JP2018079070A - Ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus and scanning support program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of supporting scanning using an ultrasonic probe, and a scanning support program. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes a position detection unit, a living body anatomical chart processing unit, and an associating unit. The position detector detects the ultrasonic image or the position of the ultrasonic probe in the three-dimensional space. The biological anatomical chart processing unit uses a biological anatomical chart defined in a three-dimensional space. The associating unit indicates the position and orientation of the structure related to the subject included in the ultrasonic image in the first three-dimensional coordinate system, and the position and orientation of the structure included in the living body anatomical chart in the second three-dimensional coordinate system. The structure relating to the subject included in the ultrasonic image is associated with the structure included in the living body anatomical chart by using. [Selection diagram] Figure 1

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and a scan support program.

  As a conventional technique, a mechanical four-dimensional probe that swings a plurality of transducers arranged in a row or a two-dimensional array probe in which a plurality of transducers are arranged in a lattice shape is provided, and a three-dimensional ultrasound image is real-time. There is an ultrasound diagnostic device that acquires In addition, using an ultrasonic probe equipped with a position sensor, an ultrasonic probe that acquires a three-dimensional ultrasonic image based on the position of the ultrasonic probe detected by the position sensor and the reflection data received by the ultrasonic probe. There is an ultrasound diagnostic device. In these ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses, an MPR (Multi-Planar Reconstruction / Reformation) image and / or a VR (Volume Rendering) image are displayed in a three-dimensional space.

  By the way, a scanning person who performs scanning acquires an ultrasonic image by bringing the ultrasonic probe into contact with the patient's body and appropriately moving it on the surface of the body. On the other hand, since there are many organs in the body, the position of the ultrasonic probe in contact with the surface of the living body, and in which direction in the body the image of the organ to be diagnosed can be appropriately acquired. May be confused by judgment. In addition, depending on the displayed image, it may be difficult for the scanner to identify the organ in the image.

JP 2015-16390 A JP 2013-17870 A JP 2009-56125 A

  An object is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of supporting scanning using an ultrasonic probe, and a scanning support program.

  According to the embodiment, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes an association unit, a support information acquisition unit, and an image calculation unit. The association unit associates the structure related to the subject included in the ultrasound image with the structure included in the biological atlas. The support information acquisition unit recognizes a structure corresponding to the position of the ultrasound probe based on the biological atlas using the associated relationship, and acquires support information related to the recognized structure. The image calculation unit generates a display image including the ultrasonic image and the support information.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a flow of processing in which the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 associates the position of an organ or the like included in an ultrasonic image with the position of an organ or the like included in a three-dimensional atlas image. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a view when the ultrasonic probe shown in FIG. 1 is brought into contact with the body surface of the subject in the vertical direction. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a diagram when a biological reference site is designated in the ultrasonic tomographic image displayed on the display device shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing scanning of the ultrasonic probe shown in FIG. 1 on the living body surface. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a living body coordinate system when a xiphoid process is used as a living body reference site. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a living body coordinate system when the living body reference site exists in the body. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a correspondence between a characteristic part in the living body coordinate system and a characteristic part in the atlas coordinate system. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a flow of processing in which the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus shown in FIG. 1 generates display image data. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display image in which a two-dimensional image and a three-dimensional atlas image are displayed side by side. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a display image in which a support image representing organ content is displayed in the second display area. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a display image in which a support image representing organ content is displayed in the second display area. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a display image in which an image relating to a scanning method compliant with the ultrasonic diagnostic inspection guidelines is displayed in the second display area. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a display image in which an annotation is displayed in the ultrasonic image displayed in the first display area. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a display image in which an image based on the inspection history is displayed in the second display area. FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a flow of processing in which the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the second embodiment associates the position of an organ or the like included in an ultrasonic image with the position of an organ or the like included in a three-dimensional atlas image. is there. FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a display image in which the cross-sectional position of the three-dimensional CT image, the scanning position of the ultrasonic probe, and the ultrasonic tomographic image are associated by the fusion function. FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart when the control circuit according to the first and second embodiments automatically reads support data. FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart when the control circuit according to the first and second embodiments automatically changes the transmission / reception conditions according to the organ to be recognized. FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a display image when displaying an atlas image and a plurality of ultrasonic images corresponding to positions specified by the atlas image. FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a configuration of the position sensor system shown in FIG. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing another configuration of the position sensor system shown in FIG. FIG. 24 is a diagram showing another configuration of the position sensor system shown in FIG. FIG. 25 is a diagram showing another configuration of the position sensor system shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 includes a main body device 10, an ultrasonic probe 20, and a position sensor system 30. The main device 10 is connected to the external device 40 via the network 100. Further, the main device 10 is connected to the display device 50.

  The ultrasonic probe 20 includes a plurality of piezoelectric vibrators, a matching layer provided in the piezoelectric vibrator, a backing material that prevents propagation of ultrasonic waves from the piezoelectric vibrator to the rear, and the like. The ultrasonic probe 20 is detachably connected to the main body device 10. The plurality of piezoelectric vibrators generate ultrasonic waves based on a drive signal supplied from the ultrasonic transmission circuit 11 included in the main body device 10.

  When ultrasonic waves are transmitted from the ultrasonic probe 20 to the subject P, the transmitted ultrasonic waves are reflected one after another on the discontinuous surface of the acoustic impedance in the body tissue of the subject P, and the ultrasonic probe is reflected as a reflected wave signal. Received by a plurality of piezoelectric vibrators 20. The amplitude of the received reflected wave signal depends on the difference in acoustic impedance at the discontinuous surface where the ultrasonic wave is reflected. Note that the reflected wave signal when the transmitted ultrasonic pulse is reflected by the moving blood flow or the surface of the heart wall depends on the velocity component of the moving object in the ultrasonic transmission direction due to the Doppler effect. And undergoes a frequency shift. The ultrasonic probe 20 receives a reflected wave signal from the subject P and converts it into an electrical signal.

  The operation panel 61 of the main body apparatus 10 includes an input unit configured by, for example, a button or the like that receives an instruction for designating a later-described biological reference site from an operator. When the button is pressed by the operator, the operation panel 61 outputs a designation instruction for designating the current position information of the ultrasonic probe 20 as a biological reference site to the main body device 10. The input means may be provided in the position sensor 32 provided in the position sensor system 30 or the ultrasonic probe 20.

