Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, control method for ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and program

Abstract

To have an operator of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus aware of the wrong procedure without depending on an assistant and a system for remote monitoring.SOLUTION: An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus has: an image acquisition part acquiring an ultrasonic image showing the inside the body of a subject by using an ultrasonic probe to scan the subject with ultrasonic waves; a determination part determining whether or not a real scanning direction to the subject is correct; and a notification part notifying information corresponding to the result of determination when it is determined that the real scanning direction is not correct.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a control method for an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Ultrasound diagnostic devices are known that transmit ultrasonic beams from an ultrasound probe (hereinafter also referred to as "probe") to a subject, receive ultrasonic echoes reflected by tissues and blood flow inside the body with the probe, and analyze them in the main body to generate ultrasonic images showing the state inside the body. Ultrasound diagnostic devices can obtain two-dimensional or three-dimensional ultrasonic images in real time by scanning with ultrasonic waves. Then, by generating and displaying real-time ultrasonic images continuously over time, the inside of the body can be observed as moving images in real time.

[0003] In medical practice, rules or standards (hereinafter simply referred to as "standards") regarding ultrasound diagnostic procedures are sometimes established. One example of an object for which standards are established is the left-right direction of an ultrasound image. For example, the standard is established as to which side of the ultrasound image the central side (heart side) of the subject should be located, and which side of the ultrasound image the peripheral side of the subject should be located, above, below, left, or right. More specifically, the standard is established as to which side of the ultrasound image the heart side should be located on the right side, and the peripheral side should be located on the left side.

[0004] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a technology in which a monitor (a doctor in Patent Document 1) remotely monitors the inside of an ambulance and gives appropriate instructions to the operator (a paramedic in Patent Document 1) so that the operator inside the ambulance can perform ultrasound scanning correctly. The remote monitoring is performed by an imaging unit installed in the ambulance. The instructions to the operator are also given by an optical pointing device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-029260 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 requires a supervisor to remotely monitor the operator's procedure. This requires a large-scale remote instruction support system that uses an imaging unit to monitor the procedure and an optical pointing device to provide instructions. Furthermore, when monitoring the procedure using an imaging unit as in Patent Document 1, there is a risk that the imaging site on the subject or the probe may be hidden due to the relative positional relationships between the position of the imaging unit, the subject's posture, the operator's posture, and the probe position. In this case, the supervisor cannot obtain the necessary monitoring images, and the supervisor cannot notice any errors in the procedure. Furthermore, because the supervisor cannot issue appropriate instructions to the operator, the operator cannot notice any errors in the procedure.

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, a control method for an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, and a program that can alert an operator to procedural errors without relying on an assistant or system for remote monitoring. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] One aspect of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention is an image acquisition unit that acquires an ultrasound image showing the inside of the subject's body by scanning the subject with ultrasound using an ultrasound probe; a determination unit that determines whether the actual scanning direction with respect to the object is correct; a notification unit that notifies information based on a result of the determination when the actual scanning direction is determined to be incorrect; Has.

[0009] One aspect of the control method for an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention includes: 1. A control method executed in an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus that acquires ultrasound images showing the inside of a subject by scanning the subject with ultrasound using an ultrasound probe, comprising: determining whether the actual scanning direction relative to the object is correct; If it is determined that the actual scanning direction is incorrect, information corresponding to the result of the determination is notified.

[0010] One aspect of the program according to the present invention is The present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute the above-described method for controlling an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, an operator of an ultrasound diagnostic device can be made aware of an error in a procedure without relying on an assistant or system for remote monitoring. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating the appearance of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an erroneous scanning direction notification method, which is an example of a control method executed in the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of an orientation mark of a probe. [Figure 5] FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating an example of a situation in which an artery, which is an example of an organ, is being scanned, and FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating a displayed image including a color Doppler image showing the artery scanned in FIG. 5A and blood flow. [Figure 6] FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an example of a situation in which the probe is scanning an artery in a state different from the state shown in FIG. 5A, and FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a displayed image including a color Doppler image showing the artery scanned in FIG. 6A and blood flow. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] [Overall configuration of ultrasound diagnostic device 1] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the appearance of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the main parts of a control system of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1.

