JP2010193958A - Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A hardware failure or abnormality is detected in a period shorter than a diagnosis cycle by detecting a state in which an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus itself can execute a self-diagnosis even when the apparatus is activated and sequentially executing tests. Provided is an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for detecting
A program management unit 92 divides a self-diagnosis program for self-diagnosis of hardware elements into subprograms of predetermined block units and manages them in a time-series manner. The self-diagnosis execution unit 91 receives a hardware element pause instruction from the control unit 10 and reads the next subprogram to be executed from the program management unit based on the execution progress managed by the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93. Execute. When receiving a hardware element activation instruction from the control unit 10 during execution of the self-diagnosis, the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 stops the subprogram being executed and stores the execution progress in the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a self-diagnosis technique for automatically performing a function test of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and in particular, hardware (hereinafter referred to as hardware elements) such as a probe and a transmission / reception unit constituting the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is not used. The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a self-diagnosis function that can detect a failure or abnormality of a hardware element even when the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is activated by sequentially executing a program for performing self-diagnosis.

  As means for diagnosing faults and abnormalities of hardware elements constituting the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a plurality of types of self-diagnosis are continuously executed in a sequence programmed in advance as a series of sequences, thereby performing test work on a large number of items and A self-diagnosis method and a self-diagnosis device that can automatically perform result determination are disclosed in Patent Document 1 (in Patent Document 1, self-diagnosis is called a test).

  In Patent Document 1, the self-diagnosis method and the self-diagnosis device are used for the operation check for performing the start-up inspection and the failure diagnosis on the already-operated ultrasonic diagnosis device in addition to the automation of the operation check test at the time of manufacturing the ultrasonic diagnosis device. It is described that it can be applied as a self-diagnosis.

  Applying this technology, specifically, a function for automatically executing a plurality of types of pre-programmed self-diagnosis at the time of a predetermined operation (for example, at the time of starting the device), or an operator directly or remotely operating the device A function to operate and execute arbitrary self-diagnosis is established.

JP 2001-231780 A

  However, even if the self-diagnosis is automatically executed at the time of start-up, the device cannot be used during the self-diagnosis, so that the start-up of the device is not completed until the self-diagnosis is completed and the start-up time becomes long. However, this time-consuming self-diagnosis is not included in the self-diagnosis that is automatically executed at start-up, and in order to execute all self-diagnosis, it is necessary for the operator to operate the device and execute the self-diagnosis. It was.

  For this reason, it is difficult to detect hardware failures and abnormalities that occur in a shorter period than the period of equipment maintenance (referred to as the diagnostic period), and humans operate even if the diagnostic period is shortened. There was a limit.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned problem. Even when the apparatus is activated, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus itself detects a state in which self-diagnosis can be performed and sequentially executes the self-diagnosis, so that the diagnosis cycle can be performed. An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that detects a hardware failure or abnormality in a short period of time.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 includes a hardware element including at least a transmission / reception unit that transmits and receives an ultrasonic wave, and a control unit that controls each hardware element, and is based on the received ultrasonic wave. A self-diagnostic program for self-diagnosis of the hardware elements in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that generates an image at the same time, and is divided into predetermined sub-programs in block units and managed in a time-series manner. A program management unit; a self-diagnosis progress management unit that manages the progress of past self-diagnosis execution in units of subprograms; and execution of the self-diagnosis progress management unit upon receiving a hardware component suspension instruction from the control unit A self-diagnosis execution unit for reading and executing a subprogram to be executed next from the program management unit based on progress; It is a device.
The self-diagnostic execution unit may further stop execution of a subprogram when the self-diagnosis execution unit receives a hardware element activation instruction from the control unit, and the execution of the self-diagnosis program is continued. Is stored in the self-diagnosis progress management unit in units of subprograms.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the ultrasonic transducer according to the third aspect, the program management unit performs transmission / reception of ultrasonic waves for a self-diagnosis program for self-diagnosis of a transmission / reception device included in the hardware element. The process of self-diagnosis in units of channels corresponding to the above is collected as the predetermined block for each of one or a plurality of channels and managed as a subprogram.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the program management unit targets a self-diagnosis program for self-diagnosis of the memory built in the hardware element, and divides the memory capacity into predetermined sizes. The predetermined block is managed, and the process of self-diagnosis of the predetermined block is managed as a subprogram.
In the invention according to claim 5, the self-diagnosis execution unit, when executing the subprogram, stores the test data managed by each block for each block to be diagnosed by the subprogram. Save to the self-diagnosis progress management unit, execute the subprogram after rewriting to self-diagnosis data, and after completion of the execution of the subprogram, the test data saved to the self-diagnosis progress management unit, The block is restored to the original block in the same state as before the save.
The invention described in claim 6 further includes a display control unit and a display unit for displaying a progress of self-diagnosis managed by the self-diagnosis progress management unit.
The invention according to claim 7 is a diagnostic cycle storage unit that stores a diagnostic cycle until the self-diagnosis program is executed again after the self-diagnosis program is executed, and a diagnostic cycle stored in the diagnostic cycle storage unit. And a diagnostic period management unit for determining whether or not the elapsed time has passed the diagnostic cycle, and measuring the elapsed time after execution of the self-diagnosis program, When the execution of the self-diagnosis program has been completed, the result of the comparison between the elapsed time and the diagnostic cycle is confirmed in the diagnostic period management unit at a predetermined timing, and when the elapsed time is less than the diagnostic cycle, The present invention is characterized in that execution of a self-diagnosis program accompanying a pause instruction of a hardware element from a control unit is suppressed.

