Image display device and control method for image display device

Abstract

To provide an image display apparatus which can improve interpretation efficiency of a plurality of ultrasound images and a control method of an image display apparatus.SOLUTION: An analysis unit 25 acquires probe positional information of an ultrasound probe 10 and photographing characteristic information regarding a position of a lesion part and a photographing range in each of a plurality of ultrasound images, an image extraction unit 27 extracts an ultrasound image conforming to a display layout from the plurality of the ultrasound images by referring to the probe positional information and the photographing characteristic information, and a display controller 22 displays the extracted ultrasound image on a monitor 23 according to the display layout.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image display device that displays a plurality of ultrasound images of a lesion in a subject, and a method for controlling the image display device. [Background technology]

[0002] In the medical field, ultrasound diagnostic devices that use ultrasound images have been put to practical use for some time. Generally, an ultrasound diagnostic device includes an ultrasound probe with a built-in transducer array and a device main body connected to the ultrasound probe. An ultrasound beam is transmitted from the ultrasound probe to a subject, and ultrasound echoes from the subject are received by the ultrasound probe. The received signals are then electrically processed to generate an ultrasound image.

[0003] When an ultrasound examination of a lesion in a subject is performed using an ultrasound diagnostic device, multiple ultrasound images are usually acquired, and the acquired ultrasound images may include a wide variety of images. For example, ultrasound images of different image types may be included, such as B (Brightness) mode images, images with Doppler information superimposed, and images with elasticity information superimposed. Furthermore, even the same B-mode image may include images with different positions of the lesion or images with different sizes of the imaging range.

[0004] After the ultrasound examination of the subject is completed, the radiologist checks and interprets the ultrasound images displayed in the viewer to make his or her findings. Therefore, to improve the efficiency of interpretation, it is important to display the multiple ultrasound images acquired in the correct order. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a medical imaging system that classifies multiple ultrasound images stored in a storage unit into B-mode images, which are represented in grayscale, and color images, and then sorts them in chronological order to determine the display order of the multiple ultrasound images. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-100661 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The medical imaging system disclosed in Patent Document 1 classifies grayscale images and color images, making it possible to display B-mode images, images with Doppler information superimposed, and images with elasticity information superimposed separately. However, even just B-mode images may contain a variety of images, and the medical imaging system of Patent Document 1 has difficulty selecting images showing the same lesion from the multiple stored ultrasound images and determining the display order according to the position and imaging range of the lesion, which may result in a decrease in image interpretation efficiency.

[0007] The present invention has been made to solve these conventional problems, and aims to provide an image display device and a control method for an image display device that can improve the efficiency of interpreting multiple ultrasound images. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The above object can be achieved by the following configuration. [1] Monitor and an analysis unit that analyzes a plurality of ultrasound images of a lesion in a subject, and acquires probe position information of the ultrasound probe, and imaging characteristic information relating to the position and imaging range of the lesion in each of the plurality of ultrasound images; an image extraction unit that extracts ultrasound images that match a display layout set by a user from a plurality of ultrasound images by referring to the probe position information and imaging characteristic information acquired by the analysis unit; a display control unit that displays the ultrasound images extracted by the image extraction unit on the monitor according to a display layout; An image display device comprising:

[0009] [2] An image display device according to [1], comprising an ultrasound probe and an image acquisition unit that acquires multiple ultrasound images of a lesion in a subject using the ultrasound probe, and an analysis unit that analyzes the multiple ultrasound images acquired by the image acquisition unit. [3] An image display device according to [1] or [2], comprising an input device for a user to perform input operations, and a display layout setting unit that sets a display layout based on the user's input operations via the input device.

[0010] [4] An image display device according to any one of [1] to [3], further comprising an information assigning unit that assigns probe position information and imaging characteristic information acquired by the analysis unit to each of a plurality of ultrasound images, and an image extracting unit that extracts ultrasound images by referring to the probe position information and imaging characteristic information assigned to the plurality of ultrasound images.

[0011] [5] The image display device according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the analysis unit acquires probe position information based on the probe position and orientation of a body mark attached to each of the plurality of ultrasound images. [6] The image display device according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the ultrasound probe has a position sensor, and the analysis unit acquires probe position information based on the probe position detected by the position sensor.

[0012] [7] The image display device according to any one of [1] to [6], wherein the analysis unit detects a lesion by performing image analysis on each of the multiple ultrasound images and acquires imaging characteristic information relating to the position of the lesion. [8] The image display device according to any one of [1] to [7], wherein the analysis unit acquires imaging characteristic information relating to the imaging range based on the inter-pixel distance in each of the plurality of ultrasound images.

[0013] [9] An image display device according to any one of [1] to [8], wherein the analysis unit acquires image type information indicating a B-mode image or other image together with probe position information and imaging characteristic information, and the image extraction unit extracts an ultrasound image by referring to the probe position information, image type information, and imaging characteristic information acquired by the analysis unit.

[10] The image display device according to [9], wherein the analysis unit acquires image type information based on tag information assigned to each of the plurality of ultrasound images.

[11] The image display device according to [9], wherein the analysis unit acquires image type information based on the RGB signal values ​​of each of the plurality of ultrasound images.

[12] The image display device according to any one of [9] to

[11] , wherein the image extraction unit extracts a B-mode image from a plurality of ultrasound images based on image type information.

