Apparatus and method for ultrasound contrast imaging based on ultrafast plane waves

Abstract

The present invention provides an apparatus and method for ultrasound contrast imaging based on ultrafast plane waves. The method comprises: obtaining a plane wave sequence having a transmit waveform of [k, 1, 1-k, -1], respectively transmitting corresponding ultrasonic plane waves on the basis of a transmitting order by means of a preset transmit end, and sequentially collecting echo signals corresponding to different ultrasonic plane waves after a target time period; performing signal processing on the collected echo signals, and storing the processed echo signals; transmitting the stored echo signals to a superordinate computer, superposing different echo signals on the basis of weights of the different echo signals by means of the superordinate computer to obtain a sum signal, and performing beamforming processing on the sum signal to obtain a beamformed signal; and performing modeling and pseudo-color mapping display on the beamformed signal to obtain an ultrasonic contrast image corresponding to a target moment. The frame frequency is reduced while the sensitivity of contrast imaging is guaranteed, and the accuracy and reliability of contrast imaging are guaranteed while the resource consumption is reduced.

Description

Ultrasonic contrast imaging device and method based on ultrafast plane waves Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of medical imaging technology, and in particular to an ultrasound contrast imaging device and method based on ultrafast plane waves. Background Art

[0002] Currently, ultrasound contrast imaging is a very common medical imaging technology that uses the interaction between ultrasound and specific types of contrast agents to provide richer image information. Ultrasound contrast imaging has the advantages of being non-invasive, radiation-free, and easy to operate, and is widely used in clinical diagnosis and disease monitoring.

[0003] However, there are several challenges with current ultrasound contrast imaging, including the following:

[0004] 1. Frame rate limitation: Traditional contrast-enhanced ultrasound methods use amplitude-modulated forward and reverse pulse superposition (CPS) technology to improve contrast imaging sensitivity, but this reduces the frame rate. This limits frame rate increases when clinical equipment needs to simultaneously display real-time B-mode images to observe tissue structure information.

[0005] 2. Front-end resource consumption: Current soft beamforming methods consume significant front-end processing resources due to the weighted superposition and combination processing of multiple transmit waveforms.

[0006] 3. Limitations of time information: Time measurement in ultrasound contrast imaging is crucial for fluidity assessment and cardiac function assessment. However, current time information is mainly monitored through one-dimensional data curves (such as TIC curves), which cannot be directly observed on two-dimensional images, making operation less intuitive.

[0007] 4. Lack of ability to select specific areas for microbubble bursting: Current ultrasound imaging equipment typically uses a full-scale high-voltage sequence for microbubble bursting. However, if microbubble bursting can be selected for specific areas, the flow of contrast agent in some branch vessels can be observed, which is more conducive to examining the secondary perfusion of the sub-area.

[0008] Therefore, in order to overcome the above-mentioned defects, the present invention provides an ultrasound imaging device and method based on ultrafast plane waves.

[0009] Summary of the Invention

[0010] The present invention provides an ultrasonic contrast imaging device and method based on ultrafast plane waves, which are used to accurately and effectively acquire the resulting imaging by sequentially emitting ultrasonic plane waves of different waveforms and processing and analyzing the echo signals corresponding to the different ultrasonic waves. While ensuring the sensitivity of contrast imaging, the frame rate consumption is also reduced. At the same time, the time measurement value in the contrast imaging can be synchronously displayed through a two-dimensional image, providing a diagnostic basis and reference for clinical medicine, and ensuring the accuracy and reliability of contrast imaging while reducing resource consumption.

[0011] The present invention provides an ultrafast plane wave-based ultrasound imaging device, comprising:

[0012] The waveform acquisition module is used to acquire a plane wave sequence with a transmission waveform of [k, 1, 1-k, -1], and transmit corresponding ultrasonic plane waves according to the transmission order based on the preset transmitting end, and sequentially collect echo signals corresponding to different ultrasonic plane waves after the target time period;

[0013] A signal storage module is used to process the collected echo signals and store the processed echo signals;

[0014] A signal transmission and processing module is used to transmit the stored echo signals to a host computer, and based on the host computer, superimpose different echo signals according to the weights of different echo signals to obtain a sum signal, and perform beamforming processing on the sum signal to obtain a beamforming signal;

[0015] The imaging module is used to perform modulus calculation and pseudo-color mapping display on the beam synthesis signal to obtain the ultrasound contrast imaging image at the target moment.

[0016] Preferably, an ultrasound imaging device based on ultrafast plane waves, a waveform acquisition module, includes: obtaining a plane wave sequence with a transmission waveform of [k, 1, 1-k, -1], and using k, 1, 1-k, -1 as the transmission order of the ultrasonic plane wave, wherein k is the weight ratio of the transmission amplitudes of different ultrasonic plane waves, and the value range of k is (0, 1).

