JP2014180490A - Ultrasonic measuring device, ultrasonic imaging device, and ultrasonic measuring method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ultrasonic measurement apparatus and an ultrasonic image capable of outputting dimensional information of an object in at least one of a state where no pressure is applied and a state where a given designated pressure is applied to the object. Provision of equipment.
An ultrasonic measurement apparatus includes a transmission processing unit that performs processing for transmitting ultrasonic waves to an object, a reception processing unit that performs reception processing of ultrasonic echoes for the transmitted ultrasonic waves, and reception processing. A processing unit 130 that performs processing on a received signal from the unit 120 to obtain dimensional information of the object, and measurement pressure information acquisition that acquires measurement pressure information that represents the measurement pressure applied to the object by the ultrasonic probe during measurement Part 140. The processing unit 130 outputs dimensional information of the object in at least one of a state where no pressure is applied to the object and a state where a given designated pressure is applied based on the received signal and the measurement pressure information. .
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic measurement device, an ultrasonic imaging device, an ultrasonic measurement method, and the like.

  A technique for measuring body fat percentage by measuring the electrical impedance of a living body is widely used. However, this method has a large change due to physical conditions such as immediately after getting up or immediately before going to bed, and the measurement variation is large.

  On the other hand, as an apparatus used for inspecting the inside of a human body as a subject, an ultrasonic wave that emits an ultrasonic wave toward an object and receives a reflected wave from an interface having different acoustic impedances inside the object. Measuring devices are known. By using such an ultrasonic measurement device, it is possible to visualize subcutaneous fat and muscle tissue and measure the thickness of the muscle layer and fat layer at each site.

  In addition, it is known that biological tissues such as muscles and fat are denatured by changes in applied pressure. As a method for detecting the state of a living tissue when a pressure is applied, for example, there is a conventional method as shown in Patent Document 1. In the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is possible to obtain elastic information related to the hardness of a living tissue in a state where a given pressure is applied from an ultrasonic probe during measurement.

JP 2012-86002 A

  In the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, it is not possible to specify dimensional information indicating the thickness or the like of a living tissue.

  Furthermore, the user wants to know not the thickness of the muscle layer or fat layer when the measurement pressure is applied by the ultrasonic probe, but the state where the pressure is not applied or the given designated pressure. In most cases, it is the thickness of the muscle layer or fat layer in the state.

  According to some aspects of the present invention, it is possible to output dimensional information of an object in at least one of a state where no pressure is applied and a state where a given designated pressure is applied to the object. An ultrasonic measurement device, an ultrasonic imaging device, an ultrasonic measurement method, and the like can be provided.

  One aspect of the present invention includes: a transmission processing unit that performs processing of transmitting ultrasonic waves to an object; a reception processing unit that performs reception processing of ultrasonic echoes for the transmitted ultrasonic waves; and A processing unit that performs processing on a received signal to obtain dimensional information of the object, and a measurement pressure information acquisition unit that acquires measurement pressure information representing a measurement pressure applied to the object by an ultrasonic probe during measurement The processing unit includes at least one of a state where no pressure is given to the object and a state where a given designated pressure is given based on the received signal and the measurement pressure information. The present invention relates to an ultrasonic measurement apparatus that outputs dimensional information of the object in the state.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, processing for transmitting ultrasonic waves to an object is performed, and processing for receiving ultrasonic echoes for the transmitted ultrasonic waves is performed. In addition, measurement press information representing the measurement press applied to the object by the ultrasonic probe at the time of measurement is acquired.

  Thereby, based on the received signal and the measured pressure information, the dimensional information of the object in at least one of the state where the pressure is not applied and the state where the given designated pressure is applied to the object is output. It becomes possible.

  Moreover, in 1 aspect of this invention, you may include the alerting | reporting data production | generation part which produces | generates the alerting | reporting data showing the said dimension information of the said target object output by the said process part.

  Thereby, it is possible to notify the measurement result to the user via a notification unit such as a display unit or a voice output unit.

  In the aspect of the invention, the processing unit obtains a change rate of a dimension of the object in a state where the measurement pressure is applied to the object, and receives the reception based on the obtained change rate. The correction processing of the dimensional information of the object obtained from the signal is performed, and the state in at least one of the state where the pressure is not applied to the object and the state where the given designated pressure is applied Dimension information may be obtained.

  Thereby, it becomes possible to perform the correction process according to each measurement press.

  Moreover, in 1 aspect of this invention, the memory | storage part which memorize | stores the elasticity information of the said target object is included, The said process part is the said measurement pressure represented by the said measurement pressure information, and the said elasticity acquired from the said memory | storage part. The change rate of the dimension of the object may be obtained based on the information.

  Accordingly, it is possible to obtain the change rate of the dimension of the object in consideration of the characteristics related to the ease of distortion of the object represented by the elasticity information.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the processing unit, the size and thickness or diameter A _X is of the object obtained from the received signal, the rate of change with a given specified pressing dimension with respect to the measured pushing Based on the difference ΔX with the rate of change in dimension with respect to the following equation (1):

The thickness or diameter A _ΔX , which is a dimension in a state where the given designated pressure is given, may be obtained.

