Control method for ultrasonic diagnostic device and ultrasonic diagnostic device

Abstract

To provide a control method of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus which allows a user to easily grasp a scanned region in a large intestine, and the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.SOLUTION: A control method of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus acquires an ultrasonic image of a subject by using an ultrasonic probe while detecting a position of the ultrasonic probe in a first scan of the ultrasonic probe to the subject, detects the large intestine of the subject from the acquired ultrasonic image, displays a position of the detected large intestine on a monitor in a manner of being superimposed on a model diagram of an abdominal part, determines whether a region is a scanned region for the first scan by detecting the position of the ultrasonic probe in the second and subsequent scans of the ultrasonic probe to the subject, and displays the region determined to be the scanned region in a manner of being superimposed on the position of the large intestine displayed on the monitor in the first scan.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for controlling an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus used to examine the large intestine of a subject, and to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, so-called ultrasound diagnostic devices have been used to acquire ultrasound images showing cross sections within a subject, and users such as doctors have examined the subject based on the acquired ultrasound images. In such examinations using ultrasound diagnostic devices, the user may capture ultrasound images by using a so-called ultrasound probe to transmit ultrasound beams into the subject and receive ultrasound echoes from within the subject, with the probe in contact with the body surface of the subject.

[0003] In such cases, the user usually needs to adjust the position of the ultrasound probe so that the area to be observed is captured in the ultrasound image. Therefore, a technology described in Patent Document 1, for example, has been developed to enable the user to easily adjust the position of the ultrasound probe. Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that detects the area of ​​the subject captured in the ultrasound image, calculates a score for the current measurement position relative to the optimal position of the ultrasound probe for capturing the detected area, and displays the score to the user. The user adjusts the position of the ultrasound probe while referring to the displayed score. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2022 / 044391 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Incidentally, an ultrasound diagnostic device may be used to examine the large intestine of a subject. By using the technology of Patent Document 1, an ultrasound probe can be positioned at an optimal position for examining the large intestine. However, since the large intestine is generally a long organ and its length varies from person to person, additional measures are required in addition to the technology of Patent Document 1 in order for the user to know how far into the large intestine the scan has been performed.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve these conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus and a control method for the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus that allow the user to easily grasp the scanned areas of the large intestine. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The above object can be achieved by the following configuration. [1] A method for controlling an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus for examining the large intestine of a subject, comprising: In the first scan of the ultrasound probe on the subject, acquiring an ultrasound image of the subject using the ultrasound probe while detecting the position of the ultrasound probe; Detecting the subject's large intestine from the acquired ultrasound image; The detected position of the large intestine is superimposed on a model of the abdomen and displayed on the monitor. In the second or subsequent scan of the ultrasound probe on the subject, By detecting the position of the ultrasonic probe, it is determined whether the area has already been scanned in the first scan; The area that has been determined to be scanned is displayed superimposed on the position of the colon displayed on the monitor during the first scan. A method for controlling an ultrasound diagnostic device. [2] In the second or subsequent scan of the ultrasound probe on the subject, Detects feces present in the large intestine from ultrasound images, The method for controlling an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to [1], wherein the position of the stool detected in the first scan is displayed on the monitor superimposed on the position of the large intestine displayed on the monitor. [3] A control method for an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to [1] or [2], in which, when a user specifies a position within an area displayed on the monitor that has been determined to be a scanned area, an ultrasound image acquired at the specified position is displayed on the monitor. [4] An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus for examining the large intestine of a subject, comprising: an ultrasound probe; a probe position detection unit that detects the position of an ultrasonic probe; an image acquisition unit that acquires an ultrasound image of a subject using an ultrasound probe; a large intestine detection unit that detects the large intestine of the subject from the ultrasound image; The monitor and a large intestine display unit that displays the position of the large intestine detected by the large intestine detection unit on a monitor by superimposing the position on a model image of the abdomen; a scanned area display unit that displays on a monitor an area of ​​the large intestine that has been scanned by the ultrasound probe based on the position of the ultrasound probe detected by the probe position detection unit; Equipped with During the first scan of the ultrasound probe on the subject, the position of the large intestine detected by the large intestine detection unit is superimposed on a model image of the abdomen and displayed on the monitor; An ultrasound diagnostic device in which, during the second or subsequent scan of the subject with an ultrasound probe, a scanned area display unit displays the scanned area on the monitor, superimposed on the position of the large intestine displayed on the monitor during the first scan. [5] A stool detection unit that detects stool present in the large intestine from an ultrasound image, The ultrasound diagnostic device according to [4], wherein the large intestine display unit displays the position of the stool detected by the stool detection unit on the monitor along with the position of the large intestine. [6] The large intestine detection unit detects at least a part of the large intestine; The ultrasound diagnostic device according to [4] or [5], wherein the large intestine display unit displays on the monitor at least a portion of the large intestine detected by the large intestine detection unit. [7] The large intestine detection unit detects the entire large intestine, The ultrasound diagnostic device according to [4] or [5], wherein the large intestine display unit displays the entire large intestine detected by the large intestine detection unit on a monitor. [8] The ultrasound diagnostic device according to any one of [4] to [7], wherein the large intestine display unit and the scanned area display unit display the position of the large intestine and the scanned area as two-dimensional images on the monitor. [9] The ultrasound diagnostic device according to any one of [4] to [7], wherein the large intestine display unit and the scanned area display unit display the position of the large intestine and the scanned area as a three-dimensional image on the monitor.

