WO2022024375A1 - Ultrasound probe operation device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] Provided are an ultrasound probe operation device with improved user-friendliness and a coresponding method. [Solution] This ultrasound probe operation device is provided with: an ultrasound probe (2) for acquiring an ultrasonic echo image (50) including a blood vessel; a sensor operation unit (3) for operating the ultrasound probe; and a control unit (1) for controlling the sensor operation unit. The control unit detects a medical device (6) within the blood vessel (7) from the ultrasonic echo image acquired by the ultrasound probe, and controls the sensor operation unit so that the detected medical device is located at a predetermined region (501) in the ultrasonic echo image.

Description

Ultrasonic probe operating device and method

This disclosure relates to an ultrasonic probe operating device and a method.

For example, in catheter treatment such as lower limb ischemia, it is difficult for the surgeon (doctor) to directly operate the ultrasonic probe because the guide wire is operated in a sterilized state. Further, when the person who operates the ultrasonic probe and the person who operates the guide wire are separate, it is necessary for both of them to breathe together and perform delicate operations with each other, which imposes a heavy burden on each operator. It should be noted that a technique for operating a medical device in a patient's body by voice is known (Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP 2001-128992 JP-A-2002-132283

In the prior art, the medical device inserted into the patient's body is operated by voice, and the operation of the ultrasonic probe that moves outside the patient's body in cooperation with the medical device inserted into the patient's body is not controlled. There is room for improvement in terms of usability.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide an ultrasonic probe operating device and a method capable of improving usability for a user.

In order to solve the above problems, the ultrasonic probe operating device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes an ultrasonic probe that acquires an ultrasonic echo image including a blood vessel, a sensor operating unit that operates the ultrasonic probe, and a sensor operating unit. The control unit detects a medical device in a blood vessel from an ultrasonic echo image acquired by an ultrasonic probe, and the detected medical device is located in a predetermined region in the ultrasonic echo image. The sensor operation unit is controlled so as to.

The control unit may control the sensor operation unit so that the detected medical device is located in a predetermined area in the ultrasonic echo image based on a predetermined voice instruction.

The predetermined voice instruction may be an instruction to move the medical device forward in the blood vessel.

The predetermined area may be set to the area on the front side in the traveling direction of the medical device from the center in the width direction of the ultrasonic echo image.

The control unit can also include a device tip movement direction detection unit that detects the movement direction of the tip of the medical device.

The device tip moving direction detection unit may detect a change in the moving direction of the medical device.

The device tip moving direction detection unit may detect the position of the tip of the medical device by changing the posture of the ultrasonic probe via the sensor operation unit.

The device tip moving direction detection unit may detect a change in the moving direction of the medical device based on the feed amount of the medical device to the blood vessel and the image of the medical device in the ultrasonic echo image.

This disclosure may be grasped as an ultrasonic probe operation method.

According to the present disclosure, the ultrasonic probe can be operated so that the medical device is located in a predetermined area in the ultrasonic echo image, and the usability for the user is improved.

Explanatory drawing which shows the outline of this disclosure. Explanatory drawing which shows the functional structure of a control part. The system block diagram of an Example. A basic diagram for explaining the operation of an ultrasonic probe. Explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the direction of an ultrasonic probe and an ultrasonic echo image. An explanatory diagram showing how the ultrasonic probe follows the movement of the guide wire. The flowchart which shows the process which controls the operation of an ultrasonic probe. The functional block diagram of the control part of the ultrasonic probe operation apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the process which controls the operation of an ultrasonic probe. The flowchart which shows the process which controls the operation of the ultrasonic probe which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process of detecting a moving direction of a guide wire according to a fourth embodiment. A flowchart of a process for detecting a change in the moving direction of the tip of a guide wire. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process of detecting a change in the moving direction of the tip of the guide wire according to the fifth embodiment.

Examples of medical devices used in the present disclosure include guide wires, guiding catheters, microcatheter, balloon catheters, cutting balloons, and stent delivery devices.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In this disclosure, a long medical device is taken as an example as a medical device. The elongated medical device is, for example, a guide wire. As mentioned above, medical devices are not limited to guide wires.