  Thus, it is possible to obtain the thickness or diameter in a state where a given designated pressure is given, using a simple formula.

  Moreover, in one aspect of the present invention, a specified press information input receiving unit that receives input of specified press information representing the given specified press may be included.

  Thereby, when the measurement pressing value when measured by another ultrasonic diagnostic device is known, it is possible to make the measurement conditions uniform and collate the measurement results.

  In the aspect of the invention, the dimensional information may be information indicating a thickness or a diameter of the object.

  Thereby, for example, when the object is a living tissue, it is possible to measure the thickness of a muscle tissue, a subcutaneous fat tissue, a blood vessel wall, or the like, or measure a blood vessel diameter.

  Another aspect of the present invention relates to an ultrasonic imaging apparatus including the ultrasonic measurement apparatus and a display unit that displays the dimension information of the object.

  In another aspect of the present invention, a process of transmitting an ultrasonic wave to an object is performed, an ultrasonic echo reception process is performed on the transmitted ultrasonic wave, and an ultrasonic probe is used for the object during measurement. Measurement pressure information representing the measurement pressure to be applied is acquired, and based on the received signal and the measurement pressure information, a state in which no pressure is applied to the object and a given designated pressure is given The present invention relates to an ultrasonic measurement method for outputting dimensional information of the object in at least one of the states.

The system configuration example of this embodiment. 2A to 2C are examples of a specific device configuration of the ultrasonic imaging apparatus. The flowchart explaining the flow of a process of this embodiment. Explanatory drawing of the change rate of the structure | tissue thickness with respect to a press value. Explanatory drawing of the distortion change of a muscle and subcutaneous fat tissue. Explanatory drawing of the approximate formula and distortion | strain index value of a distortion change of a muscle and subcutaneous fat tissue. Explanatory drawing of an elastic table. Explanatory drawing of a screen display. FIG. 9A to FIG. 9C are configuration examples of ultrasonic transducer elements. The structural example of an ultrasonic transducer device. FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B are configuration examples of an ultrasonic transducer element group provided corresponding to each channel.

  Hereinafter, this embodiment will be described. First, an outline of the present embodiment will be described, and then a system configuration example of the present embodiment will be described. And the method of this embodiment is demonstrated in detail using a flowchart. Then, the structural example of an ultrasonic transducer element and an ultrasonic transducer device is demonstrated. In addition, this embodiment demonstrated below does not unduly limit the content of this invention described in the claim. In addition, all the configurations described in the present embodiment are not necessarily essential configuration requirements of the present invention.

1. Outline An ultrasonic measurement device that emits ultrasonic waves toward an object and receives reflected waves from interfaces with different acoustic impedances inside the object is known as an apparatus used to examine the inside of the human body that is the subject. It has been. By using such an ultrasonic measurement device, it is possible to visualize subcutaneous fat and muscle tissue and measure the thickness of the muscle layer and fat layer at each site.

  Living tissues such as muscles and fats are denatured by changes in applied pressure. That is, the measurement results of the thickness and hardness of the muscle layer and fat layer vary depending on the pressure applied to the living tissue. Patent Document 1 described above discloses an invention for calculating an elasticity index related to the hardness of a living tissue by introducing a pressure sensor into an ultrasonic probe.

  On the other hand, what the user wants to know is not the thickness of the muscle layer or the fat layer when the pressure is applied by the ultrasonic probe, but the thickness of the muscle layer or the fat layer when the pressure is not applied. In most cases. However, in the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, it is only possible to obtain elastic information regarding the hardness of the living tissue in a state where a given pressure is applied from the ultrasonic probe at the time of measurement. It is not possible to estimate the tissue thickness in a state where it is not given.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, there are provided an ultrasonic measurement device, an ultrasonic imaging device, and the like that can obtain dimensional information indicating the thickness of an object in a state where no pressure is applied by an ultrasonic probe.

  In addition, for example, it is desirable that the measurement results obtained by an ultrasonic measurement device used at home and the measurement results obtained by another ultrasonic measurement device used in a gym or the like match. However, the appropriate measurement pressure when pressing the ultrasonic probe against the user's body surface during measurement may be different for each ultrasonic measurement device. In this case, even if the measurement object is the same, the measurement result may differ for each ultrasonic measurement device.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, for example, an ultrasonic wave that can determine the thickness of a muscle layer or a fat layer in a state where a specified pressure that is an appropriate measurement pressure or the like in another ultrasonic measurement device is applied to an object. A measuring apparatus, an ultrasonic imaging apparatus, and the like are provided.

2. System Configuration Example Next, FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of the ultrasonic measurement apparatus 100 of the present embodiment and an ultrasonic image apparatus 200 including the same.