[10] An input device that accepts user input operations; an image memory that stores the ultrasound image acquired by the image acquisition unit in association with the position of the ultrasound probe detected by the probe position detection unit; Equipped with An ultrasound diagnostic device according to any one of [4] to [9], wherein when a position within an area determined to be a scanned area displayed on a monitor is specified by a user via an input device, an ultrasound image acquired at the specified position is read from an image memory and displayed on the monitor.

[11] The ultrasonic diagnostic device according to any one of [4] to

[10] , wherein the probe position detection unit has a position sensor that detects the position of the ultrasonic probe.

[12] The probe position detection unit an optical camera for acquiring an optical image of the subject; an optical image analysis unit that detects the position of the ultrasound probe by analyzing the optical image acquired by the optical camera; The ultrasonic diagnostic device according to any one of [4] to

[10] , comprising:

[13] The probe position detection unit a distance measuring device that transmits a detection signal to the object and receives a reflected signal from the object; a probe position identifying unit that identifies the position of the ultrasonic probe by analyzing the reflected signal received by the distance measuring device; The ultrasonic diagnostic device according to any one of [4] to

[10] , comprising:

[14] The ultrasound diagnostic device according to any one of [4] to

[13] , wherein the monitor is configured by a head-mounted display. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, in the first scan of the subject with the ultrasound probe, the position of the ultrasound probe is detected while an ultrasound image of the subject is acquired using the ultrasound probe, the subject's large intestine is detected from the acquired ultrasound image, and the detected position of the large intestine is superimposed on a model image of the abdomen and displayed on a monitor. In the second and subsequent scans of the subject with the ultrasound probe, the position of the ultrasound probe is detected to determine whether or not the area has been scanned in the first scan, and the area determined to be a scanned area is displayed superimposed on the position of the large intestine displayed on the monitor in the first scan, allowing the user to easily grasp the areas of the large intestine that have been scanned. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a transmission / reception circuit according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image generating unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing an example of an ultrasound image according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of displaying the position of the large intestine in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of displaying a scanned area in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11]FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a distance measuring device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] 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.

[0011] Embodiment 1 1 shows the configuration of an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus includes an ultrasound probe 1, an apparatus main body 2 connected to the ultrasound probe 1, and a position sensor 3 attached to the ultrasound probe 1. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus is used in the present invention to examine the large intestine of a subject.

[0012] The ultrasonic probe 1 has a transducer array 11. A transmitting / receiving circuit 12 is connected to the transducer array 11.

[0013] The device main body 2 has an image generation unit 21 connected to the transmission / reception circuit 12 of the ultrasound probe 1. A display control unit 22 and a monitor 23 are connected to the image generation unit 21, in that order. An image memory 24 is also connected to the image generation unit 21. The display control unit 22 and a large intestine detection unit 25 are connected to the image memory 24. A large intestine display unit 26 is also connected to the large intestine detection unit 25. The display control unit 22 and a scanned area display unit 27 are also connected to the large intestine display unit 26. The display control unit 22 is also connected to the scanned area display unit 27. A position sensor 3 is also connected to the image memory 24 and the scanned area display unit 27. A main body control unit 28 is also connected to the transmission / reception circuit 12, the image generation unit 21, the display control unit 22, the image memory 24, the large intestine detection unit 25, the large intestine display unit 26, and the scanned area display unit 27. An input device 29 is also connected to the main body control unit 28.

[0014] The transmitting / receiving circuit 12 and the image generating unit 21 constitute an image acquiring unit 31. The image generating unit 21, the display control unit 22, the large intestine detecting unit 25, the large intestine display unit 26, the scanned region display unit 27, and the main body control unit 28 constitute a processor 32 for the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus.

[0015] The transducer array 11 of the ultrasonic probe 1 has a plurality of ultrasonic transducers arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally. These ultrasonic transducers transmit ultrasonic waves in accordance with drive signals supplied from the transmission / reception circuit 12, receive ultrasonic echoes from the subject, and output signals based on the ultrasonic echoes. Each ultrasonic 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).

[0016] The transmission / reception circuit 12, under the control of the main body control unit 28, 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 41 connected to the transducer array 11, and an amplifier 42, an AD (Analog to Digital) converter 43, and a beamformer 44, which are connected in series from the transducer array 11 in this order.

[0017] The pulser 41 includes, for example, a plurality of pulse generators, and adjusts the delay amount of each drive signal to the plurality of ultrasonic transducers of the transducer array 11 based on a transmission delay pattern selected in response to a control signal from the main body control unit 28, so that the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the plurality of ultrasonic transducers form an ultrasonic beam. In this way, when a pulsed or continuous wave voltage is applied to the electrodes of the ultrasonic transducers of the transducer array 11, the piezoelectric material expands and contracts, and pulsed or continuous wave ultrasonic waves are generated from each ultrasonic transducer, and an ultrasonic beam is formed from a composite wave of these ultrasonic waves.

[0018] 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. The ultrasonic echo propagating toward the transducer array 11 in this manner is received by each ultrasonic transducer constituting the transducer array 11. At this time, each ultrasonic transducer constituting the transducer array 11 expands and contracts upon receiving the propagating ultrasonic echo, generating received signals which are electrical signals, and outputs these received signals to the amplifier 42.