[0017] Preferably, an ultrasound contrast imaging device based on ultrafast plane waves, the waveform acquisition module comprises:

[0018] Waveform transmitting unit, used for:

[0019] Obtaining a transmission order for different ultrasonic plane waves, and transmitting an ultrasonic plane wave A with a weight k in a first transmission order based on a preset transmitting end, and collecting an echo signal a of the ultrasonic plane wave A after a target time period;

[0020] Based on the preset transmitting end, an ultrasonic plane wave B with a weight of 1 is transmitted in a second transmitting order according to the transmitting sequence, and an echo signal b of the ultrasonic plane wave B is collected after a target time period;

[0021] transmitting an ultrasonic plane wave C with a weight of 1-k in a third transmission sequence based on a preset transmitting end according to a transmission sequence, and collecting an echo signal c of the ultrasonic plane wave C after a target time period;

[0022] transmitting an ultrasonic plane wave D with a weight of -1 in a fourth transmission order based on a preset transmitting end according to a transmission order, and collecting an echo signal d of the ultrasonic plane wave D after a target time period;

[0023] The echo signal aggregation unit is used to aggregate the collected echo signal a, echo signal b, echo signal c and echo signal d in sequence based on the transmission order to obtain a plane wave radio frequency signal [a, b, c, d].

[0024] Preferably, an ultrasound contrast imaging device based on ultrafast plane waves, and a signal storage module, include:

[0025] a signal acquisition unit, configured to acquire the collected echo signal a, echo signal b, echo signal c, and echo signal d, configure a first target processing parameter for a signal processing device, and perform a first signal processing on the echo signal a, echo signal b, echo signal c, and echo signal d according to a first preset processing method based on the configuration result, wherein the first preset processing method includes low-noise amplification, analog gain amplification, and filtering;

[0026] a signal processing unit, configured to perform a second signal processing on the echo signal after the first signal processing based on a second preset processing method, and obtain a target processed signal based on the second signal processing result, wherein the second preset processing method includes ADC sampling, demodulation with a frequency of f1, low-pass filtering, and signal extraction;

[0027] The signal storage unit is used to configure a target storage area in the memory and store the obtained target processed signal in the target storage area.

[0028] Preferably, an ultrasound imaging device based on ultrafast plane waves, a signal transmission and processing module, comprises:

[0029] A signal transmission unit, configured to obtain the stored echo signal, adapt the transmission bandwidth, and transmit the stored echo signal to a host computer based on the adapted transmission bandwidth;

[0030] a signal superposition unit, configured to obtain weights of the echo signals and superimpose the echo signals based on the weights to obtain a superimposed signal;

[0031] The beamforming unit is used to upload the superimposed signal to the GPU and beamform the superimposed signal based on a preset beamforming method to obtain a beamformed signal.

[0032] Preferably, an ultrafast plane wave-based ultrasound imaging device, an imaging module, comprises:

[0033] a signal modulus finding unit, configured to obtain the obtained beamforming signal, map the beamforming signal in a preset coordinate system, and find the modulus of the beamforming signal based on the mapping result;

[0034] Imaging unit for:

[0035] Based on the signal range, the 32-bit beamforming signal after modulo calculation is phased and compressed, mapped to 8 bits. At the same time, the system monitors in real time whether the user has submitted an imaging request. When an imaging request is submitted, the control software timer starts.

[0036] Perform image conversion on the beamforming signal based on the start-up result, specifically including: img(timecode, x, y) = max(img(t1, x, y), img(t0, x, y)); img(t1) = img(timecode, x, y);

[0037] Where t1 represents the current moment; t0 represents the previous moment; img represents the captured image; x represents the horizontal coordinate value of the image; and y represents the vertical coordinate value of the image.

[0038] Preferably, an ultrafast plane wave-based ultrasound imaging device, the imaging unit, comprises:

[0039] Signal processing subunit, for:

[0040] Obtain the obtained 8-bit beamforming signal, and truncate the lower two bits of the 8-bit beamforming signal to obtain a 6-bit beamforming signal, and map the signal amplitude of the 6-bit beamforming signal to the y-axis of the amplitude-time pseudo-color map.

[0041] At the same time, the amplitude change at the position (m, n) in the image frame is calculated based on the time when the software timer starts, and is mapped to the x-axis of the amplitude-time pseudo-color map based on the amplitude change time;

[0042] Based on the mapping results, a target ultrasound contrast-enhanced image is obtained, and based on the target ultrasound contrast-enhanced image, the amplitude change values ​​of points in the image between the previous moment t0 and the current moment t1 are compared. At the same time, the peak value of the amplitude change value obtained since the start of timing is retained, and the perfusion process of intensity change over time is determined based on the peak value.

