JP2737427B2 - Ultrasound diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus,
More specifically, the present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having only one image memory for storing only image data for one display screen.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for capturing and displaying a tomographic image of a subject by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves is provided with a plurality of image memories for storing image data for one display screen. Some are configured to be able to store image data for a plurality of screens. According to this ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, when a freeze (a process of temporarily holding a target image and displaying a still image) is released and a moving image is displayed, or when the display image is horizontally inverted, the next display is performed. Switching the image memory to be read out by writing in advance the image data after the freeze release or the image data after the horizontal reversal to be performed to the image memory different from the image memory in which the image data being currently displayed is stored. The display image can be instantaneously switched with.

Further, in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a large-capacity image memory capable of storing data equal to or more than image data for one screen, for example, when the position of a display image is moved in the vertical direction, the vertical By writing extra image data in the direction in advance, the position can be smoothly moved without any break.

However, in a comparatively inexpensive conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having only one image memory for storing only image data for one display screen, when freezing is released or the displayed image is horizontally inverted, After erasing all the image data currently being displayed from the image memory, a process of newly scanning the next frame and writing the image data to be displayed next to the image memory is required. In addition, when the position of the display image is moved, the image data is temporarily deleted from the image memory when the position movement is completed, and then the next frame is newly scanned to display the image.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show these states. That is, in the freeze release processing shown in FIG. 7, when a freeze release command is input in the freeze state, scanning of the next frame is performed after erasing the image data in the image memory. In the position moving process shown in FIG. 8, when a position moving command is input during scanning of a certain frame, the image data in the image memory is erased when the scanning of the frame is completed, and thereafter, the next frame is scanned. Is performed. It should be noted that the frame correlation shown in each of the figures is obtained by reducing the noise in the image data and reducing the S / N ratio by a method such as taking a weighted average of the image data for each frame that is temporally preceding and succeeding. Refers to a series of processes for improving. 7 and 8 both show that the frame correlation processing is being performed over the entire period by a bold solid line in the figure, and it is assumed that the frame correlation processing is “ON” during this period (see FIG. 7 and FIG. 8). If not, it is assumed that the frame correlation processing is “off”).

Further, in a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a function of changing a magnification of a displayed image and a function of changing a display mode, when the contents of an image memory are erased in order to update an image after inputting these change commands, As shown in FIG. 9, the frame correlation processing is generally in an on state all the time.

[0007]

As described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus cannot immediately display an image after performing freeze release, left / right inversion, position movement, and the like. This gives the user of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus the impression that the responsiveness is poor. Further, in the related art, since the frame correlation process is always on, there is a disadvantage that, for example, when the position is moved, an afterimage noise is generated in the image after the movement. Further, in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a magnification change function and a display mode change function, the frame correlation processing is always on even while the contents of the image memory are erased, so that the actual operation is performed for a while after these change commands are input. It is correlated with darker image data. Therefore, in FIG. 9, from time t ₁ ′ when the contents of the image memory are erased to time t ₂ ′ after scanning several frames, the brightness or the amount of information of the image data is less than the original value (100% or less). ), And recovers to the original value only at time t ₂ ′.
Therefore, as described above, the user is given an impression that responsiveness is poor. If the image is frozen immediately after the input of the change command, a frame correlation between the erased contents of the image memory and the contents of the line memory is obtained. As a result, a still image that is darker than the actual image is displayed. , Giving the user a sense of discomfort.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned various problems, and an object of the present invention is to input a command for releasing a freeze, reversing left and right, moving a position, changing a magnification, and changing a display mode. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in which a desired image is immediately displayed when it is performed, thereby improving responsiveness and usability.

[0009]

[MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEMS] To achieve the above object,
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a single image memory for storing only image data for one display screen, a correlation circuit for performing a frame correlation process, a scan control circuit for controlling scanning of an ultrasonic transmission / reception circuit, In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus including a control unit for a circuit and a scan control circuit, and a display device for displaying an image related to the image data, an instruction to cancel a freeze process or a command to invert the display image is input to the control unit. Then, the control means stops the frame correlation processing at least until the scanning period for the next one frame has elapsed, and displays the image related to the image data stored in the storage means before the input of the command. At the same time, after a lapse of the scanning period for one frame, a frame correlation process is executed to generate new image data.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, when a command to move the position of a display image is input to the control means, the control means sets a flag indicating the input of the command to an on state, and sets at least one next frame. The frame correlation process is stopped until the scanning period elapses, an image related to the image data stored in the storage means before the input of the command is displayed, and after the scanning period of one frame elapses, the flag After confirming the off state of, the frame correlation processing is executed to generate new image data.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when a command to change a magnification of a display image or a change in a display mode is input to the control means, the control means erases the contents of the image memory and at least outputs The frame correlation processing is stopped until the scanning period for one frame elapses, an image related to the image data stored in the storage means is displayed, and the frame correlation processing is executed after the scanning period for one frame elapses. Thus, new image data is generated.