[0015] The ultrasound diagnostic device 1 visualizes the shape, properties, or dynamics inside a subject as an ultrasound image. The ultrasound diagnostic device 1 captures and displays, for example, an ultrasound image of the subject's abdomen. The displayed ultrasound image of the abdomen is used to diagnose abdominal conditions, diseases, etc.

[0016] 1, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 includes a main body 10 and a probe 20. The main body 10 and the probe 20 are connected via a cable 30.

[0017] The probe 20 transmits an ultrasonic beam (for example, about 1 to 30 MHz) into a subject (for example, a human body) and receives ultrasonic echoes of the transmitted ultrasonic beam reflected within the subject.

[0018] The user operates the ultrasound diagnostic device 1 by bringing the transmitting / receiving surface of the probe 20 for transmitting ultrasound beams into contact with the body surface of the subject (for example, the body surface of the abdomen). The type of the probe 20 can be any of a convex probe, a linear probe, a sector probe, a three-dimensional probe, etc.

[0019] The probe 20 has a plurality of acoustic elements (e.g., piezoelectric elements) and a channel switching unit (e.g., a multiplexer) in a housing. The plurality of acoustic elements are arranged, for example, in a matrix. The channel switching unit controls (switches) the driving state of the plurality of acoustic elements to be switched on and off individually or in blocks (hereinafter referred to as "channels"). The acoustic elements arranged in a matrix are assigned channel numbers based on their arrangement positions. For example, if the acoustic elements are arranged in 200 rows in the longitudinal direction of the probe 20, the acoustic element at one end is the first channel (1ch) and the acoustic element at the other end is the 200th channel (200ch) (see FIG. 4). In this embodiment, the scanning direction of the probe 20 is, for example, the direction from the first channel to the 200th channel in the longitudinal direction.

[0020] Each acoustic element of the probe 20 converts a voltage pulse generated by the main body 10 (transmitter 12) into an ultrasonic beam and transmits it into the subject. Each acoustic element of the probe 20 also receives ultrasonic echoes reflected within the subject, converts them into electrical signals (hereinafter referred to as "received signals"), and outputs them to the main body 10 (receiver 13). The probe 20 may also include an indicator unit such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode).

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, the main body 10 includes an operation input unit 11, a transmitting unit 12, a receiving unit 13, an ultrasound image generating unit 14, a display image generating unit 15, a display unit 16, and a control unit 17.

[0022] The transmitting unit 12, receiving unit 13, ultrasound image generating unit 14, and display image generating unit 15 are configured with dedicated or general-purpose hardware (electronic circuits) according to the respective processes, and each function is realized by cooperation between the hardware and the control unit 17. Examples of the hardware include a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and a PLD (Programmable Logic Device).

[0023] The operation input unit 11 receives, for example, a command to start a diagnosis or input of information about the subject. The operation input unit 11 includes, for example, an operation panel having a plurality of input switches, a keyboard, a mouse, etc. The operation input unit 11 may be configured as a touch panel that is provided integrally with the display unit 16.

[0024] The transmitting unit 12 is a transmitter that sends a voltage pulse, which is a drive signal, to the probe 20 in accordance with instructions from the control unit 17. The transmitting unit 12 is an ultrasonic transmission circuit that includes, for example, a high-frequency pulse oscillator and a pulse setting unit. The transmitting unit 12 adjusts the voltage pulse generated by the high-frequency pulse oscillator to the voltage amplitude, pulse width, and sending timing set by the pulse setting unit, and sends it out for each channel of the probe 20.

[0025] The transmitter 12 has a pulse setting unit for each of the multiple channels of the probe 20. The transmitter 12 can set the voltage amplitude, pulse width, and transmission timing of the voltage pulse for each of the multiple channels. For example, the transmitter 12 can change the target depth or generate different pulse waveforms by setting appropriate delay times for the multiple channels.