[0019] The amplifier 42 amplifies the signals input from each ultrasonic transducer constituting the transducer array 11 and transmits the amplified signals to the AD converter 43. The AD converter 43 converts the signals transmitted from the amplifier 42 into digital reception data. The beamformer 44 performs so-called reception focusing processing by delaying and adding each piece of reception data received from the AD converter 43. This reception focusing processing causes the reception data converted by the AD converter 43 to be phased and added, and a sound ray signal in which the focus of the ultrasonic echo is narrowed is acquired.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 3, the image generating unit 21 has a configuration in which a signal processing unit 45, a DSC (Digital Scan Converter) 46, and an image processing unit 47 are connected in series.

[0021] The signal processing unit 45 corrects the sound ray signals received from the transmission / reception circuit 12 for attenuation due to distance in accordance with the depth of the ultrasonic reflection position using the sound velocity value set by the main body control unit 28, and then performs envelope detection processing to generate a B-mode image signal, which is tomographic image information regarding the tissue within the subject.

[0022] The DSC 46 converts (raster converts) the B-mode image signal generated by the signal processing unit 45 into an image signal that conforms to the scanning method of a normal television signal. The image processing unit 47 performs various necessary image processing such as gradation processing on the B-mode image signal input from the DSC 46, and then sends the B-mode image signal to the display control unit 22 and the image memory 24. Hereinafter, the B-mode image signal that has been subjected to image processing by the image processing unit 47 will be referred to as an ultrasound image.

[0023] The display control unit 22, under the control of the main body control unit 28, performs predetermined processing on the ultrasound image etc. generated by the image generation unit 21 and displays it on the monitor 23. The monitor 23 performs various displays under the control of the display control unit 22. The monitor 23 may include a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL display (Organic Electroluminescence Display).

[0024] The position sensor 3 attached to the ultrasonic probe 1 is a sensor that detects the position of the ultrasonic probe 1. For example, the position sensor 3 can use a fixed position as a reference and detect the relative coordinates from the reference position as the position of the ultrasonic probe 1. As the position sensor 3, for example, a so-called magnetic sensor, acceleration sensor, gyro sensor, GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor, geomagnetic sensor, etc. can be used. Information on the position of the ultrasonic probe 1 detected by the position sensor 3 is transmitted to the image memory 24 and the scanned area display unit 27.

[0025] Under the control of the main body control unit 28, the image memory 24 stores the ultrasonic image generated by the image generation unit 21 and the position of the ultrasonic probe 1 detected by the position sensor 3 in association with each other.

[0026] The image memory 24 may be, for example, a flash memory, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), an FD (Flexible Disk), an MO disk (Magneto-Optical disk), an MT (Magnetic Tape), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a CD (Compact Disc), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), an SD card (Secure Digital card), or a USB memory (Universal Serial Bus memory) or other recording media.

[0027] The large intestine detection unit 25 analyzes the ultrasound image generated by the image generation unit 21 and stored in the image memory 24, thereby detecting the subject's large intestine A that appears in the ultrasound image U, as shown in Fig. 4. The large intestine detection unit 25 stores, for example, a plurality of templates representing the large intestine, and can detect the large intestine A by searching the ultrasound image U using a so-called template matching method that uses these plurality of template images. The large intestine detection unit 25 also has, for example, a machine learning model that has trained on a large number of ultrasound images that show the large intestine, and can also detect the large intestine A that appears in the ultrasound image U using this machine learning model.

[0028] Furthermore, the large intestine detection unit 25 detects the contour C of the large intestine A and calculates the range B in which the large intestine A exists in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the depth direction of the ultrasound image U. The large intestine detection unit 25 further calculates the position of range B based on the position of the ultrasound probe 1 stored in the image memory 24 in correspondence with this ultrasound image U and the calculated range B. At this time, the large intestine detection unit 25 can represent the position of range B using relative coordinates from a predetermined reference position. The large intestine detection unit 25 sends the position of range B of the large intestine A obtained in this way to the large intestine display unit 26.

[0029] The large intestine display unit 26 acquires the position of the large intestine A based on the position of the range B of the large intestine A calculated by the large intestine detection unit 25 for multiple ultrasound images U acquired by the user scanning the abdomen of the subject. The large intestine display unit 26 also has a model M of the subject's abdomen as shown in Fig. 5, and displays the acquired position P of the large intestine A superimposed on the model M on the monitor 23. The large intestine display unit 26 can, for example, display the position P of the large intestine A in a color different from the color of the model M so that the user can easily confirm the position P of the large intestine A.

[0030] Note that Figure 5 shows that the overall position P of the large intestine A is acquired and that the overall position P of the large intestine A is superimposed on the model M; however, if only at least a portion of the position of the large intestine A is acquired, such as only the position of the ascending colon, only the position of the transverse colon, or only the position of the descending colon, then only at least a portion of the position of the large intestine A can be superimposed on the model M.

[0031] Hereinafter, the scan of the ultrasound probe 1 that is performed to display the position P of the large intestine A on the monitor 23 for the first time by the large intestine display unit 26 will be referred to as the first scan.