In the present disclosure, the ultrasonic probe is made to follow the position of the tip of the guide wire inserted in the blood vessel. The position and posture of the ultrasonic probe are controlled by a robot as a "sensor operation unit". As a result, the tip of the guide wire is located in a predetermined region in the ultrasonic echo image acquired by the ultrasonic probe. As the guidewire advances through the blood vessel, the ultrasonic probe also advances on the surface of the body. As the guide wire retracts into the blood vessel, the ultrasonic probe also retracts on the body surface.

The ultrasonic probe operating device according to the present disclosure can move the ultrasonic probe according to the voice instruction of the operator who is the user of the ultrasonic probe operating device, and is based on the position of the tip of the guide wire in the ultrasonic echo image. The ultrasonic probe can be moved automatically.

Further, the ultrasonic probe operating device of the present disclosure can also detect the moving direction of the tip of the guide wire in the blood vessel. The moving direction of the tip of the guide wire may be detected in a plurality of steps (for example, two steps). The first step is to detect that the moving direction of the tip of the guide wire has changed. The second step is to detect the current position of the tip of the guide wire. For example, if the tip of a guide wire that should have been traveling straight in a blood vessel advances into another blood vessel that branches off from the current blood vessel, the ultrasonic probe operating device detects that the direction of movement of the tip of the guide wire has changed. be able to. Next, the ultrasonic probe operating device can detect the current position of the tip of the guide wire by changing the position and / or the posture of the ultrasonic probe.

This allows the surgeon to know that the guide wire has deviated from the planned direction of travel. Then, the operator pulls the guide wire back (retracts) a little, rotates the guide wire clockwise or counterclockwise in the long axis direction, and advances the guide wire again.

In order to detect the tip of the guide wire deviating from the planned blood vessel, the ultrasonic probe operating device of the present disclosure positions the ultrasonic probe in a different direction with respect to the blood vessel. This makes it possible to detect the current position of the tip of the guide wire.

As an example, in the present disclosure, the position of a blood vessel is switched by switching the ultrasonic probe between a first arrangement for acquiring an image of a transverse cross section of a blood vessel and a second arrangement for acquiring an image of a longitudinal cross section of the blood vessel. Can be detected. "Cross section of a blood vessel" means a cross section of a blood vessel cut along a plane intersecting its central axis.

The outline of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. A plurality of examples included in the present disclosure will be described later with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an outline of the present disclosure and does not define the scope of the present disclosure. The present disclosure may be configured from a part of the configurations disclosed in FIG. 1, or the present disclosure may be configured to include configurations not disclosed in FIG.

The ultrasonic probe operating device (hereinafter referred to as a probe operating device) according to the present disclosure can include, for example, a control unit 1, an ultrasonic probe 2, a robot 3, a voice instruction receiving unit 4, and a display unit 5. .. The voice instruction receiving unit 4 is used in the examples described later.

The robot 3 as the "sensor operation unit" may be configured as, for example, a 6-axis robot. An ultrasonic probe 2 is rotatably attached to the tip of the robot 3. The ultrasonic echo image taken by the ultrasonic probe 2 is sent to the control unit 1 for processing. In the following, the ultrasonic echo image may be abbreviated as an echo image or an image.

The control unit 1 includes, for example, an operation instruction unit 11, an ultrasonic echo image processing unit 12, and a device detection unit 13.

The operation instruction unit 11 has a function of transmitting a command for controlling the operation of the robot 3 to the robot 3. The operation instruction unit 11 can move the ultrasonic probe 2 on the body surface of the subject SU along the blood vessel 7, or rotate the ultrasonic probe 2 while pressing it against the body surface in a direction crossing the blood vessel 7. Alternatively, the operation instruction unit 11 can also press the ultrasonic probe 3 diagonally against the body surface of the subject SU.

The ultrasonic echo image processing unit 12 has a function of acquiring an ultrasonic echo image from the ultrasonic probe 2. The control unit 1 can also calculate the shape, inclination, and path of the blood vessel 7 in the ultrasonic echo image by analyzing the ultrasonic echo image. Further, the control unit 1 can also calculate the positional relationship (distance between the blood vessel and the guide wire) between the blood vessel 7 and the tip of the guide wire 6 based on the ultrasonic echo image.

The device detection unit 13 has a function of detecting the tip of the guide wire 6 as an example of a medical device.

