Ultrasound diagnostic device and method for controlling the ultrasound diagnostic device

Abstract

This ultrasonic diagnostic device comprises an ultrasonic probe and a device main body wirelessly connected to the ultrasonic probe. The ultrasonic probe includes: an image generation unit that generates an ultrasonic image with a constant frame rate; a frame interval adjustment unit that, according to the transmission rate of the ultrasonic image, skips some frames of the ultrasonic image sent to the device main body per unit time to adjust the frame interval of the ultrasonic image sent to the device main body; and a probe side communication circuit that sends the ultrasonic image for which the frame interval has been adjusted to the device main body through wireless communication. The device main body includes a main body side communication circuit that receives the ultrasonic image from the ultrasonic probe through wireless communication; a communication quality determination unit that determines the communication quality of wireless communication on the basis of the ratio between the first number of frames of the ultrasonic image received from the ultrasonic probe per unit time and the second number of frames of the ultrasonic image skipped in the ultrasonic probe per unit time; and a communication quality display unit that displays, on a monitor, information on the communication quality.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that displays information about the communication quality of wireless communication when an ultrasonic image is transmitted from an ultrasonic probe to a main body of the apparatus via wireless communication, and a method for controlling the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, in an ultrasound diagnostic device in which an ultrasound probe is wirelessly connected to the device main body, information on the communication quality of the wireless communication when transferring ultrasound images has been displayed by the number of antenna bars on an antenna pictogram based on the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) value or S (RSSI value) / N (noise value) ratio provided by the wireless communication module in the device main body.

[0003] In an ultrasound diagnostic device, a frame rate is set as one of the scan conditions according to the diagnostic purpose, and ultrasound images are generated sequentially at a constant frame rate set according to the diagnostic purpose. However, if communication quality deteriorates and the actual transmission speed of ultrasound images falls below the transmission speed corresponding to the constant frame rate set according to the diagnostic purpose, transmission of ultrasound images is skipped on a frame-by-frame basis.

[0004] The communication quality of wireless communication fluctuates from time to time due to fading, various disturbances, etc. If some frames of the ultrasound image are skipped due to fluctuations in communication quality and the ultrasound image is no longer transferred in real time from the ultrasound probe to the device main body, the ultrasound image will no longer be displayed in real time and the effects of fluctuations in communication quality will become visible in the ultrasound image, making it difficult for the user to make an accurate diagnosis.

[0005] Here, prior art documents that serve as references for the present invention include, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3.

[0006] Patent Document 1 describes an ultrasound diagnostic device that performs ultrasound scanning at a frame rate according to transmission conditions, and when an index value indicating the communication quality of wireless communication falls below a threshold, reduces the frame rate to reduce the amount of data transmitted from the ultrasound probe to the device body. Patent Document 2 describes an optoacoustic probe that determines a communication rate according to the communication quality of wireless communication. Patent Document 2 also describes that the communication quality is determined by using the amount of data delay, the strength of the wireless signal, the data recall rate, and the error rate. Patent Document 3 discloses that a signal strength indicator, which indicates the signal strength of wireless communication between a wireless probe and a host system, is displayed on an information display of the host system. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-050648 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-097671 [Patent Document 3] Patent No. 5727785 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] Since the RSSI value correlates with the error rate of wireless communication, it is possible to appropriately display information about the communication quality of medium- to long-distance wireless communication based on the RSSI value. However, in an ultrasound diagnostic device, the distance between the ultrasound probe and the device body is short, and the RSSI value is generally high, so it does not dominate the error rate of wireless communication. Therefore, it is not appropriate to display information about the communication quality of short-distance wireless communication based only on the RSSI value. Since an ultrasound diagnostic device needs to display ultrasound images in real time, it is desirable to display accurate information about the communication quality of wireless communication.

[0009] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic device and a method for controlling an ultrasonic diagnostic device that can display accurate information on the communication quality of wireless communication in an ultrasonic diagnostic device in which an ultrasonic probe and the device main body are wirelessly connected. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The above object can be achieved by the following configuration. [1] An ultrasonic wave probe and a device main body wirelessly connected to the ultrasonic wave probe, The ultrasound probe is an image generation unit that generates ultrasound images at a constant frame rate; a frame interval adjustment unit that adjusts the frame interval of the ultrasound images transmitted to the device body by skipping some frames of the ultrasound images transmitted to the device body per unit time in accordance with the transmission speed of the ultrasound images; a probe-side communication circuit that transmits the ultrasound image, the frame interval of which has been adjusted, to the device body by wireless communication; The device body is a main body side communication circuit for receiving an ultrasound image from the ultrasound probe via wireless communication; a communication quality determination unit that determines the communication quality of wireless communication based on a ratio between a first number of frames of an ultrasound image received from the ultrasound probe per unit time and a second number of frames of an ultrasound image skipped per unit time in the ultrasound probe; and a communication quality display unit that displays information about communication quality on a monitor.

[0011] [2] The ultrasound probe includes a sequence number assigning unit that assigns sequence numbers to ultrasound images generated at a constant frame rate in the order in which the ultrasound images are generated; The ultrasound diagnostic device according to [1], wherein the communication quality determination unit calculates the second number of frames by determining some of the skipped frames of the ultrasound image based on the sequence number.

[0012] [3] The ultrasound diagnostic device according to [1] or [2], wherein the communication quality determination unit determines the communication quality of the wireless communication based on a moving average value of the ratio of the first number of frames to the second number of frames within a specified time period.

[0013] [4] The main body side communication circuit transmits the second frame number to the ultrasound probe; the probe-side communication circuit receives a second frame number from the device main body; The ultrasound diagnostic device according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the frame interval adjustment unit skips some other frames of the ultrasound image transmitted to the device main body per unit time so that the second number of frames received from the device main body is less than a predetermined ratio with respect to the number of frames of the ultrasound image corresponding to a certain frame rate.