  According to the present invention, even when the apparatus is activated and the function as the original diagnostic apparatus is executed, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus itself detects a trigger capable of executing the self-diagnosis, and the self-diagnosis is divided into block units in advance. By automatically and sequentially executing the program, it is possible to detect a failure / abnormality of a hardware element and notify the user of the result, thereby quickly finding a hardware element whose performance has deteriorated due to a failure or deterioration over time. It becomes possible.

It is a functional block diagram of this embodiment. (a) is a flowchart relating to a process for starting a test sequence accompanying a pause interrupt (pause interrupt handler), and (b) is a flowchart relating to a process for stopping a test sequence accompanying a start interrupt (start interrupt handler). It is a flowchart regarding the process of the test sequence at the time of receiving a pause interrupt. It is a flowchart regarding the process of the test sequence at the time of receiving a starting interruption. It is a flowchart of the test sequence regarding transfer to standby mode and cancellation of standby mode. (a). is a sequence diagram showing the flow of self-diagnosis processing in the prior art, and (b). is a sequence diagram showing the flow of self-diagnosis processing in the present invention. It is a sequence diagram showing the flow of a start / stop process of self-diagnosis when a sleep interrupt and a start interrupt occur in the present invention.

(Configuration mainly consisting of ultrasound diagnosis)
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of this embodiment. In FIG. 1, the probe 2 is a one-dimensional array probe in which a plurality of ultrasonic transducers are arranged in a row in a predetermined direction (scanning direction), or a two-dimensional arrangement in which a plurality of ultrasonic transducers are two-dimensionally arranged. An array probe is used. Further, a one-dimensional array probe in which ultrasonic transducers are arranged in a predetermined direction (scanning direction) and mechanically swingable in a direction (vibration direction) perpendicular to the scanning direction may be used.

  The transmission / reception unit 3 includes a transmission unit and a reception unit. The transmission / reception unit 3 supplies an electrical signal to the probe 2 to generate an ultrasonic wave and sends the ultrasonic wave to the subject. The probe 2 receives an echo signal returned from the subject. The transmission unit and the reception unit operate based on control data set for each individual path (channel) corresponding to each ultrasonic transducer from the sequence processing unit 4 under the control of the sequence processing unit 4.

  The transmission unit of the transmission / reception unit 3 includes a clock generation circuit, a transmission delay circuit, and a pulsar circuit (not shown). The transmission delay circuit is a circuit that performs transmission focus with a delay when transmitting ultrasonic waves. The pulsar circuit incorporates pulsars corresponding to the number of channels, generates a drive pulse at a transmission timing multiplied by a delay, and supplies it to each ultrasonic transducer of the probe 2.

  The reception unit of the transmission / reception unit 3 includes a preamplifier circuit, an A / D conversion circuit, and a reception delay / addition circuit. The preamplifier circuit amplifies the echo signal output from each ultrasonic transducer of the probe 2 for each reception channel. The A / D converter circuit A / D converts the amplified echo signal. The reception delay / adder circuit gives a delay time necessary for determining the reception directivity to the echo signal after A / D conversion, and adds the delay time. By the addition, the reflection component from the direction according to the reception directivity is emphasized. The signal added by the transmission / reception unit 3 may be referred to as “RF data (raw data)”. The transmission / reception unit 3 outputs the RF data to the signal processing unit 5.

  The sequence processing unit 4 manages control data corresponding to each mode such as the B mode for each channel of the transmission / reception unit 3 and a series of transmission / reception processes including the operation timing of the circuit corresponding to each channel of the transmission / reception unit 3. The operation is managed. The sequence processing unit 4 sets the operation data of the circuit corresponding to each channel at the time of performing the ultrasonic inspection based on a series of sequences, and sets the control data of the operating channel to the channel according to the operation mode of the ultrasonic inspection. The activation of each circuit corresponding to the channel is controlled.

  The signal processing unit 5 includes a B-mode processing unit, a CFM (Color Flow Mapping) processing unit, and the like. The B-mode processing unit visualizes echo amplitude information. Specifically, the B-mode processing unit performs band-pass filter processing on the reception signal output from the transmission / reception unit 3, then detects the envelope of the output signal, and performs logarithmic conversion on the detected data. Apply compression processing. The CFM processing unit visualizes moving blood flow information. Blood flow information includes information such as speed, dispersion, and power, and blood flow information is obtained as binarized information.