[0032] When the user newly scans the abdomen of the subject using the ultrasound probe 1 while the position P of the large intestine A is being displayed on the monitor 23 by the large intestine display unit 26, i.e., when a second or subsequent scan is performed, the scanned region display unit 27 determines whether the newly scanned region is a region that has already been scanned in the first scan, based on the position of the ultrasound probe 1 detected by the position sensor 3. Furthermore, when the newly scanned region is determined to be a scanned region, the scanned region display unit 27 displays the scanned region R superimposed on the position P of the large intestine A displayed on the monitor 23, as shown in Fig. 6, for example. At this time, the scanned region display unit 27 can display the scanned region R in a display manner different from the display manner of the position P of the large intestine A, for example, by displaying the scanned region R in a color different from the color of the position P of the large intestine A, so that the user can easily confirm the scanned region R.

[0033] The main body control unit 28 controls each part of the device main body 2 and the ultrasonic probe 1 according to a pre-recorded program or the like. The input device 29 accepts input operations by the examiner and sends the input information to the main body control unit 28. The input device 30 is composed of devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, a touchpad, and a touch panel that allow the examiner to perform input operations.

[0034] The processor 32 having the image generation unit 21, display control unit 22, large intestine detection unit 25, large intestine display unit 26, scanned area display unit 27 and main body control unit 28 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 a combination of these.

[0035] In addition, the image generation unit 21, display control unit 22, large intestine detection unit 25, large intestine display unit 26, scanned area display unit 27 and main body control unit 28 of the processor 32 can be partially or entirely integrated into a single CPU or the like.

[0036] Next, an example of the operation of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0037] First, in step S1, the main body controller 28 controls each part of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus to start a first scan. For example, when a user inputs an instruction to start a scan via the input device 29, the main body controller 28 can accept the user's input as a trigger and control each part of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus to start the first scan. The user places the ultrasound probe 1 on the abdomen of the subject.

[0038] Next, in step S2, an ultrasound image U is acquired by the image acquisition unit 31. At this time, the transducer array 11 of the ultrasound probe 1 transmits an ultrasound beam into the subject and receives an ultrasound echo from the subject, generating a received signal. The transmission / reception circuit 12 of the image acquisition unit 31 performs so-called reception focus processing on the received signal under the control of the main body control unit 28 to generate a sound ray signal. The sound ray signal generated by the transmission / reception circuit 12 is sent to the image generation unit 21. The image generation unit 21 generates an ultrasound image U using the sound ray signal sent from the transmission / reception circuit 12.

[0039] In step S3, the position sensor 3 detects the position of the ultrasonic probe 1. The position of the ultrasonic probe 1 detected in this manner is linked to the ultrasonic image U acquired in step S2 and stored in the image memory 24 together with the ultrasonic image U.

[0040] In step S4, the large intestine detection unit 25 analyzes the ultrasound image U acquired in step S2 to detect the large intestine A of the subject appearing in the ultrasound image U. At this time, the large intestine detection unit 25 can detect the large intestine A by, for example, a template matching method or a method using a machine learning model.

[0041] 4, the large intestine detection unit 25 detects the contour C of the large intestine A in the ultrasound image U, and calculates the range B in which the large intestine A exists in the horizontal direction in the ultrasound image U. The large intestine detection unit 25 further calculates the position of the range B based on the position of the ultrasound probe 1 detected in step S3 and the calculated range B of the large intestine A.

[0042] In step S5, the main body control unit 28 determines whether to end the first scan. For example, the main body control unit 28 determines to end the first scan when an instruction to end the scan is input by the user via the input device 29. Furthermore, for example, the main body control unit 28 determines to continue the first scan when an instruction to end the scan is not input by the user via the input device 29.

[0043] If it is determined in step S5 that the first scan should be continued, the process returns to step S2. In this way, the processes of steps S2 to S5 are repeated as long as it is determined in step S5 that the first scan should be continued. At this time, the user continues scanning while moving the ultrasound probe 1 over the abdomen of the subject. As a result, multiple frames of ultrasound images U capturing the large intestine A of the subject are acquired.

[0044] If it is determined in step S5 that the first scan is to be ended, the process proceeds to step S6. At this time, the main body control unit 28 controls each unit of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus to end the scan.

[0045] In step S6, large intestine display unit 26 acquires position P of large intestine A based on the position of area B of large intestine A in multiple frames of ultrasound image U obtained by repeating steps S2 to S5, and displays position P of large intestine A superimposed on a model image M of the subject's abdomen on monitor 23, as shown in Fig. 5. Here, position P of large intestine A displayed on monitor 23 represents the position of large intestine A scanned in the repeated processing of steps S2 to S5.

[0046] The shape, size, and position of the large intestine A differ from subject to subject, but the display of the position P of the large intestine A in step S6 reflects the unique shape, size, and position of the large intestine A of the subject. The large intestine display unit 26 continues to display the position P of the large intestine A on the monitor 23 in the subsequent steps as well.

[0047] In the following step S7, the main body controller 28 controls each unit of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus to start a second scan. For example, similar to step S1, when a command to start scanning is input by the user via the input device 29, the main body controller 28 can accept the user's input as a trigger and control each unit of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus to start the second scan.

[0048] In step S8, an ultrasound image U is acquired by the image acquisition unit 31 in the same manner as in step S2. In step S9, similarly to step S3, the position of the ultrasonic probe 1 is detected by the position sensor 3. The ultrasonic image U acquired in step S8 and the position of the ultrasonic probe 1 detected in step S9 are linked to each other and stored together in the image memory 24.