[0014] [5] The main body side communication circuit transmits the second frame number to the ultrasound probe; the probe-side communication circuit receives a second frame number from the device main body; The ultrasound diagnostic device according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the frame interval adjustment unit has a high-speed mode in which ultrasound images are transmitted at a first frame interval and a low-speed mode in which ultrasound images are transmitted at a second frame interval that is wider than the first frame interval, and switches from the high-speed mode to the low-speed mode when the number of second frames received from the device body becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined ratio with respect to the number of frames of the ultrasound image corresponding to a certain frame rate.

[0015] [6] The main body side communication circuit transmits the first frame number and the second frame number to the ultrasound probe; the probe-side communication circuit receives the first frame number and the second frame number from the device main body; The ultrasound diagnostic device according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the frame interval adjustment unit skips some other frames of the ultrasound image transmitted to the device body per unit time in accordance with the first number of frames and the second number of frames received from the device body.

[0016] [7] The main body side communication circuit transmits the first frame number and the second frame number to the ultrasound probe; the probe-side communication circuit receives the first frame number and the second frame number from the device main body; The ultrasound diagnostic device according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the frame interval adjustment unit has a high-speed mode in which ultrasound images are transmitted at a first frame interval and a low-speed mode in which ultrasound images are transmitted at a second frame interval that is wider than the first frame interval, and selects one of the high-speed mode and the low-speed mode depending on the first number of frames and the second number of frames received from the device body.

[0017] [8] The ultrasound diagnostic device according to any one of [1] to [7], wherein the communication quality determination unit determines the communication quality by taking into account variations in the frame intervals of ultrasound images received from the ultrasound probe per unit time.

[0018] [9] An ultrasonic wave probe and a device main body wirelessly connected to the ultrasonic wave probe, The ultrasound probe is an image generation unit that generates ultrasound images at a constant frame rate; a frame interval adjustment unit that adjusts the frame interval of the ultrasound images transmitted to the device body by skipping some frames of the ultrasound images transmitted to the device body per unit time in accordance with the transmission speed of the ultrasound images; a probe-side communication circuit that transmits the ultrasound image, the frame interval of which has been adjusted, to the device body by wireless communication; The device body is a main body side communication circuit for receiving an ultrasound image from the ultrasound probe via wireless communication; a communication quality determination unit that determines the communication quality of wireless communication based on the variation in frame intervals of ultrasound images received from the ultrasound probe per unit time; and a communication quality display unit that displays information about communication quality on a monitor.

[0019]

[10] The ultrasound diagnostic device according to [8] or [9], wherein the communication quality determination unit determines the communication quality of wireless communication based on a moving average value of the variation in the frame interval of ultrasound images within a predetermined time.

[0020]

[11] The ultrasound diagnostic device according to [3] or

[10] , wherein the communication quality determination unit determines that the communication quality has deteriorated when the moving average value increases by a predetermined percentage or more.

[0021]

[12] The main body side communication circuit transmits the communication quality to the ultrasound probe; The probe communication circuit receives the communication quality from the device main body, An ultrasound diagnostic device according to any one of [1] to

[11] , wherein the frame interval adjustment unit skips some of the frames of the ultrasound image transmitted to the device body per unit time in accordance with the communication quality received from the device body.

[0022]

[13] A control method for an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus including an ultrasonic probe and an apparatus main body wirelessly connected to the ultrasonic probe, comprising: generating ultrasound images at a constant frame rate by an image generating unit of the ultrasound probe; a step in which a frame interval adjustment unit of the ultrasonic probe adjusts the frame interval of the ultrasonic images transmitted to the device body by skipping some frames of the ultrasonic images transmitted to the device body per unit time in accordance with the transmission speed of the ultrasonic images; a step in which a probe-side communication circuit of the ultrasound probe transmits the ultrasound image, the frame interval of which has been adjusted, to the device main body via wireless communication; a step in which a main body side communication circuit of the device main body receives an ultrasound image from the ultrasound probe via wireless communication; a step in which a communication quality determination unit of the device body determines communication quality of wireless communication based on a ratio between a first number of frames of an ultrasound image received from the ultrasound probe per unit time and a second number of frames of an ultrasound image skipped per unit time in the ultrasound probe; a step of causing a communication quality display unit of the device body to display information about communication quality on a monitor.

[0023]

[14] A method for controlling an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus including an ultrasonic probe and an apparatus main body wirelessly connected to the ultrasonic probe, comprising: generating ultrasound images at a constant frame rate by an image generating unit of the ultrasound probe; a step in which a frame interval adjustment unit of the ultrasonic probe adjusts the frame interval of the ultrasonic image transmitted to the device body by skipping some frames of the ultrasonic image transmitted to the device body in accordance with the transmission speed of the ultrasonic image; a step in which a probe-side communication circuit of the ultrasound probe transmits the ultrasound image, the frame interval of which has been adjusted, to the device main body via wireless communication; a step in which a main body side communication circuit of the device main body receives an ultrasound image from the ultrasound probe via wireless communication; a step in which a communication quality determination unit of the device body determines communication quality of wireless communication based on a variation in frame intervals of ultrasound images received from the ultrasound probe per unit time; a step of causing a communication quality display unit of the device body to display information about communication quality on a monitor. [Effects of the Invention]

[0024] In the present invention, the communication quality of wireless communication is determined based on the ratio between the first frame number and the second frame number, the variation in the frame intervals of ultrasound images, or both, and information on the communication quality of wireless communication is displayed on a monitor. This allows accurate information on the communication quality of wireless communication to be displayed on a monitor in an ultrasound diagnostic device that performs short-range wireless communication between an ultrasound probe and a device main body. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a transmission / reception circuit. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image generating unit. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication quality processing unit. [Figure 5] 1 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and the method for controlling the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail below based on preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

[0027] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus shown in Fig. 1 is a handheld ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and includes an ultrasonic probe 1 and a device main body 3 wirelessly connected to the ultrasonic probe 1. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of this embodiment is realized by the ultrasonic probe 1, the device main body 3, and an application program for ultrasonic diagnosis that runs on the device main body 3.