  The image data generation unit 61 converts the data after signal processing represented by the scanning line signal sequence into data of a coordinate system based on the spatial coordinates (digital scan conversion). For example, the image data generation unit 61 generates B-mode image data representing the tissue shape of the subject by performing a scan conversion process on the signal-processed data output from the B-mode processing unit. Then, the image data generation unit 61 outputs ultrasonic image data such as B-mode image data to the image data storage unit 62.

  When volume scanning is performed, the image data generation unit 61 may receive volume data from the signal processing unit 5 and perform volume rendering on the volume data to generate three-dimensional image data. . Further, the image data generation unit 61 may generate MPR image data (arbitrary slice image data) by performing MPR processing (Multi Planar Reconstruction) on the volume data. Then, the image data generation unit 61 outputs ultrasonic image data such as 3D image data and MPR image data to the image data storage unit 62.

  Ultrasonic image data such as B-mode image data and three-dimensional image data generated by the image data generation unit 61 is stored in the image data storage unit 62.

  Hereinafter, the image data generation unit 61 and the image data storage unit 62 may be collectively referred to as an image data processing unit 6. When the image data processing unit 6 is described, the image data generation unit 61 and the image data storage unit 62 are included.

  The ultrasonic image data stored in the image data storage unit 62 is displayed on the display unit 81 of the user interface 8 by the display control unit 7.

  The display control unit 7 performs display control for displaying the image data stored in the image data storage unit 62 on the display unit 81. In addition, display control for displaying the self-diagnosis result and the execution log stored in the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93 on the display unit 81 is also performed. Furthermore, during the execution of the self-diagnosis, a mark indicating that the test is being performed may be displayed on the display unit 81 so that the user can recognize that the self-diagnosis is being performed.

  The control unit 10 receives an operator's operation from the operation unit 82 of the user interface 8 and controls hardware elements such as the probe 2, the transmission / reception unit 3, the sequence processing unit 4, the signal processing unit 5, and the image data processing unit 6. Control start and stop. For example, when the operator uses the operation unit 82 to instruct freezing, the control unit 10 stops the hardware element and puts it into a dormant state, and notifies the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 (to be described later) of the pause of the hardware element ( Hereinafter referred to as a pause interrupt).

  When the operator instructs the start of the ultrasonic examination using the operation unit 82, the control unit 10 notifies the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 of the activation of the hardware element (hereinafter referred to as activation interruption) and the hardware. Activate the element and make it possible to perform ultrasonic inspection.

(Structure mainly based on self-diagnosis)
Next, a configuration for self-diagnosis of hardware elements will be mainly described. The hardware elements refer to the probe 2, the transmission / reception unit 3, the sequence processing unit 4, the signal processing unit 5, and the image data processing unit 6 that constitute the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1.

  In this example, the self-diagnosis is mainly classified into a self-diagnosis related to a transmission / reception test and a self-diagnosis related to a memory test. The self-diagnosis is executed by a self-diagnosis execution unit 91 described later as a self-diagnosis program managed by a program management unit 92 described later. In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, the self-diagnosis program is divided into subprograms in a predetermined unit in advance, and the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 sequentially executes self-diagnosis in units of subprograms.

(How to divide into subprograms)
Here, a method for dividing the self-diagnosis program into subprograms will be described. The self-diagnosis program is divided into units of self-diagnosis, for example, diagnosis related to probe transmission / reception devices and diagnosis related to memory processing of the sequence processing unit (divided into units of diagnosis numbers). The hardware elements to be performed are divided into blocks in predetermined units and divided into block-unit diagnosis processes, and the contents of the block-unit diagnosis processes become subprograms.

  The division method into block units will be described with further examples. As described above, the self-diagnosis is mainly classified into the self-diagnosis related to the transmission / reception test and the self-diagnosis related to the memory inspection.

  When the self-diagnosis program related to the transmission / reception test is divided into blocks, the smallest block is a channel of the transmission / reception apparatus to be diagnosed. That is, a 128-channel transmission / reception apparatus is divided into 128 blocks at the maximum. In this case, a self-diagnosis program relating to the transmission / reception test is divided into 128 subprograms.

  In addition, as a method for dividing the self-diagnosis program related to the transmission / reception test, other sub-arrays, FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays), ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), etc. may be divided as block units. .

  Further, when the self-diagnosis program relating to the memory inspection is divided into blocks, the memory is divided into areas of a certain size such as 128 kbytes, and each area is made one block. For example, when a 100 Mbyte memory is divided into regions of 128 kbytes, it is divided into 800 blocks. In this case, the self-diagnostic program relating to the memory inspection is divided into 800 subprograms.

  In the division of the self-diagnosis program relating to the memory inspection, the size of the area division may be divided into, for example, 128 kbytes, 256 kbytes, 512 kbytes, 1 Mbytes, and the like.

  The self-diagnosis program is divided in advance based on any one of these division methods and stored in the program management unit. Further, the program management unit is provided with means for dividing based on these division methods, and when the self-diagnosis program is stored in the program management unit, the operator selects the division method from the operation unit, and follows the selected division method. The self-diagnosis program may be divided.