[0012] In a fourth aspect of the present invention, the various aspects of the invention are embodied as described above, and when various commands for changing the image display are input to the control means, the control means controls at least the next one frame. The frame correlation processing is stopped until the scanning period elapses.

[0013]

In the first invention, when a freeze release command or a left / right reversal command of a display image is input, a control means such as a microcomputer turns off the frame correlation process for at least one frame scanning period. The image data stored in the storage means such as the line memory is displayed as it is. The control means turns on the frame correlation processing again when the scanning control circuit operates for one frame, and thereafter, the current image data stored in the storage means and the previous image data remaining in the image memory. Are correlated with each other at a fixed ratio and displayed on the screen.

In the second invention, when a position shift command of the display image is input during or after the end of the frame, the control means turns off the frame correlation process for at least one frame scanning period, and The image data in the means is displayed as it is. After that, similarly to the first invention, the frame correlation processing is turned on again and the image after the movement is displayed.

As described above, according to the first or second aspect of the present invention, after inputting a freeze release command, a position movement command, or the like, at least the first one frame scan is performed by frame correlation without erasing the contents of the image memory. In the off state, the image data stored in the storage means such as the line memory is used for display during this period, so that the responsiveness of image display is improved.

According to the third aspect, when a command to change the magnification of a displayed image or a command to change the display mode is input, the entire contents of the image memory are erased. Then, scanning for at least the first one frame after erasing is performed in a state where the frame correlation is off, and during this period, display is performed based on image data stored in a storage means such as a line memory. Furthermore, after the scanning period for one frame has elapsed, the frame correlation processing is turned on again,
Correlate between the current image data stored in the storage means and the previous image data in the image memory,
Display as an image.

According to the fourth aspect, when various change commands relating to image display, such as left-right inversion of the display image, position movement, magnification change, and change of the display mode, are input, the control means sets at least the following: The frame correlation processing is stopped until the scanning period for one frame has elapsed.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus common to the first to fourth inventions. In the figure, 1 is a probe having a built-in ultrasonic transducer, 2 is a transmitting / receiving circuit having an oscillator, an amplifier, etc., 3 is an A / D converter for converting a received signal into a digital signal, 4 is a line memory,
5 is a correlation circuit for performing frame correlation processing, 6 is an image memory that stores only image data for one display screen, 7 is an A / D converter that converts image data into analog signals, and 8 is a display device such as a television monitor. , 9 are a scanning control circuit for controlling scanning of the transmitting / receiving circuit 2, and 10 is a scanning control circuit 9
And a microcomputer for controlling the correlation circuit 5. Note that the microcomputer 10 may be replaced by a control circuit having a function equivalent thereto. Further, although not shown, the microcomputer 10 includes an input device such as a keyboard for inputting a freeze command, a freeze release command, a left-right inversion command, a position movement command, an image magnification change command, a display mode change command, and the like. Connected as part of the console.

Next, the operation when the position of the display image is moved in the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2 and the timing chart of FIG.
First, the microcomputer 10 confirms the scanning state (step S1), and if the freeze processing is being performed, the processing is terminated. If a normal moving image is being captured (live processing), it is determined in this step whether or not the current time is in the middle of a frame (S2). If the current time is in the middle of the frame, it is determined whether or not there is a command to move the position of the display image (S31). If there is no command, the process returns to step S1. If a position movement command is input in the middle of a frame, a signal is sent to the correlation circuit 5 to set a flag to that effect and turn off the frame correlation processing (S
41, S5), and then return to step S1. The input time of the position movement command corresponds to the time t ₁ in FIG. 4.

On the other hand, if the current time is the end time of the frame, the presence or absence of the flag is determined (S32). If the flag is not set, a signal is sent to the correlation circuit 5 to turn on the frame correlation processing. (S42), and then return to step S1. Here, the time to turn on the frame correlation processing is equivalent to the time t ₃ in FIG.
If the flag is set, the flag is turned off and the process returns to step S1 (S43). When to turn off the flag is equivalent to the time t ₂ in FIG.