[0026] The receiving unit 13 is a receiver that processes the received signal generated by the probe 20 in accordance with instructions from the control unit 17. The receiving unit 13 is an ultrasound receiving circuit that includes a preamplifier, an AD conversion unit, and a receiving beam former.

[0027] The receiver 13 amplifies the received signals related to weak ultrasonic echoes for each channel using a preamplifier, and converts the received signals into digital signals using an AD converter.The receiver 13 then combines the received signals from multiple channels into one signal using a receive beamformer, thereby obtaining acoustic line data.

[0028] The ultrasound image generating unit 14 acquires the received signals (acoustic line data) from the receiving unit 13 and generates an ultrasound image of the inside of the subject.

[0029] An example of the generated ultrasound image is a color Doppler image. In a color Doppler image, a flow image (Color Flow Imaging) that expresses blood flow information (blood flow velocity, blood flow direction, power, velocity variance) and the movement of body tissues such as myocardial walls in color is displayed overlaid on a B-mode (Brightness mode Imaging, hereinafter also referred to as "B image") image that expresses a tomographic image of the living body in grayscale. For ease of explanation, the signal that generates the B image will be referred to as a "B signal" and the signal that generates the flow image will be referred to as a "flow signal" below.

[0030] The ultrasonic image generating unit 14 capable of generating the above-described color Doppler image functionally comprises a B signal generating unit, a flow signal generating unit, and an image combining unit (none of which are shown).

[0031] The B signal generation unit acquires a received echo signal from the receiving unit 13 and generates a B signal. A B signal is a signal that indicates a temporal change in the signal intensity of an ultrasonic echo in the depth direction (the transmission direction of the ultrasonic beam). When an ultrasonic beam is transmitted from the probe 20 in the depth direction, the B signal generation unit detects the ultrasonic echo and generates a B signal. Then, in accordance with the scanning of the ultrasonic beam from the probe 20, the B signal generation unit sequentially accumulates the B signals at each scanning position in a line memory and generates two-dimensional data in frame units.

[0032] The B signal generator includes, for example, an envelope detection circuit, a dynamic filter, and a logarithmic compression circuit. The envelope detection circuit detects the envelope of the received echo signal to detect its signal strength. The logarithmic compression circuit performs logarithmic compression on the signal strength of the received echo signal detected by the envelope detection circuit. The dynamic filter is a bandpass filter whose frequency characteristics change according to depth, and removes noise components contained in the received echo signal.

[0033] The flow signal generator acquires received echo signals from the receiver 13 and generates flow signals. Flow signals are signals generated by frequency analysis of ultrasonic echoes from blood flow or moving body tissue, and represent their velocity, power, and velocity variance (turbulence). The flow signal generator, for example, detects ultrasonic echoes from the same depth position of continuously transmitted ultrasonic pulses and calculates the velocity, power, and variance of the blood flow from the phase difference between the consecutive ultrasonic echoes. Similar to the B signal generator, the flow signal generator sequentially accumulates flow signals at each scanning position in a line memory in response to the scanning of the ultrasonic beam from the probe 20, and generates two-dimensional data in frame units.

[0034] The flow signal generator includes, for example, an MTI filter, a quadrature detection circuit, and an autocorrelation calculation unit. The MTI (Moving Target Indication) filter is a low-pass filter that removes clutter components (ultrasound echoes from tissue) from the received echo signal. The quadrature detection circuit mixes the received echo signal with a reference signal that is in phase with the transmitted ultrasound and a reference signal that is out of phase with the transmitted ultrasound by π / 2 to generate a quadrature detection signal (hereinafter referred to as an "IQ signal"). The autocorrelation calculation unit extracts flow signals (velocity, power, and variance) by autocorrelation calculation based on the IQ signals of ultrasound echoes from the same depth position of consecutively transmitted ultrasound pulses. Note that autocorrelation calculation is a frequency analysis method that calculates the phase difference between the nth IQ signal and the (n+1)th IQ signal to calculate blood flow velocity, etc.