  The ultrasonic measurement apparatus 100 includes a transmission processing unit 110, a reception processing unit 120, a processing unit 130, a measurement press information acquisition unit 140, a notification data generation unit 150, a storage unit 160, and a specified press information input reception unit. 170. The ultrasonic imaging apparatus 200 includes an ultrasonic measurement apparatus 100 and a display unit 210. Note that the ultrasonic measurement apparatus 100 and the ultrasonic image apparatus 200 including the ultrasonic measurement apparatus 100 are not limited to the configuration in FIG. 1, and some of these components may be omitted or other components may be added. Various modifications are possible. Furthermore, some or all of the functions of the ultrasonic measurement apparatus 100 and the ultrasonic image apparatus 200 including the ultrasonic measurement apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment may be realized by a server connected by communication.

  Next, processing performed in each unit will be described.

  First, the transmission processing unit 110 performs a process of transmitting ultrasonic waves to the object. For example, the transmission processing unit 110 includes a transmission pulse generator and a transmission delay circuit. The transmission pulse generator applies a transmission pulse voltage and drives the ultrasonic probe 300. The transmission delay circuit focuses the transmission beam. Therefore, the transmission delay circuit gives a time difference between the channels with respect to the application timing of the transmission pulse voltage, and focuses the ultrasonic waves generated from the plurality of vibration elements. Thus, the focal length can be arbitrarily changed by changing the delay time.

  Next, the reception processing unit 120 performs ultrasonic echo reception processing on the transmitted ultrasonic waves. For example, the reception processing unit 120 includes a reception delay circuit and a filter circuit. The reception delay circuit focuses the received beam. Since the reflected wave from a certain reflector spreads on the spherical surface, the reception delay circuit gives a delay time so that the time to reach each transducer is the same, and adds the reflected wave in consideration of the delay time. Further, the filter circuit filters the received signal with a band pass filter to remove noise.

  Then, the processing unit 130 performs processing on the reception signal from the reception processing unit 120 to obtain dimensional information (dimension information) of the object. Details of the processing performed by the processing unit 130 will be described later.

  Further, the measurement press information acquisition unit 140 acquires measurement press information representing the measurement press applied to the object by the ultrasonic probe 300 at the time of measurement. The measurement press information acquisition unit 140 is, for example, a communication unit, and in this case, receives the measurement press information from the pressure sensor 400 via a network including at least one of wireless and wired.

  Further, the notification data generation unit 150 generates notification data representing the dimension information of the target object output by the processing unit 130. Note that the functions of the processing unit 130 and the notification data generation unit 150 can be realized by hardware such as various processors (CPU or the like), ASIC (gate array or the like), a program, or the like.

  Next, the storage unit 160 stores the elasticity information of the object and serves as a work area such as the processing unit 130 and the notification data generation unit 150, and its function is a memory such as a RAM or an HDD (hard disk drive). ) Etc.

  And the designated press information input reception part 170 receives the input of the designated press information showing a given designated press. The designated pressing information input receiving unit 170 is, for example, an I / F unit that receives an operation by a user, and more specifically, a keyboard, a touch panel, an operation button, or the like.

  Here, an example of a specific device configuration of the ultrasonic imaging apparatus 200 (electronic device in a broad sense) of the present embodiment is shown in FIGS. 2 (A) to 2 (C). FIG. 2A shows an example of a handy type ultrasonic imaging apparatus 200, and FIG. 2B shows an example of a stationary type ultrasonic imaging apparatus 200. FIG. 2C shows an example of an integrated ultrasonic imaging apparatus 200 in which the ultrasonic probe 300 is built in the main body.

  2A and 2B includes an ultrasonic measurement device 100 (electronic device body in a broad sense) and an ultrasonic probe 300, and the ultrasonic probe 300 and the ultrasonic measurement device 100. Are connected by a cable 310. A probe head 320 is provided at the distal end portion of the ultrasonic probe 300, and a display unit 210 that displays an image is provided in the ultrasonic imaging apparatus 200. In FIG. 2C, the ultrasonic probe 300 is built in the ultrasonic imaging apparatus 200 having the display unit 210. In the case of FIG. 2C, the ultrasonic imaging apparatus 200 can be realized by a general-purpose portable information terminal such as a smartphone.

  In addition, the display unit 210 displays dimension information of the target object. The display unit 210 can be realized by, for example, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, electronic paper, or the like.

  The ultrasonic probe 300 includes an ultrasonic transducer device.

  The ultrasonic transducer device transmits an ultrasonic beam to the target while scanning the target along the scanning plane, and receives an ultrasonic echo by the ultrasonic beam. Taking the type using a piezoelectric element as an example, the ultrasonic transducer device has a plurality of ultrasonic transducer elements (ultrasonic element array) and a substrate on which a plurality of openings are arranged in an array. And as an ultrasonic transducer element, the thing using the monomorph (unimorph) structure which bonded the thin piezoelectric element and the metal plate (vibration film) is used. An ultrasonic transducer element (vibration element) converts electrical vibration into mechanical vibration. In this case, a bonded metal plate (vibration film) when the piezoelectric element expands and contracts in the plane. ) Warping occurs because the dimensions of) remain the same.

