Ultrasonic Flow Rate Detection with Wall-Adaptive Weighting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for detecting fluid flow rates in luminal organs, such as blood vessels and the heart, can produce unreasonable results due to incorrect weighting of velocity components, leading to inadequate medical evaluations.
Innovation Solution
A fluid flow rate detection device that uses an ultrasonic probe to transmit and receive beams at multiple angles, calculating flow rates by integrating velocity information from both sides of the organ using a weight proportional to the distance from the wall, ensuring accurate perpendicular velocity component calculations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If velocity components are integrated using equal weighting from both walls, then calculation simplicity is maintained, but measurement precision deteriorates due to unreasonable results when one wall's velocity component diverges
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the weighting factor spatially variable rather than uniform. Specifically, the weighting factor w1 for the first wall's velocity component is set to be proportional to the distance d2 from the second wall, while w2 for the second wall's velocity component is proportional to the distance d1 from the first wall. This local adaptation of weights based on positional relationships resolves the contradiction by maintaining calculation simplicity through a systematic weighting rule while improving measurement precision by automatically reducing the influence of divergent velocity components.
2Measurement precision
If the weighting factor is adjusted to account for wall distance, then measurement precision improves, but device complexity increases due to additional distance calculation requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by having the calculation system automatically determine the weighting factors based on the geometric configuration already obtained during the imaging process. The distances d1 and d2 from each wall to the point of interest are naturally available from the ultrasonic beam geometry and organ wall detection, eliminating the need for separate measurement systems. The system serves itself by using the same data (wall positions and beam angles) to compute both the velocity components and their appropriate weights, thus improving measurement precision without significantly increasing device complexity.
3Measurement precision
If ultrasonic beams are transmitted at multiple angular positions, then flow rate detection accuracy improves, but productivity decreases due to repeated transmission and processing operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by acquiring B-mode images at multiple angular positions before performing the velocity component integration. These B-mode images, which contain the structural information including wall positions, are obtained in advance and stored. During the flow rate calculation phase, the system retrieves these pre-acquired images and the previously measured velocity components, then performs the weighted integration without needing to repeat the entire ultrasonic transmission and image acquisition process. This separates the structural mapping phase from the flow measurement phase, improving detection accuracy while mitigating the productivity loss through efficient data reuse.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device provides medically adequate results by accurately resolving fluid flow rates into components parallel and perpendicular to the ultrasonic beam direction, improving the reliability of fluid flow rate detection in luminal organs.
Implementation Method 1
a method for detecting a flow rate of the blood flowing through a blood vessel, heart, etc., in vivo, on the basis of Doppler signals of the bloodstream detected from ultrasonic echo signals obtained by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic beams to and from a living organism
Implementation Method 2
an ultrasonic probe which repeats operations to transmit/receive ultrasonic beams at a plurality of angular direction positions to/from a fluid flowing through a luminal organ in vivo, and to output an echo data array with respect to each ultrasonic beam
Data Source
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AI summary
To provide a fluid flow rate detection device which can be evaluated as adequate from a medical point of view. The velocity of a fluid flowing through a luminal organ in vivo is to be obtained. Vθ (r, θ)=w•V-θ+(1-w)•V+θ is calculated to obtain a calculated value Vθ(r, θ) of the flow rate regarding a component of the fluid in the direction perpendicular to the ultrasonic beam direction. Here, the weight w is a value proportional to the distance d from the wall on one side of the organ at least when the distance is smaller than a predetermined distance from the wall on the one side, and the weight is a value proportional to the distance d' from the wall on the other side of the organ at least when the distance is smaller than a predetermined distance from the wall on the one other side.