  The ultrasonic probe 20 according to the present embodiment scans the subject P two-dimensionally with ultrasonic waves, and is equipped with a position sensor 32 as shown in FIG. The ultrasonic probe 20 can detect position information of the probe when the subject P is scanned in three dimensions. Specifically, the ultrasonic probe 20 according to the present embodiment is a one-dimensional array probe having a plurality of ultrasonic transducers that scan the subject P in two dimensions. The ultrasonic probe 20 to which the position sensor 32 is attached is a mechanical four-dimensional probe (machine) that scans the subject P in three dimensions by oscillating the ultrasonic transducer at a predetermined angle (oscillation angle). (Oscillating three-dimensional probe), two-dimensional array probe in which a plurality of ultrasonic transducers are arranged in a matrix, or 1.5-dimensional array probe in which a plurality of transducers arranged in one dimension are divided into a plurality of It may be.

  A position sensor system 30 shown in FIG. 1 is a system for acquiring three-dimensional position information of the ultrasonic probe 20. The position sensor system 30 acquires the three-dimensional position information of the ultrasonic probe 20 by, for example, attaching a magnetic sensor, an infrared camera target, or the like to the ultrasonic probe 20. Note that a gyro sensor (angular velocity sensor) may be incorporated in the ultrasonic probe 20, and the three-dimensional position information of the ultrasonic probe 20 may be acquired by the gyro sensor. Further, the position sensor system 30 may be a system that images the ultrasonic probe 20 with a camera and detects the position of the ultrasonic probe 20 in a three-dimensional space by image recognition. The position sensor system 30 may be a system that holds the ultrasonic probe 20 with a robot arm and detects the position of the robot arm in the three-dimensional space as the position of the ultrasonic probe 20. In the present embodiment, a case where the position sensor system 30 acquires position information of the ultrasonic probe 20 using a magnetic sensor will be described as an example.

  The position sensor system 30 includes a magnetic generator 31, a magnetic sensor 32, and a position detection device 33.

  The magnetic generator 31 has a magnetic generating coil etc., for example. The magnetic generator 31 is disposed at an arbitrary position, and forms a magnetic field toward the outside centering on the magnetic generator 31. The magnetic sensor 32 is attached to the ultrasonic probe 20. The magnetic sensor 32 detects the strength and inclination of the three-dimensional magnetic field formed by the magnetic generator 31. The magnetic sensor 32 outputs the detected intensity and inclination of the magnetic field to the position detection device 33.

  The position detection device 33 is based on the intensity and inclination of the magnetic field detected by the magnetic sensor 32 and the position of the ultrasonic probe 20 in the three-dimensional space with the predetermined position as the origin (the position (x, y, z) of the scan plane). And a rotation angle (θx, θy, θz)) is calculated. At this time, the predetermined position is, for example, a position where the magnetic generator 31 is disposed. The position detection device 33 transmits position information regarding the calculated position (x, y, z, θx, θy, θz) to the main body device 10. Hereinafter, the three-dimensional coordinate system defined by the position sensor system 30 is referred to as a magnetic field coordinate system.

  The main body apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 is an apparatus that generates an ultrasonic image based on a reflected wave signal received by the ultrasonic probe 20. As shown in FIG. 1, the main body device 10 includes an ultrasonic transmission circuit 11, an ultrasonic reception circuit 12, a B-mode processing circuit 13, a Doppler processing circuit 14, an operation panel 61, an input device 62, a three-dimensional data generation circuit 15, The image processing circuit 16 includes a display processing circuit 17, an internal storage circuit 18, an image memory 19 (cine memory), an input interface circuit 110, a communication interface circuit 111, and a control circuit 112.

  The ultrasonic transmission circuit 11 is a processor that supplies a drive signal to the ultrasonic probe 20. The ultrasonic transmission circuit 11 is realized by, for example, a trigger generation circuit, a delay circuit, and a pulser circuit. The trigger generation circuit repeatedly generates rate pulses for forming transmission ultrasonic waves at a predetermined rate frequency. The delay circuit sets the delay time for each piezoelectric vibrator necessary for determining the transmission directivity by focusing the ultrasonic wave generated from the ultrasonic probe 20 into a beam shape for each rate pulse generated by the trigger generation circuit. To give. The pulser circuit applies a drive signal (drive pulse) to the ultrasonic probe 20 at a timing based on the rate pulse. By changing the delay time given to each rate pulse by the delay circuit, the transmission direction from the surface of the piezoelectric vibrator can be arbitrarily adjusted.

  The ultrasonic reception circuit 12 is a processor that performs various processes on the reflected wave signal received by the ultrasonic probe 20 and generates a reception signal. The ultrasonic reception circuit 12 is realized by, for example, an amplifier circuit, an A / D converter, a reception delay circuit, and an adder. The amplifier circuit performs gain correction processing by amplifying the reflected wave signal received by the ultrasonic probe 20 for each channel. The A / D converter converts the gain-corrected reflected wave signal into a digital signal. The reception delay circuit gives a delay time necessary for determining the reception directivity to the digital signal. The adder adds a plurality of digital signals given delay times. By the addition processing of the adder, a reception signal in which the reflection component from the direction corresponding to the reception directivity is emphasized is generated.

  The B-mode processing circuit 13 is a processor that generates B-mode data based on the reception signal received from the ultrasonic reception circuit 12. The B-mode processing circuit 13 performs envelope detection processing, logarithmic amplification processing, and the like on the reception signal received from the ultrasonic reception circuit 12, and data in which the signal intensity is expressed by brightness (B-mode data). Is generated. The generated B mode data is stored in a RAW data memory (not shown) as B mode RAW data on a two-dimensional ultrasonic scanning line.

  The Doppler processing circuit 14 is a processor that generates a Doppler waveform and Doppler data based on the received signal received from the ultrasonic receiving circuit 12. The Doppler processing circuit 14 extracts a blood flow signal from the received signal, generates a Doppler waveform from the extracted blood flow signal, and data obtained by extracting information such as average velocity, variance, and power from the blood flow signal at multiple points. (Doppler data) is generated.

  The three-dimensional data generation circuit 15 is a processor that generates three-dimensional image data with position information based on the data generated by the B-mode processing circuit 13 and the Doppler processing circuit 14. When the ultrasonic probe 20 to which the magnetic sensor 32 is attached is a one-dimensional array probe or a 1.5-dimensional array probe, the three-dimensional data generation circuit 15 applies the B-mode RAW data stored in the RAW data memory. The position information of the ultrasonic probe 20 calculated by the position detection device 33 is added. The three-dimensional data generation circuit 15 generates two-dimensional image data composed of pixels by executing RAW-pixel conversion, and the ultrasonic wave calculated by the position detection device 33 for the generated image data. The position information of the probe 20 is added.