  In the ultrasonic transducer device, a single channel is composed of several ultrasonic transducer elements arranged in the vicinity, and the ultrasonic beam is sequentially moved while driving a plurality of channels at a time. There may be.

  Note that, as the ultrasonic transducer device, a type of transducer using a piezoelectric element (thin film piezoelectric element) can be adopted, but the present embodiment is not limited to this. For example, a transducer using a capacitive element such as c-MUT (Capacitive Micro-machined Ultrasonic Transducers) may be employed, or a bulk transducer may be employed. A more detailed description of the ultrasonic transducer element and the ultrasonic transducer device will be described later.

  The pressure sensor 400 may be any sensor that can measure the force applied to the object by the ultrasonic probe 300. For example, a known strain sensor can be used.

3. Details of Processing The ultrasonic measurement apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment receives a pressure value (measurement pressure value) at the time of measurement by using the ultrasonic probe 300 having the pressure sensor 400, and stores the pressure value based on the measurement pressure value. The tissue change amount is calculated from the elasticity information stored in the unit 160 and finally reflected in the numerical value of the tissue thickness.

  The ultrasonic measurement apparatus 100 holds an elasticity table using parameters such as a measurement site, age, sex, height, weight, or the like, or an elasticity index held at a previous measurement in the storage unit 160, and based on this elasticity information. Estimate the amount of tissue deformation under measurement pressure. Then, by applying the estimated tissue change amount to the tissue boundary detection data calculated from the reception signal of the ultrasonic wave, the tissue thickness under a given designated pressure is calculated, and the measurement result is displayed on the display unit 210. .

  Specifically, the processing flow of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, the transmission processing unit 110 transmits a drive signal to the ultrasonic probe 300, and the ultrasonic probe 300 transmits an ultrasonic wave to the object based on the drive signal (S101).

  And the reception process part 120 receives the reception signal of the ultrasonic echo with respect to the transmitted ultrasonic wave via the ultrasonic probe 300 (S102). Since the reflected wave from a certain reflector spreads on the spherical surface, in this case, a delay time is given so that the receiving beam focusing processing, that is, the time to reach each transducer is the same, and the delay time is taken into consideration. To add reflected waves.

  On the other hand, the measurement press information acquisition unit 140 acquires a measurement press value acquired by the pressure sensor 400 when transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves (S103).

  Next, the processing unit 130 calculates a tissue boundary based on the received signal (S104), and calculates a tissue thickness based on the calculated tissue boundary (S105).

  Specifically, in step S104, B-mode image data is generated, and a tissue boundary is calculated based on the generated B-mode image data. B-mode image data refers to image data in which the amplitude in the A-mode waveform is expressed as the brightness (brightness) of a point.

  Further, the B-mode image data is generated by performing the following processing, for example. First, the received signal is filtered by a band pass filter to remove noise.

  Then, an absolute value (rectification) process is performed on the signal after the noise process, and a low-pass filter is applied to the signal after the absolute value process to extract a non-modulated signal.

  Furthermore, Log compression is applied to the unmodulated signal, and the gain is used to convert the representation format and adjust the signal strength and the region of interest so that the maximum and minimum portions of the signal strength of the received signal can be easily confirmed at the same time. Adjustment processing and dynamic range adjustment processing are performed. Specifically, in the gain adjustment process, a DC component is added to the input signal after Log compression. In the dynamic range adjustment process, the input signal after Log compression is multiplied by an arbitrary number.

  Next, the amplification degree (brightness) is corrected according to the depth, and an image having uniform brightness over the entire screen is acquired. Then, scan conversion processing is performed on the B-mode image data. For example, the line signal is converted into an image signal by an interpolation process such as bilinear.

  A tissue boundary is calculated based on the B-mode image data obtained in this way.

  Further, when calculating the tissue thickness in step S105, the distance between the tissue boundaries detected in step S104 is calculated as the tissue thickness. Specifically, the distance between two points in the B-mode image data may be measured to calculate the distance between the tissue boundaries, or the point where the amplitude intensity of the received signal is greater than a given threshold value And calculate the time difference from the timing of receiving the received signal reflected at the tissue boundary to the timing of receiving the received signal reflected at the adjacent tissue boundary, and calculate the distance between the tissue boundaries from the calculated time difference. May be.

  Next, the processing unit 130 reads an elasticity index corresponding to the acquired measurement pressure value from an elasticity table stored in advance in the storage unit 160, and changes the tissue thickness based on the acquired elasticity index and the measurement pressure value. The rate is calculated (S106). When calculating the rate of change of the tissue thickness, a state where no pressure is applied to the living tissue is used as a reference.

  Here, the result of plotting the tissue change rate X (%) against the pressing value F (gf) and its approximate line are shown in FIG. In the graph of FIG. 4, diamond points represent subcutaneous fat data, and square points represent muscle data.