[0043] Preferably, an ultrasound contrast imaging device based on ultrafast plane waves, the signal processing subunit comprises:

[0044] After perfusion is completed, the contrast microbubbles are exploded for specific vascular branches. The specific steps include:

[0045] a monitoring subunit, for monitoring operation instructions in real time, and activating a sampling frame in a target image area when an operation instruction is present;

[0046] The position selection subunit is used to select a region of interest based on a sampling frame, interrupt the ultrasound imaging sequence transmission based on the selection result, and activate the target high voltage, long period focused beam to the selected region of interest. At the same time, the transmission parameters of the focused beam and the adjustable buttons are displayed on the preset display interface;

[0047] The imaging subunit is used to continue the transmission of the ultrasound contrast imaging sequence after the focused beam is transmitted, and to perform real-time contrast imaging based on preset ultrasound contrast imaging steps.

[0048] Preferably, an ultrafast plane wave-based ultrasound contrast imaging device comprises:

[0049] a device configuration subunit, configured to configure a second target processing parameter for the signal processing device, and perform a first signal processing on the echo signal c based on the configuration result;

[0050] Signal processing subunit, for:

[0051] performing secondary demodulation on the echo signal c after the first signal processing based on the frequency f2, and storing the demodulated echo signal c in a memory;

[0052] The stored echo signal c is subjected to beamforming processing, and the beamforming signal obtained after the beamforming processing is subjected to modulus finding and pseudo-color mapping display to obtain an ultrasonic B image at the target moment.

[0053] The present invention provides an ultrafast plane wave-based ultrasound contrast imaging method, comprising:

[0054] Step 1: Obtain a plane wave sequence with a transmission waveform of [k, 1, 1-k, -1], and transmit corresponding ultrasonic plane waves according to the transmission order based on the preset transmitting end, and collect echo signals corresponding to different ultrasonic plane waves in sequence after the target time period;

[0055] Step 2: Process the collected echo signal and store the processed echo signal;

[0056] Step 3: The stored echo signals are transmitted to the host computer, and the host computer superimposes the different echo signals according to the weights of the different echo signals to obtain a sum signal, and performs beamforming processing on the sum signal to obtain a beamforming signal;

[0057] Step 4: Perform modulus calculation and pseudo-color mapping on the beamformed signal to obtain the ultrasound contrast-enhanced image at the target time.

[0058] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0059] 1. By sequentially emitting ultrasonic plane waves of different waveforms and processing and analyzing the echo signals corresponding to different ultrasonic waves, accurate and effective imaging can be achieved. While ensuring the sensitivity of contrast imaging, the frame rate consumption is also reduced. At the same time, the time measurement values ​​in contrast imaging can be synchronously displayed through two-dimensional images, providing a diagnostic basis and reference for clinical medicine, and ensuring the accuracy and reliability of contrast imaging while reducing resource consumption.

[0060] 2. By processing the collected echo signals, the accuracy and reliability of the echo signals are ensured. At the same time, the obtained target processed signals are stored in the memory, which facilitates the accurate and effective retrieval of the target processed signals during imaging, thereby ensuring the accuracy and reliability of imaging.

[0061] Other features and advantages of the present invention will be described in the following description, and in part will become apparent from the description, or will be understood by practicing the present invention. The purposes and other advantages of the present invention can be realized and obtained by the structures particularly pointed out in the written description, claims, and drawings.

[0062] The technical solution of the present invention is further described in detail below through the accompanying drawings and embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0063] The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the present invention and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments of the present invention, they are used to explain the present invention and do not constitute a limitation of the present invention. In the accompanying drawings:

[0064] FIG1 is a structural diagram of an ultrasound contrast imaging device based on ultrafast plane waves according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0065] FIG2 is a structural diagram of a signal storage module in an ultrafast plane wave-based ultrasound contrast imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0066] FIG3 is a schematic diagram showing the principle of median color mapping display in an ultrafast plane wave-based ultrasound contrast imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0067] FIG4 is a flow chart of an ultrafast plane wave-based ultrasound contrast imaging method according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0068] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the preferred embodiments described herein are only used to illustrate and explain the present invention, and are not used to limit the present invention.

[0069] Example 1:

[0070] This embodiment provides an ultrafast plane wave-based ultrasound contrast imaging device, as shown in FIG1 , comprising:

[0071] The waveform acquisition module is used to acquire a plane wave sequence with a transmission waveform of [k, 1, 1-k, -1], and transmit corresponding ultrasonic plane waves according to the transmission order based on the preset transmitting end, and sequentially collect echo signals corresponding to different ultrasonic plane waves after the target time period;

[0072] A signal storage module is used to process the collected echo signals and store the processed echo signals;

[0073] A signal transmission and processing module is used to transmit the stored echo signals to a host computer, and based on the host computer, superimpose different echo signals according to the weights of different echo signals to obtain a sum signal, and perform beamforming processing on the sum signal to obtain a beamforming signal;

[0074] The imaging module is used to perform modulus calculation and pseudo-color mapping display on the beam synthesis signal to obtain the ultrasound contrast imaging image at the target moment.

