Ultrasound diagnostic equipment, ultrasound diagnostic method, and program

Abstract

The present invention provides an ultrasound diagnostic device that can store high-quality data in real time based on the attenuation rate of the target area of ​​the subject. [Solution] The ultrasound diagnostic device includes a transmitting / receiving unit that acquires received signals from a target area of ​​a subject by transmitting and receiving ultrasound. Furthermore, it includes a calculation unit that uses the received signals acquired by the transmitting / receiving unit to calculate in real time attenuation characteristics based on the attenuation rate at each predetermined position within a predetermined range of the target area. In addition, it has a determination unit that determines in real time whether the attenuation data, including the attenuation characteristics of a plurality of predetermined positions calculated by the calculation unit, is good or not. Finally, it includes a recording unit that saves in real time the attenuation data that the determination unit has determined to be good.

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in an ultrasonic apparatus capable of displaying an ultrasonic image of a target site of a subject, a function of displaying the properties of a tissue, for example, the state of fatty liver, from the attenuation rate of a reception signal reflected by the target site of the subject is known. Patent Document 1 describes an ultrasonic apparatus that obtains an index value indicating the stability of tissue property parameters for each small area of an area of interest.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, when calculating the fat content in the liver, if structures such as blood vessels in the liver enter the ultrasonic irradiation range, an accurate attenuation rate cannot be calculated. In this case, it is necessary to adjust the way of applying and the angle of the ultrasonic probe so that blood vessels or the like do not enter the liver. However, in the conventional technology, due to the influence of body movement or breathing of the subject, the position of the ultrasonic probe with respect to the target site becomes unstable, and it may be difficult to obtain good data suitable for measuring fatty liver. Also, when the operator is inexperienced, even if there is a moment when good data can be obtained, it may be missed.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, an ultrasonic diagnostic method, and a program capable of acquiring and storing good data based on the attenuation rate of a target site of a subject in real time in order to solve the above problems.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention is A transmitting and receiving unit that acquires received signals from a target area of ​​a subject by transmitting and receiving ultrasound, A calculation unit that uses the received signal acquired by the transmitting and receiving unit to calculate in real time the attenuation characteristics based on the attenuation rate at each position within a predetermined range of the target part, A determination unit that determines in real time whether the data including the damping characteristics of the plurality of positions calculated by the calculation unit is good or not, A recording unit that stores the data determined to be good by the determination unit in real time, It is equipped with.

[0007] Furthermore, the ultrasound diagnostic method according to the present invention is A transmission and reception step in which a received signal is acquired from a target area of ​​the subject by transmitting and receiving ultrasound, A calculation step of calculating in real time the attenuation characteristics based on the attenuation rate at each position within a predetermined range of the target part using the acquired received signal, A determination step to determine in real time whether the data including the damping characteristics of the multiple positions calculated is good or not, A recording step that saves the data that has been determined to be good in real time, It has.

[0008] Furthermore, the program according to the present invention is Computers, A transmitting and receiving unit that acquires received signals from a target area of ​​a subject by transmitting and receiving ultrasound. A calculation unit that uses the received signal acquired by the transmitting and receiving unit to calculate in real time the attenuation characteristics based on the attenuation rate at each position within a predetermined range of the target part. A determination unit that determines in real time whether the data including the damping characteristics of the multiple positions calculated by the calculation unit is good or not. A recording unit that stores the data determined to be good by the determination unit in real time. To make it function as such. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, even when the position of the ultrasound probe is unstable or the subject moves, good data based on the attenuation rate at each position of the target area of ​​the subject can be acquired and stored in real time. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This flowchart shows an example of the operation of an ultrasound diagnostic device when acquiring data related to fatty liver in the liver according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of a received signal when a reflected wave is received from an organ, including the liver, according to this embodiment. [Figure 4] This flowchart shows an example of the operation of the damping characteristic calculation unit during the damping characteristic calculation process according to this embodiment. [Figure 5] This figure shows the frequency characteristics obtained when the first received signal at the first depth position is frequency-converted, and the frequency characteristics obtained when the second received signal at the second depth position is frequency-converted, in the received signal shown in Figure 3. [Figure 6] This figure shows the attenuation characteristics of the region including the first and second depth positions in the depth direction of the received signal shown in Figure 3. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] A preferred embodiment of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, ultrasound diagnostic method, and program of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings.