[0049] In step S10, the scanned area display unit 27 determines whether or not the area scanned in step S9 is an area that has already been scanned in the first scan, based on the position of the ultrasound probe 1 detected in step S9. If it is determined in step S10 that the area is an area that has already been scanned, the process proceeds to step S11.

[0050] In step S11, the scanned region display unit 27 displays the region R determined to be the scanned region in step S10 on the monitor 23, superimposed on the position P of the large intestine A, as shown in Fig. 6, for example. This allows the user to easily grasp the scanned region R of the large intestine A, and allows the examination of the subject's large intestine A to be carried out smoothly.

[0051] When the process of step S11 is completed, the process proceeds to step S12. Also, if it is determined in step S8 that the area scanned is not an area that has already been scanned in the first scan, the process skips step S11 and proceeds to step S12.

[0052] In step S12, the main body control unit 28 determines whether or not to end the second scan, similarly to step S5. If it is determined in step S12 that scanning should continue, the process returns to step S8. In this way, as long as it is determined in step S12 that scanning should continue, the processes of steps S8 to S12 are repeated. If it is determined in step S12 that scanning should end, the operation of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7 is completed.

[0053] As described above, according to the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus of embodiment 1 of the present invention, in the first scan, the position of the large intestine A detected by the large intestine detection unit 25 is displayed on the monitor 23 by the large intestine display unit 26, superimposed on the abdominal model image M, and in the second scan, the scanned region R is displayed on the monitor 23 by the scanned region display unit 27, superimposed on the position P of the large intestine A displayed on the monitor 23 in the first scan. This allows the user to easily grasp the scanned region R of the large intestine A, and smoothly perform the examination of the subject's large intestine A.

[0054] Furthermore, in embodiment 1 of the present invention, the actual position P of the subject's large intestine A is detected during the first scan and the position P is displayed on the monitor 23, so that the user can accurately grasp the scanned area R of the subject's large intestine A by checking the monitor 23.

[0055] 7, the operation of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus is completed when the second scan is completed, but the third and subsequent scans may be performed following the second scan. In this case, the third and subsequent scans perform the same processes as steps S8 to S12 in the second scan.

[0056] Furthermore, although it has been described that the first and second scans are performed consecutively within one examination, if the first scan has already been performed in a previous examination, the second and subsequent scans in a new examination can be performed based on the results of the previous first scan, i.e., the processing of steps S7 to S12. In this case, the position P of the large intestine A obtained in the previous scan can be stored, for example, in the large intestine display unit 26, or can also be stored in a memory (not shown).

[0057] In this case, by detecting reference positions for detecting the position of the ultrasound probe 1, such as several points on the subject or the positions of the four corners of the bed on which the subject lies, and aligning the position of the subject in the first scan with the position of the subject in the current scan, the accuracy of the position of the large intestine A obtained based on the position of the ultrasound probe 1 detected by the position sensor 3 can be improved.

[0058] Instead of performing such alignment, it is also possible to perform processing to detect the large intestine A in the second or subsequent scans, similar to step S4. Even in this case, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the position of the large intestine A obtained based on the position of the ultrasound probe 1 detected by the position sensor 3. Furthermore, if there is an area of ​​the large intestine A that has not been scanned in previous examinations, the large intestine display unit 26 can add the position P of the large intestine A newly detected in the second or subsequent scans to the position P of the large intestine A detected previously and display it on the monitor 23.

[0059] Furthermore, although it has been described that the large intestine display unit 26 displays the position P of the subject's large intestine A as a two-dimensional image on the monitor 23, the position P of the large intestine A can also be displayed as a three-dimensional image on the monitor 23. In this case, the large intestine display unit 26 can construct a three-dimensional image of the large intestine A based on the contour C of the large intestine A detected by the large intestine detection unit 25 and the position of the ultrasound probe 1 detected by the position sensor 3, and display the three-dimensional image on the monitor 23.

[0060] Furthermore, although it has been explained that the scanned area display unit 27 displays the scanned area R as a two-dimensional image, when the large intestine display unit 26 displays the position P of the large intestine A as a three-dimensional image, the scanned area R can be displayed as a three-dimensional image in accordance with the display of the position P of the large intestine A.

[0061] In this way, the position P of the colon A and the scanned area R are displayed on the monitor 23 as a three-dimensional image, allowing the user to smoothly examine the colon A while understanding the subject's colon A in more detail.

[0062] Furthermore, when a position within the scanned region R displayed on the monitor 23 is specified by the user via the input device 29, the main body control unit 28 can read out the ultrasound image U acquired at the specified position from the image memory 24 and display it on the monitor 23. This allows the user to easily check the ultrasound image U corresponding to the desired position in the subject's large intestine A, and perform a more detailed examination of the large intestine A.

[0063] Furthermore, although the transmitting and receiving circuit 12 is described as being provided in the ultrasonic probe 1, the transmitting and receiving circuit 12 may be provided in the device main body 2. Furthermore, although the image generating unit 21 has been described as being provided in the device main body 2, the image generating unit 21 may be provided in the ultrasound probe 1.