[0028] The ultrasonic probe 1 scans an examination point of a subject with an ultrasonic beam and outputs an ultrasonic image of the examination point. As shown in Fig. 1, the ultrasonic probe 1 includes a transducer array 11, a transmission / reception circuit 13, an image generation unit 15, a sequence number assignment unit 17, a frame interval adjustment unit 19, a probe-side communication circuit 21, a probe control unit 23, and a battery 25.

[0029] The transducer array 11 and the transmission / reception circuit 13 are bidirectionally connected. The transmission / reception circuit 13 is sequentially connected to an image generation unit 15, a sequence number assignment unit 17, a frame interval adjustment unit 19, and a probe-side communication circuit 21. A probe control unit 23 is connected to the transmission / reception circuit 13, the image generation unit 15, the sequence number assignment unit 17, the frame interval adjustment unit 19, and the probe-side communication circuit 21. The ultrasound probe 1 also has a built-in battery 25.

[0030] The transmitting / receiving circuit 13, the image generating unit 15, the sequence number assigning unit 17, the frame interval adjusting unit 19, and the probe control unit 23 constitute a probe-side processor 27.

[0031] The transducer array 11 has a plurality of ultrasound transducers arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally. Each of these transducers transmits ultrasound waves in accordance with a drive signal supplied from the transmission / reception circuit 13, and receives reflected waves from the subject and outputs an analog reception signal. Each vibrator is constructed using an element in which electrodes are formed on both ends of a piezoelectric body made of, for example, a piezoelectric ceramic such as PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate), a polymer piezoelectric element such as PVDF (Poly Vinylidene Di Fluoride), or a piezoelectric single crystal such as PMN-PT (Lead Magnesium Niobate-Lead Titanate).

[0032] The transmission / reception circuit 13, under the control of the probe control unit 23, causes the transducer array 11 to transmit ultrasonic beams and generates acoustic ray signals by performing reception focusing processing on reception signals output from the transducer array 11 that have received ultrasonic echoes. As shown in Fig. 2, the transmission / reception circuit 13 has a pulser 31 connected to the transducer array 11, and an amplifier 33, an AD (Analog-to-Digital) converter 35, and a beamformer 37 that are connected in series from the transducer array 11.

[0033] The pulser 31 includes, for example, a plurality of pulse generators, and performs a transmission focusing process in which the delay amount of each drive signal is adjusted and supplied to the plurality of transducers of the transducer array 11 so that the ultrasound waves transmitted from the plurality of transducers form an ultrasound beam based on the transmission delay pattern selected by the probe control unit 23. When this transmission focusing process applies a pulsed or continuous wave voltage to the electrodes of the transducers of the transducer array 11, the piezoelectric material expands and contracts, and pulsed or continuous wave ultrasound is generated from each transducer, and an ultrasound beam is formed from the composite wave of these ultrasound waves.

[0034] The transmitted ultrasonic beam is reflected by an object such as a part of the subject, and propagates toward the transducer array 11 of the ultrasonic probe 1. Each transducer constituting the transducer array 11 expands and contracts upon receiving the ultrasonic echo propagating toward the transducer array 11 in this manner, generating received signals which are electrical signals, and outputs these received signals to the amplifier 33.

[0035] The amplifier 33 amplifies the analog signals input from each transducer constituting the transducer array 11 and transmits the amplified signals to the AD converter 35. The AD converter 35 converts the signals transmitted from the amplifier 33 into digital reception data and outputs the reception data to the beamformer 37.

[0036] The beam former 37 performs a reception focusing process in which each piece of reception data converted by the AD conversion unit 35 is delayed and added in accordance with the sound speed or sound speed distribution set based on the reception delay pattern selected by the probe control unit 23. By this reception focusing process, each piece of reception data converted by the AD conversion unit 35 is phased and added, and a sound ray signal in which the focus of the ultrasonic echo is narrowed is generated.

[0037] The image generation unit 15 generates an ultrasound image (ultrasound image signal) of the examination point of the subject at a constant frame rate from sound ray signals obtained by transmitting and receiving ultrasound beams to and from the examination point of the subject using the ultrasound probe 1 (more precisely, the transducer array 11) under the control of the probe control unit 23. As shown in Fig. 3, the image generation unit 15 has a configuration in which a signal processing unit 41, a DSC 43, and an image processing unit 45 are connected in series.

[0038] The frame rate is preset depending on the diagnostic purpose, i.e., it is one of the scan conditions preset depending on the diagnostic purpose, and for example, the frame rate is set to 10 Hz when the diagnostic purpose is abdominal and obstetric examination, 15 Hz when the diagnostic purpose is superficial and vascular examination, 20 Hz when the diagnostic purpose is puncture examination, and 30 Hz when the diagnostic purpose is cardiac examination.

[0039] The signal processing unit 41 generates image information data before imaging into an ultrasound image based on the sound ray signals generated by the transmission / reception circuit 13. More specifically, the signal processing unit 41 performs signal processing on the sound ray signals generated by the beamformer 37, for example, performs correction for attenuation caused by the propagation distance in accordance with the depth of the position where the ultrasound is reflected, and then performs envelope detection processing to generate image information data representing tomographic image information regarding tissue in the subject.

[0040] A DSC (Digital Scan Converter) 43 raster-converts the image information data generated by the signal processing unit 41 into an image signal that conforms to the scanning method of a normal television signal.

[0041] The image processing unit 45 performs various image processing on the image signal input from the DSC 43, such as brightness correction, tone correction, sharpness correction, image size correction, refresh rate correction, scanning frequency correction, and color correction, in accordance with the display format of the monitor 61, to generate an ultrasound image, and then outputs the processed ultrasound image to the sequence number assignment unit 17.

[0042] The sequence number assigning unit 17, under the control of the probe control unit 23, assigns sequence numbers 1, 2, 3, . . . to the ultrasound images generated by the image generating unit 15 at a constant frame rate in the order in which the ultrasound images were generated.

[0043] Under the control of the probe control unit 23, the frame interval adjustment unit 19 adjusts the frame interval of the ultrasound image transmitted to the device main body 3 by skipping some of the frames of the ultrasound image transmitted to the device main body 3 per unit time, such as one second, depending on the transmission speed of the ultrasound image via wireless communication.

