to a preset value. The preset flag being a preset value indicates that the ultrasound device is in a scanning state. The scanning parameters include the duration of a first preset time period.
[0084] Please continue reading. Figure 1 As shown, in Figure 1In the illustrated embodiment, the ultrasound device may include a display, a host computer connected to the display, a processing device connected to the host computer, and multiple ultrasound probes connected to the processing device. The host computer may store PC software, which can generate different scan tables for different scanning objects. The scan table may include scan instructions and scan parameters. In this embodiment, the processing device is an FPGA. The FPGA may include: a PCIe module, a scan module, a spatial information acquisition and control module, a transmission module, an echo signal processing module, etc. The PCIe module is connected to the scan module, the spatial information acquisition and control module, and the echo signal processing module, respectively. Specifically, the PCIe module is used to receive the scan table sent by the host computer and send the scan table to the scan module; it is also used to send the echo signal received from the echo signal processing module and preprocessed by the echo signal processing module to the host computer; and it is also used to send the spatial information of the ultrasound probes received from the spatial information acquisition and control module to the host computer. The scanning module is used to set the ultrasound equipment to scanning mode according to the scanning instructions in the scanning table received from the PCIe module. It also sends trigger signals to the spatial information acquisition and control module to control the spatial information acquisition and control module to begin acquiring spatial information from the ultrasound probe. Furthermore, it sends specific control signals to the echo signal processing module to control the echo signal processing module to receive echo signals. Additionally, it sends signal parameters to the transmitting module, switches the state of the high-voltage switch of the transmitting module, and sends specific control signals to the transmitting module to control the transmitting module to send or stop sending ultrasound control signals to the signal transceiver module. The ultrasound control signals are used to control the signal transceiver module to send ultrasound signals. Specifically, scanning parameters may include signal parameters such as the transmitted waveform and transmitted voltage. Scanning parameters may also include the time when the scanning module sends specific control signals to the echo signal processing and transmitting modules, and the time when the scanning module sends trigger signals to the spatial information acquisition and control module. The spatial information acquisition and control module sends a command packet to the spatial information acquisition module within the ultrasound probe to acquire spatial information of the ultrasound probe after receiving a trigger signal from the scanning module. It also transmits the spatial information received from the ultrasound probe's spatial information acquisition module to the host computer. The transmission module controls the ultrasound probe's signal transceiver module to transmit ultrasonic signals based on the scanning parameters received from the scanning module. The echo signal processing module receives the echo signals transmitted by the ultrasound probe's signal transceiver module, preprocesses the received echo signals (using methods such as beamforming and A / D conversion), and sends the preprocessed echo signals to the PCIe module.
[0085] According to another aspect of the present invention, a host terminal is also provided, which is applied to an ultrasonic device. The host terminal includes the processing device described above. The ultrasonic device includes an ultrasonic probe connected to the processing device. The ultrasonic probe includes a spatial information acquisition module for acquiring spatial information of the ultrasonic probe and a signal transceiver module for transmitting ultrasonic signals and receiving echo signals.
[0086] According to another aspect of the present invention, an ultrasonic device is also provided, comprising the above-described processing apparatus and an ultrasonic probe.
[0087] According to another aspect of the present invention, a storage medium is also provided, on which program instructions are stored. When the program instructions are executed by a computer or processor, the computer or processor performs the corresponding steps of the interaction method with the ultrasound probe described in the embodiments of the present invention, and is used to implement the corresponding modules in the processing apparatus described in the embodiments of the present invention. The storage medium may, for example, include a memory card of a smartphone, 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. A computer-readable storage medium may be any combination of one or more computer-readable storage media.
[0088] According to another aspect of the present invention, a computer program product is also provided, including computer program instructions that, when executed, are used to perform the interaction method with the ultrasound probe as described above.
[0089] Those skilled in the art can understand the specific implementation and beneficial effects of the above-described processing device by reading the detailed description of the processing device above, and for the sake of brevity, they will not be described in detail here.