[0014]

[13] Inputting a plurality of ultrasound images of a lesion in a subject; By analyzing the plurality of ultrasound images, probe position information of the ultrasound probe, the position of the lesion, and imaging characteristic information regarding the imaging range are acquired for each of the plurality of ultrasound images; By referring to the acquired probe position information and imaging characteristic information, an ultrasound image that matches the display layout set by the user is extracted from the plurality of ultrasound images; A method for controlling an image display device that displays extracted ultrasound images on a monitor according to a display layout. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the present invention, probe position information of the ultrasound probe, the position of the lesion, and imaging characteristic information regarding the imaging range are obtained for each of a plurality of ultrasound images, and by referring to the probe position information and imaging characteristic information, ultrasound images that fit the display layout selected by the user are extracted from the plurality of ultrasound images, and the extracted ultrasound images are displayed on the monitor in accordance with the display layout, thereby improving the efficiency of interpretation of a plurality of ultrasound images. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of a transmission / reception circuit according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of an image generating unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a body mark representing a breast. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a body mark to which a probe mark is attached. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of a body mark to which a probe mark is attached. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing yet another example of a body mark to which a probe mark is attached. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an ultrasound image in which a lesion is shown near the center of the screen. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an ultrasound image in which a lesion is shown at a position horizontally shifted from the center of the screen. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display layout of an ultrasound image on a monitor. [Figure 11] 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the first embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an ultrasound image displayed on a monitor according to the first embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image display device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image display device according to a third embodiment. [Figure 15] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description of the components will be given based on a representative embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. In this specification, a numerical range expressed using "to" means a range that includes the numerical values ​​before and after "to" as the lower and upper limits. In this specification, the terms "same" and "identical" include a margin of error generally accepted in the technical field.

[0018] [Embodiment 1] 1 shows the configuration of an image display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The image display device also functions as an ultrasound device that acquires ultrasound images, and includes an ultrasound probe 10 and a device main body 20. The ultrasound probe 10 and the device main body 20 are wired to each other via a cable (not shown).

[0019] The ultrasonic probe 10 has a transducer array 11 and a transmission / reception circuit 12 connected to the transducer array 11 .

[0020] The device main body 20 has an image generation unit 21 connected to the transmission / reception circuit 12 of the ultrasound probe 10, and a display control unit 22 and a monitor 23 are connected to the image generation unit 21 in turn, and an image memory 24 is connected to the image generation unit 21. An analysis unit 25 is connected to the image memory 24, and an information provision unit 26 and an image extraction unit 27 are connected to the analysis unit 25 in turn, and the image extraction unit 27 is connected to the display control unit 22. Furthermore, the image memory 24 is connected to the information provision unit 26, and the image extraction unit 27 is connected to the image memory 24. Furthermore, a display layout setting unit 28 is connected to the image extraction unit 27 and the display control unit 22.

[0021] A main body control unit 29 is connected to the image generation unit 21, the display control unit 22, the image memory 24, the analysis unit 25, the information providing unit 26, the image extraction unit 27, and the display layout setting unit 28, and an input device 30 is connected to the main body control unit 29. In addition, the transmission / reception circuit 12 of the ultrasound probe 10 is connected to the main body control unit 29. The image generating unit 21, the display control unit 22, the analyzing unit 25, the information providing unit 26, the image extracting unit 27, the display layout setting unit 28, and the main body control unit 29 constitute a processor 31.

[0022] The transducer array 11 of the ultrasonic probe 10 has a plurality of ultrasonic transducers arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally. Each of these transducers transmits ultrasonic waves in accordance with a drive signal supplied from the transmission / reception circuit 12, receives reflected waves from the subject, and outputs an analog reception signal. Each transducer is configured by forming electrodes on both ends of a piezoelectric element made of, for example, a piezoelectric ceramic typified by PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate), a polymer piezoelectric element typified by PVDF (Poly Vinylidene Di Fluoride), or a piezoelectric single crystal typified by PMN-PT (Lead Magnesium Niobate-Lead Titanate).

[0023] The transmission / reception circuit 12, under the control of the main body control unit 29, transmits ultrasonic waves from the transducer array 11 and generates sound ray signals based on reception signals acquired by the transducer array 11. As shown in Fig. 2, the transmission / reception circuit 12 has a pulser 13 connected to the transducer array 11, an amplifier 14, an AD (Analog-to-Digital) converter 15, and a beamformer 16, which are connected in series to the transducer array 11.

[0024] The pulser 13 includes, for example, a plurality of pulse generators, and adjusts the delay amount of each drive signal and supplies it to the plurality of transducers in the transducer array 11 so that the ultrasound waves transmitted from the plurality of transducers form an ultrasound beam based on a transmission delay pattern selected in response to a control signal from the main body control unit 29. In this way, when a pulsed or continuous wave voltage is applied to the electrodes of the transducers in the transducer array 11, the piezoelectric material expands and contracts, and each transducer generates a pulsed or continuous wave ultrasound wave, and an ultrasound beam is formed from the composite wave of these ultrasound waves.

[0025] The transmitted ultrasonic beam is reflected by an object such as a part of the subject, and an ultrasonic echo propagates toward the transducer array 11 of the ultrasonic probe 10. The ultrasonic echo propagating toward the transducer array 11 in this manner is received by each transducer constituting the transducer array 11. At this time, each transducer constituting the transducer array 11 expands and contracts upon receiving the propagating ultrasonic echo, generating a received signal which is an electrical signal, and outputs this received signal to the amplifier 14.