[0044] The frame interval of an ultrasound image is the time interval from the start time of transmission of a frame of ultrasound image transmitted from the ultrasound probe 1 to the device main body 3 to the start time of transmission of the next frame of ultrasound image. As described above, the communication quality of the wireless communication between the ultrasound probe 1 and the device main body 3 fluctuates from time to time depending on fading, various disturbances, etc. Since the transmission speed of the ultrasound image fluctuates depending on the fluctuation in communication quality, the frame interval adjustment unit 19 adjusts the frame interval of the ultrasound image by skipping some frames of the ultrasound image depending on the fluctuation in the transmission speed of the ultrasound image.

[0045] The frame interval adjustment unit 19 does not skip any frames of the ultrasound image when the transmission speed of the ultrasound image is equal to or higher than the transmission speed corresponding to the frame rate. On the other hand, when the transmission speed of the ultrasonic images is lower than the transmission speed corresponding to the frame rate, the frame interval adjustment unit 19 skips more frames of the ultrasonic images as the transmission speed of the ultrasonic images becomes slower. In other words, by reducing the number of frames of the ultrasonic images transmitted from the ultrasonic probe 1 to the device body 3, the frame interval of the ultrasonic images transmitted to the device body 3 becomes longer, that is, the number of frames of the ultrasonic images transmitted per unit time becomes smaller, or the frame rate of the wireless communication is adjusted to be lower.

[0046] The frame interval adjustment unit 19 has a buffer that stores, for example, one or more frames of ultrasound images, and the ultrasound images of the frames stored in the buffer are sequentially transmitted from the ultrasound probe 1 to the device body 3. Depending on the transmission speed of the ultrasound images, if there is free space for one frame or more in the buffer, the ultrasound image of the next frame is stored in the buffer, but if there is not free space for one frame or more in the buffer, the ultrasound image of the next frame is not stored in the buffer and is skipped.

[0047] Under the control of the probe control unit 23, the probe side communication circuit 21 transmits the ultrasound image, the frame interval of which has been adjusted by the frame interval adjustment unit 19, to the device main body 3 via wireless communication.

[0048] The probe control unit 23 controls each part of the ultrasonic probe 1 based on a program stored in advance.

[0049] The battery 25 is built into the ultrasonic probe 1 and supplies power to each circuit of the ultrasonic probe 1.

[0050] Next, the device main body 3 is a handheld terminal device such as a smartphone or tablet PC (Personal Computer), and receives and displays ultrasound images from the ultrasound probe 1. As shown in FIG. 1 , the device main body 3 includes a main body communication circuit 51, a display control unit 53, a communication quality processing unit 55, a main body control unit 57, a monitor 61, and an input device 63.

[0051] A display control unit 53 and a monitor 61 are sequentially connected in series to the main body communication circuit 51. A communication quality processing unit 55 is connected to the main body communication circuit 51, and a display control unit 53 is connected to the communication quality processing unit 55. A main body control unit 57 is connected to the main body communication circuit 51, the display control unit 53, and the communication quality processing unit 55, and the main body control unit 57 is connected to an input device 63.

[0052] The display control unit 53, the communication quality processing unit 55, and the main unit control unit 57 constitute a main unit processor 59.

[0053] In this embodiment, the probe side communication circuit 21 of the ultrasonic probe 1 and the main body side communication circuit 51 of the device main body 3 are wirelessly connected via wireless communication, thereby connecting the ultrasonic probe 1 and the device main body 3 to enable the exchange of information in both directions.

[0054] The main body communication circuit 51 receives ultrasonic images from the ultrasonic probe 1 via wireless communication under the control of the main body control unit 57. More specifically, the main body communication circuit 51 receives ultrasonic images transmitted from the probe communication circuit 21 of the ultrasonic probe 1 via wireless communication.

[0055] The display control unit 53, under the control of the main body control unit 57, causes various types of information to be displayed on the monitor 61. For example, the display control unit 53 performs predetermined processing on the ultrasound image received from the ultrasound probe 1 by the main body side communication circuit 51 and causes the image to be displayed on the monitor 61, or causes information on the communication quality of wireless communication to be displayed on the monitor 61. The display control unit 53 also causes various messages and various operation screens to be displayed on the monitor 61.

[0056] The monitor 61 displays various types of information under the control of the display control unit 53. As described above, the monitor 61 displays ultrasound images as well as communication quality information, various messages, various operation screens, etc. Examples of the monitor 61 include an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display.

[0057] The communication quality processing unit 55 performs various processes related to the communication quality of wireless communication, and in this embodiment, determines and displays the communication quality, under the control of the main body control unit 57. As shown in FIG. 4, the communication quality processing unit 55 has a communication quality determination unit 71 and a communication quality display unit 73. The communication quality determination unit 71 is connected to the main body side communication circuit 51. The communication quality determination unit 71 is connected to a communication quality display unit 73 and a display control unit 53 in this order.

[0058] The communication quality determination unit 71 calculates the first number of frames of the ultrasound image received from the ultrasound probe 1 per unit time by the main body side communication circuit 51 and the second number of frames of the ultrasound image skipped per unit time by the ultrasound probe 1 (more precisely, the frame interval adjustment unit 19), and determines the communication quality of the wireless communication based on the ratio between the first number of frames and the second number of frames, for example, (second number of frames / first number of frames). The sum of the first frame number and the second frame number is the number of frames of an ultrasound image corresponding to a certain frame rate set according to the diagnostic purpose.

[0059] The communication quality determination unit 71 can calculate the first frame number by, for example, using a counter to count the number of frames of ultrasound images received from the ultrasound probe 1 per unit time by the main body side communication circuit 51.

[0060] The communication quality determination unit 71 can calculate the second number of frames by determining some of the skipped frames of the ultrasound image based on the sequence numbers assigned to the ultrasound image by the sequence number assignment unit 17. That is, among the ultrasound images received per unit time from the ultrasound probe 1 by the main body side communication circuit 51, the ultrasound image frames with missing sequence numbers are the skipped ultrasound image frames.