In the control unit 1, the tip of the guide wire 6 detected by the device detection unit 13 is on the front side in the traveling direction of the guide wire 6 from the center 500 in the width direction of the ultrasonic echo image 50 (horizontal WL described later in FIG. 4). The position of the ultrasonic probe 2 is controlled via the operation instruction unit 11 so as to be located in the predetermined region 501 of the above. The front side in the traveling direction of the guide wire 6 is a direction toward the base end side of the guide wire 6. The position of the ultrasonic probe 2 is controlled so that the length of the tip of the guide wire 6 reflected in the ultrasonic echo image 50 is less than half the length in the width direction of the ultrasonic echo image 50.

The tip of the guide wire 6 may coincide with the center 500 in the width direction of the image 50. The predetermined region 501 may be set in the range of, for example, 1 to 99% when the start end of the horizontal scan of the ultrasonic echo image 50 is 0% and the end of the horizontal scan is 100%. For example, 5-20% range, 10-40% range, 20-50% range, 30-60% range, 40-50% range, 60-80% range, 10-90% range. As such, the predetermined area 501 can be arbitrarily set.

The predetermined area 501 may be adjusted by the user. Further, a recommended value of a predetermined area 501 may be set according to the type of surgery and the like, and the recommended value may be used as an initial setting value. As a result, the user can easily grasp the relationship between the tip of the guide wire 6 and the blood vessel 7, the distance to the affected part 71 such as a thrombus, and the like, and the usability for the user is improved. A configuration example of the device detection unit 13 will be described later with reference to FIG.

The arrows connecting each function in the figure show an example. The relationship between each function is not limited to the arrow shown in the figure or the direction of the arrow.

The display unit 5 has a function of presenting the ultrasonic echo image to the user as it is or by processing it. The display unit 5 can also display a plurality of images 50 at the same time. For example, the display unit 5 can simultaneously display an image of a cross section along the axial direction of the blood vessel 7 (vertical cross-sectional image) and an image of a cross section orthogonal to the axial direction of the blood vessel 7 (cross-sectional image). Further, the display unit 5 may display a plurality of images side by side in chronological order. This allows the user to observe how the guide wire 6 is inserted into the blood vessel 7 from a plurality of still images. The display unit 5 can also observe how the guide wire 6 is inserted into the blood vessel 7 as a moving image of a vertical section or a cross section.

According to the present disclosure configured as described above, the position of the ultrasonic probe 2 is controlled so that the tip of the guide wire 6 enters a predetermined region in the width direction of the ultrasonic echo image 50, so that the user can use the guide wire. The state of the tip of the 6 in the blood vessel 7 can be easily grasped, the operation of the guide wire 6 becomes easy, and the usability for the user is improved.

Further, according to the present disclosure, the user can operate the ultrasonic probe 2 by voice. Therefore, the user can move the ultrasonic probe 2 to change its position while holding and operating the guide wire 6 by hand.

Further, according to the present disclosure, the device detection unit 13 can detect a change in the moving direction of the tip of the guide wire 6. Therefore, the user can know that the guide wire 6 has been separated from the blood vessel 7 in progress, and can pull the guide wire 6 slightly toward the hand side to correct the moving direction of the tip of the guide wire 6.

Further, according to the present disclosure, when the device detection unit 13 detects that the moving direction of the tip of the guide wire 6 has changed, the device detection unit 13 rotates the ultrasonic probe 2 on the spot to rotate the tip of the guide wire 6. You can search for the current position of. As a result, the user can easily grasp in which direction the tip of the guide wire 6 is heading, and the usability for the user is improved.

The configuration that realizes any one of the above-mentioned plurality of actions of the present disclosure will be included in the scope of the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the configuration including all of the above-mentioned actions. Hereinafter, the ultrasonic probe as a "sensor" may be referred to as a sensor or a probe. A guide wire as a "medical device" is sometimes referred to as a device.

The first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 7. FIG. 2 shows the functional configuration of the control unit 1. As described above, the control unit 1 is connected to the robot 3 as the "sensor operation unit" and the ultrasonic probe 2. The control unit 1 includes an operation instruction unit 11, an ultrasonic echo image processing unit 12, and a device detection unit 13.

The device detection unit 13 detects the guide wire 6 in the blood vessel 7 based on the ultrasonic echo image received from the ultrasonic echo image processing unit 12, and outputs the detection result to the operation instruction unit 11. The device detection unit 13 includes, for example, a predetermined area setting unit 131, a device position detection unit 132, a sensor movement amount calculation unit 133, and a device tip movement direction detection unit 134. The device tip moving direction detection unit 134 is used in the examples described later.