  The program management unit 92 stores the subprograms divided in the order to be executed and manages them so as to be readable.

  The self-diagnosis progress management unit 93 collates with control data used for self-diagnosis and data acquired at the time of self-diagnosis, data for checking results, self-diagnosis execution progress, self-diagnosis diagnosis results and execution Store and manage time logs. Here, the execution progress of the self-diagnosis indicates the self-diagnosis diagnosis number X and the block number Y of the block which is the diagnosis target of the sub-program, which represents the progress of the self-diagnosis executed by the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 so far. . The log at the time of execution indicates information for proving the fact that the self-diagnosis is executed, such as the date and time when the self-diagnosis is executed.

  The self-diagnosis progress management unit 93 recognizes the list of subprograms stored in the program management unit 92 in advance, and stores the progress status of the self-diagnosis executed by the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 as the execution progress. Keep it. Accordingly, the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93 recognizes which subprogram has been executed so far and which subprogram should be executed next.

  The result of self-diagnosis and the execution log stored in the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93 are displayed on the display unit 81 of the user interface 8 by the display control unit 7. The self-diagnosis result and the execution log are stored in the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93 as nonvolatile information. Therefore, by operating from the operation unit 82, the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 is controlled via the control unit 10, and the self-diagnosis result and the execution log managed by the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93 are displayed at a predetermined timing. It is also possible to refer to it.

  In addition, the self-diagnosis result and the execution log stored in the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93 are received by an operator's instruction from the operation unit 82 as necessary. 91 may be controlled so as to be embedded in the subject information set during the ultrasonic examination.

  In addition, the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93 is also used as a save area for inspection data such as control data stored in the hardware to be diagnosed at the time of diagnosis execution.

(Processing contents of self-diagnosis program)
Next, an outline of the self-diagnosis process will be described with an example. For example, when the diagnostic device is in a frozen state according to an instruction from the operation unit 82 and executes a self-diagnosis related to a transmission / reception test of the transmission / reception unit 3, the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 is managed and stored in the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93. By referring to the execution process and specifying and executing the channel of the transmission / reception unit 3 targeted by the subprogram to be executed, (1) the transmission / reception control data stored in the channel and the reception data from the probe are stored. The self-diagnosis progress management unit 93, which will be described later, saves and stores the data and replaces it with the control data for channel diagnosis managed by the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93, and then executes the self-diagnosis of the transmission / reception test. (2) The received data obtained as a result of executing the self-diagnosis is collated with the result confirmation data managed by the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93, and the collation result of the received data and the log at the time of executing the self-diagnosis are displayed. It is stored in the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93. (3) After completion of the self-diagnosis, the saved transmission / reception control data and reception data are restored to the corresponding channel of the transmission / reception unit 3. These subprograms describe the contents to execute the operations (1), (2), and (3).

  In addition, when executing a self-diagnosis subprogram related to the inspection of the memory built in each hardware element, the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 identifies an area of the memory targeted by the subprogram to be executed, and is stored in the area. The actual data stored in the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93 is saved and stored, and the self-diagnosis is performed by inspecting the memory using the area diagnosis data managed by the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93. The test result obtained as a result of executing the self-diagnosis and the log at the time of executing the self-diagnosis are stored in the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93. After completion of the self-diagnosis, the saved actual data is restored to the relevant area of the inspection target memory.

  As described above, the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 receives a pause interrupt from the control unit 10 and starts self-diagnosis, and sequentially executes the self-diagnosis program managed and stored in the program management unit 92 in units of sub-programs. A log at the time of execution indicating the diagnosis result and the diagnosis execution time obtained is stored in the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93. When the self-diagnosis is started, the execution progress stored in the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93 at the time of the previous self-diagnosis stop is read and executed from the subprogram at the time of the previous stop. In addition, when a start interrupt is received from the control unit 10, the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 transfers the execution progress to the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93 without transitioning to the execution of the next subprogram after completion of the subprogram being executed. Memorize and stop running self-diagnosis.

  After completing the execution of a series of self-diagnosis (all of the subprograms scheduled to be executed), the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 shifts to a standby mode in which re-execution of the self-diagnosis is suppressed for a predetermined period. The self-diagnosis execution unit 91 in the standby mode confirms a diagnosis cycle to a diagnosis period management unit 94 described later periodically at a predetermined timing set in advance or when a pause interrupt is notified from the control unit 10. And a comparison result between the elapsed time T1 from the time when a series of self-diagnosis is started and the diagnosis cycle T2 is acquired.

  When the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 in the standby mode receives a pause interrupt from the control unit 10 in a state where the elapsed time T1 is less than the diagnosis cycle T2 (when T1 <T2), the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 suppresses the start of a series of self-diagnosis. To do. If the elapsed time T1 exceeds the diagnostic cycle T2 when the diagnostic cycle is confirmed (when T1> T2), the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 cancels the standby mode. When the standby mode is canceled, the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 initializes the execution progress managed by the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93, notifies the diagnosis period management unit 94 of the initialization request, and then restarts the self-diagnosis.