[0012] [Example configuration of ultrasound diagnostic device 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 includes an apparatus main body 100 and an ultrasonic probe 150 connected to the apparatus main body 100. An operation unit 102 and a display unit 120 are provided in the apparatus main body 100, respectively. Further, a transmission unit 104, a reception unit 106, a tomographic image generation unit 108, an attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109, an image processing unit 110, a display control unit 112, a control unit 130, a storage unit 140, and a communication unit 160 are built in the apparatus main body 100.

[0013] The operation unit 102 has, for example, at least one of a plurality of buttons, a trackball, a mouse, a touch panel combined with the display unit 120, and the like. The operation unit 102 receives an input instruction based on various operations of the user, converts the received input instruction into an electrical signal, and outputs the electrical signal to the control unit 130.

[0014] The transmission unit 104 supplies a drive signal, which is an electrical signal, to the ultrasonic probe 150 according to the control of the control unit 130. The transmission unit 104 has, for example, a clock generation circuit, a delay circuit, and a pulse generation circuit. The clock generation circuit generates a clock signal that determines the transmission timing and transmission frequency of the drive signal. The delay circuit sets a delay time for each path provided in each probe 153 described later, and delays the transmission of the drive signal by the set delay time. The delay circuit focuses a transmission beam composed of ultrasonic waves. The pulse generation circuit generates a pulse signal as a drive signal at a predetermined cycle. The transmission unit 104 drives, for example, a continuous part of a plurality of probes 153 to generate ultrasonic waves. Each time the transmission unit 104 generates ultrasonic waves, the probe 153 to be driven is shifted in the azimuth direction for scanning.

[0015] The receiving unit 106 receives a received signal, which is an electrical signal, from the ultrasonic probe 150 in accordance with the control of the control unit 130. The receiving unit 106 includes, for example, an amplifier, an A / D conversion circuit, and a phase adjustment adder circuit. The amplifier amplifies the received signal at a preset amplification factor for each path provided for each probe 153. The A / D conversion circuit performs analog / digital conversion on the amplified received signal. The phase adjustment adder circuit gives a delay time to the A / D converted received signal for each path provided for each probe 153 to adjust the phase, and adds them together. The phase adjustment adder circuit generates a received signal as beam data by the phase adjustment addition. Note that the receiving unit 106 may have an amplifier for amplifying the received signal.

[0016] The tomographic image generation unit 108 performs envelope detection processing, logarithmic compression, etc. on the received signal supplied from the receiving unit 106. The tomographic image generation unit 108 further adjusts at least one of the dynamic range and the gain of the received signal to perform luminance conversion, thereby generating B-mode data. The B-mode data represents the strength of the received signal by luminance and is tomographic image information regarding the tissue in the subject.

[0017] The attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 obtains good attenuation data that does not include structures such as blood vessels by determining the dispersion of attenuation characteristics at each position within a predetermined range of the target area of ​​the subject based on the received signal supplied from the receiving unit 106. The attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 functions as a calculation unit, a determination unit, and a recording unit. The calculation unit uses the received signal acquired by the receiving unit 106 to calculate the attenuation rate at each position in the depth direction within a predetermined range of the liver, which is the target area, in real time. The calculation unit calculates the attenuation characteristics of the region including each position in real time from the attenuation rate at each position in the depth direction within the predetermined range calculated. The determination unit determines in real time whether the attenuation data, including the attenuation characteristics, is good or not based on the dispersion of attenuation characteristics in each region within the predetermined range of the liver calculated by the calculation unit. The determination unit determines that the attenuation data is good if the dispersion of attenuation characteristics in each region within the predetermined range of the liver is within a predetermined range. The recording unit controls the attenuation data that the determination unit has determined to be good to be saved in real time to the storage unit 140, etc. The storage control by the recording unit may be performed by the control unit 130.

[0018] The image processing unit 110 processes the B-mode data output from the tomographic image generation unit 108, for example, according to various image parameters currently set, to generate B-mode image data. The image processing unit 110 also combines the generated B-mode image data with the attenuation data output from the attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 to generate superimposed image data. The image processing unit 110 has an image memory unit 111, which is composed of a semiconductor memory such as DRAM. DRAM is an abbreviation for Dynamic Random Access Memory. The image processing unit 110 stores the processed B-mode image data, superimposed image data, and other image data in the image memory unit 111 on a frame-by-frame basis, according to the control unit 130. The image processing unit 110 outputs the image data generated as described above to the display control unit 112 in sequence, according to the control unit 130.