[0026] The amplifier 14 amplifies signals input from each transducer constituting the transducer array 11 and transmits the amplified signals to the AD converter 15. The AD converter 15 converts the signals transmitted from the amplifier 14 into digital reception data and transmits this reception data to the beamformer 16. The beamformer 16 performs so-called reception focusing processing by adding each reception data converted by the AD converter 15 with a respective delay in accordance with the speed of sound or the distribution of sound speeds set based on the reception delay pattern selected in response to a control signal from the main body control unit 29. This reception focusing processing causes the reception data converted by the AD converter 15 to be phased and added, and a sound ray signal with a narrowed focus of the ultrasonic echo is acquired.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 3, the image generating section 21 of the device main body 20 has a configuration in which a signal processing section 41, a DSC (Digital Scan Converter) 42, and an image processing section 43 are connected in series. The signal processing unit 41 performs correction for attenuation due to distance on the sound ray signals sent from the transmission / reception circuit 12 of the ultrasonic probe 10 in accordance with the depth of the ultrasonic reflection position, and then performs envelope detection processing to generate an ultrasonic image signal (B-mode image signal) that is tomographic image information on the tissue within the subject.

[0028] The DSC 42 converts (raster converts) the ultrasound image signal generated by the signal processing unit 41 into an image signal that conforms to the scanning method of a normal television signal. The image processing unit 43 performs various necessary image processing such as gradation processing on the ultrasound image signal input from the DSC 42, and then outputs a signal representing the ultrasound image to the display control unit 22 and the image memory 24. The signal representing the ultrasound image generated by the image generation unit 21 in this manner will be simply referred to as an ultrasound image. The transmitting / receiving circuit 12 of the ultrasonic probe 10 and the image generating unit 21 of the device main body 20 form an image acquiring unit 32 that acquires a plurality of ultrasonic images of a lesion in the subject.

[0029] The image memory 24 is a memory that stores ultrasound images generated by the image acquisition unit 32 under the control of the main body control unit 29. For example, the image memory 24 can hold multiple frames of ultrasound images generated by the image acquisition unit 32 in response to a diagnosis of the subject's breasts.

[0030] The image memory 24 may be a recording medium such as a flash memory, HDD (Hard Disc Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), FD (Flexible Disc), MO disk (Magneto-Optical disc), MT (Magnetic Tape), RAM (Random Access Memory), CD (Compact Disc), DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), SD card (Secure Digital card), or USB memory (Universal Serial Bus memory).

[0031] The analysis unit 25 analyzes the multiple ultrasound images generated by the image acquisition unit 32 and stored in the image memory 24, and thereby acquires probe position information indicating the position of the ultrasound probe 10 for each of the multiple ultrasound images, image type information indicating whether the ultrasound image is a B-mode image or another image, and imaging characteristic information regarding the position of the imaged lesion and the imaging range.

[0032] The analysis unit 25 can acquire probe position information based on the probe position and orientation of the body mark attached to each of the multiple ultrasound images. 4 shows, as an example of a body mark, a body mark 51 that schematically represents a right breast as viewed from the front. The body mark 51 has a circular breast region 52 and a roughly triangular axillary region 53 that represents the axilla and extends diagonally upward from the breast region 52. The breast region 52 is divided into four regions: an inner upper region A, an inner lower region B, an outer upper region C, and an outer lower region D of the breast, and the axillary region 53 is connected to the upper left diagonal part of the outer upper region C. By flipping the body mark 51 shown in FIG. 4 from side to side, a body mark that schematically represents the left breast can be obtained.

[0033] 5, a probe mark 54 indicating the position and orientation of the ultrasound probe 10 when the ultrasound image was captured is plotted on the body mark 51. For example, the user can manually operate the input device 30 to plot the probe mark 54 on the body mark 51. Alternatively, a sensor that detects the position and orientation of the ultrasound probe 10 can be provided, and the probe mark 54 can be automatically plotted on the body mark 51 based on a detection signal output from the sensor. The probe mark 54 has a rectangular shape that is elongated in the arrangement direction of the transducer array 11 of the ultrasonic probe 10, and by checking the probe mark 54 plotted on the body mark 51, the position and orientation of the ultrasonic probe 10 at the time of imaging can be ascertained. For example, if the body mark 51 shown in Fig. 5 is attached to an ultrasound image, it can be seen that the image was captured with the ultrasonic probe 10 oriented horizontally (in the shoulder width direction of the subject) and positioned in the upper outer region of the right breast.

[0034] Furthermore, if the ultrasound image has the body mark 51 shown in FIG. 6 attached, it can be seen that the image was taken with the ultrasound probe 10 positioned vertically (along the center line extending from the subject's head to the feet) in the upper outer region of the right breast. Furthermore, if the ultrasound image has the body mark 51 shown in Figure 7 attached, it can be seen that the image was taken with the ultrasound probe 10 positioned not horizontally or vertically, but at an angle from the subject's right armpit toward the nipple of the right breast, and in the upper outer region of the right breast.

[0035] Therefore, the analysis unit 25 performs image analysis on the ultrasound image and recognizes the probe mark 54 of the body mark 51 attached to the ultrasound image, thereby obtaining probe position information regarding the position and orientation of the ultrasound probe 10 at the time the ultrasound image was taken.