[0061] The communication quality determination unit 71 can determine the communication quality based on the ratio between the first number of frames and the second number of frames, by distinguishing the communication quality into a plurality of stages corresponding to the number of antenna bars of the pictogram, for example.

[0062] For example, the communication quality determination unit 71 determines that the communication quality is better as the ratio between the first number of frames and the second number of frames becomes smaller. In other words, the communication quality determination unit 71 determines that the communication quality is better as the number of ultrasound image frames transmitted from the ultrasound probe 1 to the device body 3 per unit time becomes larger, that is, the number of ultrasound image frames skipped per unit time becomes smaller.

[0063] The communication quality display unit 73, under the control of the display control unit 53, causes the monitor 61 to display information on the communication quality determined by the communication quality determination unit 71.

[0064] The communication quality display unit 73 may display a message or a pictogram on the monitor 61 as information on the communication quality. For example, if the communication quality information is in three levels, namely, good, normal, and bad, the communication quality display unit 73 displays a message such as "Communication quality: good," "Communication quality: normal," or "Communication quality: bad" on the monitor depending on the communication quality.

[0065] For example, when the communication quality information is in four stages corresponding to the four antenna bars of the pictogram, the communication quality display unit 73 determines the number of antenna bars in accordance with the communication quality and displays the pictogram with the determined number of antenna bars on the monitor 61. For example, when the communication quality is in the fourth stage, which is the best communication quality, of the four stages corresponding to the four antenna bars, the communication quality display unit 73 displays a pictogram with four antenna bars on the monitor 61.

[0066] The input device 63 is used by the user to input various instructions by performing input operations, and includes, for example, various buttons, a touch panel that the user uses to input various instructions by performing touch operations, and a voice input device that the user uses to input various instructions by voice.

[0067] Next, the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0068] First, the user selects a diagnostic purpose. For example, if the user selects abdominal examination as the diagnostic purpose, the frame rate is set to 10 Hz as described above.

[0069] Next, with the ultrasonic probe 1 in contact with the examination location of the subject, the user inputs an instruction to start the examination from the input device 63 etc. In response to this instruction, the transmission / reception circuitry 13 starts transmitting ultrasonic beams, and sound ray signals are generated (step S1).

[0070] That is, in the transmission / reception circuit 13, ultrasonic beams are transmitted from the plurality of transducers of the transducer array 11 into the subject in accordance with the drive signal from the pulser 31. The ultrasonic echo from the subject based on the ultrasonic beam transmitted from the pulser 31 is received by each transducer of the transducer array 11, and a received signal, which is an analog signal, is output from each transducer of the transducer array 11 that receives the ultrasonic echo. The received signal, which is an analog signal output from each transducer of the transducer array 11, is amplified by the amplifier 33 of the transmission / reception circuit 13 and AD converted by the AD converter 35 to obtain received data. The beamformer 37 performs reception focus processing on this reception data, thereby generating sound ray signals.

[0071] Next, the image generation unit 15 generates an ultrasound image of the examination point of the subject at a constant frame rate set according to the diagnostic purpose based on the sound ray signals generated by the beamformer 37 of the transmission / reception circuit 13 (step S2).

[0072] That is, in the image generating unit 15, various types of signal processing are performed by the signal processing unit 41 on the sound ray signals generated by the beam former 37, and a signal representing tomographic image information on tissues within the subject is generated as image signal data before imaging. The image signal data generated by the signal processing unit 41 is raster converted by the image processing unit 45, and then subjected to various image processing to generate an ultrasound image.

[0073] Next, the sequence number assigning unit 17 assigns sequence numbers 1, 2, 3, . . . to the ultrasound images generated at a constant frame rate by the image generating unit 15 in the order in which the ultrasound images were generated (step S3).

[0074] Next, the frame interval adjustment unit 19 skips some frames of the ultrasound image transmitted to the device main body 3 per unit time in accordance with the transmission speed of the ultrasound image via wireless communication, and adjusts the frame interval of the ultrasound image transmitted to the device main body 3 (step S4).

[0075] Next, the probe-side communication circuit 21 transmits the ultrasound image, the frame interval of which has been adjusted by the frame interval adjustment unit 19, from the ultrasound probe 1 to the device main body 3 by wireless communication (step S5).

[0076] In response to this, in the device main body 3, the main body side communication circuit 51 receives the ultrasound image transmitted by wireless communication from the probe side communication circuit 21 of the ultrasound probe 1 (step S6).

[0077] Next, the display control unit 53 performs predetermined processing on the ultrasound image received by the main body side communication circuit 51, and the image is displayed on the monitor 61 (step S7).

[0078] Furthermore, the communication quality processing unit 55 performs various processes relating to communication quality.

[0079] That is, in the communication quality processing unit 55, the communication quality determination unit 71 calculates the first number of frames of ultrasound images received from the ultrasound probe 1 by the main body side communication circuit 51 per unit time and the second number of frames of ultrasound images skipped per unit time, and determines the communication quality of the wireless communication based on the ratio between the first number of frames and the second number of frames (step S8). Then, information on the communication quality determined by the communication quality determining unit 71 is displayed on the monitor 61 by the communication quality display unit 73 (step S9).

[0080] In this way, in the ultrasound diagnostic device of this embodiment, the communication quality of wireless communication is determined based on the ratio between the first frame number and the second frame number, and information about the communication quality of wireless communication is displayed on the monitor 61. This allows accurate information about the communication quality of wireless communication to be displayed on the monitor 61 in an ultrasound diagnostic device that performs short-range wireless communication between the ultrasound probe 1 and the device main body 3.

[0081] In addition, instead of the ratio between the first number of frames and the second number of frames, the communication quality determination unit 71 may determine the communication quality of the wireless communication based on the variation in the frame intervals of the ultrasound images received from the ultrasound probe 1 per unit time by the main body side communication circuit 51, in other words, the variation in the number of frames of the ultrasound images received per unit time, or the variation in the frame rate of the wireless communication. The communication quality determining unit 71 calculates the variation in the frame intervals of the ultrasound images, for example, by calculating the interval value of each frame of the ultrasound images. In this case, the communication quality determining unit 71 determines that the communication quality has deteriorated more significantly as the variation in the frame intervals of the ultrasound images increases.