[0075] In this embodiment, the preset transmitting end is set in advance, that is, the front end in the system, for example, it can be an ultrasonic plane wave transmitter.

[0076] In this embodiment, the transmission order refers to transmission according to [k, 1, 1-k, -1], and 1 is used as a normalized amplitude ratio and does not represent a real unique number.

[0077] In this embodiment, the target time period is set in advance and is used to represent the length of time required to wait before transmitting the ultrasonic plane wave, so as to achieve accurate and effective monitoring of the echo signal, wherein the echo signal is the signal fed back by the ultrasonic plane wave signal after it hits the detection object.

[0078] In this embodiment, signal processing refers to signal processing such as low-noise amplification, analog gain amplification, and filtering of the echo signal followed by ADC sampling, demodulation at a frequency of f1, low-pass filtering, and signal extraction.

[0079] In this embodiment, the host computer is pre-set and is used to process the obtained echo signals, thereby achieving accurate and effective acquisition of angiographic imaging.

[0080] In this embodiment, the sum signal refers to a signal obtained by superimposing the obtained echo signals, and is used to generate contrast imaging.

[0081] In this embodiment, the beamforming process is to perform a beamforming process on the sum signal using a known beamforming scheme or means, wherein the beamforming signal is obtained by beamforming the sum signal.

[0082] In this embodiment, pseudo color mapping display refers to a process of assigning color values ​​to grayscale values ​​according to certain criteria.

[0083] The beneficial effects of the above technical solution are: by sequentially emitting ultrasonic plane waves of different waveforms and processing and analyzing the echo signals corresponding to different ultrasonic waves, accurate and effective acquisition of the resulting imaging is achieved, while ensuring the sensitivity of the contrast imaging and reducing the frame rate consumption. At the same time, the time measurement values ​​in the contrast imaging can be synchronously displayed through two-dimensional images, providing a diagnostic basis and reference for clinical medicine, and ensuring the accuracy and reliability of contrast imaging while reducing resource consumption.

[0084] Example 2:

[0085] Based on Example 1, this embodiment provides an ultrafast plane wave-based ultrasound imaging device, a waveform acquisition module, including: obtaining a plane wave sequence with a transmission waveform of [k, 1, 1-k, -1], and using k, 1, 1-k, -1 as the transmission order of the ultrasonic plane wave, wherein k is the weight ratio of different ultrasonic plane wave transmission amplitudes, and the value range of k is (0, 1).

[0086] The beneficial effect of the above technical solution is that by sequentially transmitting a sequence of plane waves with different waveforms, the sensitivity of the angiographic imaging is improved while the frame rate consumption is reduced, thereby ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the angiographic imaging.

[0087] Example 3:

[0088] Based on Example 1, this embodiment provides an ultrafast plane wave-based ultrasound imaging device, and a waveform acquisition module, including:

[0089] Waveform transmitting unit, used for:

[0090] Obtaining a transmission order for different ultrasonic plane waves, and transmitting an ultrasonic plane wave A with a weight k in a first transmission order based on a preset transmitting end, and collecting an echo signal a of the ultrasonic plane wave A after a target time period;

[0091] Based on the preset transmitting end, an ultrasonic plane wave B with a weight of 1 is transmitted in a second transmitting order according to the transmitting sequence, and an echo signal b of the ultrasonic plane wave B is collected after a target time period;

[0092] transmitting an ultrasonic plane wave C with a weight of 1-k in a third transmission sequence based on a preset transmitting end according to a transmission sequence, and collecting an echo signal c of the ultrasonic plane wave C after a target time period;

[0093] transmitting an ultrasonic plane wave D with a weight of -1 in a fourth transmission order based on a preset transmitting end according to a transmission order, and collecting an echo signal d of the ultrasonic plane wave D after a target time period;

[0094] The echo signal aggregation unit is used to aggregate the collected echo signal a, echo signal b, echo signal c and echo signal d in sequence based on the transmission order to obtain a plane wave radio frequency signal [a, b, c, d].

[0095] The beneficial effect of the above technical solution is: by sequentially emitting ultrasonic plane waves of different weights, collecting corresponding echo signals after a target time period, and summarizing the collected echo signals, it provides convenience and basis for ultrasound contrast imaging.