[0036] The image memory 24 in which the ultrasound image is stored stores tag information associated with the image as supplementary information of the ultrasound image, and when the ultrasound image is transferred from the device main body 20 to a PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System: a medical image management system) or a workstation, the ultrasound image is converted into image data in DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) format that includes the tag information. The tag information includes, for example, that the ultrasound image is monochrome. If the ultrasound image is monochrome, it can be determined to be a B-mode image. Therefore, the analysis unit 25 can acquire image type information indicating whether the ultrasound image is a B-mode image or another image based on the tag information associated with each of the multiple ultrasound images.

[0037] The analyzer 25 can also acquire image type information of an ultrasound image by analyzing the ultrasound image and recognizing the RGB signal values ​​of the ultrasound image. If it is determined that the ultrasound image is a grayscale image from the RGB signal values ​​of each pixel, it can be determined that the ultrasound image is a B-mode image. Furthermore, the analyzer 25 may acquire image type information of the ultrasound image based on the operation mode of the ultrasound device when the ultrasound image was captured. For example, if the ultrasound device is in elasticity mode when frozen, it can be determined that the ultrasound image is an image on which elasticity information is superimposed.

[0038] Furthermore, for example, because breast cancer develops from the ductal epithelium, the continuity of the ducts extending from the mammary gland to the nipple is observed, and the areas where the continuity is interrupted are often extracted as lesions. In such cases, examiners and other users may want to keep images that capture not only the lesions but also the ducts connected to the lesions. In this case, as shown in Figure 8, an ultrasound image G1 is taken with the lesion F positioned near the center of the screen, and as shown in Figure 9, by positioning the lesion F toward the edge of the screen, an ultrasound image G2 is obtained that captures the milk duct H.

[0039] Therefore, the analyzer 25 detects the lesion from the ultrasound image by performing image analysis on each of the ultrasound images, and acquires imaging characteristic information relating to the position of the lesion within the ultrasound image. For example, as shown in Fig. 9, the analyzer 25 calculates the horizontal distance L of the lesion F from the center E of the ultrasound image G2, and can determine the horizontal position of the lesion F based on the calculated distance L.

[0040] The position of the lesion in the ultrasound image is assumed to be, for example, three regions: near the center in the horizontal direction (azimuth direction) of the ultrasound image, near the edge of the ultrasound image in the horizontal direction, and near the middle between the center and the edge of the ultrasound image in the horizontal direction, and it is determined in which region the lesion F is located based on the calculated distance L. The analysis unit 25 can acquire imaging feature information indicating the region in which the lesion is located for each of the multiple ultrasound images.

[0041] Furthermore, the analysis unit 25 acquires imaging characteristic information relating to the imaging range within the subject's body captured in the ultrasound images based on the inter-pixel distances in each of the multiple ultrasound images. The larger the inter-pixel distance, the wider the imaging range, indicating that not only the lesion but also the tissue surrounding the lesion has been imaged. The inter-pixel distances are stored in tags associated with the DICOM format image data, so by checking the tags, the inter-pixel distances in the ultrasound images can be acquired as imaging characteristic information.

[0042] The analysis of the ultrasound image in the analysis unit 25 can be performed using at least one of template matching, image analysis techniques using features such as Adaboost (Adaptive Boosting), SVM (Support Vector Machine) or SIFT (Scale-Invariant Feature Transform), and a judgment model trained using machine learning techniques such as deep learning.

[0043] The information assigning unit 26 assigns the probe position information, image type information, and imaging characteristic information acquired by the analyzing unit 25 to each of the multiple ultrasound images. The multiple ultrasound images to which the probe position information, image type information, and imaging characteristic information have been assigned are sent from the information assigning unit 26 to the image memory 24 and stored, and are also sent from the information assigning unit 26 to the image extracting unit 27. The probe position information, image type information, and imaging characteristic information can be assigned to the multiple ultrasound images stored in the image memory 24, or may be assigned to the DICOM files of the multiple ultrasound images.

[0044] The image extraction unit 27 refers to the probe position information, image type information, and shooting characteristic information acquired by the analysis unit 25, and extracts ultrasound images that fit the display layout set by the display layout setting unit 28 from multiple ultrasound images. Based on the image type information acquired by the analysis unit 25, the image extraction unit 27 can first extract only B-mode images from multiple ultrasound images, and then select and extract images that are compatible with the display layout from among the B-mode images.

[0045] Furthermore, if the display layout set by the display layout setting unit 28 is a layout that includes not only B-mode images but also images on which elasticity information or Doppler information is superimposed, the image extraction unit 27 can extract images that fit the display layout from multiple ultrasound images, including B-mode images and images on which elasticity information or Doppler information is superimposed.

[0046] The display layout setting unit 28 sets the display layout when multiple ultrasound images are displayed on the monitor 23, based on input operations by the user via the input device 30. The display layout is set by the user so that multiple ultrasound images of types and imaging features according to the preferences of each individual user are simultaneously displayed on the monitor 23, and the number of screen divisions of the monitor 23, the display order corresponding to the image types and imaging features, the display magnification, etc. can be freely specified.

[0047] 10 shows an example of a display layout set by the display layout setting unit 28. This display layout divides the screen of the monitor 23 into six display areas U1 to U3 and L1 to L3, and multiple ultrasound images, all of which are B-mode images, are displayed in the display areas U1 to U3 and L1 to L3 at the same display magnification. For example, the upper display areas U1 to U3 display images captured with the ultrasound probe 10 oriented horizontally, and the lower display areas L1 to L3 display images captured with the ultrasound probe 10 oriented vertically.