[0082] Alternatively, the communication quality determination unit 71 may determine the communication quality by taking into account the variation in the frame intervals of the ultrasound images described above in addition to the ratio between the first number of frames and the second number of frames. That is, the communication quality determination unit 71 may determine the communication quality of the wireless communication based on both the ratio between the first number of frames and the second number of frames and the variation in the frame intervals of the ultrasound images. In this case, the communication quality determining unit 71 determines that the communication quality has deteriorated more significantly as the ratio between the first number of frames and the second number of frames increases and as the frame intervals of the ultrasound images vary more.

[0083] The communication quality determination unit 71 may determine the communication quality based on, for example, a moving average value of the ratio between the first number of frames and the second number of frames within a predetermined time period, or a moving average value of the variation in the frame intervals of ultrasound images within a predetermined time period, or both. The predetermined time period is, for example, 10 seconds or more and 1 minute or less, and is preferably 10 seconds or 30 seconds. In this case, the communication quality determination unit 71 determines that the communication quality has deteriorated when the moving average value increases by a predetermined percentage or more. The predetermined percentage is, for example, 5% or more and 10% or less, and is preferably 5% or 10%.

[0084] The communication quality determination unit 71 may determine the communication quality of the wireless communication by taking into account the RSSI value provided by the main body side communication circuit 51. For example, the communication quality determination unit 71 may determine the communication quality by taking into account the RSSI value with respect to the ratio between the first number of frames and the second number of frames, or may determine the communication quality by taking into account the RSSI value with respect to variations in the frame intervals of ultrasound images, or may determine the communication quality by taking into account both the ratio between the first number of frames and the second number of frames and variations in the frame intervals of ultrasound images.

[0085] In this case, the communication quality determination unit 71 determines that the communication quality is better, for example, as the ratio between the first number of frames and the second number of frames decreases, the variation in the frame intervals of the ultrasound images decreases, and the RSSI value increases.The communication quality determination unit 71 then determines the communication quality by integrating the ratio between the first number of frames and the second number of frames, the variation in the frame intervals of the ultrasound images, and the RSSI value.

[0086] The communication quality determination unit 71 determines the communication quality taking the RSSI value into consideration, thereby determining the cause of the fluctuation in communication quality. When the RSSI value is low, the RSSI value is the dominant cause of the fluctuation in communication quality, and when the RSSI value is high, factors other than the RSSI value are dominant. For example, when the RSSI value is low, it can be determined that the cause of the deterioration in communication quality is a decrease in the signal strength of the radio waves. On the other hand, when the RSSI value is high, it can be determined that the cause of the deterioration in communication quality is a factor other than the signal strength of the radio waves.

[0087] If the RSSI value falls below a predetermined threshold, a message informing the user that the radio signal strength is weak may be displayed on the monitor 61, or the message may be spoken aloud from the speaker, or both may be done.

[0088] The frame interval adjustment unit 19 may control the amount of frame skipping by systematically skipping some other frames of the ultrasound image depending on the communication quality fed back from the device main body 3 to the ultrasound probe 1, in addition to some frames of the ultrasound image that are skipped depending on the transmission speed of the ultrasound image.

[0089] In this case, the main body side communication circuit 51 transmits the communication quality determined by the communication quality determination unit 71 to the ultrasound probe 1, and in response, the probe side communication circuit 21 receives the communication quality from the device main body 3. Then, the frame interval adjustment unit 19 systematically skips some of the other frames of the ultrasound image transmitted to the device main body 3 per unit time, depending on the communication quality received from the device main body 3 by the probe side communication circuit 21.

[0090] The worse the communication quality, the more ultrasound image frames are skipped by the frame interval adjustment unit 19. This adjusts the frame interval of the ultrasound images and reduces the frame rate of wireless communication. Even if the frame interval adjustment unit 19 intentionally skips some other frames of the ultrasound image depending on the communication quality, as described above, some frames of the ultrasound image are skipped depending on the transmission speed of the ultrasound image.

[0091] The frame interval adjustment unit 19 may control the amount of frame skipping by systematically skipping some other frames of the ultrasound image according to a second number of frames, i.e., the number of ultrasound image frames skipped per unit time, instead of the communication quality.

[0092] In this case, the main body side communication circuit 51 transmits the second frame number to the ultrasound probe 1, and in response, the probe side communication circuit 21 receives the second frame number from the device main body 3. Then, the frame interval adjustment unit 19 systematically skips some of the other frames of the ultrasound image transmitted to the device main body 3 per unit time so that the second number of frames received from the device main body 3 by the probe side communication circuit 21 is less than a predetermined ratio to the number of frames of the ultrasound image corresponding to a certain frame rate set according to the diagnostic purpose.

[0093] In addition, the frame interval adjustment unit 19 can also control the amount of frame skipping by systematically skipping some other frames of the ultrasound image depending on the first number of frames and the second number of frames, i.e., the number of frames of the ultrasound image received from the ultrasound probe 1 per unit time and the number of frames of the ultrasound image skipped per unit time.

[0094] In this case, the main body side communication circuit 51 transmits the first frame number and the second frame number to the ultrasonic probe 1, and in response, the probe side communication circuit 21 receives the first frame number and the second frame number from the device main body 3. Then, based on the first number of frames and the second number of frames received from the device main body 3 by the probe side communication circuit 21, the frame interval adjustment unit 19 systematically skips some other frames of the ultrasound image transmitted to the device main body 3 per unit time, for example, in accordance with the ratio between the first number of frames and the second number of frames.

[0095] Alternatively, the frame interval adjustment unit 19 may have a high-speed mode in which ultrasound images are transmitted at a first frame interval, and a low-speed mode in which ultrasound images are transmitted at a second frame interval that is wider than the first frame interval, and may switch between the high-speed mode and the low-speed mode depending on the second frame number.