  Further, the graph of FIG. 5 shows the relationship between the pressure F (gf) and the strain change rate X (%) to the muscles and subcutaneous fat of each part (great pectoral muscle, rectus abdominis, rectus femoris and biceps). Shown in

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, there is a correlation between the change rate X of the tissue thickness with respect to the pressing value F, and an approximate expression can be created. For example, the subcutaneous fat tissue can be approximated by linear approximation according to Hooke's law, and the relationship between the change rate X of the thickness of the subcutaneous fat tissue and the pressing value F can be expressed as the following equation (2). . In equation (2), k represents the elasticity index of subcutaneous adipose tissue.

On the other hand, the tissue thickness of muscle tissue does not change linearly with pressure. This is due to a phenomenon called strain hardening in which the hardness of the tissue increases by pressing. Therefore, the relationship between the change rate X of the thickness of the muscular tissue and the pressing value F can be expressed using logarithmic approximation as in the following equation (3). In Equation (3), k ′ represents an elasticity index of muscle tissue. The approximation of the elasticity index is not limited to linear approximation or logarithmic approximation but may be polynomial approximation.

  Moreover, the approximate expression calculated | required from the graph of FIG. 5 and the elasticity parameter | index value obtained by an approximate expression are shown in FIG. From this result, even in the same muscle tissue, it can be confirmed that the elasticity index is different for each part, and that there is a difference in the elasticity index between the subcutaneous fat tissue and the muscle tissue. In actual tissue change estimation, estimation is performed by holding the elasticity index obtained by this approximation in the storage unit 160.

  In actual measurement, it is desirable that the measurement conditions for calculating the elasticity index and estimating the tissue thickness using the elasticity index are aligned every time. For example, it is known that muscles in living tissue change their hardness and elasticity due to fatigue, which also affects estimation accuracy. Therefore, in actual measurement, it is desirable to perform measurement before a load is applied to muscles such as training.

  By holding the elasticity index obtained by the approximation as described above as a table or a function in the storage unit 160, it is possible to calculate a tissue change rate X with respect to a specified pressing value described later.

Specifically, the elastic table is a table as shown in FIG. 7, for example, and can be expressed by the following equation (5).

In the elasticity table of FIG. 7, in addition to personal information parameters A such as gender, age, height, weight and race, measurement condition parameters B such as measurement site and posture during measurement, etc., the pressing value obtained during measurement, The elasticity index k _t is calculated by substituting information such as the measurement result parameter C such as the tissue thickness and the tissue quality.

For example, for personal information parameter A, the classification results for body types such as lean, standard, and obesity are substituted, and for measurement condition parameter B, the classification results for each measurement site, tissue type, tissue state, etc. are substituted for measurement. results the parameters C, and assigns the classification result relating to such proportion and quality of muscle fat, obtain elasticity index k _t corresponding to the combination thereof. The elastic table may be a table divided according to items such as a measurement site, age, sex, height, weight, muscle quality, and the like.

In this embodiment, by storing this elasticity index in advance, the change rate of the tissue thickness with respect to the pressing at the time of measurement is calculated. That is, the change rate X is calculated by substituting the pressure at the time of measurement and the stored elasticity index, and the calculated change rate X is substituted into the following equation (4) to obtain a tissue thickness under non-pressing without any tissue strain. (A ₀ ) can be calculated.

  Next, the designated pressing information input receiving unit 170 acquires the designated pressing value (S107).

  Then, the processing unit 130 corrects the tissue thickness calculated in step S105 to obtain the tissue thickness when the designated pressing value is given (S108).

Specifically, the tissue thickness calculation under a given designated pressure can be calculated by obtaining a difference ΔX in the change rate as shown in FIG. That is, the tissue change rate X ₁ corresponding to the pressing value F ₁ at the time of measurement and the tissue change rate X ₂ corresponding to the designated pressing value F ₂ are calculated based on the elastic approximate expression. Then, by calculating the difference ΔX between the tissue change rate X ₁ and the tissue change rate X ₂ and substituting this difference ΔX into the following equation (1), the tissue thickness under a given designated pressure can be obtained. it can.

  Finally, the corrected tissue thickness is displayed on the display unit 210 (S109), and the process ends. Specifically, an image as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed on the display unit 210. In FIG. 8, the measurement result in the state where the measurement pressure is applied is displayed in the area AR1, and the measurement result in the state where the specified pressure is applied is displayed in the area AR2. The pre-correction cross-sectional image displayed in the area AR1 represents a cross-section of the actual object at the time of measurement, and the post-correction cross-sectional image displayed in the area AR2 is the object when a given designated pressure is given. This represents a cross-section. The corrected cross-sectional image can be generated by performing image processing on the pre-correction cross-sectional image and expanding and contracting.

  Note that the user may be able to select which content is displayed. The correction result may be displayed as a numerical value. Furthermore, when displaying the elasticity index, it is easy to visualize the numerical change for the user by changing the number of displayed digits or providing a constant to be integrated with the elasticity index value obtained by the approximate expression. You may calculate so as to.

  Next, the method of this embodiment will be summarized.