[0019] The display control unit 112 generates an image signal for display by performing coordinate transformations and other operations on the received image data in accordance with the control unit 130. The display control unit 112 outputs the generated image signal for display to the display unit 120.

[0020] The display unit 120 displays ultrasound images of the subject's tissues, organs, etc., on the screen, based on the display image signal output from the display control unit 112, in accordance with the control of the control unit 130. The ultrasound images may be still images or moving images. In this embodiment, the display unit 120 can superimpose information regarding attenuation characteristics within a predetermined range of the B-mode image. The display unit 120 may also be a display device connected to the main unit 100 via, for example, a cable or network.

[0021] The control unit 130 controls the overall operation of the ultrasound diagnostic device 1. Specifically, the control unit 130 controls the operation of the transmission unit 104, the reception unit 106, the attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109, and the storage unit 140, etc., based on various instructions input by the user from the operation unit 102, and various programs and data read from the storage unit 140. The control unit 130 also functions as a notification unit that informs the user that good attenuation data has been obtained when good attenuation data has been obtained by the attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109. As a notification means, for example, a message indicating that good attenuation data has been obtained may be displayed on the screen of the display unit 120, or the user may be notified that good attenuation data has been obtained by voice or the like.

[0022] The storage unit 140 includes at least one storage module, such as an HDD, SSD, ROM, and RAM. HDD is an abbreviation for Hard Disk Drive. SSD is an abbreviation for Solid State Drive. ROM is an abbreviation for Read Only Memory. RAM is an abbreviation for Random Access Memory. The storage unit 140 stores system programs, application programs, and various data received by the communication unit 160. For example, the storage unit 140 stores a program P for performing processing related to ultrasound examinations, saving and displaying attenuation data including attenuation characteristics of the target area.

[0023] The communication unit 160 includes, for example, a communication module including a NIC, a LAN adapter, a receiver, and a transmitter. NIC is an abbreviation for Network Interface Card. The communication unit 160 communicates various data, information, etc., with external devices via a network, for example.

[0024] The ultrasound probe 150 comprises a head 152, a cable 154, and a connector 156. The head 152 is the part that is pressed against the body surface of the subject. The head 152 is equipped with a plurality of transducers 153 made of piezoelectric elements. The transducers 153 transmit ultrasound to the target area of ​​the subject based on a drive signal transmitted from the main body 100 of the device, and also receive reflected waves reflected from the target area within the subject. The transducers 153 may be arranged in a one-dimensional array in the scanning direction, or in a two-dimensional array. The number of transducers 153 can be set arbitrarily. The ultrasound probe 150 can employ a linear scanning method, a convex scanning method, or a sector scanning method, etc.

[0025] One end of the cable 154 is electrically connected to the head unit 152, and the other end is electrically connected to the connector 156. The connector 156 is connected to the main body of the device 100. However, communication between the main body of the device 100 and the ultrasonic probe 150 is not limited to wired communication using the cable 154. The communication method between the main body of the device 100 and the ultrasonic probe 150 may be wireless communication using UWB or the like. UWB is an abbreviation for Ultra Wide Band.

[0026] The ultrasound diagnostic device 1 functions as a computer and has at least one processor for realizing functions such as the tomographic image generation unit 108, the attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109, and the control unit 130. The processor realizes the functions of the tomographic image generation unit 108, the attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109, and the control unit 130 by executing programs stored in the memory of the memory in the memory unit of the processor's circuit. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the processor realizes the functions of the calculation unit, determination unit, and recording unit of the attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 by executing the above-mentioned program. The processor includes, for example, a dedicated or general-purpose CPU or GPU. CPU is an abbreviation for Central Processing Unit. GPU is an abbreviation for Graphical Processing Unit. The processor may also include application-specific integrated circuits such as ASICs and FPGAs. ASIC is an abbreviation for Application Specific Integrated Circuit. FPGA is an abbreviation for Field Programmable Gate Array. The functions of the tomographic image generation unit 108, the attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109, and the control unit 130 may be included in a single circuit. Furthermore, the control unit 130 may include at least one of the functions of the tomographic image generation unit 108 and the attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109.

[0027] [Example of operation of ultrasound diagnostic device 1] Figure 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the ultrasound diagnostic device 1 when acquiring and storing attenuation data related to the amount of fat in the liver, which is an example of a target area according to this embodiment. The attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109, etc., executes the program P stored in the storage unit 140, etc., to realize each process including the transmission / reception step, calculation step, determination step, and recording step shown in Figure 2.