  The diagnosis period management unit 94 includes a timer that measures an elapsed time T1 from the time when a series of self-diagnosis is started (the first subprogram scheduled to be executed is started). The diagnosis period management unit 94 receives the diagnosis cycle confirmation request from the self-diagnosis execution unit 91, and the elapsed time T1 measured by the timer and a cycle for performing a series of self-diagnosis preset in the diagnosis cycle storage unit 95. A comparison is made with a certain diagnosis cycle T2, and the comparison result is notified to the self-diagnosis execution unit 91. When an initialization request is received from the self-diagnosis execution unit 91, the elapsed time T1 measured by the timer is initialized, and the timer is restarted.

  The diagnosis cycle storage unit 95 stores a diagnosis cycle T2 until a self-diagnosis is started again after a series of self-diagnosis is executed. This diagnosis cycle T2 is set in advance at the time of product shipment, and can be changed during a predetermined period by an operation from the operation unit 82.

  The user interface 8 includes a display unit 81 and an operation unit 82. The display unit 81 includes a monitor such as a CRT or a liquid crystal display, and displays a tomographic image, a three-dimensional image, or the like on the screen. The operation unit 82 is configured by a keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, a TCS (Touch Command Screen), or the like, and various instructions are given by an operation of the operator.

  The sequence processing unit 4, the image data processing unit 6, the display control unit 7, the self-diagnosis execution unit 91, and the control unit 10 are configured to include a CPU and a storage unit (not shown) such as a ROM, RAM, and HDD. . The storage unit stores a program for realizing the function of each unit.

(Operation)
Next, the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

(First operation mode)
The first operation mode by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described separately for the following triggers.
・ Start of self-diagnosis associated with sleep interrupt ・ Stop of self-diagnosis associated with start-up interrupt ・ Move to standby mode upon completion of self-diagnosis

(Start of self-diagnosis accompanying pause interrupt)
An operation of receiving a pause interrupt associated with the pause of the ultrasonic examination and starting a self-diagnosis will be described with reference to FIG. 2A and 3 are flowcharts showing the operation of starting a self-diagnosis accompanying a pause interrupt in the first operation mode of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a flowchart relating to processing (pause interrupt handler) for starting a test sequence in response to a pause interrupt, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart relating to test sequence processing when a pause interrupt is received.

  Upon receiving an ultrasonic inspection pause instruction (for example, a freeze instruction) from the operation unit 82, the control unit 10 causes the probe 2, the transmission / reception unit 3, the sequence processing unit 4, the signal processing unit 5, the image data processing unit 6, and the like. Are stopped, and a self-diagnosis execution unit 91 is notified of a pause interrupt. When the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 receives a pause interrupt, it first starts the operation of the pause interrupt handler.

(Step S01)
The self-diagnosis execution unit 91 receives a pause interrupt, and first stores in the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93 the setting of the state of the entire ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 1 including the mode at the time of diagnosis such as the B mode.

(Step S02)
Next, whether or not self-diagnosis has been started is confirmed by a diagnosis start flag F0 (diagnosis start represents the first activation of a series of self-diagnosis).

(Step S03)
When the self-diagnosis has already been started (step S02, Yes), that is, when the self-diagnosis interrupt is received after the self-diagnosis being executed is stopped by the activation interrupt described later, the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 performs self-diagnosis progress management. The diagnosis progress stored in the unit 93, that is, the diagnosis number X and the block number Y are read (step S03a and step S03b). When the self-diagnosis has not been started (No at Step S02), this process is not executed.

(Step S04)
Finally, after setting the interrupt flag F10 to 1 and starting the process for executing the test sequence, the processing of the pause interrupt handler ends (hereinafter, the test sequence is set by the pause interrupt handler and the startup interrupt handler described later). This represents a series of processes for executing or stopping the self-diagnosis program according to the state).

(Step S05)
When the processing of the test sequence is started by the pause interrupt handler, the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 first confirms whether or not the self-diagnosis has been started by the diagnosis start flag F0.

(Step S06)
When the self-diagnosis has not been started (No at Step S05), as an initialization process, the diagnosis number X and the block number Y managed by the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93 are set to 0 (Steps S06a and S06b), respectively. The elapsed time T1 managed by the diagnosis period management unit 94 is set to 0, the timer is restarted (step S06c), and the diagnosis start flag F0 is set to 1 (step S06d). If the self-diagnosis has already started, that is, if the diagnosis start flag F0 is 1 (step S05, Yes), this initialization process is not executed.

(Step S07)
Next, the interrupt flag F10 is used to determine the type of interrupt notified from the control unit 10, that is, whether a pause interrupt or a start interrupt is notified. At this time, the interrupt flag F10 is set to 1 by the pause interrupt handler (step 07, Yes).

(Step S08)
Next, the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 refers to the value set for the diagnosis number X and determines whether all self-diagnosis has been completed. At this time, the diagnosis number X is set to the number of the self-diagnosis to be executed next. When all the self-diagnosis is completed at the time of determination (step S08, Yes), the process shifts to a standby mode to be described later.