  The ultrasonic measurement apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment described above includes a transmission processing unit 110 that performs processing of transmitting ultrasonic waves to an object, and a reception processing unit 120 that performs reception processing of ultrasonic echoes for the transmitted ultrasonic waves. The processing unit 130 that performs processing on the received signal from the reception processing unit 120 to obtain dimensional information of the object, and measurement pressure information that represents the measurement pressure applied to the object by the ultrasonic probe 300 during measurement. A measurement press information acquisition unit 140 to be acquired. Then, the processing unit 130, based on the received signal and the measurement pressure information, indicates the object in at least one of the state where no pressure is applied to the object and the state where a given designated pressure is applied. Output dimension information.

  In this embodiment, the process which transmits an ultrasonic wave with respect to a target object is performed, and the reception process of the ultrasonic echo with respect to the transmitted ultrasonic wave is performed. And the measurement press information showing the measurement press given with respect to a target object with an ultrasonic probe at the time of measurement is acquired.

  Thereby, based on the received signal and the measured pressure information, the dimensional information of the object in at least one of the state where the pressure is not applied and the state where the given designated pressure is applied to the object is output. It becomes possible.

  Specifically, the dimension information may be information representing the thickness or diameter of the object.

  Thereby, for example, when the object is a living tissue, it is possible to measure the thickness of a muscle tissue, a subcutaneous fat tissue, a blood vessel wall, or the like, or measure a blood vessel diameter.

  In addition, the ultrasonic measurement apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment may include a notification data generation unit 150 that generates notification data representing the dimension information of the object output by the processing unit 130.

  For example, the notification data may be image data as shown in FIG. 8, character data, or audio data.

  Thereby, it is possible to notify the measurement result to the user via a notification unit such as a display unit or a voice output unit.

  Further, the processing unit 130 obtains a change rate of the dimension of the object in a state where the measurement pressure is applied to the object, and corrects the dimension information of the object obtained from the received signal based on the obtained change rate. Dimension information in at least one of a state where no pressure is given to the object and a state where a given designated pressure is given may be obtained.

  Thereby, it becomes possible to perform the correction process according to each measurement press.

Specifically, processing unit 130, the difference ΔX between the dimension a is the thickness or diameter A _X, the measurement rate of change in dimension to the pressing and given the dimensions of the rate of change for the specified pressing the object obtained from the reception signal Based on the above, the thickness or diameter A _ΔX which is a dimension in a state where a given designated pressure is given may be obtained by the above equation (1).

  Thus, it is possible to obtain the thickness or diameter in a state where a given designated pressure is given, using a simple formula.

  In addition, the ultrasonic measurement apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment may include a storage unit 160 that stores elasticity information of an object. Then, the processing unit 130 may obtain the rate of change in the size of the object based on the measurement press represented by the measurement press information and the elasticity information acquired from the storage unit 160.

  More specifically, the dimensional change rate of the object may be obtained by the above equation (2) or the above equation (3).

  Accordingly, it is possible to obtain the change rate of the dimension of the object in consideration of the characteristics related to the ease of distortion of the object represented by the elasticity information.

  In addition, the ultrasonic measurement apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment may include a designated pressure information input receiving unit 170 that accepts input of designated pressure information representing a given designated pressure.

  Thereby, when the measurement pressing value when measured by another ultrasonic diagnostic device is known, it is possible to make the measurement conditions uniform and collate the measurement results.

  As a result of the above, it is no longer necessary to perform measurement while performing minute pressure adjustments, and the tissue thickness is calculated under conditions in which the pressure conditions are made pseudo constant without introducing a jig at the time of measurement. It becomes possible.

Therefore, it is possible to improve the accuracy and measurement reproducibility of muscle / fat thickness measurement by these effects. Ultrasonic Transducer Element FIGS. 9A to 9C show a configuration example of the ultrasonic transducer element 10 of the ultrasonic transducer device. The ultrasonic transducer element 10 includes a vibration film (membrane, support member) 50 and a piezoelectric element part. The piezoelectric element section includes a first electrode layer (lower electrode) 21, a piezoelectric layer (piezoelectric film) 30, and a second electrode layer (upper electrode) 22.

  FIG. 9A is a plan view of the ultrasonic transducer element 10 formed on the substrate (silicon substrate) 60 as seen from the direction perpendicular to the substrate 60 on the element formation surface side. FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view showing a cross section along A-A ′ of FIG. FIG. 9C is a cross-sectional view showing a cross section along B-B ′ of FIG.

  The first electrode layer 21 is formed on the vibration film 50 as a metal thin film, for example. The first electrode layer 21 may be a wiring that extends to the outside of the element formation region and is connected to the adjacent ultrasonic transducer element 10 as shown in FIG. 9A.

  The piezoelectric layer 30 is formed of, for example, a PZT (lead zirconate titanate) thin film, and is provided so as to cover at least a part of the first electrode layer 21. The material of the piezoelectric layer 30 is not limited to PZT. For example, lead titanate (PbTiO3), lead zirconate (PbZrO3), lead lanthanum titanate ((Pb, La) TiO3), or the like is used. Also good.