[0064] The device main body 2 may be a so-called stationary type, a portable type that is easy to carry, or a so-called handheld type that is configured by, for example, a smartphone or a tablet computer. In this way, the type of device that configures the device main body 2 is not particularly limited.

[0065] The monitor 23 of the device main body 2 can also be configured as a so-called head-mounted display. The head-mounted display that configures the monitor 23 is not particularly limited in its shape, display format, and other aspects, as long as it is worn on the user's head and has a display that is close to the user's eyes.

[0066] Embodiment 2 In embodiment 1, the subject's large intestine A is detected and its position P is displayed on the monitor 23, but it is also possible to detect feces present in the subject's large intestine A and display its position on the monitor 23.

[0067] Figure 8 shows the configuration of an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to embodiment 2. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to embodiment 2 includes a device main body 2A instead of the device main body 2 in the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to embodiment 1 shown in Figure 1. The device main body 2A according to embodiment 2 is the same as the device main body 2 according to embodiment 1 except that a feces detection unit 51 is added, and the device main body 28 is replaced by a main body control unit 28A.

[0068] In the device main body 2A, a stool detection unit 51 is connected to the image memory 24. Furthermore, a large intestine display unit 26 and a main body control unit 28A are connected to the stool detection unit 51. Furthermore, the image generation unit 21, the display control unit 22, large intestine detection unit 25, large intestine display unit 26, scanned area display unit 27, main body control unit 28A, and stool detection unit 51 constitute a processor 32A for the device main body 2A.

[0069] The stool detection unit 51 detects stool present in the large intestine A of the subject by analyzing the ultrasound image U generated by the image generation unit 21. The stool detection unit 51 stores, for example, a plurality of templates representing stool, and can detect stool by searching the ultrasound image U using a so-called template matching method that uses these plurality of template images. The stool detection unit 51 also has, for example, a machine learning model that has trained on a large number of ultrasound images that show stool, and can also detect stool that appears in the ultrasound image U using this machine learning model.

[0070] The stool detection unit 51 can also calculate the position of the area where stool is present in the same manner as the method for calculating the position of area B of the subject's large intestine A. That is, the stool detection unit 51 detects the contour of the stool in the ultrasound image U, calculates the area where stool is present in the horizontal direction in the ultrasound image U, and calculates the position of the stool area based on the calculated stool area and the position of the ultrasound probe 1 detected by the position sensor 3. The stool detection unit 51 sends the position of the stool area calculated in this manner to the large intestine display unit 26.

[0071] The large intestine display unit 26 displays the position of the stool detected by the stool detection unit 51 on the monitor 23, along with the position P of the large intestine A detected by the large intestine detection unit 25. This allows the user to easily and accurately grasp the position of the stool in the large intestine A, thereby improving the accuracy of the diagnosis of, for example, constipation, and the accuracy of the decision on whether to perform so-called disimpaction.

[0072] Embodiment 3 In the first and second embodiments, the probe position detector that detects the position of the ultrasonic probe 1 is configured by the position sensor 3, but the configuration of the probe position detector is not limited to this.

[0073] 9 shows the configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to embodiment 3. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to embodiment 3 is configured such that an optical camera 52 is added to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to embodiment 1 shown in FIG. 1, and the apparatus main body 2 is replaced with an apparatus main body 2B. The apparatus main body 2B is configured such that an optical image analysis unit 53 is added to the apparatus main body 2 according to embodiment 1, and the apparatus main body 28 is replaced with a main body control unit 28B.

[0074] In the device main body 2B, the optical image analysis unit 53 is connected to the optical camera 52, the image memory 24, the scanned area display unit 27, and the main body control unit 28B. The main body control unit 28B is also connected to the optical camera 52. The optical camera 52 and the optical image analysis unit 53 form a probe position detection unit 54. The image generation unit 21, the display control unit 22, the large intestine detection unit 25, the large intestine display unit 26, the scanned area display unit 27, the main body control unit 28B, and the optical image analysis unit 53 form a processor 32B for the device main body 2B.

[0075] The optical camera 52 of the probe position detection unit 54 includes an image sensor such as a so-called CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor or a so-called CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) image sensor, and captures an optical image by photographing the abdomen of the subject and the ultrasound probe 1 placed on the abdomen. The captured optical image is sent to the optical image analysis unit 53.

[0076] The optical image analysis unit 53 stores, for example, a plurality of template images representing the ultrasound probe 1 and the subject's abdomen, and can search the optical image by a template matching method using these plurality of template images to detect the ultrasound probe 1 and the subject's abdomen, and detect the position of the ultrasound probe 1 on the subject's abdomen. The optical image analysis unit 53 also has a machine learning model that has trained a large number of optical images showing general ultrasound probes and the subject's abdomen, and can also use this machine learning model to detect the position of the ultrasound probe 1 on the subject's abdomen.

[0077] During the first scan, the large intestine detection unit 25 can calculate the position of the large intestine A based on the position of the ultrasound probe 1 detected by the probe position detection unit 54 in this manner and the large intestine A detected in the ultrasound image U. Furthermore, the large intestine display unit 26 displays the position P of the large intestine A on the monitor 23 as shown in FIG. 5 based on the position of the large intestine A calculated by the large intestine detection unit 25 from each of the multiple frames of the ultrasound image U.

[0078] In the second and subsequent scans, the scanned area display unit 27 displays the scanned area R superimposed on the position P of the large intestine A displayed on the monitor 23 based on the position of the ultrasound probe 1 detected by the probe position detection unit 54.