(Step S09)
If there is an incomplete self-diagnosis (No in step S08), the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 starts a self-diagnosis program with a diagnosis number X. The self-diagnosis program is executed for each subprogram in block units.

(Step S10)
When the self-diagnosis program with the diagnosis number X starts, the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 first obtains the block number Y from the execution progress managed by the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93, and the block corresponding to the block number Y In the case of self-diagnosis of transmission / reception test, control data for controlling transmission / reception processing of block Y (block corresponding to block number Y) and reception data received and recorded in block Y are stored in memory. In the case of the self-diagnosis related to the inspection, the actual data stored in the block Y area is stored in the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93.

(Step S11)
Next, the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 acquires diagnosis data of the diagnosis number X corresponding to the block number Y, which is managed and stored in the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93 as input information for executing the diagnosis of the block Y. To do. In the case of the self-diagnosis of the transmission / reception test, the diagnostic control data used for the transmission / reception test of the block Y and the result confirmation data used for collation of the reception data in the self-diagnosis of the block Y are acquired as the diagnostic data. The control data for diagnosis is set in the channel corresponding to the block Y. In the case of the self-diagnosis related to the memory inspection, the area diagnosis data used for the diagnosis of the area managed by the block Y is acquired.

(Step S12)
Then, based on the diagnosis data corresponding to the block number Y acquired from the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93, the subprogram of the diagnosis number X corresponding to the block number Y is executed. In the case of the self-diagnosis of the transmission / reception test, the transmission / reception process is executed based on the set diagnostic control data, and the success or failure of the self-diagnosis is confirmed by comparing the obtained reception data with the result confirmation data. In the case of self-diagnosis related to the memory inspection, the area diagnosis data is stored in the area managed by the block Y, the stored area diagnosis data is read from the area, and the read data is read as area diagnosis data. Confirm the success or failure of the self-diagnosis by comparing with. When the execution of the subprogram is completed, a log such as the time when the subprogram is executed and the result of the self-diagnosis are stored in the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93.

(Step S13)
When the execution of the subprogram is completed, the test data saved in the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93, that is, in the case of the self-diagnosis of the transmission / reception test, the control data for controlling the transmission / reception process stored in the block Y before saving, and When the received data received and recorded in the block Y is self-diagnosis related to the memory inspection, the actual data stored in the area of the block Y before saving is changed to the block corresponding to the block number Y from which the saving is performed. To recover.

(Step S14)
When the execution of the subprogram corresponding to the block number Y is completed, the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 determines whether there is a block that has not been self-diagnosis based on the block number Y.

(Step S15)
If a block that has not been self-diagnosed remains (step S14, No), the block number Y is added and the diagnosis of the next block is started.

(Step S16)
When diagnosis of all the blocks has been completed (step S14, Yes), after the block number Y is initialized, the diagnosis of the diagnosis number X is ended.

(Step S17)
When the diagnosis of the diagnosis number X is completed, the diagnosis number X is added and the diagnosis corresponding to the next diagnosis number is started. The above processing sequence is executed until all self-diagnosis is completed.

(Self-diagnosis stop with start interrupt)
Next, an operation in which a self-diagnosis is started in response to an activation interrupt accompanying the start of an ultrasonic examination will be described with reference to FIG. 2B and FIG. FIG. 2B and FIG. 4 are flowcharts showing a self-diagnosis stop operation accompanying a start interrupt in the first operation mode of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2B is a flowchart regarding a process (start interrupt handler) for stopping a test sequence in response to a start interrupt, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart regarding a test sequence process when a start interrupt is received. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the same function as that in FIG. 3, but in order to explain the flow of processing in an easy-to-understand manner, new step numbers are newly added only to portions that operate under this condition. Therefore, S24 and S25 in FIG. 4 are the same processes as steps S05 and S07 in FIG. 3, although different step numbers are added.

  Upon receiving an ultrasonic inspection start instruction from the operation unit 82, the control unit 10 notifies the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 of an activation interrupt.

(Step S21)
The self-diagnosis execution unit 91 receives the activation interrupt and stops the process of the test sequence executing the self-diagnosis.

(Step S22)
After the test sequence process is stopped, the self-diagnosis progress, that is, the diagnosis number X and the block number Y at the time when the self-diagnosis is stopped are stored in the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93 (steps S22a and S22b).

(Step S23)
Finally, after setting the interrupt flag F10 to 0 and starting the process for executing the test sequence, the processing of the start interrupt handler ends.

(Step S24)
When the processing of the test sequence is started by the activation interrupt handler, the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 first confirms whether or not the self-diagnosis has been started by the diagnosis start flag F0. At this time, since the self-diagnosis has already started, 0 is set to the diagnosis start flag F0 (Yes in step S24).

(Step S25)
Next, the interrupt flag F10 is used to determine the type of interrupt notified from the control unit 10, that is, whether a pause interrupt or a start interrupt is notified. At this time, the interrupt flag F10 is set to 0 by the activation interrupt handler (step S25, No).