The predetermined area setting unit 131 has a function of defining a range (predetermined area 501) in which the tip of the guide wire 6 should be located in the ultrasonic echo image 50. The predetermined area setting unit 131 sets the range in which the tip of the guide wire 6 should be located in the image 50 as the predetermined area 501. The lower and / or upper limit of the predetermined area 501 may be adjusted by the user. The user may instruct the control unit 1 of the value of the predetermined area 501 by voice. The lower limit value and / or the upper limit value of the predetermined area 501 may be determined by a so-called machine learning method.

The device position detection unit 132 detects the position of the guide wire 6 in the blood vessel 7 by specifying the image of the guide wire 6 from the ultrasonic echo image 50 acquired by the ultrasonic probe 2.

The sensor movement amount calculation unit 133 has a function of calculating the movement amount of the ultrasonic probe 2 required for the tip position of the guide wire 6 to enter the predetermined region 501, and giving the calculation result to the operation instruction unit 11.

The device tip moving direction detection unit 134 detects the moving direction of the guide wire tip. Hereinafter, it may be abbreviated as the moving direction detection unit 134. The moving direction detection unit 134 has a function of detecting the moving direction of the tip of the guide wire 6 based on the image received from the ultrasonic echo image processing unit 12. Specifically, the moving direction detection unit 134 detects whether the moving direction of the tip of the guide wire 6 has changed and where the tip of the guide wire 6 is currently located when the moving direction of the tip of the guide wire 6 has changed. Has a function.

When the movement direction detection unit 134 detects that the movement direction of the tip of the guide wire 6 has changed, the control unit 1 can issue a warning to the user. The user who receives the warning can temporarily stop the feeding of the guide wire 6. Then, when the moving direction detection unit 134 detects the current position of the tip of the guide wire 6, the control unit 1 can notify the user of the position by an ultrasonic echo image.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of an ultrasonic probe operating device for an ultrasonic diagnostic device. The probe operating device of this embodiment includes, for example, an ultrasonic diagnostic device 200, a robot control device 300, a robot 3, and a user interface (UI in the figure) device 200.

The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 200 is an apparatus for making a diagnosis based on an ultrasonic echo image taken by the ultrasonic probe 2. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 200 includes an ultrasonic echo image processing unit 210 that processes an ultrasonic echo image. The ultrasonic echo image processing unit 210 can correspond to the ultrasonic echo image processing unit 12.

The robot control device 300 controls the robot 3 configured as, for example, a 6-axis robot. The robot control device 300 can also output a signal for controlling imaging to the ultrasonic diagnostic device 200. The robot control device 300 can correspond to the operation instruction unit 11 of FIG.

The robot control device 300 includes, for example, a microprocessor (CPU: Central Processing Unit) 310 in the figure, a memory 320, a medium interface 330, a communication unit 340, and a storage device 350. The robot control device 300 may be a dedicated device provided with a dedicated circuit, or may be a general-purpose computer for executing a predetermined computer program. Further, the robot control device 300 may link a plurality of devices. For example, one or a plurality of robot control devices 300 may be generated by coordinating a plurality of computers.

The storage device 350 stores, for example, a predetermined computer program 351 for realizing the function of the ultrasonic probe operating device.

The microprocessor 10 realizes each function as an ultrasonic probe operating device by reading a predetermined computer program 351 stored in the storage device 350 into the memory 320 and executing the program.

The medium interface 330 is a circuit for communicating data with a storage medium MM such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk. At least a part of the predetermined computer program 351 can be stored in the storage medium MM, and the stored computer program can be installed in the storage device 350 from the storage medium MM. Alternatively, at least a part of the predetermined computer program 351 stored in the storage device 350 can be transferred to the storage medium MM and stored. Instead of the storage medium MM, the communication network CN connected to the communication unit 340 of the robot control device 300 can also be used as the transmission medium of a predetermined computer program.

The user interface device 400 exchanges information with the ultrasonic diagnostic device 200 and the robot control device 300. The user interface device 400 includes an information input device and an information output device. The information input device and the information output device may be integrated. Examples of the information input device include a keyboard, a push button, a voice input device, a touch panel, a pointing device such as a mouse, and the like. Examples of the information output device include a monitor display, a printer, a voice synthesizer, a light, and the like.