In FIG. 4, the time t _{1 at} which the frame correlation processing is turned off by the input of the position movement command.
Period ~t _3, as to directly output the image data before the movement stored in the line memory 4 of Fig. 1, the microcomputer 10 controls the correlation circuit 5. Further, the position movement command may be input between a certain frame and the next frame. In this case, a flag is set after input of the command to turn off the frame correlation processing for at least the next one frame, and the line memory 4 is output through the correlation circuit 5.

Further, after the time t _{3 in} FIG. 4, the current image data stored in the line memory 4 and the previous image data remaining in the image memory 6 are correlated by weighting at a fixed ratio or the like. Then, by displaying the image on the screen, an image with an improved S / N ratio can be obtained. Here, the flags shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 are required to surely turn off the frame correlation for at least one frame regardless of the input time of the position movement command.

Next, FIG. 3 is a timing chart in the freeze release processing, when the frame correlation from time t ₁₁ before freeze release command is input at time t ₁₁ in the off state, at least one frame from that point In this period, a signal is sent to the correlation circuit 5 so that the still image data stored in the line memory 4 is output as it is during this period. Then, from one frame scan after the time t _12, and turns on the frame correlation processing. Therefore, the time t ₁₂ Thereafter, it is possible to obtain an image with improved S / N ratio by the same frame correlation processing with FIG.

As described above, in this embodiment, the frame correlation processing is turned off for at least one frame without erasing the image data stored in the image memory 6 when the position is moved or the freeze is released. The image data stored in the line memory 4 is displayed as it is, and when the frame correlation processing is turned on again, the current image data in the line memory 4 and the previous image data remaining in the image memory 6 are displayed. Are subjected to a correlation process with predetermined weighting and the like, and are displayed. In the process of inverting the display image right and left, the image after the inversion can be promptly displayed without erasing the image data in the image memory 6 by substantially the same operation as that of the freeze release.

Next, the operation for changing the magnification or the display mode will be described with reference to FIGS. First, when these change commands are input, the microcomputer 10 deletes all the contents of the image memory 6 (steps S101 and S102 in FIG. 5). Thereafter, the microcomputer 10 stops the correlation circuit 5 to turn off the frame correlation processing, and causes the image data stored in the line memory 4 to be displayed as it is (S10).
3). When the scanning control circuit 9 operates for one frame (S104), the microcomputer 10
To return the frame correlation processing to the ON state (S105). As a result, the present data stored in the line memory 4 and the previous data remaining in the image memory 6 are correlated at a fixed ratio, and an image based on this image data is displayed.

By the above operation, as shown in FIG. 6, the frame correlation processing is turned off during the scanning period of one frame from time t ₁ to time t ₂ after the contents of the image memory 6 are erased. In this embodiment, the image data input to the line memory 4 is displayed as it is during the period t _{1 to} t ₂ ,
The time t ₂ hereinafter displays the last data remaining in the image data and the image memory 6 of this contained in the line memory 4 to select the frame correlation processing again (frame correlation in a period t ₁ ~t ₂ off The data is subjected to a correlation process with a predetermined weighting or the like, and image display is performed. As a result, the image data can be displayed with the original brightness or information amount from time t ₁ immediately after the erasure of the image memory 6, and the responsiveness can be greatly improved.

Although not specifically shown, various change commands relating to image display, such as left and right inversion of the display image, position movement, magnification change, and change of the display mode, are input to the control means such as the microcomputer 10. At this time, the microcomputer 10 controls the correlation circuit 5 to stop the frame correlation processing at least until the scanning period for the next one frame elapses. According to the present invention, for example, when the freeze processing is performed after the input of the various change commands, it is possible to prevent the brightness of the still image from being reduced due to the erasure of the contents of the image memory and the continuation of the ON state of the frame correlation. it can.