In addition, the three-dimensional data generation circuit 15 performs RAW-voxel conversion including interpolation processing with spatial position information on the B-mode RAW data stored in the RAW data memory, so that a desired range of data can be obtained. Three-dimensional image data composed of voxels (hereinafter referred to as volume data) is generated. The position information of the ultrasonic probe 20 calculated by the position detection device 33 is added to the volume data.
Similarly, when the ultrasonic probe 20 to which the magnetic sensor 32 is mounted is a mechanical four-dimensional probe (mechanical oscillation type three-dimensional probe) or a two-dimensional array probe, two-dimensional RAW data, two-dimensional image data, Position information is added to the three-dimensional image data.

  The three-dimensional data generation circuit 15 performs rendering processing on the generated volume data and generates rendering image data. The rendering processing is, for example, processing such as volume rendering (VR), multi-section conversion display (MPR: Multi Planar Reconstruction), and maximum value projection display (MIP: Maximum Intensity Projection).

  In addition, the three-dimensional data generation circuit 15 adds the position information of the ultrasonic probe 20 calculated by the position detection device 33 to the M mode image and the spectrum Doppler image collected at a desired scanning position. The three-dimensional data generation circuit 15 includes image quality conditions at the time of scanning (view angle, depth of field, view angle, preset, frequency, image hate processing conditions, etc.), scan mode information, measurement images and measurement results, and applications. The position information of the ultrasonic probe 20 calculated by the position detection device 33 is added to the information and the image.

  The image arithmetic circuit 16 is a processor that generates display image data based on various image data generated by the three-dimensional data generation circuit 15. The image arithmetic circuit 16 implements an image generation function 161 by executing an image processing program stored in the internal storage circuit 18. The image generation function 161 is a function for generating display image data based on various image data generated by the three-dimensional data generation circuit 15 and support data stored in the internal storage circuit 18. Specifically, the image calculation circuit 16 executes the image generation function 161 when acquiring support data. By executing the image generation function 161, the image calculation circuit 16 generates display image data for displaying various image data generated by the three-dimensional data generation circuit 15 in parallel with the acquired support data. In addition, the image calculation circuit 16 generates display image data to be displayed by superimposing the acquired support data on various image data generated by the three-dimensional data generation circuit 15.

  The display processing circuit 17 is a processor that converts various image data generated in the three-dimensional data generation circuit 15 and the image calculation circuit 16 into signals that can be displayed on the display device 50. Specifically, the display processing circuit 17 performs various processes such as dynamic range, brightness (brightness), contrast, γ curve correction, and RGB conversion on various image data, thereby converting the image data into a video signal. Convert. The display processing circuit 17 displays the video signal on the display device 50. The display processing circuit 17 may cause the display device 50 to display a GUI (Graphical User Interface) for the operator to input various instructions using the input interface circuit 110. The display processing circuit 17 includes peripheral circuits such as a connector and a cable for connecting to the display device 50.

  As the display device 50, for example, a CRT display, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, an LED display, a plasma display, or any other display known in the art can be used as appropriate.

  The image memory 19 includes, for example, a magnetic or optical recording medium, or a recording medium that can be read by a processor such as a semiconductor memory. The image memory 19 stores image data corresponding to a plurality of frames immediately before the freeze operation input via the input interface circuit 110. The image data stored in the image memory 19 is continuously displayed (cine display), for example.

  The internal storage circuit 18 includes, for example, a magnetic or optical recording medium, or a recording medium that can be read by a processor such as a semiconductor memory. The internal storage circuit 18 stores a control program for realizing ultrasonic transmission / reception, a control program for performing image processing, a control program for performing display processing, and the like. The internal storage circuit 18 also includes diagnostic information (for example, patient ID, doctor's findings, etc.), diagnostic protocol, body mark generation program, and conversion table that presets the range of color data used for imaging for each diagnostic site. The data group is memorized.

  The internal storage circuit 18 stores support data for supporting the scanning of the ultrasonic probe 20 by the scanner. The support data includes data related to the biological anatomical chart, for example, atlas data. Atlas data includes data relating to images and various data relating to structures in the living body. Data related to images includes, for example, atlas image data for displaying blood vessels, atlas image data for displaying muscles, atlas image data for displaying skeletons, atlas image data for displaying nerves, and atlas image data for displaying organs. is there. Each atlas image data is represented by a two-dimensional or three-dimensional atlas image. Various data related to the structure of the living body include data related to the name of the part in the living body, data related to physiological functions, information on diagnosis and treatment of diseases, and examinations based on examination guidelines when examining a predetermined organ in ultrasonic diagnosis. Data on findings are included. The support data includes data related to the scanning method of the ultrasonic probe 20 that complies with the inspection guidelines.

  The internal storage circuit 18 also receives the 2D image data, volume data, rendering image data, and M mode image with position information generated by the 3D data generation circuit 15 in accordance with the storage operation input via the input interface circuit 110. Data and spectrum Doppler image data with position information are stored. Note that the internal storage circuit 18 has two-dimensional image data with position information generated by the three-dimensional data generation circuit 15, volume data, rendering image data, and position information in accordance with the storage operation input via the input interface circuit 110. The attached Doppler waveform and the spectrum Doppler data with position information may be stored including the operation order and the operation time. Further, the internal storage circuit 18 stores map display image data generated by the image calculation circuit 16 in accordance with a storage operation input via the input interface circuit 110. The internal storage circuit 18 stores operation information, image condition information, ultrasonic data related to ultrasonic examination, and the like of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 in association with these data. The operation information includes a mode change, an image quality preset change, a display layout change, an image storage, a measurement start, an application start, a probe change, and the like. The image quality condition information includes a frequency, a depth of field, a viewing angle, a beam density, a frame rate, an ultrasonic transmission condition such as an MI (Mechanical Index) value, an image processing setting, a three-dimensional image quality parameter, and the like. The ultrasound data includes, for example, measurement information, annotation information, biological reference information such as an electrocardiogram (ECG) waveform, and acquisition time information. Further, the internal storage circuit 18 stores position information of the biological reference site. The internal storage circuit 18 can also transfer the stored data to an external peripheral device via the communication interface circuit 111.

  The internal storage circuit 18 stores image data transferred from the external device 40. For example, the internal storage circuit 18 acquires and stores past image data regarding the same patient acquired in the past examination from the external device 40. The past image data includes CT (Computed Tomography) image data and MR image data.