[0028] The ultrasound probe 150 transmits ultrasound waves toward the subject and receives reflected waves reflected by organs, tissues, etc., such as the liver within the subject (step S1). Step S1 corresponds to an example of a transmission and reception step. Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of a received signal when reflected waves reflected by the liver, etc., are received according to this embodiment. In Figure 3, the vertical axis is the amplitude of the received signal, and the horizontal axis is time. The left end of the horizontal axis is the timing of the generation of ultrasound (transmitted pulse). The time on the horizontal axis is the elapsed time since the generation of ultrasound and reflects the depth direction of the liver of the subject. In the ultrasound diagnostic device 1, two-dimensional data is acquired by transmitting and receiving while gradually shifting the position of the transducer 153 in the horizontal direction, which is the scanning direction. The transducer 153 is, for example, an array transducer, and the position in the scanning direction where ultrasound is transmitted and received is changed depending on which transducer in the array transducer is used. The received signal shown in Figure 3 is a signal transmitted and received at a predetermined position in the scanning direction of the transducer 153. The received signal attenuates and becomes weaker as the depth within the liver increases, because the propagation distance of the transmitted ultrasound signal also increases.

[0029] The control unit 130 determines whether or not to perform B-mode processing (step S2). If the control unit 130 determines to perform B-mode processing, it proceeds to step S3. On the other hand, if the control unit 130 determines not to perform B-mode processing, it proceeds to step S4. For example, the control unit 130 may determine whether or not to perform B-mode processing based on information set in advance by the user. In this embodiment, an example in which B-mode processing and attenuation characteristic calculation processing are performed at different timings is described, but B-mode processing and attenuation characteristic calculation processing may be performed in parallel.

[0030] The tomography generation unit 108 performs processes such as envelope detection, logarithmic compression, dynamic range adjustment, and gain adjustment on the received signal output from the receiving unit 106 to convert brightness and generate B-mode data (step S3). The tomography generation unit 108 outputs the generated B-mode data to the image processing unit 110 and returns to step S1. If only B-mode processing is performed, the ultrasound image may be displayed on the display unit 120 based on the B-mode image data generated by the image processing unit 110, and the series of processes may be terminated.

[0031] On the other hand, if the control unit 130 determines that B-mode processing should not be performed, it controls the attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 to perform attenuation characteristic calculation processing. The attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 uses the received signal output from the receiving unit 106 to perform attenuation characteristic calculation processing to calculate the attenuation characteristics at a predetermined position within a predetermined range of the liver (step S4). Step S4 corresponds to an example of a calculation step. The attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 then moves to the subroutine shown in Figure 4 to perform the attenuation characteristic calculation processing.

[0032] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 during the attenuation characteristic calculation process in step S4. The attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 sets a first depth position d1 of a certain depth and a second depth position d2 that is deeper than the first depth position d1 in the received signal output from the receiving unit 106, as shown in Figure 3 (step S40).

[0033] The attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 performs frequency transformations on the first signal at the set first depth position d1 and the second signal at the second depth position d2 (step S41). Examples of frequency transformations include Fourier transform and wavelet transform. Figure 5 shows the frequency characteristic A obtained when the first signal at the first depth position d1 is frequency transformed, and the frequency characteristic B obtained when the second signal at the second depth position d2 is frequency transformed, using the received signal shown in Figure 3. In Figure 5, the vertical axis is intensity and the horizontal axis is frequency. The attenuation of the received signal in the liver of the subject increases with increasing frequency. Furthermore, the attenuation of frequency characteristic B at the deeper second depth position d2 is greater than the attenuation of frequency characteristic A at the first depth position d1.

[0034] The attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 calculates the attenuation characteristics of a local region including the first depth position d1 and the second depth position d2 from the difference between the frequency characteristics A of the first depth position d1 and the frequency characteristics B of the second depth position d2 (step S42). Figure 6 is a diagram showing the attenuation characteristics of a local region near the first depth position d1 and the second depth position d2 in the depth direction of the received signal shown in Figure 5. In Figure 6, the vertical axis is intensity and the horizontal axis is frequency. The attenuation characteristics indicate the amount of attenuation of ultrasound when the transmitted signal is propagated in the local region from the first depth position d1 to the second depth position d2. The attenuation characteristics can be represented, for example, by a linear function with a constant slope. The slope of the linear function includes curves that can be approximated by a straight line. For example, if the local region is mainly composed of hepatocytes, the attenuation of the received signal will be uniform, and its attenuation characteristics will be attenuation characteristics C1 as shown by the solid line in Figure 6. Furthermore, when the local area consists of blood vessels and hepatocytes, the attenuation is smaller compared to the case where only hepatocytes, i.e., normal liver, resulting in attenuation characteristics C2 as shown by the dotted line in Figure 6. Also, when the local area mainly consists of fatty liver, the attenuation of the received signal is larger compared to the case where only normal liver is present due to ultrasonic scattering by fat, resulting in attenuation characteristics C3 as shown by the dashed line in Figure 6. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the degree of disease does not differ depending on the location of the liver, as in cirrhosis.