[0079] As described above, even when the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus includes the probe position detection unit 54 composed of the optical camera 52 and the optical image analysis unit 53 instead of the position sensor 3 in the first embodiment, in the first scan, the position of the large intestine A detected by the large intestine detection unit 25 is displayed on the monitor 23 by the large intestine display unit 26, superimposed on the abdominal model image M, and in the second scan, the scanned region R is displayed on the monitor 23 by the scanned region display unit 27, superimposed on the position P of the large intestine A displayed on the monitor 23 in the first scan. Therefore, the user can easily grasp the scanned region R of the large intestine A, and can smoothly perform the examination of the subject's large intestine A.

[0080] Embodiment 4 In the third embodiment, the position of the ultrasonic probe 1 is detected based on the optical image captured by the optical camera 52, but the position of the ultrasonic probe 1 can also be detected using, for example, a so-called distance measuring device.

[0081] Figure 10 shows the configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to embodiment 4. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of embodiment 4 is configured by adding a distance measuring device 55 to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of embodiment 1 shown in Figure 1 and by including a device main body 2C instead of the device main body 2. Device main body 2C is configured by adding a probe position identifying unit 56 to the device main body 2 of embodiment 1 and by including a body control unit 28C instead of the body control unit 28.

[0082] In the device main body 2C, the probe position identifying unit 56 is connected to the distance measuring device 55, the image memory 24, the scanned area display unit 27, and the main body control unit 28C. The main body control unit 28C is also connected to the distance measuring device 55. The distance measuring device 55 and the probe position identifying unit 56 form a probe position detection unit 57. The image generation unit 21, the display control unit 22, the large intestine detection unit 25, the large intestine display unit 26, the scanned area display unit 27, the main body control unit 28C, and the probe position identifying unit 56 form a processor 32C for the device main body 2C.

[0083] 11, the distance measuring device 55 of the probe position detection unit 57 has a transmitting unit 58 and a receiving unit 59. The distance measuring device 55 is placed near the user and the subject who perform the examination by bringing the ultrasonic probe 1 into contact with the body surface of the subject, and transmits detection signals to the user and the subject and receives reflected signals from them.

[0084] The transmitter 58 of the distance measuring device 55 transmits a detection signal to the user and the subject. The transmitter 58 is a so-called wireless transmitter of electromagnetic waves, and includes, for example, an antenna for transmitting the electromagnetic waves, a signal source such as an oscillator circuit, a modulation circuit for modulating the signal, and an amplifier for amplifying the signal.

[0085] The receiving unit 59 includes an antenna for receiving electromagnetic waves and receives reflected signals from the user and the subject.

[0086] The ranging device 55 may be configured with a radar that transmits and receives a detection signal of the so-called Wi-Fi (registered trademark) standard, which is made up of electromagnetic waves having a center frequency of 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz, or may be configured with a radar that transmits and receives a wideband detection signal having a center frequency of 1.78 GHz. The ranging device 55 may also be configured with a so-called LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging, or Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) sensor that transmits a short-wavelength electromagnetic wave such as ultraviolet light, visible light, or infrared light as a detection signal.

[0087] The probe position determination unit 56 analyzes the reflected signal received by the distance measurement device 55 to obtain posture information of the user and the subject, and determines the position of the ultrasonic probe 1 relative to the subject based on the obtained posture information, for example, by determining the position of the user's hand.

[0088] The probe position specifying unit 56 can acquire posture information of the user and the subject, for example, using a machine learning model that learns the reflected signal when the distance measuring device 55 transmits a detection signal to the human body. Specifically, the probe position identification unit 56 may use, for example, "ZHAO, Mingmin, et al. Through-wall human pose estimation using radio signals. In: Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition. 2018. pp. 7356-7365.", "VASILEIADIS, Manolis; BOUGANIS, Christos-Savvas; TZOVARAS, Dimitrios. Multi-person 3D pose estimation from 3D cloud data using 3D convolutional neural networks. Computer Vision and Image Understanding, 2019, 185: 12-23.", "JIANG, Wenjun, et al. Towards 3D human pose construction using WiFi. In: Proceedings of the 26th Annual International Conference on Mobile Computing and Networking. 2020. pp. 1-14.", or "WANG, Fei, et al. Person-in-WiFi: Pose information can be obtained using the method described in "Fine-grained person perception using WiFi. In: Proceedings of the IEEE / CVF International Conference on Computer Vision. 2019. pp. 5452-5461."

[0089] During the first scan, the large intestine detection unit 25 can calculate the position of the large intestine A based on the position of the ultrasound probe 1 detected by the probe position detection unit 57 in this manner and the large intestine A detected in the ultrasound image U. Furthermore, the large intestine display unit 26 displays the position P of the large intestine A on the monitor 23 as shown in FIG. 5 based on the position of the large intestine A calculated by the large intestine detection unit 25 from each of the multiple frames of the ultrasound image U.

[0090] In the second and subsequent scans, the scanned area display unit 27 displays the scanned area R superimposed on the position P of the large intestine A displayed on the monitor 23 based on the position of the ultrasound probe 1 detected by the probe position detection unit 57.