  The input interface circuit 110 is, for example, input from an input device 62 such as a mouse, a keyboard, a panel switch, a slider switch, a trackball, and a rotary encoder, via an operation panel, a touch command screen (TCS) 61, and the like. Accepts various instructions. The input interface circuit 110 is connected to the control circuit 112 via, for example, a bus, converts an operation instruction input from the operator into an electric signal, and outputs the electric signal to the control circuit 112. In the present specification, the input interface circuit 110 is not limited to one that is connected to physical operation components such as a mouse and a keyboard. For example, an electrical signal processing circuit that receives an electrical signal corresponding to an operation instruction input from an external input device provided separately from the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 1 and outputs the electrical signal to the control circuit 112 is also input. An example of the interface circuit 110 is included.

  The communication interface circuit 111 is connected to the position sensor system 30 and receives position information transmitted from the position detection device 33. The communication interface circuit 111 is connected to the external device 40 via the network 100 or the like, and performs data communication with the external device 40. The external device 40 is, for example, a PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) database that is a system that manages data of various medical images, a database of an electronic medical record system that manages an electronic medical record to which medical images are attached, and the like. The external device 40 is various medical image diagnostic apparatuses such as an X-ray CT apparatus and an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) apparatus. The standard for communication with the external device 40 may be any standard, for example, DICOM (digital imaging and communication in medicine).

  The control circuit 112 is a processor that functions as the center of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1. The control circuit 112 implements a function corresponding to the program by executing the control program stored in the internal storage circuit 18.

  Specifically, the control circuit 112 executes a control program according to the present embodiment, thereby realizing processing for associating the position of the organ or the like of the subject with the position of the organ or the like included in the three-dimensional atlas image. . That is, the control circuit 112 has an atlas data processing function 1121, a position information registration function 1122, a position information control function 1123, a coordinate conversion function 1124, and an association function 1125 by executing a control program.

  The atlas data processing function 1121 is a function for acquiring the coordinate information of the characteristic part in the coordinate system of the three-dimensional atlas image. In the present embodiment, the characteristic part is a characteristic structure existing in the living body, and a part used when associating the position of the organ or the like of the subject with the position of the organ or the like included in the three-dimensional atlas image. It is. The characteristic part includes, for example, a characteristic organ, a characteristic organ part, an organ boundary, an organ axis, a characteristic blood vessel, a characteristic blood vessel part, and the like. The characteristic organ sites include, for example, S1 to S8, which are areas of the liver. The characteristic blood vessel region includes, for example, a blood vessel branching portion. Specifically, for example, when a characteristic part is designated on the atlas image via the input interface circuit 110, the control circuit 112 executes the atlas data processing function 1121. By executing the atlas data processing function 1121, the control circuit 112 acquires coordinate information on the three-dimensional atlas image of the specified feature part.

  The position information registration function 1122 is a function of storing position information related to the structure in the subject in the internal storage circuit 18, that is, a function of registering position information of a biological reference part and position information of a characteristic part. In the present embodiment, the living body reference site is a site serving as the origin of the living body coordinate system. Specifically, for example, the control circuit 112 executes the position information registration function 1122 when receiving an instruction to specify a biometric reference part or a characteristic part. By executing the position information registration function 1122, the control circuit 112 registers the position information of the magnetic field coordinate system in the position sensor system 30 of the ultrasonic probe 20 acquired when the designation instruction is received. In the example of the magnetic sensor 32 shown in FIG. 1, the control circuit 112 registers position information of the magnetic sensor 32 installed in the ultrasonic probe 20. Alternatively, the control circuit 112 may register a desired position such as the center of the ultrasonic transmission / reception surface of the ultrasonic probe 20 as position information using the shape information of the ultrasonic probe 20.

  The position information control function 1123 is a function for calculating the position of the part designated via the ultrasonic tomographic image. Specifically, for example, the control circuit 112 executes the position information control function 1123 upon receiving designation of a biological reference part or a characteristic part from the operator for the ultrasonic tomographic image displayed on the display device 50. . By executing the position information control function 1123, the control circuit 112 causes the magnetic field in the position sensor system 30 based on the position of the ultrasonic probe 20 when the ultrasonic tomographic image is acquired and the position specified in the ultrasonic tomographic image. Calculate the position coordinates of the coordinate system.

  The coordinate conversion function 1124 is a function for converting the coordinates of the specified feature part into the coordinates of the biological coordinate system. Specifically, for example, the control circuit 112 executes the coordinate conversion function 1124 when the position coordinates of the characteristic part in the magnetic field coordinate system by the position sensor system 30 are acquired. By executing the coordinate conversion function 1124, the control circuit 112 converts the coordinates of the characteristic part in the magnetic field coordinate system into the coordinates of the biological coordinate system defined based on the position of the biological reference part. The control circuit 112 defines the biological coordinate system based on the position (x, y, z, θx, θy, θz) in the magnetic field coordinate system of the biological reference site. For example, in the biological coordinate system, the position (x, y, z) is the origin, the x-axis is set in the azimuth direction that is the scan direction, and the y-axis is in the depth direction based on the rotation angle (θx, θy, θz). And the z-axis is defined to be set in the elevation direction that is the swinging direction.

  The association function 1125 is a function for associating the position of the organ or the like of the subject with the position of the organ or the like included in the three-dimensional atlas image. Specifically, for example, when the coordinates of the characteristic part in the atlas coordinate system and the coordinates of the characteristic part in the biological coordinate system are acquired, the control circuit 112 executes the association function 1125. By executing the associating function 1125, the control circuit 112 associates the characteristic part handled in the biological coordinate system with the characteristic part handled in the atlas coordinate system that is the same as the characteristic part. Thereby, the magnetic field space by the position sensor system 30 and the coordinate space in the three-dimensional atlas image are associated with each other.

  In this embodiment, after converting the position of the biological feature part in the magnetic field coordinate system to the biological coordinate system based on the biological reference part, the feature part handled in the biological coordinate system is the same as this feature part, Corresponding to feature parts handled in the atlas coordinate system. Since the magnetic generator 31 has a different installation position for each examination, the position of the living body in the magnetic field coordinate system differs for each examination. By introducing the living body coordinate system, for example, in a plurality of examinations of the same patient, the association with the atlas coordinate system can be performed without being influenced by the difference in the magnetic field coordinate system. However, the present embodiment is not limited to the case where the characteristic part handled in the atlas coordinate system and the characteristic part of the living body are associated with each other via the biological coordinate system. It is also conceivable to directly associate the atlas coordinate system with the coordinate system of the position sensor system. That is, when the coordinates of the characteristic part in the magnetic field coordinate system and the coordinates of the characteristic part in the atlas coordinate system that are the same as this characteristic part are acquired, the control circuit 112 obtains the characteristic part handled in the magnetic field coordinate system and the atlas. Correspond with the feature part handled in the coordinate system.