[0048] Furthermore, the display areas U1 and L1 on the left side of the top and bottom rows each display an image in which the lesion is located near the horizontal center, the display areas U2 and L2 in the center of the top and bottom rows each display an image in which the lesion is located near the middle between the horizontal center and the edge, and the display areas U3 and L3 on the right side of the top and bottom rows each display an image in which the lesion is located near the horizontal edge.

[0049] Under the control of the main body control unit 29, the display control unit 22 performs predetermined processing on the ultrasound image sent from the image generation unit 21, and displays the ultrasound image on the monitor . Furthermore, the display control unit 22 displays the ultrasound images extracted by the image extraction unit 27 on the monitor 23 according to the display layout set by the display layout setting unit 28. The monitor 23 displays an ultrasound image under the control of the display control unit 22, and includes a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL display (Organic Electroluminescence Display).

[0050] The main body control unit 29 controls each part of the device main body 20 and the transmitting / receiving circuit 12 of the ultrasonic probe 10 based on a control program stored in advance. Although not shown, a main body side storage unit is connected to the main body control unit 29. The main body side storage unit stores control programs, etc. The main body side storage unit may be, for example, a flash memory, RAM, an SD card, or an SSD.

[0051] The input device 30 is used by the user to perform input operations, and is configured by devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, a touchpad, and a touch sensor placed over the monitor 23, for example.

[0052] The processor 31 having the image generation unit 21, display control unit 22, analysis unit 25, information provision unit 26, image extraction unit 27, display layout setting unit 28 and main body control unit 29 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a control program for causing the CPU to perform various processes, but may also be composed using an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or other ICs (Integrated Circuits), or may be composed of a combination of these.

[0053] In addition, the image generation unit 21, display control unit 22, analysis unit 25, information provision unit 26, image extraction unit 27, display layout setting unit 28 and main body control unit 29 of the processor 31 can be partially or entirely integrated into a single CPU or the like.

[0054] Next, the operation of the image display device according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, in step S1, the display layout is set by the display layout setting unit 28 based on an input operation by the user via the input device 30. The user can set a display layout as shown in Fig. 10 according to his or her preference, in which the number of screen divisions of the monitor 23, the display order corresponding to the image type and shooting characteristics, and the display magnification are specified. The display layout is sent from the display layout setting unit 28 to the image extraction unit 27 and the display control unit 22 .

[0055] Next, in step S2, an ultrasound image of the lesion in the subject is acquired by the image acquisition unit 32. At this time, under the control of the main body control unit 29, transmission and reception of ultrasound waves is started from the multiple transducers of the transducer array 11 in accordance with a drive signal from the pulser 13 of the transmission and reception circuit 12 of the ultrasound probe 10, ultrasound echoes from the subject are received by the multiple transducers of the transducer array 11, and the received signals, which are analog signals, are output to the amplifier unit 14 and amplified, and then AD converted by the AD conversion unit 15 to acquire received data.

[0056] The beam former 16 performs reception focus processing on this reception data, and the sound ray signals generated thereby are sent to the image generation unit 21 of the device main body 20, which then generates an ultrasound image showing tomographic image information of the lesion in the subject. At this time, the signal processing unit 41 of the image generation unit 21 performs attenuation correction and envelope detection processing on the sound ray signals according to the depth of the reflection position of the ultrasound, and the DSC 42 converts them into image signals that comply with the scanning method of ordinary television signals, and the image processing unit 43 performs various necessary image processing such as gradation processing. When an ultrasound image is acquired by the image acquisition unit 32, in step S3, a probe mark is plotted on the body mark either manually by the user or automatically, and then in step S4, the ultrasound image is frozen and saved in the image memory 24. At this time, tag information linked to the ultrasound image is also saved in the image memory 24 as supplementary information of the ultrasound image. In step S5, steps S2 to S5 are repeated until it is determined that the acquisition of a series of ultrasound images in the ultrasound examination of the subject has been completed, and the acquired ultrasound images are stored in the image memory .

[0057] If it is determined in step S5 that acquisition of a series of ultrasound images has been completed, the process proceeds to step S6, where the analysis unit 25 analyzes the multiple ultrasound images stored in the image memory 24. As a result, for each of the multiple ultrasound images, probe position information indicating the position of the ultrasound probe 10 at the time of imaging, image type information indicating whether the ultrasound image is a B-mode image or another image, and imaging characteristic information regarding the position of the imaged lesion and the imaging range are acquired.

[0058] At this time, for example, the analysis unit 25 acquires probe position information from the tag information stored in the image memory 24 as supplementary information of the ultrasound image in step S4. The analysis unit 25 also acquires image type information based on tag information associated with the ultrasound image and stored in the image memory 24, or by recognizing the RGB signal values ​​of the ultrasound image. Furthermore, the analysis unit 25 can also acquire image type information of the ultrasound image based on the operating mode of the ultrasound device when the ultrasound image was captured. For example, if the ultrasound device is in elasticity mode when frozen, the analysis unit 25 can acquire image type information indicating that the image is an image with elasticity information superimposed. Furthermore, the analysis unit 25 detects the lesion by performing image analysis on the ultrasound image, and obtains imaging characteristic information regarding the position of the lesion in the ultrasound image, as well as obtaining imaging characteristic information regarding the imaging range based on the distance between pixels in the ultrasound image.