  The second electrode layer 22 is formed of a metal thin film, for example, and is provided so as to cover at least a part of the piezoelectric layer 30. The second electrode layer 22 may be a wiring that extends to the outside of the element formation region and is connected to the adjacent ultrasonic transducer element 10 as shown in FIG. 9A.

  The vibration film (membrane) 50 is provided so as to close the opening 40 by, for example, a two-layer structure of a SiO2 thin film and a ZrO2 thin film. The vibration film 50 supports the piezoelectric layer 30 and the first and second electrode layers 21 and 22 and can vibrate according to the expansion and contraction of the piezoelectric layer 30 to generate ultrasonic waves.

  The opening (cavity region) 40 is formed by etching by reactive ion etching (RIE: Reactive Ion Etching) or the like from the back surface (surface on which no element is formed) side of the silicon substrate 60. The resonance frequency of the ultrasonic wave is determined by the size of the vibrating membrane 50 that can be vibrated by the formation of the cavity region 40, and the ultrasonic wave is directed to the piezoelectric layer 30 side (from the back to the front in FIG. 9A). Radiated.

  The lower electrode (first electrode) of the ultrasonic transducer element 10 is formed by the first electrode layer 21, and the upper electrode (second electrode) is formed by the second electrode layer 22. Specifically, a portion of the first electrode layer 21 covered with the piezoelectric layer 30 forms a lower electrode, and a portion of the second electrode layer 22 covering the piezoelectric layer 30 forms an upper electrode. . That is, the piezoelectric layer 30 is provided between the lower electrode and the upper electrode.

5. Ultrasonic Transducer Device FIG. 10 shows a configuration example of an ultrasonic transducer device (element chip). The ultrasonic transducer device of this configuration example includes a plurality of ultrasonic transducer element groups UG1 to UG64, drive electrode lines DL1 to DL64 (first to nth drive electrode lines in a broad sense, n is an integer of 2 or more). , Common electrode lines CL1 to CL8 (first to mth common electrode lines in a broad sense. M is an integer of 2 or more). The number of drive electrode lines (n) and the number of common electrode lines (m) are not limited to the numbers shown in FIG.

  The plurality of ultrasonic transducer element groups UG1 to UG64 are arranged in 64 rows along the second direction D2 (scanning direction). Each of the ultrasonic transducer element groups UG1 to UG64 has a plurality of ultrasonic transducer elements arranged along the first direction D1 (slice direction).

  FIG. 11A shows an example of the ultrasonic transducer element group UG (UG1 to UG64). In FIG. 11A, the ultrasonic transducer element group UG is composed of first to fourth element arrays. The first element row is configured by ultrasonic transducer elements UE11 to UE18 arranged along the first direction D1, and the second element row is an ultrasonic wave arranged along the first direction D1. It is constituted by transducer elements UE21 to UE28. The same applies to the third element row (UE31 to UE38) and the fourth element row (UE41 to UE48). Drive electrode lines DL (DL1 to DL64) are commonly connected to these first to fourth element rows. Further, common electrode lines CL1 to CL8 are connected to the ultrasonic transducer elements of the first to fourth element rows.

  The ultrasonic transducer element group UG in FIG. 11A constitutes one channel of the ultrasonic transducer device. That is, the drive electrode line DL corresponds to a 1-channel drive electrode line, and a 1-channel transmission signal from the transmission circuit is input to the drive electrode line DL. In addition, a one-channel reception signal from the drive electrode line DL is output from the drive electrode line DL. Note that the number of element rows constituting one channel is not limited to four rows as shown in FIG. 11A, and may be less than four rows or more than four rows. For example, as shown in FIG. 11B, the number of element rows may be one.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the drive electrode lines DL1 to DL64 (first to nth drive electrode lines) are wired along the first direction D1. Of the drive electrode lines DL1 to DL64, the jth drive electrode line DLj (jth channel) where j is an integer satisfying 1 ≦ j ≦ n is an ultrasonic transformer of the jth ultrasonic transducer element group UGj. It is connected to a first electrode (for example, a lower electrode) of the reducer element.

  In a transmission period in which ultrasonic waves are emitted, transmission signals VT1 to VT64 are supplied to the ultrasonic transducer elements via the drive electrode lines DL1 to DL64. In the reception period for receiving the ultrasonic echo signal, the reception signals VR1 to VR64 from the ultrasonic transducer elements are output via the drive electrode lines DL1 to DL64.

  The common electrode lines CL1 to CL8 (first to mth common electrode lines) are wired along the second direction D2. The second electrode of the ultrasonic transducer element is connected to any one of the common electrode lines CL1 to CL8. Specifically, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the i-th common electrode line CLi (i is an integer satisfying 1 ≦ i ≦ m) among the common electrode lines CL1 to CL8 is arranged in the i-th row. The ultrasonic transducer element is connected to a second electrode (for example, an upper electrode).

  A common voltage VCOM is supplied to the common electrode lines CL1 to CL8. The common voltage VCOM may be a constant DC voltage and may not be 0 V, that is, the ground potential (ground potential).