[0096] Example 4:

[0097] Based on Example 1, this embodiment provides an ultrafast plane wave-based ultrasound imaging device, as shown in FIG2 , wherein the signal storage module includes:

[0098] a signal acquisition unit, configured to acquire the collected echo signal a, echo signal b, echo signal c, and echo signal d, configure a first target processing parameter for a signal processing device, and perform a first signal processing on the echo signal a, echo signal b, echo signal c, and echo signal d according to a first preset processing method based on the configuration result, wherein the first preset processing method includes low-noise amplification, analog gain amplification, and filtering;

[0099] a signal processing unit, configured to perform a second signal processing on the echo signal after the first signal processing based on a second preset processing method, and obtain a target processed signal based on the second signal processing result, wherein the second preset processing method includes ADC sampling, demodulation with a frequency of f1, low-pass filtering, and signal extraction;

[0100] The signal storage unit is used to configure a target storage area in the memory and store the obtained target processed signal in the target storage area.

[0101] In this embodiment, the signal processing components are known in advance, and may be, for example, a signal amplifier and a filter.

[0102] In this embodiment, the first target processing parameter refers to a processing parameter of the signal processing device for the echo signal, which may specifically be a cutoff frequency, an amplifier gain, a coefficient of a decimator, and the like.

[0103] In this embodiment, the first preset processing mode is set in advance, and specifically may be performing low noise amplification, analog gain amplification and filtering in sequence.

[0104] In this embodiment, the second preset processing mode is set in advance, and specifically may be signal processing such as ADC sampling, demodulation with a frequency of f1, low-pass filtering, and signal extraction.

[0105] In this embodiment, the target processed signal refers to a final signal obtained after performing the first signal processing and the second signal processing on the echo signal a, the echo signal b, the echo signal c, and the echo signal d.

[0106] In this embodiment, the target storage area is an area in the memory for storing the target processed signal.

[0107] The beneficial effect of the above technical solution is: by processing the collected echo signal, the accuracy and reliability of the obtained echo signal are ensured. At the same time, the obtained target processed signal is stored in the memory, which is convenient for accurate and effective retrieval of the target processed signal during contrast imaging, thereby ensuring the accuracy and reliability of contrast imaging.

[0108] Example 5:

[0109] Based on Example 1, this embodiment provides an ultrafast plane wave-based ultrasound imaging device, and a signal transmission and processing module, including:

[0110] A signal transmission unit, configured to obtain the stored echo signal, adapt the transmission bandwidth, and transmit the stored echo signal to a host computer based on the adapted transmission bandwidth;

[0111] a signal superposition unit, configured to obtain weights of the echo signals and superimpose the echo signals based on the weights to obtain a superimposed signal;

[0112] The beamforming unit is used to upload the superimposed signal to the GPU and beamform the superimposed signal based on a preset beamforming method to obtain a beamformed signal.

[0113] In this embodiment, adapting the transmission bandwidth refers to adjusting the transmission bandwidth to 4 G / s or above.

[0114] In this embodiment, the GPU is set in advance, and specifically refers to a graphics processing unit.

[0115] In this embodiment, the preset beamforming method is known in advance, that is, an existing technical means, and the corresponding beamforming operation is performed in this method.

[0116] The beneficial effects of the above technical solution are: by adapting the transmission bandwidth, uploading each echo signal to the host computer through the adapted transmission bandwidth, and performing corresponding beam synthesis operations in the host computer, it provides convenience and guarantee for obtaining ultrasound contrast imaging, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of ultrasound contrast imaging.

[0117] Example 6:

[0118] Based on Example 1, this embodiment provides an ultrafast plane wave-based ultrasound imaging device, the imaging module including:

[0119] a signal modulus finding unit, configured to obtain the obtained beamforming signal, map the beamforming signal in a preset coordinate system, and find the modulus of the beamforming signal based on the mapping result;

[0120] Imaging unit for:

[0121] Based on the signal range, the 32-bit beamforming signal after modulo calculation is phased and compressed, mapped to 8 bits. At the same time, the system monitors in real time whether the user has submitted an imaging request. When an imaging request is submitted, the control software timer starts.

[0122] Perform image conversion on the beamforming signal based on the start-up result, specifically including: img(timecode, x, y) = max(img(t1, x, y), img(t0, x, y)); img(t1) = img(timecode, x, y);

[0123] Where t1 represents the current moment; t0 represents the previous moment; img represents the captured image; x represents the horizontal coordinate value of the image; and y represents the vertical coordinate value of the image.

[0124] In this embodiment, the preset coordinate system is set in advance and is used to display the obtained beamforming signal in the preset coordinate system, thereby achieving an accurate and effective modulus operation on the beamforming signal.

[0125] In this embodiment, the modulus may be calculated based on the length of the beamforming signal in a preset coordinate system and according to a modulus calculation formula.

[0126] In this embodiment, the contrast imaging request is submitted by the user by clicking in the system, and is used to indicate that contrast imaging is required.

[0127] The beneficial effect of the above technical solution is that by performing modulus calculation and image conversion on the obtained beam synthesis signal, it provides convenience and basis for achieving the final angiographic imaging, thereby ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the final angiographic imaging.