  Further, the control circuit 112 implements a process of acquiring support data desired by the operator from the internal storage circuit 18 by executing the control program according to the present embodiment. Specifically, the control circuit 112 has a support information acquisition function 1126 by executing a control program. The support information acquisition function 1126 is a function for acquiring support data desired by the operator from the internal storage circuit 18. Specifically, for example, when the support data is requested via the input interface circuit 110, the control circuit 112 executes the support information acquisition function 1126. By executing the support information acquisition function 1126, the control circuit 112 reads the requested support data from the internal storage circuit 18.

  In the above description, the image generation function 161, the atlas data processing function 1121, the position information registration function 1122, the position information control function 1123, the coordinate conversion function 1124, the association function 1125, and the support information acquisition function 1126 are included in this embodiment. It is assumed that the module constitutes the processing program. However, it is not limited to this. For example, the image calculation circuit 16 may have a dedicated hardware circuit that realizes the image generation function 161. Further, the image arithmetic circuit 16 includes an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate device (FPGA), and other composites incorporating the dedicated hardware circuit. It may be realized by a programmable logic device (CPLD) or a simple programmable logic device (SPLD). Further, for example, the control circuit 112 includes a dedicated hardware circuit that implements the atlas data processing function 1121, a dedicated hardware circuit that implements the location information registration function 1122, and a dedicated hardware circuit that implements the location information control function 1123. In addition, a dedicated hardware circuit for realizing the coordinate conversion function 1124, a dedicated hardware circuit for realizing the association function 1125, and a dedicated hardware circuit for realizing the support information acquisition function 1126 may be provided. The control circuit 112 may also be an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA), other complex programmable logic device (CPLD), or simple programmable logic that incorporates these dedicated hardware circuits. It may be realized by a device (SPLD).

  FIG. 2 shows the position of an organ or the like included in various image data generated by the three-dimensional data generation circuit 15 and the organ or the like included in the three-dimensional atlas image data by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the flow of a process which matches these positions. In the following, a case where the living body reference site is a xiphoid process will be described as an example. Note that setting the xiphoid process as the living body reference site corresponds to setting the living body reference site on the body surface.

  Prior to performing the ultrasonic examination on the subject P, input of diagnostic information, setting of transmission / reception conditions, setting of collection conditions of various received signals, and the like are executed in accordance with an operator instruction via the input interface circuit 110. . These pieces of information are stored in the internal storage circuit 18.

  The operator defines feature parts that can be commonly recognized by the three-dimensional atlas image and the ultrasonic image. The characteristic part represents, for example, a characteristic organ, a characteristic organ part, an organ boundary, an organ axis, a characteristic blood vessel part, a characteristic structure, and the like. Specifically, for example, a three-dimensional atlas image is displayed on the display device 50. The operator designates a plurality of feature parts related to the main examination among a plurality of feature parts in the three-dimensional atlas image displayed on the display device 50. For example, the operator designates the characteristic part by directly touching the characteristic part displayed on the display device 50 via a touch command screen provided on the surface of the display device 50. Further, for example, the operator operates a trackball or the like to align the cursor displayed on the display device 50 with the feature part, and presses a determination button provided on the input interface circuit 110 to specify the feature part. May be.

  The control circuit 112 executes the atlas data processing function 1121 when the characteristic part is designated. By executing the atlas data processing function 1121, the control circuit 112 acquires coordinate information (xa, ya, za) on the three-dimensional atlas image of the specified feature part (step S21). The control circuit 112 stores the acquired coordinate information of the feature part in the internal storage circuit 18.

  Subsequently, the operator registers the position information of the biological reference site R. Specifically, for example, the operator brings the ultrasonic probe 20 into contact with the body surface of the subject P in the vertical direction so as to scan the axial surface including the sword-like projection set as the living body reference region R. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram when the ultrasonic probe 20 is brought into contact with the body surface of the subject P in the vertical direction. When the operator brings the ultrasonic probe 20 into contact with the subject P, the operator presses a button provided on the operation panel 61 or the ultrasonic probe 20. As a result, a designation instruction is input to the control circuit 112. When receiving the designation instruction, the control circuit 112 executes the position information registration function 1122. By executing the position information registration function 1122, the control circuit 112 acquires the position (x, y, z, θx, θy, θz) of the ultrasonic probe 20 calculated by the position detection device 33 when the designation instruction is input. (Step S22). The position information of the ultrasonic probe 20 is the position information of the magnetic sensor 32 installed in the ultrasonic probe 20, or the shape information of the ultrasonic probe 20, and the center of the ultrasonic transmission / reception surface of the ultrasonic probe 20, etc. It may be position information about a desired position.

  When the xiphoid process is set as the living body reference region R, there is no designation to an arbitrary region in the ultrasonic tomographic image displayed on the display device 50 following the pressing of the button (No in step S23). The control circuit 112 registers the position (x, y, z, θx, θy, θz) of the ultrasonic probe 20 acquired in step S22 as the position of the biological reference site R (step S25).

  On the other hand, the biological reference site does not necessarily exist on the body surface. The biological reference site may be present in a body such as a mitral valve, a portal bifurcation, or an abdominal aortic bifurcation, or an internal organ. In such a case, after pressing the button, an arbitrary part in the ultrasonic tomographic image displayed on the display device 50 is designated. When an arbitrary part in the ultrasonic tomographic image displayed on the display device 50 is designated following the pressing of the button (Yes in step S23), the control circuit 112 executes the position information control function 1123. By executing the position information control function 1123, the control circuit 112 causes the position (x, y, z, θx, θy, θz) of the ultrasonic probe 20 calculated by the position detection device 33 when the designation instruction is input, The position (x ′, y ′) in the ultrasonic tomographic image of the part specified in the ultrasonic tomographic image is acquired. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a schematic diagram when the living body reference region R is designated in the ultrasonic tomographic image displayed on the display device 50.

  FIG. 2 illustrates an example of two-stage designation in which the button is pressed after the ultrasonic probe 20 is brought into contact with the subject P, and then the reference region R is designated on the image. However, the designation of the reference part R may be performed only by an operation of designating the reference part on the image. In that case, the control circuit 112 also acquires the position information of the ultrasonic probe 20 simultaneously with the designation of the reference site on the image.

  The control circuit 112 is designated in the ultrasonic tomographic image from the position (x, y, z, θx, θy, θz) of the ultrasonic probe 20 and the position (x ′, y ′) in the ultrasonic tomographic image. The position coordinate of the magnetic field coordinate system in the position sensor system 30 is calculated (step S24). The control circuit 112 registers the calculated position coordinates as the position coordinates of the living body reference site R in the body (step S25).