FIG. 4 (1) is a front view of the ultrasonic probe 2, and a center point CP is set at the center of the lens at the tip of the ultrasonic probe 2. The position of the ultrasonic probe 2 may be rotated in the horizontal direction while the center point CP is fixed.

FIG. 4 (2) is a perspective view of the ultrasonic probe 2. The central axis in the short axis direction of the ultrasonic probe 2 is called the X axis, the central axis in the long axis direction of the ultrasonic probe 2 is called the Y axis, and the central axis in the depth direction of the ultrasonic probe 2 is called the Z axis. ..

FIG. 4 (3) shows an ultrasonic echo image 50 captured by the ultrasonic probe 2, and the horizontal WL of the image 50 is the width direction of the image 50, and the vertical DL of the image 50 is the depth direction of the image 50. Can be called respectively. The position of the ultrasonic probe 2 is controlled so that the tip of the guide wire 6 is located in the predetermined region 501 set in the horizontal WL of the image 50.

FIG. 5 shows the relationship between the orientation of the ultrasonic probe 2 and the ultrasonic echo image 50. Here, the reference numeral 51 is attached to the image of the longitudinal section of the blood vessel 7 in the ultrasonic echo image 50, and the reference numeral 52 is attached to the image of the cross section of the blood vessel 7 in the ultrasonic echo image 50. When the images 51 and 52 are not particularly distinguished, they are referred to as ultrasonic echo images 50.

FIG. 5 (1) shows a state in which a vertical cross-sectional image 51 of the blood vessel 7 is taken. FIG. 5 (2) shows how to take a cross-sectional image 52 of the blood vessel 7.

The tip 61 of the guide wire 6 is formed by being slightly bent. The slightly curved tip 61 allows the user to feed the guide wire 6 in the desired direction of the complex blood vessel 7. In other words, because the tip 61 of the guide wire 6 is slightly bent, when the user feeds the guide wire 6 into the blood vessel 7, the tip of the guide wire 6 may try to move in an unintended direction.

In the present disclosure, the tip of the guide wire 6 is a region including a slightly bent portion 61.

As shown in FIG. 5, if the ultrasonic probe 2 is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the blood vessel 7, a longitudinal sectional image 51 can be obtained. A cross-sectional image 52 can be obtained, for example, by rotating the ultrasonic probe 2 horizontally with the center point CP fixed.

FIG. 5 shows two images, a vertical cross-sectional image 51 and a cross-sectional image 52, and more (two or more) ultrasonic echo images 50 can be obtained by taking images while rotating the ultrasonic probe 2. Can be done. That is, even if the tip 61 of the guide wire 6 is lost in the longitudinal cross-sectional image 51 of the ultrasonic echo image, the ultrasonic wave reflected by the tip 61 of the guide wire 6 is reflected by, for example, rotating the ultrasonic probe 2 once or half a turn. At least one echo image can be obtained.

FIG. 6 shows how the position of the ultrasonic probe 2 follows the tip of the guide wire 6 in the blood vessel 7. As shown in FIG. 6 (2), when the tip of the guide wire 6 advances from the state shown in FIG. 6 (1), the ultrasonic probe 2 is also on the body surface of the subject SU as shown in FIG. 6 (3). Proceed by a predetermined distance. The predetermined distance is the distance that the ultrasonic probe 2 moves in order to position the tip of the guide wire 6 in the predetermined region 501 in the width direction of the ultrasonic echo image 50.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the control process S10 of the ultrasonic probe operating device. The device position detection unit 132 of the ultrasonic probe operating device detects the tip position of the guide wire 6 (S11). The sensor movement amount calculation unit 133 calculates the difference between the detected tip position of the ultrasonic probe 2 and the predetermined region 501 (S12), and calculates the distance (movement amount) for moving the ultrasonic probe 2 (S13). ..

Here, the difference between the tip position of the guide wire 6 and the predetermined area 501 may be obtained as, for example, the distance to the lower limit value of the predetermined area 501, or the tip position of the guide wire 6 and the center of the predetermined area 501. It may be obtained as the distance to the value, or it may be obtained as the distance between the tip position of the guide wire 6 and the upper limit value of the predetermined region 501. That is, it suffices if the target value for locating the tip of the guide wire 6 in the predetermined region 501 can be calculated.