[0035] The attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 determines whether or not it has calculated the attenuation characteristics for each local region within a predetermined range in the liver (step S43). If the attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 determines that it has calculated the attenuation characteristics for each local region within a predetermined range of the received signal, it proceeds to step S5 shown in Figure 2.

[0036] On the other hand, if in step S43 the attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 determines that it has not calculated the attenuation characteristics for each local region within a predetermined range in the liver, it returns to step S40. In this case, the attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 sets a depth position different from the first depth position d1 and the second depth position d2 in the received signal shown in Figure 3, and calculates the attenuation characteristics of the local region including the set depth position. Furthermore, the attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 sets a predetermined depth position in the received signal at a position shifted in the scanning direction (lateral direction) within the predetermined range, and calculates the attenuation characteristics of the local region including the set depth position. In this way, the attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 obtains the attenuation characteristics of multiple local regions within a predetermined range of the liver scan area. Hereinafter, the slope of the attenuation characteristic may be referred to as the attenuation parameter. The unit of the attenuation parameter is [dB / cm / MHz], and it represents how many dB the signal per frequency of 1 MHz is attenuated in propagation over a unit distance.

[0037] As shown in Figure 2, the damping characteristic calculation unit 109 calculates the variance of the damping parameter at each depth position within the calculated predetermined range using a statistical method (step S5). In addition to variance, other statistical methods such as standard deviation may also be used.

[0038] The attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 compares the variance values ​​of the calculated multiple attenuation parameters with a preset threshold and determines whether the variance values ​​are below the threshold (step S6). Step S6 is an example of a determination step. For example, the threshold may be determined using clinically collected data, taking into account the variance values ​​when structures such as blood vessels are included, when the liver is normal, and when fatty liver is present. If the variance values ​​are below the threshold, the attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 determines that the attenuation data, which includes multiple attenuation parameters within a predetermined range, is good. This is because, when the liver contains both normal liver and fatty liver, although the attenuation amounts differ, the attenuation parameters, which represent the state of the liver, fall within a certain range, thus reducing the variability of the attenuation parameters and consequently the variance values.

[0039] On the other hand, the attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 determines that the attenuation data, which includes multiple attenuation parameters within a predetermined range, is not good if the variance value exceeds a threshold. For example, if the scan area of ​​the liver includes structures such as blood vessels and hepatocytes, the attenuation amount of blood vessels and the attenuation amount of hepatocytes will differ significantly, and the attenuation parameter, which represents the state of the liver, will not fall within a certain range. As a result, the variability of the attenuation parameter will increase, and the variance value will also increase accordingly. In this case, it is considered that there is a problem with the measurement site or measurement conditions, so the process returns to step S1, and ultrasound is transmitted and received to the target area of ​​the subject, and the attenuation data is collected again.

[0040] The attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 saves the attenuation data that it has determined to be good in the storage unit 140 or the like in real time (step S7). Step S7 corresponds to an example of a recording step. For example, the attenuation data may be image data in which each depth position within a predetermined range in the liver is colored according to the amount of fat based on the attenuation parameter, using a color map associated with each attenuation parameter. Alternatively, the attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 may save the quantified values ​​of multiple attenuation parameters within a predetermined range in the storage unit 140 in real time. Furthermore, the generation of attenuation data may be performed by the image processing unit 110 or the like. The storage location for various types of data may be the image memory unit 111 of the image processing unit 110.

[0041] The attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 determines whether the number of attenuation data showing good results has reached a preset number (step S8). If the attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 determines that the number of attenuation data showing good results has reached a preset reference number, it terminates the series of scans by ending the scanning of the next frame by the transmission unit 104, etc. In this case, the attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 may calculate the average value of the attenuation characteristic parameters in each local region from multiple attenuation data showing good results. On the other hand, if the attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 determines that the number of attenuation data showing good results has not reached a preset reference number, it returns to step S1. In this case, the attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109 performs, for example, a scan of the next frame and calculates the attenuation rate, attenuation characteristics, variance, etc., at each depth position within a predetermined range of the acquired received signal. The control unit 130 may perform the scan of the next frame at the same time as saving the attenuation data as described above. The control unit 130 may also determine the reference number based on the magnitude of the variance in multiple attenuation parameters. For example, if the variance values ​​of the attenuation parameters tend to be large, the reference number may be increased.