  When the biological reference site R is registered, the operator designates a feature site in the subject P corresponding to the feature site on the three-dimensional atlas image designated in step S21. Specifically, for example, the operator brings the ultrasonic probe 20 into contact with the subject P so that the characteristic portion specified in step S21 is included in the ultrasonic tomographic image. When the characteristic part is included in the ultrasonic tomographic image displayed on the display device 50, the operator designates the characteristic part included in the ultrasonic tomographic image. For example, the operator designates the characteristic part by directly touching the characteristic part displayed on the display device 50 via a touch command screen provided on the surface of the display device 50. Further, for example, the operator operates a trackball or the like to align the cursor displayed on the display device 50 with the feature part, and presses a determination button provided on the input interface circuit 110 to specify the feature part. May be.

  When a feature part included in the ultrasonic tomographic image is designated, the control circuit 112 executes a position information registration function 1122 and a position information control function 1123. By executing the position information control function 1123, the control circuit 112 causes the position (x, y, z, θx, θy, θz) of the ultrasonic probe 20 calculated by the position detection device 33 when the designation instruction is input, The position (x ′, y ′) in the ultrasonic tomographic image of the part specified in the ultrasonic tomographic image is acquired. The control circuit 112 is designated in the ultrasonic tomographic image from the position (x, y, z, θx, θy, θz) of the ultrasonic probe 20 and the position (x ′, y ′) in the ultrasonic tomographic image. The position coordinate of the magnetic field coordinate system in the position sensor system 30 of the characteristic part is calculated. The control circuit 112 uses the position information registration function 1122 to register the calculated position coordinates as the position coordinates of the characteristic part in the body (step S26). As shown in FIG. 5, the operator scans the ultrasonic probe 20 on the surface of the subject P to display the characteristic parts corresponding to all the characteristic parts specified in step S21 on the ultrasonic tomographic image. specify. The control circuit 112 calculates position coordinates for all the characteristic parts designated on the ultrasonic tomographic image, and registers the calculated position information.

  When the position coordinates of the characteristic part in the magnetic field coordinate system of the position sensor system 30 are registered, the control circuit 112 executes the coordinate conversion function 1124. By executing the coordinate conversion function 1124, the control circuit 112 converts the position coordinates of the characteristic part in the magnetic field coordinate system into the position coordinates of the biological coordinate system defined based on the position of the biological reference part R (step S27). FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a biological coordinate system when the xiphoid process is a biological reference region R and position information of the biological reference region R is acquired as illustrated in FIG. 3. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a biological coordinate system when the biological reference site R exists in the body and position information of the biological reference site R is acquired as illustrated in FIG.

  When the position coordinates of the characteristic part in the biological coordinate system are acquired, the control circuit 112 executes the association function 1125. By executing the association function 1125, the control circuit 112, as shown in FIG. 8, displays the characteristic part in the biological coordinate system and the characteristic part in the atlas coordinate system, the position coordinate in the biological coordinate system, and the position in the atlas coordinate system. Correspondence is made based on the coordinates (step S28). Thereby, the magnetic field space by the position sensor system 30 and the coordinate space in the three-dimensional atlas image are associated with each other.

  By the way, the distance between the characteristic parts in the atlas image is set based on a standard physique. On the other hand, the physique of each subject is different. Therefore, the feature part registered for the subject may be different from the feature part in the atlas image. According to the processing shown in FIG. 2, the feature part in the living body coordinate system and the feature part in the atlas coordinate system are associated with each other, so that there is a difference between the physique of the subject and the physique represented by the atlas image. Is based on the feature part in the living body coordinate system, and the distance between the feature parts in the atlas image is enlarged or reduced. Alternatively, the relationship between the feature parts in the atlas image is deformed based on the feature parts in the living body coordinate system. For this reason, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 is capable of organs included in various image data generated by the three-dimensional data generation circuit 15 even when there is a difference between the physique of the subject and the physique represented by the atlas image. Can be associated with the positions of organs and the like included in the three-dimensional atlas image data. That is, the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 1 can recognize which position of the subject P is scanned by the ultrasound probe 20 with reference to the atlas data. Note that the deformation of the distance between the characteristic parts in the atlas image may be adjusted for the entire body or for each organ. FIG. 5 illustrates an example in which physique information is input based on position information of the ultrasonic probe 20.

  In addition, when associating the characteristic part in the magnetic field coordinate system and the characteristic part in the atlas coordinate system, if there is a difference between the physique of the subject and the physique represented by the atlas image, based on the characteristic part in the magnetic field coordinate system, The distance between the characteristic parts in the atlas image is enlarged, reduced or deformed. Further, the relationship between the characteristic parts in the atlas image is deformed based on the characteristic part in the magnetic field coordinate system.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flow of processing in which the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment generates display image data. In the description of FIG. 9, it is assumed that the magnetic field space by the position sensor system 30 and the coordinate space in the three-dimensional atlas image are associated by the processing shown in FIG. In the following, a case where two-dimensional image data is generated by the three-dimensional data generation circuit 15 will be described as an example.

  First, the operator performs an ultrasonic inspection of the subject P using the ultrasonic probe 20. The position coordinates of the ultrasonic probe 20 are detected by the position sensor system 30. The detected position coordinates are output to the main device 10 as position information in the magnetic field coordinate system (step S91).

  When the position coordinates of the ultrasonic probe 20 are detected, the control circuit 112 executes the support information acquisition function 1126. When the support information acquisition function 1126 is executed, the control circuit 112 reads the three-dimensional atlas image data from the internal storage circuit 18. The image arithmetic circuit 16 executes an image generation function 161 and generates display image data including a three-dimensional atlas image. The image calculation circuit 16 converts the acquired position information into position coordinates in the atlas coordinate system based on the relationship between the magnetic field space and the atlas coordinate space associated by the processing shown in FIG. The image calculation circuit 16 superimposes an ultrasonic probe icon (hereinafter referred to as a virtual probe G22) on the three-dimensional atlas image based on the converted position coordinates. In addition, the image calculation circuit 16 superimposes a virtual scan area A1 simulating the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the ultrasonic probe 20 on the tip of the virtual probe G22. The image arithmetic circuit 16 creates the virtual scan area A1 based on, for example, ultrasonic transmission condition information. The display processing circuit 17 converts the display image data on which the virtual probe G22 and the virtual scan area A1 are superimposed into a video signal and displays the video signal on the display device 50 (step S92).