[0091] As described above, even when the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus includes a probe position detection unit 57 consisting of a distance measurement device 55 and a probe position identification unit 56 instead of the position sensor 3 in embodiment 1, during the first scan, the position of the large intestine A detected by the large intestine detection unit 25 is displayed on the monitor 23 by the large intestine display unit 26, superimposed on the abdominal model M, and during the second scan, the scanned region R is displayed on the monitor 23 by the scanned region display unit 27, superimposed on the position P of the large intestine A displayed on the monitor 23 during the first scan. This allows the user to easily grasp the scanned region R of the large intestine A, and smoothly perform the examination of the subject's large intestine A. [Explanation of symbols]

[0092] 1 ultrasound probe, 2, 2A, 2B, 2C device body, 3 position sensor, 11 transducer array, 12 transmission / reception circuit, 21 image generation unit, 22 display control unit, 23 monitor, 24 image memory, 25 colon detection unit, 26 colon display unit, 27 scanned area display unit, 28, 28A, 28B, 28C main body control unit, 31 image acquisition unit, 32, 32A, 32B, 32C processor, 41 pulser, 42 amplifier unit, 43 AD conversion unit, 44 beam former, 45 signal processing unit, 46 DSC, 47 image processing unit, 51 feces detection unit, 52 optical camera, 53 optical image analysis unit, 54, 57 probe position detection unit, 55 distance measurement device, 56 probe position identification unit, 58 transmission unit, 59 reception unit, A colon, B range, C contour, M model diagram, P Location, R area, U ultrasound image.

Claims

1. 1. A method for controlling an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus for examining a subject's large intestine, comprising: In a first scan of the ultrasonic probe on the subject, acquiring an ultrasound image of the subject using the ultrasound probe while detecting the position of the ultrasound probe; detecting the large intestine of the subject from the acquired ultrasound image; The detected position of the large intestine is superimposed on a model image of the abdomen and displayed on a monitor; In the second or subsequent scan of the ultrasonic probe on the subject, By detecting the position of the ultrasonic probe, it is determined whether the area has already been scanned in the first scan; The region determined to be the scanned region is displayed superimposed on the position of the large intestine displayed on the monitor during the first scan. A method for controlling an ultrasound diagnostic device.

2. In the second or subsequent scan of the ultrasonic probe on the subject, detecting feces present in the large intestine from the ultrasound image; 2. The method for controlling an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position of the feces detected during the first scan is displayed on the monitor so as to be superimposed on the position of the large intestine displayed on the monitor.

3. 3. The method for controlling an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when a position within the area determined to be the scanned area displayed on the monitor is designated by a user, the ultrasound image acquired at the designated position is displayed on the monitor.

4. An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus for examining the large intestine of a subject, comprising: an ultrasound probe; a probe position detection unit that detects the position of the ultrasonic probe; an image acquisition unit that acquires an ultrasound image of the subject using the ultrasound probe; a large intestine detection unit that detects the large intestine of the subject from the ultrasound image; The monitor and a large intestine display unit that displays the position of the large intestine detected by the large intestine detection unit on the monitor by superimposing it on a model image of the abdomen; a scanned area display unit that displays on the monitor an area of ​​the large intestine that has been scanned by the ultrasonic probe based on the position of the ultrasonic probe detected by the probe position detection unit; Equipped with During a first scan of the ultrasound probe on the subject, the position of the large intestine detected by the large intestine detection unit is displayed on the monitor in a manner superimposed on a model image of the abdomen; and an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, wherein, during a second or subsequent scan of the subject with the ultrasound probe, the scanned region display unit displays the scanned region on the monitor so as to be superimposed on the position of the large intestine displayed on the monitor during the first scan.

5. a stool detection unit that detects stool present in the large intestine from the ultrasound image, The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the large intestine display unit displays the position of the stool detected by the stool detection unit on the monitor along with the position of the large intestine.

6. the large intestine detection unit detects at least a part of the large intestine; The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the large intestine display unit displays at least a part of the large intestine detected by the large intestine detection unit on the monitor.

7. the large intestine detection unit detects the entire large intestine, 6. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the large intestine display unit displays the entire large intestine detected by the large intestine detection unit on the monitor.

8. 6. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the large intestine display unit and the scanned region display unit display the position of the large intestine and the scanned region as two-dimensional images on the monitor.

9. 6. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the large intestine display unit and the scanned region display unit display the position of the large intestine and the scanned region as three-dimensional images on the monitor.

10. an input device that accepts input operations from a user; an image memory that stores the ultrasound image acquired by the image acquisition unit in association with the position of the ultrasound probe detected by the probe position detection unit; Equipped with 6. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 4, wherein when a position within the area determined to be the scanned area displayed on the monitor is designated by the user via the input device, the ultrasound image acquired at the designated position is read from the image memory and displayed on the monitor.

11. 6. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the probe position detector includes a position sensor for detecting the position of the ultrasonic probe.

12. The probe position detection unit an optical camera for acquiring an optical image of the subject; an optical image analysis unit that detects the position of the ultrasound probe by analyzing the optical image acquired by the optical camera; 6. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:

13. The probe position detection unit a distance measuring device that transmits a detection signal to the object and receives a reflected signal from the object; a probe position identifying unit that identifies the position of the ultrasonic probe by analyzing the reflected signal received by the distance measuring device; 6. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:

14. 6. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the monitor is a head-mounted display.

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