Then, the sensor movement amount calculation unit 133 outputs the calculation result of step S13 to the operation instruction unit 11. By transmitting an operation instruction to the robot 3, the operation instruction unit 11 changes the position of the ultrasonic probe 2 so that the tip of the guide wire 6 enters the predetermined region 501 in the ultrasonic echo image 50 (S14). ..

According to the present embodiment configured as described above, the position of the ultrasonic probe 2 is controlled so that the tip of the guide wire 6 is located in the predetermined region 501 in the width direction of the ultrasonic echo image 50, so that the user The state of the tip of the guide wire 6 in the blood vessel 7 can be easily grasped, the operation of the guide wire 6 becomes easy, and the usability for the user is improved.

The second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. In each of the following examples, the differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described. In this embodiment, the ultrasonic probe 2 is operated according to a predetermined voice instruction from the user.

FIG. 8 is a functional configuration diagram of the control unit 1A. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the process S20 for controlling the ultrasonic probe 2.

The control unit 1A changes the position of the ultrasonic probe 2 according to the voice instruction received by the voice instruction reception unit 4. The voice instruction receiving unit 4 may be provided inside the control unit 1A, or may be provided outside the control unit 1A as shown in FIG.

The voice instruction receiving unit 4 detects the voice uttered by the user by the microphone 401 (S21), recognizes the detected voice (S22), and determines whether a command corresponding to the recognition result exists (S23). That is, the voice instruction receiving unit 4 determines whether the detected voice is a predetermined voice instruction corresponding to the command for operating the ultrasonic probe 2 (S23).

The command 402 includes, for example, "forward", "backward", and "rotation". "Advance" is a command to advance the ultrasonic probe 2 by a predetermined amount. "Retreat" is a command to retract the ultrasonic probe 2 by a predetermined amount. "Rotation" is a command to rotate the ultrasonic probe 2 by a predetermined angle.

Instead of moving the ultrasonic probe 2 by a fixed amount by voice instruction, the ultrasonic probe 2 may be operated until the user instructs to stop. Alternatively, when the user instructs to move forward, the ultrasonic probe 2 may be positioned in a predetermined area 501 of the ultrasonic echo image 50 to move the ultrasonic probe 2 forward.

If it is not a predetermined voice instruction (S23: NO), the process returns to step S21. When the predetermined voice instruction is given (S23: YES), the operation instruction unit 11 transmits the corresponding command to the robot 3 (S24).

This embodiment configured in this way also has the same effect as that of the first embodiment. Further, in this embodiment, the user can freely operate the ultrasonic probe 2 by voice, so that the usability is improved. The user can rotate the ultrasonic probe 2 at an arbitrary timing to check the position of the tip of the guide wire 3 and see the cross-sectional image 52.

The third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, the ultrasonic probe 2 can be operated by voice instruction or automatically. Here, operating the ultrasonic probe 2 by the voice of the user is called manual operation.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the process S30 for operating the ultrasonic probe 2. The control unit 1 of the ultrasonic probe operating device determines whether to operate the ultrasonic probe 2 automatically or manually (S31). When the ultrasonic probe 2 is automatically operated (S31: automatic), the control unit 1 is set to automatic processing (S32), and the processing S10 described in FIG. 7 is executed. On the other hand, when the ultrasonic probe 2 is manually operated (S31: manual), the control unit 1 is set to manual processing (S33), and the processing S20 described in FIG. 9 is executed.

The user can select either automatic processing or manual processing, for example, by giving a voice instruction. Alternatively, the user can select either automatic processing or manual processing by operating a foot switch or the like.

The present embodiment configured in this way also has the same action and effect as the first and second embodiments. Further, in this embodiment, since the ultrasonic probe 2 can be operated automatically or manually, it is possible to use the automatic operation and the manual operation properly according to the situation, and the usability for the user is improved.

The fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. In this embodiment, the position of the tip of the guide wire 6 is detected when the moving direction of the tip of the guide wire 6 changes. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the process S40 for detecting the moving direction of the guide wire 6.

When the device tip moving direction detection unit 134 of the ultrasonic probe operating device detects that the moving direction of the tip of the guide wire 6 has changed, it notifies the user to that effect (S41). The detection method will be described later. The ultrasonic probe operating device notifies the user of the change in the moving direction of the tip of the guide wire 6 from the user interface device 400.