[0128] Example 7:

[0129] Based on Example 6, this embodiment provides an ultrafast plane wave-based ultrasound imaging device, as shown in FIG3 , wherein the imaging unit includes:

[0130] Signal processing subunit, for:

[0131] Obtain the obtained 8-bit beamforming signal, and truncate the lower two bits of the 8-bit beamforming signal to obtain a 6-bit beamforming signal, and map the signal amplitude of the 6-bit beamforming signal to the y-axis of the amplitude-time pseudo-color map.

[0132] At the same time, the amplitude change at the position (m, n) in the image frame is calculated based on the time when the software timer starts, and is mapped to the x-axis of the amplitude-time pseudo-color map based on the amplitude change time;

[0133] Based on the mapping results, a target ultrasound contrast-enhanced image is obtained, and based on the target ultrasound contrast-enhanced image, the amplitude change values ​​of points in the image between the previous moment t0 and the current moment t1 are compared. At the same time, the peak value of the amplitude change value obtained since the start of timing is retained, and the perfusion process of intensity change over time is determined based on the peak value.

[0134] In this embodiment, the target ultrasound contrast-enhanced image refers to a contrast-enhanced image obtained by mapping the signal amplitude and time measurement values ​​in the contrast-enhanced image, that is, a contrast-enhanced image integrating intensity and time.

[0135] In this embodiment, the peak value refers to the maximum value of the amplitude variation between points.

[0136] In this embodiment, determining the perfusion process of intensity variation over time based on the peak value refers to determining the perfusion process of the contrast agent according to the variation of the peak value, thereby ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the final contrast imaging.

[0137] The beneficial effect of the above technical solution is: by processing the beam synthesis signal, the signal amplitude of the beam synthesis signal and the time information corresponding to the signal amplitude are mapped in the contrast imaging, so that the final required contrast imaging can be accurately and effectively obtained, providing a reliable basis for perfusion process monitoring.

[0138] Example 8:

[0139] Based on Example 7, this embodiment provides an ultrafast plane wave-based ultrasound imaging device, wherein the signal processing subunit includes:

[0140] After perfusion is completed, the contrast microbubbles are exploded for specific vascular branches. The specific steps include:

[0141] a monitoring subunit, for monitoring operation instructions in real time, and activating a sampling frame in a target image area when an operation instruction is present;

[0142] The position selection subunit is used to select a region of interest based on a sampling frame, interrupt the ultrasound imaging sequence transmission based on the selection result, and activate the target high voltage, long period focused beam to the selected region of interest. At the same time, the transmission parameters of the focused beam and the adjustable buttons are displayed on the preset display interface;

[0143] The imaging subunit is used to continue the transmission of the ultrasound contrast imaging sequence after the focused beam is transmitted, and to perform real-time contrast imaging based on preset ultrasound contrast imaging steps.

[0144] In this embodiment, contrast microbubbles refer to small bubbles that appear during the perfusion of contrast agents.

[0145] In this embodiment, the target image refers to contrast imaging.

[0146] In this embodiment, the region of interest refers to a region where contrast microbubbles exist in contrast imaging.

[0147] In this embodiment, the target high voltage is known in advance.

[0148] In this embodiment, the adjustable button refers to a button capable of adjusting the transmission parameters of the focused beam.

[0149] In this embodiment, the preset display interface is set in advance.

[0150] In this embodiment, the preset ultrasound contrast imaging steps are all the execution steps of the above-mentioned contrast imaging.

[0151] The beneficial effect of the above technical solution is that by bursting the contrast microbubbles present during the contrast agent perfusion process according to the obtained contrast imaging, the accuracy of the contrast microbubble bursting is improved, and the accuracy and reliability of the final contrast imaging are guaranteed.

[0152] Example 9:

[0153] Based on Example 3, this embodiment provides an ultrasound imaging device based on ultrafast plane waves, wherein the waveform transmitting unit includes:

[0154] a device configuration subunit, configured to configure a second target processing parameter for the signal processing device, and perform a first signal processing on the echo signal c based on the configuration result;

[0155] Signal processing subunit, for:

[0156] performing secondary demodulation on the echo signal c after the first signal processing based on the frequency f2, and storing the demodulated echo signal c in a memory;

[0157] The stored echo signal c is subjected to beamforming processing, and the beamforming signal obtained after the beamforming processing is subjected to modulus finding and pseudo-color mapping display to obtain an ultrasonic B image at the target moment.

[0158] In this embodiment, the second target processing parameter refers to a parameter having a different value from the first target processing parameter, and the purpose is to process the echo signal c separately, thereby achieving effective acquisition of the ultrasonic B image at the target moment.