[0035] However, the flow signal generating unit may directly extract blood flow information (velocity, power, variance) by performing fast Fourier analysis on the IQ signals of the Doppler-shifted received echo signals.

[0036] The image synthesis unit receives frame-by-frame B signals and flow signals for constructing image data from the B signal generation unit and the flow signal generation unit, respectively. The image synthesis unit generates a B image based on the input B signals and a flow image based on the input flow signals, synthesizes the B image and the flow image, and outputs the synthesized image as a color Doppler image to the display image generation unit 15 and the control unit 17.

[0037] The combination of the transmitter 12, the receiver 13, the probe 20, and the ultrasound image generator 14 is an example of an image acquisition unit. The image acquisition unit acquires ultrasound images showing the inside of the subject's body by scanning the subject with ultrasound using an ultrasound probe.

[0038] The display image generation unit 15 acquires the ultrasound image data from the ultrasound image generation unit 14 and generates a display image including a display area for the ultrasound image. Then, the display image generation unit 15 sends the generated display image data to the display unit 16. The display image generation unit 15 sequentially updates the display image every time a new ultrasound image is acquired from the ultrasound image generation unit 14, and displays the display image on the display unit 16 in a moving image format.

[0039] The display image generating unit 15 may generate a display image after performing predetermined image processing such as coordinate conversion processing or data interpolation processing on the ultrasound image output from the ultrasound image generating unit 14.

[0040] Display unit 16 is configured with, for example, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electroluminescence) display, a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display, etc. Display unit 16 acquires display image data from display image generation unit 15 in accordance with instructions from control unit 17, and displays the display image on the screen.

[0041] When a color Doppler image is included in the displayed image, and for example, when the color Doppler image is an image of the subject's abdomen, an operator looking at the displayed image can visually recognize the subject's organs, blood flow, etc. from the color Doppler image.

[0042] The control unit 17 controls the operation input unit 11, the transmission unit 12, the reception unit 13, the ultrasound image generation unit 14, the display image generation unit 15, and the display unit 16 according to their respective functions, thereby performing overall control of the ultrasound diagnostic device 1.

[0043] The control unit 17 has an arithmetic processing unit, a main memory device that operates as a work area for the arithmetic processing unit, and an auxiliary memory device that stores the operation programs of the arithmetic processing unit. The arithmetic processing unit is composed of, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The main memory device is composed of, for example, RAM (Random Access Memory). The auxiliary memory device is composed of, for example, a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory or a hard disk. The arithmetic processing unit reads various control programs from the auxiliary memory device, stores them in the main memory device, and executes the various control programs to cause the control unit 17 to perform various control methods.

[0044] The auxiliary storage device may be a storage medium that is detachable from the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1. The control unit 17 may be configured to be able to communicate with the outside so that the control program or the like can be downloaded from the outside to the control unit 17 (its main storage device or auxiliary storage device) via a communication network.

[0045] The primary and secondary storage devices described above are examples of non-transitory computer-readable storage media.

[0046] In addition to the above configuration, the main body 10 of the ultrasound diagnostic device 1 may further include an indicator unit such as an LED and an audio output unit such as a speaker.

[0047] The following describes an erroneous scanning direction notification method, which is an example of a control method executed in the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 1 according to this embodiment. This erroneous scanning direction notification method is executed for each frame of an ultrasound image, or for every multiple frames of an ultrasound image.

[0048] First, in step S1, the control unit 17 receives ultrasound image data (for example, color Doppler image data; hereinafter, also simply referred to as "image data") from the ultrasound image generating unit .

[0049] Then, in step S2, the control unit 17 determines reference parameters for determining the direction of the scan that was actually performed (actual scanning direction) based on the received ultrasound image data.