[0090] Although exemplary embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the above exemplary embodiments are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Various changes and modifications can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as claimed in the appended claims.
[0091] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this invention.
[0092] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another device, or some features may be ignored or not executed.
[0093] Numerous specific details are set forth in the specification provided herein. However, it will be understood 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 so as not to obscure the understanding of this specification.
[0094] Similarly, it should be understood that, in order to streamline the invention and aid in understanding one or more of the various aspects of the invention, features of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof in the description of exemplary embodiments of the invention. However, this approach 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 in the corresponding claims, its inventive point lies in solving the corresponding technical problem with fewer features than all of those in a single disclosed embodiment. Therefore, the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into that detailed description, wherein each claim itself is a separate embodiment of the invention.
[0095] Those skilled in the art will understand that, apart from the mutual exclusion of features, all features disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings) and all processes or units of any method or apparatus so disclosed can be combined in any combination. Unless otherwise expressly stated, each feature disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings) may be replaced by an alternative feature that serves the same, equivalent, or similar purpose.
[0096] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that although some embodiments herein include certain features included in other embodiments but not others, combinations of features from different embodiments are intended to be within the scope of the invention and form different embodiments. For example, in the claims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.
[0097] The various component embodiments of the present invention can be implemented in hardware, or as software modules running on one or more processors, or a combination thereof. Those skilled in the art will understand that microprocessors or digital signal processors (DSPs) can be used in practice to implement some or all of the functions of some modules in the processing apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention. The present invention can also be implemented as an apparatus program (e.g., a computer program and computer program product) for performing some or all of the methods described herein. Such programs implementing the present invention can be stored on a computer-readable medium or can be in the form of one or more signals. Such signals can be downloaded from an Internet website, provided on a carrier signal, or provided in any other form.
[0098] It should be noted that the above embodiments are illustrative of the invention and not restrictive, and that those skilled in the art can devise alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses should not be construed as limiting the claims. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps not listed in the claims. The word "a" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. The invention can be implemented by means of hardware comprising several different elements and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In the unit claims enumerating several means, several of these means may be embodied by the same item of hardware. The use of the words first, second, and third, etc., does not indicate any order. These words can be interpreted as names.
[0099] The above are merely specific embodiments or descriptions of the present invention, and the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.
Claims
1. A method for interacting with an ultrasonic probe, characterized in that, A processing device applied to the host end of an ultrasonic device, the ultrasonic device further including an ultrasonic probe connected to the processing device, the ultrasonic probe including a spatial information acquisition module for acquiring spatial information of the ultrasonic probe and a signal transceiver module for transmitting ultrasonic signals and receiving echo signals, the method including: For the current scan cycle used to perform a single line scan operation, During a first preset time period, from the start of the first preset time to the end of the second preset time, interactive operations are performed with the spatial information acquisition module. At the third preset time, the echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module is received. Wherein, the first preset time is the start time of the current scanning cycle, or a time after the start time of the current scanning cycle; the second preset time is the third preset time, or a time before the third preset time; the third preset time is a time before the end time of the current scanning cycle.