[0159] The beneficial effect of the above technical solution is: by configuring different target processing parameters for the signal processing device and processing the echo signal c based on the configured signal processor, at the same time, the echo signal c after the first signal processing is secondary demodulated by the frequency f2 and then subjected to contrast imaging, the ultrasound B image at the target moment can be accurately and effectively acquired.

[0160] Example 10:

[0161] This embodiment provides an ultrafast plane wave-based ultrasound contrast imaging method, as shown in FIG4 , including:

[0162] Step 1: Obtain a plane wave sequence with a transmission waveform of [k, 1, 1-k, -1], and transmit corresponding ultrasonic plane waves according to the transmission order based on the preset transmitting end, and collect echo signals corresponding to different ultrasonic plane waves in sequence after the target time period;

[0163] Step 2: Process the collected echo signal and store the processed echo signal;

[0164] Step 3: The stored echo signals are transmitted to the host computer, and the host computer superimposes the different echo signals according to the weights of the different echo signals to obtain a sum signal, and performs beamforming processing on the sum signal to obtain a beamforming signal;

[0165] Step 4: Perform modulus calculation and pseudo-color mapping on the beamformed signal to obtain the ultrasound contrast-enhanced image at the target time.

[0166] The beneficial effects of the above technical solution are: by sequentially emitting ultrasonic plane waves of different waveforms and processing and analyzing the echo signals corresponding to different ultrasonic waves, accurate and effective acquisition of the resulting imaging is achieved, while ensuring the sensitivity of the contrast imaging and reducing the frame rate consumption. At the same time, the time measurement values ​​in the contrast imaging can be synchronously displayed through two-dimensional images, providing a diagnostic basis and reference for clinical medicine, and ensuring the accuracy and reliability of contrast imaging while reducing resource consumption.

[0167] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, if such changes and modifications fall within the scope of the claims and their equivalents, the present invention is intended to include such changes and modifications.

Claims

1. An ultrasound contrast imaging device based on ultrafast plane waves, characterized in that: include: A waveform acquisition module is used to acquire a plane wave sequence whose transmission waveform is [k, 1, 1-k, -1], and transmit corresponding ultrasonic plane waves according to the transmission order based on a preset transmitting end, and sequentially collect echo signals corresponding to different ultrasonic plane waves after a target time period; A signal storage module, used for processing the collected echo signals and storing the processed echo signals; A signal transmission and processing module, used for transmitting the stored echo signals to a host computer, and superimposing different echo signals according to the weights of different echo signals based on the host computer to obtain a sum signal, and performing beam synthesis processing on the sum signal to obtain a beam synthesis signal; The imaging module is used to perform modulus calculation and pseudo-color mapping display on the beam synthesis signal to obtain the ultrasound contrast image at the target time.

2. The ultrafast plane wave ultrasound imaging device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The waveform acquisition module includes: acquiring a plane wave sequence whose transmission waveform is [k, 1, 1-k, -1], and taking k, 1, 1-k, -1 as the transmission order of the ultrasonic plane wave, wherein k is the weight ratio of different ultrasonic plane wave transmission amplitudes, and the value range of k is (0, 1).

3. The ultrafast plane wave ultrasound imaging device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Waveform acquisition module, including: Waveform transmitting unit, used for: Acquire a transmission order for different ultrasonic plane waves, and transmit an ultrasonic plane wave A with a weight k in the first transmission order based on a preset transmitting end, and collect an echo signal a of the ultrasonic plane wave A after a target time period; Based on the preset transmitting end, an ultrasonic plane wave B with a weight of 1 is transmitted in a second transmitting order according to the transmitting order, and an echo signal b of the ultrasonic plane wave B is collected after a target time period; Based on the preset transmitting end, the ultrasound with weights of 1-k is transmitted in the third transmitting sequence according to the transmitting sequence. plane wave C, and after a target time period, collecting an echo signal c of the ultrasonic plane wave C; Based on the preset transmitting end, transmitting an ultrasonic plane wave D with a weight of -1 in a fourth transmitting order according to the transmitting sequence, and collecting an echo signal d of the ultrasonic plane wave D after a target time period; The echo signal aggregation unit is used to aggregate the collected echo signal a, echo signal b, echo signal c and echo signal d in sequence based on the transmission order to obtain a plane wave radio frequency signal [a, b, c, d].

4. The ultrafast plane wave ultrasound imaging device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Signal storage module, including: a signal acquisition unit, used to acquire the collected echo signal a, echo signal b, echo signal c and echo signal d, configure a first target processing parameter for the signal processing device, and perform a first signal processing on the echo signal a, echo signal b, echo signal c and echo signal d according to a first preset processing method based on the configuration result, wherein the first preset processing method includes low noise amplification, analog gain amplification and filtering; a signal processing unit, configured to perform a second signal processing on the echo signal after the first signal processing based on a second preset processing method, and obtain a target processed signal based on the second signal processing result, wherein the second preset processing method includes ADC sampling, demodulation with a frequency of f1, low-pass filtering, and signal extraction; The signal storage unit is used to configure a target storage area in the memory and store the obtained target processed signal in the target storage area.