[0096] In this case, the main body side communication circuit 51 transmits the second frame number to the ultrasound probe 1, and in response, the probe side communication circuit 21 receives the second frame number from the device main body 3. When the number of second frames received by the probe-side communication circuit 21 from the device main body 3 becomes equal to or greater than the predetermined ratio, the frame interval adjustment unit 19 switches from the high-speed mode to the low-speed mode. On the other hand, when the number of second frames received by the probe-side communication circuit 21 from the device main body 3 becomes less than the predetermined ratio, the frame interval adjustment unit 19 switches from the low-speed mode to the high-speed mode. In this way, when the probe side communication circuit 21 switches between low speed mode and high speed mode, the frame rate of ultrasound image generation in the image generation unit 15 can also be changed in conjunction with the switching between low speed mode and high speed mode.

[0097] The frame interval adjustment unit 19 can also be configured to select either the low-speed mode or the high-speed mode depending on the first number of frames and the second number of frames, i.e., the number of ultrasound image frames received from the ultrasound probe 1 per unit time and the number of ultrasound image frames skipped per unit time.

[0098] In this case, the main body side communication circuit 51 transmits the first frame number and the second frame number to the ultrasonic probe 1, and in response, the probe side communication circuit 21 receives the first frame number and the second frame number from the device main body 3. Then, based on the first frame number and the second frame number received from the device main body 3 by the probe side communication circuit 21, the frame interval adjustment unit 19 selects one of the high-speed mode and the low-speed mode, for example, depending on the ratio between the first frame number and the second frame number.

[0099] In addition, even when the frame interval adjustment unit 19 intentionally skips some of the frames of the ultrasound image according to the second frame number, or when switching between high-speed mode and low-speed mode, some of the frames of the ultrasound image are similarly skipped according to the transmission speed of the ultrasound image. Furthermore, the frame interval adjustment unit 19 is not limited to the two modes consisting of the high-speed mode and the low-speed mode, and may have three or more modes, but it is preferable that it has two or three modes.

[0100] As described above, by feeding back information based on the ultrasound image received from the ultrasound probe 1, such as the communication quality and the second frame number, to the ultrasound probe 1, the frame interval adjustment unit 19 can adjust the frame interval of the ultrasound image and systematically reduce the frame rate of the wireless communication. This reduces the fluctuation in the number of ultrasound image frames skipped depending on the transmission speed of the ultrasound image, and reduces the fluctuation in the frame interval of the ultrasound image, thereby reducing the visible effects of fluctuations in communication quality on the ultrasound image.

[0101] The present invention is applicable not only to handheld ultrasonic diagnostic devices but also to stationary ultrasonic diagnostic devices and portable ultrasonic diagnostic devices in which the device main body is realized by a laptop-type terminal device, as long as wireless communication is performed between the ultrasonic probe 1 and the device main body 3.

[0102] In the device of the present invention, the hardware configuration of processing units that perform various processes, such as the transmission / reception circuit 13, image generation unit 15, sequence number assignment unit 17, frame interval adjustment unit 19, probe control unit 23, display control unit 53, communication quality processing unit 55, and main body control unit 57, may be dedicated hardware or various processors or computers that execute programs. Furthermore, the hardware configuration of reference image memories 64, 64B may be dedicated hardware or may be a memory such as a semiconductor memory and a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive).

[0103] Various types of processors include CPUs (Central Processing Units), which are general-purpose processors that execute software (programs) and function as various processing units, programmable logic devices (PLDs), which are processors whose circuit configuration can be changed after manufacture, such as FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays), and dedicated electrical circuits, such as ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), which are processors with circuit configurations designed specifically for performing specific processes.

[0104] A single processing unit may be configured with one of these various processors, or may be configured with a combination of two or more processors of the same or different types, for example, a combination of multiple FPGAs, or a combination of an FPGA and a CPU, etc. Also, multiple processing units may be configured with one of the various processors, or two or more of the multiple processing units may be combined into one processor.

[0105] For example, as typified by server and client computers, one processor is configured by combining one or more CPUs and software, and this processor functions as multiple processing units. Another form is the use of a processor that realizes the functions of an entire system including multiple processing units on a single IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, as typified by system-on-chip (SoC).

[0106] Furthermore, the hardware configuration of these various processors is, more specifically, an electric circuit that combines circuit elements such as semiconductor elements.

[0107] The method of the present invention can be implemented by, for example, a program that causes a computer to execute each step. Also, a computer-readable recording medium on which this program is recorded can be provided.

[0108] Although the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various improvements and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0109] 1 Ultrasound probe, 3 Device main body, 11 Transducer array, 13 Transmitting and receiving circuit, 15 Image generation unit, 17 Sequence number assignment unit, 19 Frame interval adjustment unit, 21 Probe side communication circuit, 23 Probe control unit, 25 Battery, 27 Probe side processor, 31 Pulser, 33 Amplification unit, 35 AD conversion unit, 37 Beamformer, 41 Signal processing unit, 43 DSC, 45 Image processing unit, 51 Main body side communication circuit, 53 Display control unit, 55 Communication quality processing unit, 57 Main body control unit, 59 Main body side processor, 61 Monitor, 63 Input device, 71 Communication quality determination unit, 73 Communication quality display unit.

Claims

1. The device includes an ultrasonic probe and a device main body wirelessly connected to the ultrasonic probe, The ultrasonic probe includes: an image generation unit that generates ultrasound images at a constant frame rate; a frame interval adjustment unit that adjusts the frame interval of the ultrasound image transmitted to the device body by skipping some frames of the ultrasound image transmitted to the device body per unit time in accordance with the transmission speed of the ultrasound image; a probe-side communication circuit that transmits the ultrasound image, the frame interval of which has been adjusted, to the device body by wireless communication; The device body includes: a main body side communication circuit that receives the ultrasound image from the ultrasound probe via the wireless communication; a communication quality determination unit that determines a communication quality of the wireless communication based on a ratio between a first number of frames of the ultrasound image received from the ultrasound probe per unit time and a second number of frames of the ultrasound image skipped per unit time by the ultrasound probe; and a communication quality display unit that displays the information on the communication quality on a monitor.