[0059] The probe position information, image type information, and imaging characteristic information acquired by the analysis unit 25 are assigned to the corresponding ultrasound images by the information assignment unit 26. The ultrasound images to which the probe position information, image type information, and imaging characteristic information have been assigned are sent from the information assignment unit 26 to the image extraction unit 27, and are also sent to the image memory 24 to be stored.

[0060] In the next step S7, the image extraction unit 27 extracts, from the plurality of ultrasound images, ultrasound images that fit the display layout set by the display layout setting unit 28. At this time, the image extraction unit 27 extracts the ultrasound images by referring to the probe position information, image type information, and imaging feature information acquired by the analysis unit 25. For example, corresponding to the display area U1 of the display layout shown in Fig. 10, an ultrasound image is extracted that has probe position information indicating that the image was captured at the position of the lesion of interest with the ultrasound probe 10 oriented along the horizontal direction, image type information indicating a B-mode image, and imaging feature information indicating that the lesion is captured near the center in the horizontal direction. Similarly, the image extracting unit 27 extracts ultrasound images that fit into the plurality of display areas of the display layout set by the display layout setting unit 28, respectively.

[0061] Furthermore, in step S8, the display control unit 22 displays the plurality of ultrasound images extracted in step S7 on the monitor 23 according to the display layout. Fig. 12 shows an example of a plurality of ultrasound images displayed on the monitor 23 according to the display layout shown in Fig. 10. Three ultrasound images G11 to G13 captured with the ultrasound probe 10 oriented horizontally are displayed in the upper display areas U1 to U3, respectively. An ultrasound image G21 captured with the ultrasound probe 10 oriented vertically is displayed in the lower display area L1.

[0062] In ultrasound images G11 and G21 displayed in the left display areas U1 and L1 of the top and bottom rows, the lesion F is located near the horizontal center, in ultrasound image G12 displayed in the center display area U2 of the top row, the lesion F is located near the middle between the horizontal center and the edge, and in ultrasound image G13 displayed in the right display area U3 of the top row, the lesion F is located near the horizontal edge. In Figure 12, the ultrasound images G11 to G13 displayed in the upper display areas U1 to U3 capture the milk ducts connected to the lesion F as the position of the lesion F shifts horizontally, so three ultrasound images G11 to G13 are displayed.However, the ultrasound image G21 displayed in the lower display area L1 does not capture the milk ducts connected to the lesion F, and there is little need to display an image in which the position of the lesion F shifts horizontally, so no ultrasound images are displayed in the lower display areas L2 and L3. In addition, one of the images displayed in the upper display areas U1 to U3, etc., taken with the ultrasound probe 10 oriented horizontally, and the other of the images displayed in the lower display areas L1 to L3, etc., taken with the ultrasound probe 10 oriented vertically, can also be generated from a video taken when acquiring the other image.

[0063] In this way, the analysis unit 25 acquires, for each of the multiple ultrasound images, probe position information of the ultrasound probe 10, image type information indicating whether the image is a B-mode image or another image, and imaging characteristic information regarding the position of the lesion and the imaging range. Based on this probe position information, image type information, and imaging characteristic information, the image extraction unit 27 extracts ultrasound images that fit the display layout set by the display layout setting unit 28 from the multiple ultrasound images. The display control unit 22 displays the extracted ultrasound images on the monitor 23 in accordance with the display layout, so that the user can efficiently interpret the images by checking the ultrasound images displayed on the monitor 23.

[0064] The image extraction unit 27 refers to the probe position information indicating the position and orientation of the ultrasound probe 10 at the time of imaging and the image type information, and is therefore able to extract a tomographic B-mode image of the same lesion cut in the same cross-sectional direction. Furthermore, the image extraction unit 27 refers to imaging characteristic information relating to the position of the lesion within the ultrasound image, and therefore can extract ultrasound images that capture not only the lesion but also the surrounding area connected to the lesion.

[0065] In addition, since the analysis unit 25 acquires imaging characteristic information regarding the imaging range within the body of the subject shown in the ultrasound image based on the inter-pixel distance in each of the multiple ultrasound images, it is also possible to set a display layout using the display layout setting unit 28 to display multiple ultrasound images of the same lesion area but with different imaging ranges. Furthermore, if the display layout setting unit 28 sets a display layout that includes not only B-mode images but also images on which elasticity information or Doppler information is superimposed, it is possible to simultaneously display images on which elasticity information or Doppler information is superimposed on the monitor 23 along with B-mode images.

[0066] [Embodiment 2] 13 shows the configuration of an image display device according to embodiment 2. This image display device also functions as an ultrasound device that acquires ultrasound images, and includes an ultrasound probe 10A and a device main body 20A that are connected to each other. The ultrasound probe 10A is the ultrasound probe 10 according to embodiment 1, but has a position sensor 17 in addition to the transducer array 11 and the transmission / reception circuit 12. The device main body 20A is the device main body 20 according to embodiment 1, except that an analysis unit 25A and a body control unit 29A are used instead of the analysis unit 25 and the body control unit 29, respectively, but the other configurations are the same as those of the device main body 20 according to embodiment 1.

[0067] The position sensor 17 of the ultrasonic probe 10A is connected to an analysis unit 25A of the device main body 20A, and the analysis unit 25A is connected to the image memory 24 and the information providing unit . A main body control unit 29A is connected to the image generation unit 21, the display control unit 22, the image memory 24, the analysis unit 25A, the information providing unit 26, the image extraction unit 27, and the display layout setting unit 28, and an input device 30 is connected to the main body control unit 29A. In addition, the transmission / reception circuit 12 of the ultrasound probe 10 is connected to the main body control unit 29A. The image generating section 21, the display control section 22, the analyzing section 25A, the information providing section 26, the image extracting section 27, the display layout setting section 28, and the main body control section 29A constitute a processor 31A.