(Step S26)
Finally, the setting of the entire state of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 including the mode at the time of diagnosis such as the B mode stored in the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93 at the start of the self-diagnosis is read and set in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1. Then, a series of processes of the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 is completed. Upon completion of the processing of the self-diagnosis execution unit 91, the control unit 10 activates hardware elements including the probe 2, the transmission / reception unit 3, the sequence processing unit 4, the signal processing unit 5, the image data processing unit 6, and the like. .

  The stopped self-diagnosis is resumed from the time when the self-diagnosis interrupt is notified from the control unit 10 to the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 by pausing the ultrasonic examination.

(Transition to standby mode upon completion of self-diagnosis)
When a series of self-diagnosis, that is, the execution of the self-diagnosis programs for all the diagnosis numbers, is completed, the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 shifts to a standby mode for suppressing re-execution of the self-diagnosis for a predetermined period. The operation until the self-diagnosis is started again after waiting for a predetermined period after shifting to the standby mode will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a test sequence relating to the transition to the standby mode and the cancellation of the standby mode in the first operation mode by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the same function as that in FIG. 3, but in order to explain the flow of processing in an easy-to-understand manner, new step numbers are re-added only to parts that operate under this condition. Therefore, S31 in FIG. 5 is the same process as step S08 in FIG. 3, although a different step number is added.

(Step S31)
When all of the series of self-diagnosis is completed (step S31, Yes), the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 shifts to the standby mode, and at a predetermined timing, the diagnosis period management unit periodically or at a predetermined timing or from the control unit 10 When the pause interruption is notified, the diagnosis period management unit 94 is requested to confirm the diagnosis cycle.

(Step S32)
The diagnosis period management unit 94 receives the diagnosis cycle confirmation request from the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 and acquires the elapsed time T1 from the timer.

(Step S33)
The diagnosis period management unit 94 compares the elapsed time T1 acquired from the timer with the diagnosis period T2 managed and stored in the diagnosis period storage unit 95, and notifies the comparison result to the self-diagnosis execution unit 91. When the elapsed time T1 is less than the diagnosis cycle T2 (No in step S33), the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 continues to wait after receiving the comparison result from the diagnosis period management unit 94, and the diagnosis period management unit 94 after a predetermined time has elapsed. Request the diagnosis cycle again.

(Step S34)
When the elapsed time T1 has exceeded the diagnosis cycle T2 (step S33, Yes), the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 cancels the standby mode, sets the diagnosis start flag F0 to 0, and restarts the process of executing the test sequence. to start.

(Contrast with conventional technology)
Here, the flow of processing relating to the start of the self-diagnosis accompanying the pause interrupt and the stop of the self-diagnosis accompanying the start interrupt, which is a feature of the present invention, in comparison with the present invention and the prior art will be described with reference to FIGS. Will be described with reference to FIG. 6A is a sequence diagram showing the flow of self-diagnosis processing in the prior art, and FIG. 6B is a sequence diagram showing the flow of self-diagnosis processing in the present invention. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of start / stop processing of self-diagnosis when a sleep interrupt and a start interrupt occur in the present invention.

  First, the flow of processing in the prior art will be described with reference to FIG. In the prior art, the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 starts the self-diagnosis processing sequence in response to the device diagnosis start command 101. However, since all diagnoses are formed as one self-diagnosis program, the self-diagnosis processing sequence The hardware element could not be activated until all diagnostics were completed, and the ultrasound examination could not be started during the self-diagnosis.

  In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 6B, the self-diagnosis processing sequence is divided for each diagnosis, and each diagnosis is further divided into block-unit processes and sequentially executed. With this configuration, the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 temporarily stops the self-diagnosis that is being executed between the processes in block units, and the control unit 10 can start the hardware element in response to this stop. When the diagnosis becomes possible, the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 can restart the self-diagnosis from the processing of the stopped block.

  In addition, in accordance with the change to the diagnosis in block units, the present invention also relates to the saving of test data and reading of diagnostic data, which are pre-processing of self-diagnosis, and recovery of test data, which is post-processing of self-diagnosis. The process has been changed to be executed in.

  In the prior art, pre-processing of self-diagnosis (saving of test data and reading of diagnostic data) and post-processing of self-diagnosis (restoring of test data) are performed collectively for all diagnoses. However, in the present invention, which can be temporarily stopped between processes in block units, when the pre-processing and post-processing of self-diagnosis are performed collectively for all diagnoses every time, when the self-diagnosis being executed is stopped by a start interrupt, In addition, when the stopped self-diagnosis is activated by a pause interrupt, overhead (unnecessary processing that does not require execution) occurs in pre-processing and post-processing for a diagnosis that is not executed.

  For example, when the process is stopped during the diagnosis of the block Y, the post-processing for the blocks after the Y + 1 that have not been performed in the post-processing at the time of the stop does not execute the diagnosis after the block Y + 1 at this time. Overhead. Further, since the diagnosis is executed from the block Y + 1 even in the restart from the diagnosis of the block Y + 1, if the preprocessing up to the block Y is executed, the process becomes an overhead.