2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The interactive operation is at least a portion of the target interactive operation between the processing device and the spatial information acquisition module. The target interactive operation includes sending a command packet to the spatial information acquisition module and receiving spatial information of the ultrasound probe from the spatial information acquisition module. The spatial information is generated by the spatial information acquisition module based on the command packet. When the current scan cycle is the first scan cycle for sending at least a portion of the command packet for the first time, the method further includes, before performing the interaction operation with the spatial information acquisition module in the ultrasound probe: The duration of the target interactive operation is compared with the duration of the first preset time period. When the duration of the target interactive operation is longer than the duration of the first preset time period, the command packet is decomposed into at least two sub-command packets. The at least two sub-command packets are sent in at least two first scanning cycles in a one-to-one correspondence. The at least two first scanning cycles include the first scanning cycle and at least one scanning cycle following the first scanning cycle. Furthermore, each of the at least two first scanning cycles has at least one second scanning cycle corresponding to the first scanning cycle. The at least one second scanning cycle includes the corresponding first scanning cycle and / or at least one scanning cycle following the corresponding first scanning cycle. When the current scanning cycle is the first scanning cycle, the corresponding interactive operation includes: Within the first preset time period included in the current scanning cycle, a sub-command packet corresponding to the current scanning cycle is sent to the spatial information acquisition module; When the current scanning cycle is the second scanning cycle, the corresponding interactive operation includes: At least a portion of the spatial information sent by the spatial information acquisition module is received within the first preset time period included in the current scanning cycle.
3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, When the current scanning cycle is the first scanning cycle, the corresponding interactive operation includes: When the duration of the target interactive operation is less than or equal to the duration of the first preset time period, the command packet is sent to the spatial information acquisition module; Receive the spatial information sent by the spatial information acquisition module.
4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The method further includes: Acquire the status information of the ultrasound device, which is used to indicate whether the ultrasound device is in a scanning state; When the ultrasound device is not in the scanning state, a command packet is sent to the spatial information acquisition module, and the spatial information of the ultrasound probe sent by the spatial information acquisition module is received. The spatial information is generated by the spatial information acquisition module based on the command packet. The current scanning cycle exists when the ultrasound device is in the scanning state.
5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The host computer also includes a host computer connected to the processing device, the host computer being used to send scanning commands to the processing device, and the method further includes: The system receives the scanning command sent by the host computer and sets a preset flag bit to a preset value according to the scanning command. The preset flag bit being the preset value indicates that the ultrasound device is in the scanning state, and the state information includes the value of the preset flag bit.
6. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The method further includes: For the current scanning cycle, an ultrasonic control signal is sent to the signal transceiver module at the fourth preset time and stops being sent at the fifth preset time. The ultrasonic control signal is used to control the signal transceiver module to transmit the ultrasonic signal. Wherein, the fourth preset time is a time after the start time of the current scanning cycle; the fifth preset time is the third preset time, or a time before the third preset time; and the second preset time is either the fifth preset time or the fourth preset time.
7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The processing device includes a scanning module and a transmitting module. The transmitting module is used to send an ultrasonic control signal to the signal transceiver module to control the signal transceiver module to transmit the ultrasonic signal. The method further includes: Regarding the current scanning cycle, Before the fourth preset time, the scanning module sends signal parameters and switch control information to the transmitting module. The signal parameters include the transmitted waveform and transmitted voltage of the ultrasonic signal, and the switch control information is used to control the switching of the high-voltage switch in the transmitting module. The transmitting module sends the ultrasonic control signal to the signal transceiver module through the high-voltage switch according to the signal parameters.
8. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The processing device includes a scanning module and a spatial information acquisition and control module. The scanning module is used to send interactive control information to the spatial information acquisition and control module. The method further includes: Regarding the current scanning cycle, The scanning module sends the interactive control information to the spatial information acquisition and control module; The interaction operation with the spatial information acquisition module is performed during a first preset time period from the beginning of a first preset time to the end of a second preset time, including: The spatial information acquisition and control module performs the interactive operation with the spatial information acquisition module within the first preset time period based on the interactive control information.
9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The interactive control information includes trigger signals. The step of the spatial information acquisition and control module performing the interactive operation with the spatial information acquisition module within the first preset time period based on the interactive control information includes: When the spatial information acquisition and control module receives the trigger signal, or after a second preset time period following the receipt of the trigger signal, the spatial information acquisition and control module begins to execute the interactive operation with the spatial information acquisition module. Wherein, the first preset time is the time when the spatial information acquisition and control module receives the trigger signal or the time when it arrives after the second preset time period following the receipt of the trigger signal by the spatial information acquisition and control module.
10. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The processing device includes a scanning module, a transmitting module, and an echo signal processing module. The transmitting module is used to send an ultrasonic control signal to the signal transceiver module to control the signal transceiver module to transmit the ultrasonic signal. The echo signal processing module is used to receive the echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module. The method further includes: Regarding the current scanning cycle, At the fourth preset time, the scanning module sends the first transmission control information to the transmitting module to control the transmitting module to start sending the ultrasonic control signal to the signal transceiver module; At the fifth preset time, the scanning module sends a second transmission control message to the transmitting module to control the transmitting module to stop sending the ultrasonic control signal to the signal transceiver module; At the third preset time, the scanning module sends first receiving control information to the echo signal processing module to control the echo signal processing module to start receiving the echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module; At the sixth preset time, the scanning module sends second receiving control information to the echo signal processing module to control the echo signal processing module to stop receiving the echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module; Wherein, the fourth preset time is a time after the start time of the current scanning cycle; the fifth preset time is the third preset time, or a time before the third preset time; and the sixth preset time is a time before the end time of the current scanning cycle.
11. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The ultrasound device further includes a host computer connected to the processing device, the host computer being used to send scanning parameters to the processing device, and the method further includes: Before the start of the current scanning cycle, the scanning parameters sent by the host computer are received, wherein the scanning parameters include the duration of the first preset time period; The interaction operation with the spatial information acquisition module is performed during a first preset time period from the beginning of a first preset time to the end of a second preset time, including: The timing begins at the first preset time, and the interactive operation is then executed. The interactive operation stops when the duration of the first preset time period indicated by the scanning parameters has elapsed since the start of the timing.
12. A processing apparatus, characterized in that, Applied to the host end of an ultrasound device, the processing device is used to execute the interaction method with the ultrasound probe as described in any one of claims 1-11.
13. The processing apparatus according to claim 12, characterized in that, The processing device includes a scanning module and a spatial information acquisition and control module. The scanning module is used to send second control information to the spatial information acquisition and control module. The spatial information acquisition and control module is used to perform the interactive operation with the spatial information acquisition module within a first preset time period based on the second control information.
14. The processing apparatus according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that, The processing device further includes a scanning module, a transmitting module, and an echo signal processing module. The transmitting module is used to send an ultrasonic control signal to the signal transceiver module to control the signal transceiver module to transmit the ultrasonic signal. The echo signal processing module is used to receive the echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module. The scanning module is used to send transmitting control information to the transmitting module to control the transmitting module to transmit the ultrasonic control signal, and to send receiving control information to the echo signal processing module to control the echo signal processing module to receive the echo signal sent by the signal transceiver module.
15. The processing apparatus according to claim 14, characterized in that, The processing device is used to connect to a host computer and to receive scanning commands and / or scanning parameters sent by the host computer. The scanning command is used to set a preset flag bit to a preset value. The preset flag bit being the preset value indicates that the ultrasound device is in a scanning state. The scanning parameters include the duration of the first preset time period.
16. A host terminal, characterized in that, The device is applied to an ultrasound equipment, wherein the host unit includes a processing device as described in any one of claims 12-15, the ultrasound equipment includes an ultrasound probe connected to the processing device, and the ultrasound probe includes a spatial information acquisition module for acquiring spatial information of the ultrasound probe and a signal transceiver module for transmitting ultrasonic signals and receiving echo signals.
17. An ultrasonic device, characterized in that, Includes the host unit as described in claim 16 and the ultrasound probe.
18. A storage medium on which program instructions are stored, characterized in that, The program instructions, when executed, are used to perform the interaction method with the ultrasound probe as described in any one of claims 1-11.
19. A computer program product comprising computer program instructions, characterized in that, The computer program instructions, when executed, are used to perform the interaction method with the ultrasound probe as described in any one of claims 1-11.