[0068] The position sensor 17 of the ultrasonic probe 10A detects the position and orientation of the ultrasonic probe 10A and sends the detected position and orientation to the analysis unit 25A of the device main body 20A. The position sensor 17 may be, for example, a magnetic sensor, an optical position sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, or a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor.

[0069] The analysis unit 25A acquires probe position information based on the position and orientation of the ultrasonic probe 10A detected by the position sensor 17. Therefore, even if the body mark 51 is not attached to the ultrasonic image, the analysis unit 25A can acquire probe position information regarding the position and orientation of the ultrasonic probe 10A. Image type information indicating whether the ultrasound image is a B-mode image or another image, and imaging characteristic information regarding the region where the lesion is located and the imaging range are acquired in the same manner as the analysis unit 25 in the first embodiment.

[0070] The probe position information, image type information, and imaging characteristic information acquired by the analysis unit 25A are assigned to the ultrasound image by the information assignment unit 26, and the image extraction unit 27 extracts the ultrasound image by referring to the probe position information, image type information, and imaging characteristic information. Therefore, as in the first embodiment, the ultrasound image extracted by the image extraction unit 27 is displayed on the monitor 23 according to the display layout, and the user can efficiently interpret the ultrasound image by checking the ultrasound image displayed on the monitor 23.

[0071] [Embodiment 3] 14 shows the configuration of an image display device according to embodiment 3. Unlike embodiments 1 and 2, this image display device does not have the function of an ultrasound device for acquiring ultrasound images, and has a configuration in which a device main body 20B is connected to an ultrasound probe 10 instead of the device main body 20 in the image display device of embodiment 1 shown in FIG. 1. Device main body 20B has a communication unit 33 instead of the image generation unit 21 in device main body 20 of embodiment 1, and uses a body control unit 29B instead of the body control unit 29, and is otherwise configured the same as device main body 20 of embodiment 1.

[0072] The communication unit 33 is connected to the image memory 24 and also to the server 70 via the network 60 . A main body control unit 29B is connected to the display control unit 22, the image memory 24, the analysis unit 25, the information providing unit 26, the image extraction unit 27, the display layout setting unit 28, and the communication unit 33, and an input device 30 is connected to the main body control unit 29B. In addition, the transmission / reception circuit 12 of the ultrasound probe 10 is connected to the main body control unit 29B. The display control unit 22, the analysis unit 25, the information providing unit 26, the image extraction unit 27, the display layout setting unit 28, the main body control unit 29B, and the communication unit 33 constitute a processor 31B.

[0073] The server 70 is installed in a facility such as a hospital, and is connected to the communication unit 33 of the device main body 20B via the network 60. The server 70 manages image data such as ultrasound images acquired by ultrasound examination of a subject, and can be used as a server in a PACS or a workstation. Note that the ultrasound images stored in the server 70 are acquired by an ultrasound device and then converted into DICOM format image data including tag information when transferred from the ultrasound device.

[0074] The communication unit 33 is configured with a circuit including an antenna for transmitting and receiving radio waves, a circuit for connecting to a LAN (Local Area Network), and the like, and communicates with the server 70 via the network 60 under the control of the main body control unit 29B. The communication unit 33 can receive ultrasound images from the server 70 via the network 60.

[0075] The operation of the image display device according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, in step S1, the display layout setting unit 28 sets a display layout based on an input operation by the user via the input device 30, as in the first embodiment. Next, in step S9, based on the user's input operation via the input device 30, the ultrasound image of the subject stored in the server 70 is transmitted to the communication unit 33 via the network 60 and stored in the image memory 24.

[0076] The subsequent steps S6 to S8 are the same as those in the first embodiment. That is, in step S6, the analysis unit 25 reads out a plurality of ultrasound images of the subject from the image memory 24, and acquires, for each ultrasound image, probe position information indicating the position of the ultrasound probe 10 at the time of imaging, image type information indicating whether the ultrasound image is a B-mode image or another image, and imaging characteristic information regarding the position of the imaged lesion and the imaging range. At this time, the analysis unit 25 can acquire the probe position information by recognizing the probe mark of the body mark attached to the ultrasound image. Note that the ultrasound image transmitted from the server 70 to the image memory 24 via the network 60 has already been converted into image data in the DICOM format including tag information, and therefore the analysis unit 25 can acquire the image type information of the ultrasound image based on the tag information included in the DICOM file.

[0077] The acquired probe position information, image type information, and imaging characteristic information are assigned to the ultrasound image by the information assigning unit 26. In step S7, the image extracting unit 27 extracts the ultrasound image by referring to the probe position information, image type information, and imaging characteristic information. Then, in step S8, the multiple ultrasound images extracted in step S7 are displayed on the monitor 23 according to the display layout. Therefore, as in the first and second embodiments, the ultrasound image extracted by the image extraction unit 27 is displayed on the monitor 23 according to the display layout, and the user can efficiently interpret the ultrasound image by checking the ultrasound image displayed on the monitor 23. Therefore, for example, a plurality of ultrasound images acquired in past examinations and stored in the server 70 can be read out and displayed in accordance with the display layout.

