Ultrasonic Diagnostic Apparatus Pulsation Timing Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses face challenges in accurately measuring the stiffness of biological tissue due to variations in time phases during the transmission and reception of push and tracking pulses across divided regions, leading to potential inaccuracies in stiffness distribution information.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus includes calculation, acquisition, and determination circuitry to calculate motion indicators from echo data, specify optimal time phases for main scans, and synchronize the transmission and reception of push and tracking pulses across divided regions within a single heartbeat, ensuring consistent timing for accurate stiffness measurement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If push and tracking pulses are transmitted and received across divided regions without time phase synchronization, then the scanning process can proceed independently in each region, but measurement precision deteriorates due to variations in time phases causing inaccurate stiffness distribution information
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs a pre-scan before the main scan to measure the displacement indicating pulsation motion of the biological tissue. Based on this preliminary measurement, the system determines the timing of the main scan to be executed at a time phase when the pulsation motion is minimal, thereby preliminarily establishing optimal scanning conditions that ensure measurement precision while maintaining scanning efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the timing parameter of the main scan based on the measured pulsation displacement. By adjusting the scan timing to coincide with the time phase of minimal pulsation motion, the system optimizes the measurement conditions adaptively, resolving the contradiction between maintaining consistent timing across divided regions and preserving independent scanning capability
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
This approach allows for precise measurement of tissue stiffness by stabilizing the motion caused by pulsation, resulting in accurate stiffness distribution information and improved image generation across divided regions.
Implementation Method 1
giving acoustic radiation force or mechanical vibration to biological tissue from the body surface using an ultrasound probe to produce shear wave-induced displacement
Implementation Method 2
observing the displacement at each point in the scanned section over time to obtain the propagation speed of shear waves
Data Source
AI summary
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment includes calculation circuitry, acquisition circuitry, determination circuitry, and scan control circuitry. The calculation circuitry calculates an indicator related to motion of biological tissue in a subject, based on echo data obtained through a pre-scan for the subject. The acquisition circuitry acquires a periodic biological signal of the subject. The determination circuitry specifies at least one tune phase in one cycle of the biological signal acquired during the pre-scan, based on the indicator, and determines a timing of a main scan for the subject, based on the specified time phase and the biological signal acquired after the pre-scan. The scan control circuitry executes the main scan at the timing determined by the determination circuitry.