[0042] The image processing unit 110 may also generate a superimposed image by combining the generated B-mode image with the attenuation data generated by the attenuation characteristic calculation unit 109. In this case, the control unit 130 displays the superimposed image generated by the image processing unit 110 on the screen of the display unit 120. This allows a predetermined range within the liver to be displayed with color coding according to the amount of fat, and enables accurate understanding of the spatial distribution of the attenuation parameters.

[0043] In this embodiment, the calculation unit calculates the attenuation rate and attenuation characteristic parameters for a predetermined range of the liver in real time. Next, the determination unit determines in real time that the attenuation data, including attenuation characteristic parameters whose variance and dispersion within a certain range of the calculated attenuation characteristic parameters for the predetermined range of the liver are good. At this time, attenuation data that includes structures such as blood vessels is determined to be unsatisfactory because its variance falls outside the certain range, and is automatically excluded. Next, the recording unit saves the attenuation data, including the attenuation characteristics determined to be good, to the storage unit 140 in real time. In other words, according to this embodiment, good quality attenuation data that does not include structures such as blood vessels can be saved to the storage unit 140 the moment it is acquired. As a result, users such as doctors can automatically acquire good quality attenuation data without having to be aware of the position of the ultrasound probe relative to the target area of ​​the subject, the occurrence of body movement of the subject, the subject's physique, the properties of body tissue, etc. As a result, according to this embodiment, good quality attenuation data can be saved efficiently, thereby reducing the burden on the user to operate the ultrasound probe, etc.

[0044] Although preferred embodiments of this disclosure have been described in detail above with reference to the attached drawings, the technical scope of this disclosure is not limited to these examples. Furthermore, various modifications and improvements naturally fall within the technical scope of this disclosure, within the scope of the technical ideas described in the claims for those skilled in the art. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 1. Ultrasound diagnostic equipment 104 Transmitter (Sender / Receiver) 106 Receiving unit (transmitting / receiving unit) 109 Damping characteristic calculation unit (calculation unit, determination unit, recording unit) 130 Control Unit P Program

Claims

1. A transmitting and receiving unit that acquires received signals from a target area of ​​a subject by transmitting and receiving ultrasound, A calculation unit that uses the received signal acquired by the transmitting and receiving unit to calculate in real time the attenuation characteristics based on the attenuation rate at each position within a predetermined range of the target part, A determination unit that determines in real time whether the data including the damping characteristics of the plurality of positions calculated by the calculation unit is good or not, A recording unit that stores the data determined to be good by the determination unit in real time, An ultrasound diagnostic device equipped with the following features.

2. The determination unit determines that the data is good if the variance of the damping characteristics at the multiple positions is below a preset threshold. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The recording unit simultaneously stores the data, and the transmitting / receiving unit simultaneously scans to acquire the received signal for the next frame. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1.

4. The system further includes a notification unit that notifies when the determination unit determines that the data is good. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1.

5. The system further includes a control unit that terminates the scanning of the next frame by the transmitting / receiving unit when it has acquired a preset number of data that the determination unit has determined to be good. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1.

6. The control unit determines the number based on the magnitude of the data variance. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 5.

7. A transmission and reception step in which a received signal is acquired from a target area of ​​the subject by transmitting and receiving ultrasound, A calculation step of calculating in real time the attenuation characteristics based on the attenuation rate at each position within a predetermined range of the target part using the acquired received signal, A determination step to determine in real time whether the data including the damping characteristics of the multiple positions calculated is good or not, A recording step that saves the data that has been determined to be good in real time, An ultrasound diagnostic method having the following characteristics.

8. Computers, A transmitting and receiving unit that acquires received signals from a target area of ​​a subject by transmitting and receiving ultrasound. A calculation unit that uses the received signal acquired by the transmitting and receiving unit to calculate in real time the attenuation characteristics based on the attenuation rate at each position within a predetermined range of the target part. A determination unit that determines in real time whether the data including the damping characteristics of the multiple positions calculated by the calculation unit is good or not. A recording unit that stores the data determined to be good by the determination unit in real time. A program designed to function as such.

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