The user who received the notification rotates the ultrasonic probe 2 and searches for the tip of the guide wire 6 by, for example, voice operation or operation of a foot switch (S42).

When the tip of the guide wire 6 is found by rotating the ultrasonic probe 2, the control unit 1 of the ultrasonic probe operating device arranges that the tip of the guide wire 6 is located substantially in the center of the cross-sectional image 52. , The rotation angle of the ultrasonic probe 2 (the posture of the ultrasonic probe 2 if necessary) is adjusted (S43).

The user who has confirmed the cross-sectional image 52 pulls back the guide wire 6 slightly toward the front (S44), rotates the guide wire 6 clockwise or counterclockwise by a dozen to several tens of degrees, and then again. The guide wire 6 is advanced (S45). Step S44 and step S45 are manual operations by the user. However, at least a part of step S44 and step S45 may be executed by a robot (not shown) for operating the guide wire 6.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the details of the process S41 for detecting the change in the moving direction of the tip of the guide wire.

The device tip moving direction detection unit 134 acquires the amount of the guide wire 6 sent into the blood vessel 7 (S411). For example, by providing a feed amount detection sensor such as a linear encoder on the hand side of the guide wire 6, the amount of the guide wire 6 fed into the blood vessel 7 may be detected.

The moving direction detection unit 134 acquires an ultrasonic echo image from the ultrasonic probe 2 (S412), and determines whether the position of the tip of the guide wire has changed from the feed amount of the guide wire 6 and the ultrasonic echo image (S413). ).

When the tip position of the guide wire 6 changes (S413: YES), the movement direction detection unit 134 returns to step S411.

When the movement direction detection unit 134 determines that the tip position of the guide wire 6 does not change even though the guide wire 6 has been sent (S413: NO), the movement direction detection unit 134 determines that the tip of the guide wire has changed from the original movement direction, and determines that the tip has changed. Notify the user to that effect (S414).

If the tip position of the guide wire 6 does not change in the ultrasonic echo image (longitudinal cross-sectional image 51) even though the guide wire 6 is being sent, the tip of the guide wire 6 should not be reflected in the current ultrasonic echo image. It can be determined that the image is out of the moving direction of. For example, it is conceivable that the tip of the guide wire 6 invades another blood vessel at a portion that cannot be seen in the current ultrasonic echo image.

When it is determined that the tip of the guide wire 6 deviates from the original moving direction, as described in steps S42 and S43 of FIG. 11, the ultrasonic probe 2 is rotated on the spot to find the tip of the guide wire, and the super is super. The position of the sound wave probe 2 and the like may be adjusted. This allows the user to see where the tip of the guide wire 6 is currently located.

The present embodiment configured in this way can be combined with each of the above-mentioned embodiments. According to this embodiment, when the moving direction of the tip of the guide wire changes, the tip of the guide wire 6 can be quickly detected, so that the usability for the user is further improved.

The fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, it is detected whether the moving direction of the guide wire tip has changed based on the shape of the tip of the guide wire 6. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the process S41A for detecting a change in the moving direction of the tip of the guide wire.

The moving direction detection unit 134 acquires the amount of the guide wire 6 sent into the blood vessel 7 (S415), and detects the shape of the tip portion of the guide wire reflected in the ultrasonic echo image (S416).

Then, the moving direction detection unit 134 determines whether the shape of the tip portion of the guide wire 6 has changed (S417). Since the tip 61 of the guide wire 6 is slightly bent, it is considered that the shape of the tip portion thereof changes when the guide wire moves forward in a direction deviated from the original moving direction. Alternatively, when the tip of the guide wire 6 is formed in a tapered shape, it is considered that the thickness dimension of the tip of the guide wire changes when the tip of the guide wire invades another blood vessel.

Therefore, when the movement direction detection unit 134 detects a change in the shape of the guide wire tip portion when the guide wire 6 is sent into the blood vessel 7, it determines that the guide wire tip has invaded another blood vessel. , Notify the user to that effect (S418).

This embodiment configured in this way also has the same effect as that of the fourth embodiment. By combining the present embodiment and the fourth embodiment, the movement direction of the guide wire tip is determined from the feed amount of the guide wire, the presence / absence of the position change of the guide wire tip, and the presence / absence of the shape change of the tip portion of the guide wire. May be detected if has changed.