[0050] A first example of a reference parameter is the direction of blood flow. For example, when an artery is shown in the color Doppler image from the image data, the control unit 17 determines the direction of blood flow in the artery as a reference parameter. In this example, the control unit 17 analyzes the type of organ shown in the color Doppler image. Artificial intelligence or the like may be used for the analysis (the same applies to the examples described below). Furthermore, when the direction of blood flow is used as a reference parameter, it is preferable that the control unit 17 receives a flow signal together with the image data from the ultrasound image forming unit 14 in step S1.

[0051] A second example of a reference parameter is organ direction. Organ direction is the orientation of the organ. When the organ to be imaged has an asymmetric characteristic shape (for example, the shape of the blood vessel branching in the portal vein of the liver), the control unit 17 can determine the orientation of the organ, and therefore determines the organ direction as a reference parameter. In this example, the control unit 17 also analyzes the type of organ shown in the color Doppler image.

[0052] A third example of a reference parameter is trunk direction. The trunk direction is the direction extending from the cranial to the caudal side of the subject. In this example, for example, a camera is installed in the probe 20, and the control unit 17 receives captured image data from the camera and analyzes the trunk direction from the subject's image captured in the captured image. Note that if the position of an organ captured in a color Doppler image is displacing (oscillating) in synchronization with the beating of the heart, the control unit 17 can determine the trunk direction by analyzing the manner of the displacement.

[0053] Note that the reference parameter is not limited to the above example, and other directions may be adopted as the reference parameter. For convenience of explanation, the blood flow direction will be adopted as the reference parameter below.

[0054] In step S3, the control unit 17 determines the actual scanning direction. For example, in the case of the blood flow direction, the control unit 17 determines the blood flow direction from the flow signal, and determines the actual scanning direction of the probe 20 from the determined blood flow direction. The control unit 17 is an example of a determination unit.

[0055] For example, as shown in Fig. 5A, it is assumed that the operator performs scanning with the longitudinal direction of probe 20 oriented along the extension direction of the artery. Also, it is assumed that the orientation mark (see Fig. 4) indicating the first channel side of probe 20 is located on the fingertip side of the operator's hand in the scanning situation shown in Fig. 5A. Furthermore, the direction of blood flow in the artery within the subject is as shown in Fig. 5A.

[0056] In this case, the control unit 17 determines that, in the actual scanning direction of the probe 20, the first channel side is located on the peripheral side and the 200th channel side is located on the heart side.

[0057] The information regarding the orientation of the probe 20 does not necessarily have to be indicated by the arrangement order or numbers of the acoustic elements. For example, the information regarding the orientation of the probe 20 may be information indicating the shape of the probe 20.

[0058] An example of the display image displayed on the display unit 16 at this time is shown in FIG. 5B. In the displayed image, an orientation mark corresponding to the orientation mark on the probe 20 is displayed alongside the color Doppler image. In this example, the orientation mark is displayed on the left side of the color Doppler image. This means that the color Doppler image is set so that the side of the probe 20 on which the orientation mark is located (i.e., the first channel side) is always positioned on the left side.

[0059] Then, in step S4, the control unit 17 compares the actual scanning direction with the reference scanning direction.

[0060] Here, the reference scanning direction is information indicating the correct scanning direction of the probe 20. Suppose that a certain medical facility has a rule that when an artery is the subject of a color Doppler image, scanning should be performed in a direction in which blood flows from right to left in the displayed image. In this case, the reference scanning direction of the probe 20 is the orientation of the probe 20 in which the longitudinal direction of the probe 20 is aligned with the extension direction of the artery and the first channel side of the probe 20 is located on the peripheral side.

[0061] When the above assumption rule is applied to the example shown in FIG. 5B, since the artery extends left and right in the displayed color Doppler image, the longitudinal direction of probe 20 is aligned with the extension direction of the artery. Furthermore, the blood flow direction is from right to left in the displayed color Doppler image, which means that the first channel side of probe 20 is located on the peripheral side. Taking these factors into consideration, control unit 17 determines that the actual scanning direction of probe 20 shown in FIG. 5A matches the reference scanning direction. In other words, the actual scanning direction is correct in light of the reference scanning direction (YES in step S5).