  Therefore, in the present invention, the pre-processing and post-processing of the self-diagnosis are also changed to a configuration that is executed for each block to be diagnosed before and after the block unit processing, thereby suppressing the occurrence of overhead.

  Here, the details of the processing sequence relating to the temporary stop of the self-diagnosis accompanying the start interrupt and the restart of the self-diagnosis accompanying the pause interrupt in the present invention will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG.

  For example, the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 generates an interrupt 311 (start-up interrupt) from the control unit 10 while executing the diagnosis process for the block Y in the self-diagnosis of the diagnosis X (self-diagnosis corresponding to the diagnosis number X). Suppose you received it. At this time, the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 receives the interruption 311 from the control unit and stores the execution progress, that is, the diagnosis number X and the block number Y in the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93 after completion of the diagnosis of the block Y. The self-diagnosis is temporarily stopped without shifting to the execution of the diagnosis of the block Y + 1.

  When the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 stops the self-diagnosis, the control unit 10 notifies the activation instruction 213 to the hardware element, thereby activating the hardware element and enabling the ultrasonic examination. .

  When the ultrasonic examination is completed, the control unit 10 stops the hardware element and notifies the self-diagnosis execution unit 91 of an interrupt 312 (pause interrupt).

  The self-diagnosis execution unit 91 which has received the interrupt 312 from the control unit 10 reads the execution progress at the time when the self-diagnosis was stopped last time, that is, the diagnosis number X and the block number Y from the self-diagnosis progress management unit 93, and the next block The self-diagnosis is restarted from the diagnosis of (i.e., the diagnosis of block Y + 1).

  As described above, in the present invention, unlike the prior art, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus itself detects a trigger capable of executing self-diagnosis even while the apparatus is activated, and automatically and sequentially executes a self-diagnostic program divided into blocks in advance. It becomes possible to do. As a result, it becomes possible to detect a hardware failure or abnormality that occurred in a period shorter than the diagnosis cycle.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 2 Probe 3 Transmission / reception part 4 Sequence processing part 5 Signal processing part 6 Image data processing part 7 Display control part 8 User interface 10 Control part 61 Image data generation part 62 Image data storage part 81 Display part 82 Operation part 91 Self-diagnosis execution unit 92 Program management unit 93 Self-diagnosis progress management unit 94 Diagnosis period management unit 95 Diagnosis cycle storage unit

Claims (7)

In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that includes a hardware element including at least a transmission / reception unit that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves, and a control unit that controls each hardware element, and generates an image based on the received ultrasonic wave,
A self-diagnosis program for self-diagnosis of the hardware elements, a program management unit that divides into sub-programs in predetermined block units and manages them in a time-series manner, and
A self-diagnosis progress management unit that manages the progress of past self-diagnosis in the subprogram unit;
A self-diagnosis execution unit that reads and executes the next subprogram to be executed from the program management unit based on the execution progress of the self-diagnosis progress management unit when receiving a pause instruction of a hardware element from the control unit An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.   The self-diagnosis execution unit further stops a running subprogram when receiving a hardware element activation instruction from the control unit, and the self-diagnosis progress management unit monitors the execution progress of the self-diagnosis program in units of subprograms. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is stored.   The program management unit performs self-diagnosis on a channel-by-channel basis corresponding to each ultrasonic transducer that performs ultrasonic transmission / reception, targeting a self-diagnosis program for self-diagnosis of a transmission / reception device included in the hardware element The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing is collected as the predetermined block for each of one or a plurality of channels and managed as a subprogram.   The program management unit is directed to a self-diagnosis program for self-diagnosis of a memory built in the hardware element, and the memory capacity is divided into a predetermined size to be the predetermined block, and the predetermined block is The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the self-diagnosis process is managed as a subprogram.   The self-diagnosis execution unit saves the test data managed by each block to the self-diagnosis progress management unit for each block to be diagnosed by the sub-program when executing the sub-program. Rewrite the diagnostic data and execute the subprogram. After the execution of the subprogram is completed, the test data saved in the self-diagnosis progress management unit is in the same state as before saving in the original block The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is restored by using the method.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a display control unit that displays a progress of self-diagnosis managed by the self-diagnosis progress management unit. A diagnostic cycle storage unit for storing a diagnostic cycle until the self-diagnosis program is executed again after the execution of the self-diagnosis program;
A diagnostic period management unit that receives a diagnostic period stored in the diagnostic period storage unit, measures an elapsed time after execution of the self-diagnosis program, and compares and determines whether the elapsed time has passed the diagnostic period; Have
The self-diagnosis execution unit, when execution of the self-diagnosis program is completed, confirms a comparison determination result of an elapsed time and a diagnosis cycle with the diagnosis period management unit at a predetermined timing, and the elapsed time is the diagnosis The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein execution of a self-diagnosis program in response to a pause instruction of a hardware element from the control unit is suppressed when the period is not reached. .

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