2. the ultrasound probe includes a sequence number assigning unit that assigns sequence numbers to the ultrasound images generated at the constant frame rate in the order in which the ultrasound images were generated, The ultrasound diagnostic device according to claim 1 , wherein the communication quality determining unit calculates the second number of frames by determining which frames of the ultrasound image were skipped based on the sequence numbers.

3. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the communication quality determination unit determines the communication quality of the wireless communication based on a moving average value of a ratio of the first number of frames to the second number of frames within a predetermined time period.

4. the main body side communication circuit transmits the second frame number to the ultrasonic probe; the probe-side communication circuit receives the second frame number from the device main body; 4. The ultrasound diagnostic device according to claim 1, wherein the frame interval adjustment unit skips some other frames of the ultrasound image transmitted to the device main body per unit time so that the second number of frames received from the device main body is less than a predetermined ratio with respect to the number of frames of the ultrasound image corresponding to the constant frame rate.

5. the main body side communication circuit transmits the second frame number to the ultrasonic probe; the probe-side communication circuit receives the second frame number from the device main body; 4. The ultrasound diagnostic device according to claim 1, wherein the frame interval adjustment unit has a high-speed mode in which the ultrasound images are transmitted at a first frame interval and a low-speed mode in which the ultrasound images are transmitted at a second frame interval that is wider than the first frame interval, and switches from the high-speed mode to the low-speed mode when the second number of frames received from the device main body becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined ratio with respect to the number of frames of the ultrasound images corresponding to the constant frame rate.

6. the main body side communication circuit transmits the first frame number and the second frame number to the ultrasonic probe; the probe-side communication circuit receives the first frame number and the second frame number from the device main body; 4. The ultrasound diagnostic device according to claim 1, wherein the frame interval adjustment unit skips other frames of the ultrasound image transmitted to the device body per unit time in accordance with the first number of frames and the second number of frames received from the device body.

7. the main body side communication circuit transmits the first frame number and the second frame number to the ultrasonic probe; the probe-side communication circuit receives the first frame number and the second frame number from the device main body; 4. The ultrasound diagnostic device according to claim 1, wherein the frame interval adjustment unit has a high-speed mode in which the ultrasound images are transmitted at a first frame interval and a low-speed mode in which the ultrasound images are transmitted at a second frame interval that is wider than the first frame interval, and selects one of the high-speed mode and the low-speed mode depending on the first number of frames and the second number of frames received from the device body.

8. 4. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication quality determining unit determines the communication quality taking into account variations in frame intervals of the ultrasound images received from the ultrasound probe per unit time.

9. The device includes an ultrasonic probe and a device main body wirelessly connected to the ultrasonic probe, The ultrasonic probe includes: an image generation unit that generates ultrasound images at a constant frame rate; a frame interval adjustment unit that adjusts the frame interval of the ultrasound image transmitted to the device body by skipping some frames of the ultrasound image transmitted to the device body per unit time in accordance with the transmission speed of the ultrasound image; a probe-side communication circuit that transmits the ultrasound image, the frame interval of which has been adjusted, to the device body by wireless communication; The device body includes: a main body side communication circuit that receives the ultrasound image from the ultrasound probe via the wireless communication; a communication quality determination unit that determines communication quality of the wireless communication based on a variation in frame intervals of the ultrasound images received from the ultrasound probe per unit time; and a communication quality display unit that displays the information on the communication quality on a monitor.

10. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the communication quality determining unit determines the communication quality of the wireless communication based on a moving average value of variations in frame intervals of the ultrasound image within a predetermined time period.

11. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the communication quality determining unit determines that the communication quality has deteriorated when the moving average value increases by a predetermined percentage or more.

12. the main body side communication circuit transmits the communication quality to the ultrasound probe; the probe-side communication circuit receives the communication quality from the device main body; 4. The ultrasound diagnostic device according to claim 1, wherein the frame interval adjustment unit skips other frames of the ultrasound image transmitted to the device body per unit time in accordance with the communication quality received from the device body.

13. A method for controlling an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus including an ultrasound probe and a device main body wirelessly connected to the ultrasound probe, comprising: an image generating unit of the ultrasound probe generating ultrasound images at a constant frame rate; a step in which a frame interval adjustment unit of the ultrasonic probe adjusts the frame interval of the ultrasonic image transmitted to the device body by skipping some frames of the ultrasonic image transmitted to the device body per unit time in accordance with a transmission speed of the ultrasonic image; a step in which a probe-side communication circuit of the ultrasound probe transmits the ultrasound image, the frame interval of which has been adjusted, to the device body by wireless communication; a step in which a main body side communication circuit of the device main body receives the ultrasound image from the ultrasound probe via the wireless communication; a step in which a communication quality determination unit of the device body determines communication quality of the wireless communication based on a ratio between a first number of frames of the ultrasound image received from the ultrasound probe per unit time and a second number of frames of the ultrasound image skipped by the ultrasound probe per unit time; a step of causing a communication quality display unit of the device body to display information about the communication quality on a monitor.

14. A method for controlling an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus including an ultrasound probe and a device main body wirelessly connected to the ultrasound probe, comprising: an image generating unit of the ultrasound probe generating ultrasound images at a constant frame rate; a step in which a frame interval adjustment unit of the ultrasonic probe adjusts the frame interval of the ultrasonic image transmitted to the device body by skipping some frames of the ultrasonic image transmitted to the device body in accordance with a transmission speed of the ultrasonic image; a step in which a probe-side communication circuit of the ultrasound probe transmits the ultrasound image, the frame interval of which has been adjusted, to the device body by wireless communication; a step in which a main body side communication circuit of the device main body receives the ultrasound image from the ultrasound probe via the wireless communication; a step in which a communication quality determination unit of the device body determines communication quality of the wireless communication based on a variation in frame intervals of the ultrasound images received from the ultrasound probe per unit time; a step of causing a communication quality display unit of the device body to display information about the communication quality on a monitor.

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