[0062] If the answer is YES in step S5, the control unit 17 ends the erroneous scanning direction notification method without outputting any information about whether the actual scanning direction is correct or not.

[0063] Instead of the comparisons made in steps S4 and S5, the control unit 17 may refer to learned data related to ultrasound images to determine whether the actual scanning direction is correct.

[0064] Next, assume that the scanning situation to which the above-described assumption rules are applied is the situation shown in Fig. 6A. That is, assume that the operator performs scanning with the longitudinal direction of probe 20 oriented along the extension direction of the artery, as shown in Fig. 6A. Also assume that the orientation mark indicating the first channel side of probe 20 is located on the palm side of the operator in the scanning situation shown in Fig. 6A. Furthermore, assume that the direction of blood flow in the artery within the subject is as shown in Fig. 6A, which is the same as the blood flow direction shown in Fig. 5A.

[0065] When the above-described assumption rule is applied to the example shown in FIG. 6B, since the artery extends left and right in the displayed color Doppler image, the longitudinal direction of the probe 20 is aligned with the extension direction of the artery. Furthermore, the blood flow direction is from left to right in the displayed color Doppler image, which means that the first channel side of the probe 20 is located on the heart side. Taking these factors into consideration, the control unit 17 determines that the actual scanning direction of the probe 20 shown in FIG. 6A differs from the reference scanning direction. In other words, the actual scanning direction is not correct in light of the reference scanning direction (NO in step S5). In this case, the erroneous scanning direction notification method proceeds to step S6.

[0066] In step S6, the control unit 17 generates erroneous scanning direction notification information. In the example shown in Fig. 6B as described above, the correct direction of the probe 20 is exactly the opposite, so the control unit 17 generates a text message stating "Please reverse the direction of the probe" as the erroneous scanning direction notification information. In this embodiment, since the information output means is the display unit 16, the erroneous scanning direction notification information in the form of a text message is generated so that the operator can recognize the erroneous scanning direction by visually checking the display on the display unit 16.

[0067] Then, in step S7, the control unit 17 instructs the output of erroneous scanning direction notification information. As described above, in this embodiment, the erroneous scanning direction notification information is in the form of a text message, so the control unit 17 instructs the display image generation unit 15 to superimpose the erroneous scanning direction notification information at a predetermined position on the display image. An example of a display image in which the erroneous scanning direction notification information is superimposed at a predetermined position is shown in FIG. 6B. The display image generation unit 15 causes the display unit 16 to display the display image generated as described above. The display unit 16 displays the erroneous scanning direction notification information by displaying the display image on the screen, thereby notifying the operator that the scanning direction of the probe 20 is incorrect. The display unit 16 is an example of a notification unit.

[0068] If the information output means is an indicator provided in the main body 10, the control unit 17 lights or flashes the indicator to notify the operator that there is an error in the scanning direction of the probe 20. If the information output means is a speaker provided in the main body 10, the control unit 17 outputs a sound, such as a beep, from the speaker to notify the operator that there is an error in the scanning direction of the probe 20. If the information output means is an indicator provided in the probe 20, the control unit 17 lights or flashes the indicator to notify the operator that there is an error in the scanning direction of the probe 20. If the information output means is a vibrator provided in the probe 20, the control unit 17 vibrates the vibrator to notify the operator that there is an error in the scanning direction of the probe 20.

[0069] The target of the notification is not limited to the operator, but may also include, for example, another medical professional who is located far away from the operator (in a different room or at a remote location).When it is necessary to notify another medical professional who is located far away from the operator (in a different room or at a remote location), the ultrasound diagnostic device 1 is provided with a communication unit that can transmit erroneous scanning direction notification information to a device located at a remote location.