[0028]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, when the freeze is released or the left / right inversion is performed, the image data stored in the line memory is displayed as it is after the input of the command, while the next By performing scanning for a frame and performing frame correlation processing again from the end of the frame, a correlation between the image data in the line memory for one frame scanned this time and the previous image data in the image memory is obtained. To generate image data relating to a display image. Further, in the second invention, when the position of the display image is moved, the frame correlation processing is turned off from the point of input of the command, and the image data stored in the line memory is displayed as it is, and the scanning control circuit thereafter Is continued for one frame, and the frame correlation processing is performed again from the end of the frame in accordance with the presence or absence of the flag, thereby generating the next image data in the same manner as described above. For this reason, even in a conventional small-sized and low-cost ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having only one image memory for storing only one screen of image data, the image data in the image memory can be stored without erasing the image data. It is possible to switch from an image to a moving image or to a left-right inverted image, thereby improving responsiveness and inspection efficiency, and improving operability and usability.

In the third invention, when a command to change the magnification or change the display mode is input, the contents of the image memory are erased, and then the frame correlation is turned off for one frame only. This displays the current image stored in the storage means. Therefore, an image having the original brightness or information amount can be displayed immediately after erasing the image memory without being affected by the erasure of the image memory, and the responsiveness can be drastically improved. Further, according to the fourth aspect, even when the image is freeze-processed immediately after the input of various image display change commands, there is no inconvenience that the image becomes dark, which can contribute to the improvement of the inspection efficiency and the usability. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing one embodiment of the first to fourth inventions.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing of a microcomputer when a position of a display image is moved in one embodiment of the second invention.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart in the case of performing a freeze release process in one embodiment of the first invention.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart in a case where a position moving process is performed in one embodiment of the second invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing of the microcomputer when changing the magnification and changing the display mode in the embodiment of the third invention.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart in a case where processing such as magnification change and display mode change is performed in one embodiment of the third invention.

FIG. 7 is a timing chart in a case where a freeze release process is performed in a conventional technique.

FIG. 8 is a timing chart when a position moving process is performed in a conventional technique.

FIG. 9 is a timing chart when a magnification change and a display mode change process are performed in the conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Probe 2 Transmission / reception circuit 3 A / D converter 4 Line memory 5 Correlation circuit 6 Image memory 7 D / A converter 8 Display device 9 Scan control circuit 10 Microcomputer

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] An image memory for storing only image data for one display screen, a correlation circuit for performing a frame correlation process, a scan control circuit for controlling scanning of an ultrasonic transmission / reception circuit, and the correlation circuit And an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: a control unit for a scanning control circuit; and a display device for displaying an image related to the image data, wherein an instruction to cancel a freeze process and an instruction to invert the displayed image are input to the control unit. In this case, the control means stops the frame correlation processing until at least a scanning period for the next one frame elapses, and displays an image related to the image data stored in the storage means before the input of the command. At the same time, after the scanning period for one frame has elapsed, the frame correlation processing is executed to generate new image data. Ultrasound diagnostic device. 2. A correlation circuit having only one image memory for storing only image data for one display screen, performing a frame correlation process, a scanning control circuit controlling scanning of an ultrasonic transmission / reception circuit, and the correlation circuit. And an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: a control unit for a scanning control circuit; and a display device for displaying an image related to the image data, wherein when a position movement command of a display image is input to the control unit, the control is performed. Means for turning on a flag indicating the input of the command, stopping the frame correlation processing at least until a scanning period for the next one frame has elapsed, and storing the image stored in the storage means before the input of the command. After the image related to the data is displayed, after the scanning period for the one frame has elapsed, the flag is checked for the OFF state, and then the flag is checked. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for generating new image data by executing a frame correlation process. 3. A correlation circuit that has only one image memory that stores only image data for one display screen, performs a frame correlation process, a scan control circuit that controls scanning of an ultrasonic transmission / reception circuit, and the correlation circuit. And an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus including a control unit for a scan control circuit and a display device for displaying an image related to the image data, wherein a command to change a magnification of a display image or a display mode is input to the control unit. At this time, after erasing the contents of the image memory, the control means stops the frame correlation processing at least until a scanning period for the next one frame elapses and operates on the image data stored in the storage means. In addition to displaying an image, after the scanning period for one frame has elapsed, the frame correlation processing is executed to generate new image data. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, comprising: 4. A correlation circuit that has only one image memory that stores only image data for one display screen, performs a frame correlation process, a scan control circuit that controls scanning of an ultrasonic transmission / reception circuit, and the correlation circuit. And an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: a control unit for a scanning control circuit; and a display device for displaying an image related to the image data, wherein when a command to change an image display is input to the control unit, the control is performed. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is characterized in that the means stops the frame correlation processing at least until a scanning period for the next one frame has elapsed.