  The ultrasonic probe 20 manually scans the subject P three-dimensionally, for example, by a plurality of ultrasonic transducers that scan the subject P two-dimensionally. The ultrasonic waves transmitted from the ultrasonic probe 20 to the subject P are successively reflected by the discontinuous surface of the acoustic impedance in the body tissue of the subject P, and are received by the ultrasonic probe 20 as a reflected wave signal. The ultrasonic receiving circuit 12 performs various processes on the reflected wave signal received by the ultrasonic probe 20, and generates a received signal (step S93).

  The B-mode processing circuit 13 generates B-mode RAW data on a two-dimensional ultrasonic scanning line based on the reception signal received from the ultrasonic receiving circuit 12. The three-dimensional data generation circuit 15 generates a plurality of two-dimensional image data by performing RAW-pixel conversion on the two-dimensional B-mode RAW data generated by the B-mode processing circuit 13 (step S94). ). The plurality of two-dimensional image data represents a multiple tomographic image acquired while moving manually. The image calculation circuit 16 sets one two-dimensional image data among a plurality of generated two-dimensional image data as display image data to be displayed side by side with the three-dimensional atlas image. The display processing circuit 17 converts the generated display image data into a video signal and displays it on the display device 50 (step S95).

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display image in which a two-dimensional image and a three-dimensional atlas image are displayed side by side. The display image shown in FIG. 10 includes a first display area G10 that displays a two-dimensional image and a second display area G20 that displays support data. In the example shown in FIG. 10, an ultrasound image including the liver is displayed in the first display area G10, and a three-dimensional atlas image G21 including the organ and bone in the whole image of the living body is displayed in the second display area G20. Is done. Further, in the second display region G20 shown in FIG. 10, the virtual probe G22 is superimposed on a position based on the position coordinates of the magnetic field coordinate system of the ultrasonic probe 20. A virtual scan area A1 representing a virtual scan area is superimposed on the tip of the virtual probe G22.

  Note that FIG. 10 shows a case where a three-dimensional atlas image for the whole biological image is displayed in the second display area G20. However, it is not limited to this. The atlas image displayed in the second display area G20 may be a three-dimensional atlas image representing the whole organ image or a two-dimensional atlas image representing the corresponding cross section. The atlas image displayed in the second display area G20 may be a three-dimensional atlas image representing a blood vessel or muscle. The operator can select an atlas image displayed in the second display area G20 as necessary. The image arithmetic circuit 16 switches the display of the second display area G20 to the selected atlas image.

  The operator scans the subject P while moving the ultrasonic probe 20. In conjunction with the movement of the ultrasonic probe 20 by the operator, the display position of the virtual probe G22 displayed in the second display area G20 and the display position of the virtual scan area A1 move.

  The control circuit 112 determines in the support information acquisition function 1126 whether there is a request for further support data from the operator (step S96). The display image displayed on the display device 50 is provided with an input area for receiving a request from an operator, for example. When there is an input from the operator in the input area (Yes in step S96), the control circuit 112 searches for the search word input in the input area, the organ name, the site name recognized from the position of the ultrasound probe 20, Using the blood vessel name or the like as a search key, the support data requested by the operator is read from the internal storage circuit 18. The control circuit 112 presents the search result to the operator by causing the display device 50 to display the support data searched based on the search word, the recognized organ name, and the like. The control circuit 112 receives a selection for the presented support data. The image arithmetic circuit 16 displays an image based on the selected support data in the second display area G20 (step S97).

  Examples of display images generated by the image arithmetic circuit 16 will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12 are diagrams illustrating examples of display images in which a support image representing organ content is displayed in the second display region G20. In FIG. 11, an ultrasound image related to the knee region is displayed in the first display region G10, and a support image G31 is displayed in the second display region G20. In the support image G31 shown in FIG. 11, a surface rendering image for the MR image related to the knee region and an MPR image for the MR image are displayed.

  For example, an operator who desires to display the display image shown in FIG. 11 inputs a search word like “MR image” in the input area. The control circuit 112 retrieves necessary information from the internal storage circuit 18 and the external device 40 connected via the network 100 based on the retrieval word and the knee region scan recognized based on the atlas data. For example, the control circuit 112 reads out electronic medical record information about the subject P, and confirms whether or not there is an MR image obtained by photographing the subject P about the knee in the past based on the read electronic medical record information. When there is an MR image obtained by imaging the subject P in the past with respect to the knee, the control circuit 112 reads the MR image from a PACS database, for example. The image arithmetic circuit 16 displays the read MR image on the display device 50. The operator selects an image suitable for comparison with the ultrasonic image from among the MR images displayed on the display device 50. The image arithmetic circuit 16 displays the selected MR image as the support image G31.

  Note that if the subject P has never taken an MR image of the knee in the past, the control circuit 112 may read out the MR image of the knee included in the atlas data, for example. Moreover, the control circuit 112 may read the MR image regarding the knee about the other patient from the database of PACS, for example. Further, the image displayed on the support image G31 is not limited to the MR image. An image acquired by another medical image diagnostic apparatus may be displayed in the support image G31. Accordingly, the scanner can scan the ultrasonic probe 20 while collating an organ or the like included in the ultrasonic image with an image acquired by another medical image diagnostic apparatus.

  In FIG. 12, an ultrasound image related to the liver is displayed in the first display area G10, and a support image G41 is displayed in the second display area G20. In the support image G41 shown in FIG. 12, findings related to the liver are displayed.

  An operator who desires to display the display image shown in FIG. 12 inputs a search word such as “findings” in the input area, for example. The control circuit 112 retrieves necessary information from the internal storage circuit 18 and the external device 40 connected via the network 100 based on the search word and the liver scan recognized based on the atlas data. For example, the control circuit 112 reads out examination findings that are included in the atlas data and conform to the liver examination guidelines. The image arithmetic circuit 16 causes the display device 50 to display the read inspection findings. The operator selects a finding suitable for comparison with the ultrasonic image among the examination findings displayed on the display device 50. The image arithmetic circuit 16 displays the selected finding as the support image G41. Thereby, the scanner can scan the ultrasonic probe 20 while confirming the examination findings on the organs and the like included in the ultrasonic image. In addition, it is possible to objectively acquire a finding image that does not depend on the examiner while referring to the finding information. Note that the examination findings read out by the control circuit 112 may be examination findings in medical image diagnosis other than ultrasonic diagnosis.