[0070] As described above, according to this embodiment, the ultrasound diagnostic device 1 includes an image acquisition unit that acquires ultrasound images showing the inside of the subject's body by scanning the subject with ultrasound using the probe 20; a control unit 17 that determines whether the actual scanning direction relative to the subject is correct; and a display unit 16 that notifies the operator of information based on the determination result if the actual scanning direction is determined to be incorrect. This configuration allows the ultrasound diagnostic device 1 itself to recognize an incorrect scanning direction of the probe 20, thereby making it possible to alert the operator to an error in the procedure without relying on an assistant or system for remote monitoring. Furthermore, because the operator can notice an error in the scanning direction during the procedure, it is possible to avoid the operator realizing the error after the procedure is completed and having to perform the examination again or invert the image. In other words, productivity in clinical settings can be significantly improved.

[0071] The control unit 17 determines the actual scanning direction based on the direction of the organs and / or blood flow shown in the ultrasound image. The direction of the organs and / or blood flow shown in the ultrasound image reflects the direction of the probe 20 used to obtain the ultrasound image, so the actual scanning direction can be accurately determined.

[0072] The control unit 17 determines whether the actual scanning direction is correct by comparing the actual scanning direction with a reference scanning direction or by referring to learned data related to ultrasound images. By performing such a determination by the control unit 17 included in the ultrasound diagnostic device 1, an error in the scanning direction can be reliably recognized by the ultrasound diagnostic device 1 without relying on an assistant or an external system.

[0073] The display unit 16 notifies the operator of the incorrect scanning direction by indicating the orientation of the probe 20 that corresponds to the correct scanning direction. This allows the operator to be informed of not only the incorrect scanning direction but also the correct scanning direction, allowing the operator to efficiently correct the procedure.

[0074] The control unit 17 may instruct the orientation of the probe 20 corresponding to the correct scanning direction based on the detailed configuration of the probe 20. For example, it is possible to issue erroneous scanning direction notification information that instructs the orientation mark of the probe 20 to point downward toward the trunk. The erroneous scanning direction notification information can be implemented in various modifications.

[0075] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been specifically described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. Various modifications and changes to the specific examples described in the above embodiments are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention as defined in the claims. [Industrial Applicability]

[0076] The present invention can be suitably used in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that generates an ultrasonic image of the inside of a subject by transmitting ultrasonic waves into the inside of the subject and receiving and analyzing the ultrasonic echoes. [Explanation of symbols]

[0077] 1. Ultrasound diagnostic equipment 10 Main Unit 11 Operation input section 12 Transmitter 13 Receiving unit 14 Ultrasound image generation unit 15 Display image generation unit 16 Display section 17 Control Unit 20 probes 30 Cable 171 CPU 172 ROM 173 RAM

Claims

1. an image acquisition unit that acquires an ultrasound image showing the inside of the subject's body by scanning the subject with ultrasound using an ultrasound probe; a determination unit that determines whether the actual scanning direction with respect to the object is correct; a notification unit that notifies information based on a result of the determination when the actual scanning direction is determined to be incorrect; An ultrasound diagnostic device having:

2. the determining unit determines the actual scanning direction based on the direction of an organ and / or blood flow shown in the ultrasound image. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 .

3. the determination unit determines whether the actual scanning direction is correct by comparing the actual scanning direction with a reference scanning direction or by referring to learned data related to ultrasound images. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 .

4. the notification unit notifies the information by indicating a direction of the ultrasound probe corresponding to a correct scanning direction. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 .

5. the notification unit indicates the orientation of the ultrasound probe corresponding to the correct scanning direction based on a detailed configuration of the ultrasound probe. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 4.

6. 1. A control method executed in an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus that acquires ultrasound images showing the inside of a subject by scanning the subject with ultrasound using an ultrasound probe, comprising: determining whether the actual scanning direction relative to the object is correct; If it is determined that the actual scanning direction is incorrect, information corresponding to the result of the determination is notified. A method for controlling an ultrasound diagnostic device.

7. A program for causing a computer to execute the method for controlling an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 6.

Images