  In the transmission period, a voltage difference between the transmission signal voltage and the common voltage is applied to the ultrasonic transducer element, and ultrasonic waves having a predetermined frequency are emitted.

  The arrangement of the ultrasonic transducer elements is not limited to the matrix arrangement shown in FIG. 10, but may be a so-called zigzag arrangement.

  11A to 11B show the case where one ultrasonic transducer element is used as both a transmitting element and a receiving element, the present embodiment is not limited to this. For example, ultrasonic transducer elements for transmitting elements and ultrasonic transducer elements for receiving elements may be provided separately and arranged in an array.

  Note that part or most of the processing of the ultrasonic measurement apparatus, ultrasonic image apparatus, and ultrasonic measurement method of the present embodiment may be realized by a program. In this case, the ultrasonic measurement apparatus, the ultrasonic image apparatus, the ultrasonic measurement method, and the like of the present embodiment are realized by executing a program by a processor such as a CPU. Specifically, a program stored in the information storage medium is read, and a processor such as a CPU executes the read program. Here, the information storage medium (computer-readable medium) stores programs, data, and the like, and functions as an optical disk (DVD, CD, etc.), HDD (hard disk drive), or memory (card type). It can be realized by memory, ROM, etc. A processor such as a CPU performs various processes according to the present embodiment based on a program (data) stored in the information storage medium. That is, in the information storage medium, a program for causing a computer (an apparatus including an operation unit, a processing unit, a storage unit, and an output unit) to function as each unit of the present embodiment (a program for causing the computer to execute processing of each unit) Is memorized.

  Although the present embodiment has been described in detail as described above, it will be easily understood by those skilled in the art that many modifications can be made without departing from the novel matters and effects of the present invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included in the scope of the present invention. For example, a term described at least once together with a different term having a broader meaning or the same meaning in the specification or the drawings can be replaced with the different term in any part of the specification or the drawings. The configurations and operations of the ultrasonic measurement apparatus and the ultrasonic image apparatus are not limited to those described in the present embodiment, and various modifications can be made.

100 ultrasonic measurement device, 110 transmission processing unit, 120 reception processing unit, 130 processing unit,
140 measurement press information acquisition unit, 150 notification data generation unit, 160 storage unit,
170 designated pressing information input receiving unit, 200 ultrasonic imaging device, 210 display unit,
300 ultrasonic probe, 310 cable, 320 probe head,
400 Pressure sensor

Claims (9)

A transmission processing unit that performs processing of transmitting ultrasonic waves to the object;
A reception processing unit that performs reception processing of ultrasonic echoes for the transmitted ultrasonic waves;
A processing unit that performs processing on a reception signal from the reception processing unit and obtains dimensional information of the object;
A measurement press information acquisition unit for acquiring measurement press information representing a measurement press applied to the object by an ultrasonic probe during measurement;
Including
The processor is
Based on the received signal and the measured pressure information, the dimension information of the object in at least one of a state where no pressure is applied to the object and a state where a given designated pressure is applied. An ultrasonic measuring device characterized by outputting. In claim 1,
An ultrasonic measurement apparatus comprising: a notification data generation unit that generates notification data representing the dimension information of the object output by the processing unit. In claim 1 or 2,
The processor is
Determining the rate of change in dimensions of the object in a state where the measurement pressure is applied to the object;
Based on the obtained rate of change, a correction process is performed on the dimensional information of the object obtained from the received signal, and a state in which no pressure is applied to the object and the given specified pressure is An ultrasonic measurement apparatus characterized by obtaining the dimensional information in at least one of given states. In claim 3,
A storage unit for storing elasticity information of the object;
The processor is
The ultrasonic measurement apparatus, wherein the change rate of the dimension of the object is obtained based on the measurement pressure represented by the measurement pressure information and the elasticity information acquired from the storage unit. In claim 3 or 4,
The processor is
The thickness or diameter A _X is the size of the object obtained from the received signal, based on the difference ΔX between the dimensional change rate relative to the rate of change with a given specified pressing dimension with respect to the measurement pressing, By the following formula (1)
An ultrasonic measurement apparatus characterized in that a thickness or a diameter A _ΔX which is a dimension in a state where the given specified pressure is given is obtained. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5,
An ultrasonic measurement apparatus comprising: a specified press information input receiving unit that receives an input of specified press information representing the given specified press. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 6.
The dimension information is
The ultrasonic measurement apparatus is information representing the thickness or diameter of the object. The ultrasonic measurement device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
A display unit for displaying the dimension information of the object;
An ultrasonic imaging apparatus comprising: Perform processing to send ultrasonic waves to the object,
Perform reception processing of ultrasonic echoes for the transmitted ultrasonic waves,
Obtaining measurement press information representing a measurement press applied to the object by an ultrasonic probe during measurement;
Based on the received signal and the measured pressure information, the dimension information of the object in at least one of a state where no pressure is applied to the object and a state where a given designated pressure is applied. An ultrasonic measurement method characterized by outputting.