[0078] In this way, the image display device according to embodiment 3 can also be used as a viewer on a PACS, for example, because the analysis unit 25 acquires image type information of the ultrasound image based on tag information contained in the DICOM file.

[0079] In the above-described first to third embodiments, when there are multiple lesions F, it is also possible to switch the display layout as shown in FIG. 10 for each lesion F and display it on the monitor 23.

[0080] The method of connecting the ultrasonic probes 10, 10A and the device main bodies 20, 20A in the above-described first and second embodiments is not particularly limited, and may be a wired connection or a wireless connection. In the above-described first and second embodiments, the ultrasonic probes 10, 10A have the transmitting / receiving circuit 12, but the device main bodies 20, 20A may also be configured to have the transmitting / receiving circuit 12. Furthermore, the device main bodies 20, 20A have the image generating unit 21, but the ultrasonic probes 10, 10A may also have the image generating unit 21. Furthermore, of the signal processing unit 41, DSC 42, and image processing unit 43 that constitute the image generating unit 21 shown in FIG. 3, the ultrasonic probes 10, 10A may only have the signal processing unit 41, and the device main bodies 20, 20A may have the DSC 42 and image processing unit 43. Furthermore, as the device main bodies 20 and 20A in the first to third embodiments, a stationary device main body can be used, or a compact device main body of a portable or handheld type can also be used. [Explanation of symbols]

[0081] 10 Ultrasound probe, 11 Transducer array, 12 Transmitting / receiving circuit, 13 Pulser, 14 Amplifier, 15 AD converter, 16 Beamformer, 17 Position sensor, 20, 20A, 20B Device body, 21 Image generation unit, 22 Display control unit, 23 Monitor, 24 Image memory, 25, 25A Analysis unit, 26 Information assignment unit, 27 Image extraction unit, 28 Display layout setting unit, 29, 29A, 29B Main body control unit, 30 Input device, 31, 31A, 31B Processor, 32 Image acquisition unit, 33 Communication unit, 41 Signal processing unit, 42 DSC, 43 Image processing unit, 51 Body mark, 52 Breast area, 53 Axillary area, 54 Probe mark, 60 Network, 70 Server, G1,G2,G11,G12,G13,G21,G22,G23 ultrasound image, F lesion, E center, L distance, H milk duct, U1,U2,U3,L1,L2,L3 display area.

Claims

1. The monitor and an analysis unit that analyzes a plurality of ultrasound images of a lesion in a subject, and acquires, for each of the plurality of ultrasound images, probe position information of the ultrasound probe at the time of imaging, and imaging characteristic information relating to the position and imaging range of the lesion; an image extraction unit that extracts ultrasound images that match a display layout set by a user from the plurality of ultrasound images by referring to the probe position information and the imaging characteristic information acquired by the analysis unit; a display control unit that displays the ultrasound images extracted by the image extraction unit on the monitor according to the display layout; An image display device comprising:

2. an ultrasound probe; an image acquisition unit that acquires the plurality of ultrasound images of the lesion area of ​​the subject using the ultrasound probe; Equipped with The image display device according to claim 1 , wherein the analysis unit analyzes the plurality of ultrasound images acquired by the image acquisition unit.

3. an input device for the user to perform an input operation; a display layout setting unit that sets the display layout based on an input operation of the user via the input device; The image display device according to claim 1 or 2, comprising:

4. an information assigning unit that assigns the probe position information and the imaging feature information acquired by the analysis unit to each of the plurality of ultrasound images; The image display device according to claim 1 , wherein the image extraction unit extracts the ultrasound images by referring to the probe position information and the imaging characteristic information assigned to the plurality of ultrasound images.

5. The image display device according to claim 1 , wherein the analysis unit acquires the probe position information based on a probe position and orientation of a body mark attached to each of the plurality of ultrasound images.

6. the ultrasonic probe has a position sensor; The image display device according to claim 2 , wherein the analysis unit acquires the probe position information based on the probe position detected by the position sensor.

7. The image display device according to claim 1 , wherein the analysis unit detects the lesion area by performing image analysis on each of the plurality of ultrasound images and acquires the imaging characteristic information relating to the position of the lesion area.

8. The image display device according to claim 1 , wherein the analysis unit acquires the imaging characteristic information regarding the imaging range based on inter-pixel distances in each of the plurality of ultrasound images.

9. The analysis unit acquires image type information indicating a B-mode image or another image together with the probe position information and the imaging characteristic information, The image display device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the image extraction unit extracts the ultrasound image by referring to the probe position information, the image type information, and the imaging characteristic information acquired by the analysis unit.

10. The image display device according to claim 9 , wherein the analysis unit acquires the image type information based on tag information assigned to each of the plurality of ultrasound images.

11. The image display device according to claim 9 , wherein the analysis unit acquires the image type information based on RGB signal values ​​of each of the plurality of ultrasound images.

12. The image display device according to claim 9 , wherein the image extraction unit extracts a B-mode image from the plurality of ultrasound images based on the image type information.

13. A plurality of ultrasound images of the lesion of the subject are input, By analyzing the plurality of ultrasound images, probe position information of the ultrasound probe and imaging characteristic information relating to the position and imaging range of the lesion are obtained for each of the plurality of ultrasound images; extracting an ultrasound image that matches a display layout set by a user from the plurality of ultrasound images by referring to the acquired probe position information and the acquired imaging characteristic information; The extracted ultrasound image is displayed on a monitor according to the display layout. A method for controlling an image display device.

Images