5. The ultrafast plane wave ultrasound imaging device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Signal transmission and processing module, including: A signal transmission unit, used to obtain the stored echo signal, adapt the transmission bandwidth, and transmit the stored echo signal to the host computer based on the adapted transmission bandwidth; A signal superposition unit, used to obtain the weight of each echo signal, and superimpose each echo signal based on the weight to obtain a superimposed signal; The beamforming unit is used to upload the superimposed signal to the GPU, and beamform the superimposed signal based on a preset beamforming method to obtain a beamformed signal.

6. The ultrafast plane wave ultrasound imaging device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Imaging module, including: A signal modulus unit, used for acquiring the obtained beamforming signal, mapping the beamforming signal in a preset coordinate system, and performing modulus calculation on the beamforming signal based on the mapping result; Imaging unit for: Based on the signal range, the 32-bit beam synthesis signal after modulus calculation is phased and compressed, and mapped to 8 bits. At the same time, the user is monitored in real time to see whether the contrast imaging request is submitted, and when there is a contrast imaging request, the control software timer is started; The beam synthesis signal is converted into an image based on the start result, including: img(timecode,x,y)=max(img(t1,x,y),img(t0,x,y)); img(t1)=img(timecode,x,y); Among them, t1 represents the current moment; t0 represents the previous moment; img represents the captured image; x represents the horizontal coordinate value of the image; and y represents the vertical coordinate value of the image.

7. The ultrafast plane wave ultrasound imaging device according to claim 6, characterized in that: An imaging unit, comprising: A signal processing subunit for: The obtained 8-bit beamforming signal is obtained, and the lower two bits of the 8-bit beamforming signal are truncated to obtain a 6-bit beamforming signal, and the signal amplitude of the 6-bit beamforming signal is mapped to the y-axis of the amplitude-time pseudo-color mapping diagram At the same time, the amplitude change at the position (m, n) in the image frame is calculated based on the time when the software timer starts, and is mapped to the x-axis of the amplitude-time pseudo-color mapping diagram based on the amplitude change time; Based on the mapping results, a target ultrasound contrast image is obtained, and based on the target ultrasound contrast image, the amplitude change values ​​of points in the image between the previous moment t0 and the current moment t1 are compared. At the same time, the peak value of the amplitude change value obtained after the start of timing is retained, and the perfusion process of intensity change over time is determined based on the peak value.

8. The ultrafast plane wave ultrasound imaging device according to claim 7, characterized in that: Signal processing subunit, including: After the perfusion is completed, the contrast microbubbles are exploded for specific vascular branches. The specific steps include: A monitoring subunit, for monitoring operation instructions in real time, and activating a sampling frame in a target image area when an operation instruction exists; The position selection subunit is used to select the region of interest based on the sampling frame, interrupt the ultrasound imaging sequence transmission based on the selected result, and activate the target high voltage, long-period focused beam to the selected region of interest, and at the same time, display the emission parameters of the focused beam and the adjustable buttons on the preset display interface; The imaging subunit is used to continue the transmission of the ultrasound contrast imaging sequence after the focused beam is transmitted, and to perform real-time contrast imaging based on preset ultrasound contrast imaging steps.

9. According to claim 3, the ultrasound imaging device based on ultrafast plane waves, the waveform transmitting unit comprises: A device configuration subunit, configured to configure a second target processing parameter for the signal processing device, and perform a first signal processing on the echo signal c based on the configuration result; A signal processing subunit for: Performing secondary demodulation on the echo signal c after the first signal processing based on the frequency f2, and storing the demodulated echo signal c in a memory; The stored echo signal c is subjected to beam synthesis processing, and the beam synthesis signal obtained after the beam synthesis processing is subjected to modulus finding and pseudo-color mapping display to obtain an ultrasonic B image at a target time.

10. An ultrafast plane wave ultrasound contrast imaging method, characterized in that: include: Step 1: Obtain a plane wave sequence with a transmission waveform of [k, 1, 1-k, -1], and transmit corresponding ultrasonic plane waves respectively according to the transmission order based on a preset transmitting end, and collect echo signals corresponding to different ultrasonic plane waves in sequence after a target time period; Step 2: Process the collected echo signal and store the processed echo signal; Step 3: The stored echo signals are transmitted to the host computer, and different echo signals are superimposed according to the weights of different echo signals to obtain a sum signal, and the sum signal is beamformed. Processing to obtain beam synthesis signal; Step 4: Perform modulus calculation and pseudo-color mapping on the beam synthesis signal to obtain the ultrasound contrast image at the target time.

Images