It should be noted that the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and includes various modifications. The above-described embodiment has been described in detail in order to explain the present disclosure in an easy-to-understand manner, and is not necessarily limited to the one including all the configurations described. It is also possible to replace a part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment. It is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Further, it is possible to add / delete / replace a part of the configuration of each embodiment with another configuration.

Each component of the present disclosure can be arbitrarily selected, and the invention having the selected configuration is also included in the present disclosure. Further, the configurations described in the claims can be combined in addition to the combinations specified in the claims. Each of the above-mentioned examples can be arbitrarily combined.

Although the guide wire has been described as an example, the present disclosure is not limited to an object called a guide wire at the time of the present application. The present disclosure is applicable to any object that is inserted into a tube and moves and whose position needs to be detected.

1,1A: Control unit 2: Ultrasonic probe 3: Robot 4: Voice instruction reception unit 5: Display unit, 6: Guide wire, 7: Blood vessel, 11: Operation instruction unit, 12: Ultrasonic echo image Processing unit, 13: Device detection unit, 50: Ultrasonic echo image, 131: Predetermined area setting unit, 132: Device position detection unit, 133: Sensor movement amount calculation unit, 134: Device tip movement direction detection unit

Claims (14)

An ultrasonic probe that acquires an ultrasonic echo image containing blood vessels,
The sensor operation unit that operates the ultrasonic probe and
A control unit for controlling the sensor operation unit is provided.
The control unit detects a medical device in a blood vessel from an ultrasonic echo image acquired by the ultrasonic probe, and the sensor so that the detected medical device is located in a predetermined region in the ultrasonic echo image. An ultrasonic probe operating device that controls the operation unit. The ultrasonic wave according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the sensor operation unit so that the detected medical device is located in the predetermined region in the ultrasonic echo image based on a predetermined voice instruction. Probe operating device. The ultrasonic probe operating device according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined voice instruction is an instruction to advance the medical device in a blood vessel. The ultrasonic probe operating device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined region is set in a region on the front side in the traveling direction of the medical device from the center in the width direction of the ultrasonic echo image. The ultrasonic probe operating device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit includes a device tip moving direction detecting unit that detects the moving direction of the tip of the medical device. The ultrasonic probe operating device according to claim 5, wherein the device tip moving direction detection unit detects a change in the moving direction of the tip of the medical device. The ultrasonic probe operating device according to claim 6, wherein the device tip moving direction detection unit detects the position of the tip of the medical device by changing the posture of the ultrasonic probe via the sensor operating unit. The device tip moving direction detection unit detects a change in the moving direction of the tip of the medical device based on the feed amount of the medical device to the blood vessel and the image of the medical device in the ultrasonic echo image. Item 6. The ultrasonic probe operating device according to Item 6. An ultrasonic probe that acquires an ultrasonic echo image containing blood vessels,
The sensor operation unit that operates the ultrasonic probe and
A control unit that controls the sensor operation unit based on a predetermined voice instruction is provided.
When the predetermined voice instruction is an instruction to advance the ultrasonic probe, the control unit has a predetermined medical device detected from the ultrasonic echo image acquired by the ultrasonic probe in the ultrasonic echo image. An ultrasonic probe operating device that controls the sensor operating unit so as to be located in a region. It is a method of operating the ultrasonic probe by a robot.
An image acquisition step to acquire an ultrasonic echo image with an ultrasonic probe attached to the robot,
A device detection step for detecting a medical device in a blood vessel from the acquired ultrasonic echo image,
A control step that controls the robot so that the detected medical device is located in a predetermined area in the ultrasonic echo image.
How to operate the ultrasonic probe. The ultrasonic probe operation according to claim 10, wherein in the control step, the robot is controlled so that the detected medical device is located in the predetermined region in the ultrasonic echo image based on a predetermined voice instruction. Method. The ultrasonic probe operating method according to claim 11, wherein the predetermined voice instruction is an instruction to advance the medical device in a blood vessel. The ultrasonic probe operating method according to claim 10, wherein the predetermined region is set in a region on the front side in the traveling direction of the medical device from the center in the width direction of the ultrasonic echo image. 10. The control step according to claim 10, wherein when the change in the moving direction of the tip of the medical device is detected, the position of the tip of the medical device is detected by changing the posture of the ultrasonic probe via the robot. How to operate the ultrasonic probe.

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