  Note that FIG. 11 illustrates an example in which an image captured by another modality is displayed as an example of organ content, and FIG. 12 illustrates an example in which examination findings are displayed as an example of organ content. The organ content displayed in the second display area G20 is not limited to these. The organ content displayed in the second display area G20 may include information related to physiological functions, disease diagnosis information, and disease treatment information. Also, electronic medical chart information of the organ being scanned may be displayed. Note that the information related to physiological functions includes information related to the results of non-image tests such as blood tests on patients.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display image in which an image relating to a scanning method in conformity with the ultrasound diagnostic inspection guidelines is displayed in the second display region G20. In FIG. 13, an ultrasound image related to the liver is displayed in the first display area G10, and a support image G51 superimposed on the 3D atlas image G21 and the 3D atlas image G21 in the second display area G20. Is displayed. In the support image G51 shown in FIG. 13, an image relating to a scanning method that conforms to the liver examination guidelines is displayed. In the support image G51 shown in FIG. 13, the manner in which the ultrasonic probe 20 is brought into contact with the surface of the living body, the moving direction, and the like are displayed as scanning methods.

  For example, an operator who desires to display the display image shown in FIG. 13 inputs a search word like “scanning method” in the input area. The control circuit 112 retrieves necessary information from the internal storage circuit 18 and the external device 40 connected via the network 100 based on the search word and the liver scan recognized based on the atlas data. For example, the control circuit 112 reads the scanning method of the ultrasonic probe 20 in accordance with the liver examination guidelines from the internal storage circuit 18. The image arithmetic circuit 16 causes the display device 50 to display the read scanning method. The operator selects a scanning method that is considered to be a reference for the current scanning among the scanning methods displayed on the display device 50. The image arithmetic circuit 16 displays the selected scanning method as the support image G51. Thereby, the know-how of ultrasonic inspection is generalized, and the opportunity to apply an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is expanded. In addition, according to a predetermined scanning technique, it is possible to perform an examination and image collection that are objectively independent of the examiner.

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 13, the support image G <b> 51 illustrates a case where the method of contacting the ultrasonic probe 20 with the surface of the living body, the moving direction, and the like are displayed as the scanning method. However, it is not limited to this. In the support image G51, a region to be scanned may be displayed in an organ displayed as an ultrasound image. The area to be scanned is set based on, for example, inspection findings that comply with inspection guidelines.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display image in which an annotation is superimposed and displayed on the ultrasonic image displayed in the first display region G10. For example, in the display image shown in FIG. 10, when the operator requests display of the annotation, the image arithmetic circuit 16 applies the structure included in the ultrasonic image displayed in the first display area G10. Annotations as shown in FIG. 14 are attached. The annotation shown in FIG. 14 includes, for example, “S5”, “S7”, and “S8”, which are liver areas. The annotation shown in FIG. 14 includes, for example, “anterior portal vein”, “anterior portal vein”, “anterior portal vein”, “right hepatic vein”, and “inferior vena cava” representing the site of a blood vessel. Is included. For example, the processing for adding an annotation to an ultrasonic image is performed as follows.

  For example, when the display of annotation is requested by the operator, the control circuit 112 reads names associated with organs, blood vessels, and the like included in the ultrasound image from the atlas data. The image arithmetic circuit 16 displays the read name as a menu, for example, as shown in the support image G61 in FIG. The operator assigns displayed names to organs, blood vessels, and the like included in the ultrasound image.

  Further, the control circuit 112 may automatically assign annotations based on the standard screen. For example, the image calculation circuit 16 displays the position of the ultrasonic probe 20 for photographing a standard screen on a three-dimensional atlas image. For example, the operator scans the ultrasonic probe 20 so as to align the virtual probe G22 with a desired imaging position among 15 imaging positions displayed on the three-dimensional atlas image, and acquires an ultrasonic image. Note that the standard screen includes an ultrasonic image acquired in the middle, an ultrasonic image acquired in the vertical direction, an ultrasonic image acquired in the horizontal direction, and the like. The image calculation circuit 16 assigns the name of the structure included in the standard image of the atlas data to the same structure included in the actually acquired standard image. Accordingly, the scanner can scan the ultrasound probe 20 while confirming names of organs and the like included in the ultrasound image. Moreover, the trouble of inputting the annotation is greatly reduced.

  The control circuit 112 stores the inspection history displayed on the three-dimensional atlas image in the internal storage circuit 18. The inspection history includes the trajectory of the virtual probe G22. When a correction instruction is input from the operator via the input interface circuit 110, the control circuit 112 corrects the inspection history stored in the internal storage circuit 18 according to the correction instruction. Further, when a confirmation instruction is input from the operator via the input interface circuit 110, the control circuit 112 confirms the examination history stored in the internal storage circuit 18.

  The control circuit 112 reads the inspection history from the internal storage circuit 18 when the operator requests display of support data based on the inspection history. The image calculation circuit 16 causes the display device 50 to display an image based on the read inspection history. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display image in which an image based on the inspection history is displayed in the second display area G20. In FIG. 15, an ultrasonic image related to the liver is displayed in the first display area G10, and a two-dimensional atlas image G71 related to the liver and the two-dimensional atlas image G71 are superimposed on the second display area G20. A non-scanning area G72 is displayed. The non-scanning area G72 represents an area that has not been scanned in the inspection. In order to create a more accurate non-scanning region G72, it is preferable to define a plurality of feature parts for one organ and associate the magnetic field space and the atlas space using the plurality of feature parts for one organ. . Note that the image based on the inspection history is not limited to the non-scanning region G72. The image arithmetic circuit 16 may display the scanning area together with the atlas image in the second display area G20. The image based on the inspection history may be displayed in real time or may be displayed after the inspection. Thereby, the objectivity of ultrasonic diagnosis is improved. In addition, it is possible to prevent an inspection from being overlooked.

  The support data displayed on the display device 50 may be switched to support data representing other information based on a selection instruction input by the operator via the input interface circuit 110. For example, the image calculation circuit 16 generates display image data so as to display support data designated by the operator.

  When the operator gazes at the display image displayed on the display device 50 in step S95 or step S97 and determines that the display image includes a desired structure or the like, the operator performs a freeze operation via the input interface circuit 110. To do. Two-dimensional image data corresponding to a plurality of frames immediately before the freeze operation is stored in the image memory 19. When the operator confirms the two-dimensional image stored in the image memory 19 and determines that the stored two-dimensional image is a two-dimensional image to be stored in the internal storage circuit 18, the operator inputs via the input interface circuit 110. A storage operation is performed on the two-dimensional image.

  The control circuit 112 determines whether or not a storage operation has been performed (step S98). When the storage operation is performed (Yes in Step S98), the control circuit 112 adds the position information in the magnetic field coordinate system and the tag representing the recognized organ to the two-dimensional image data that is the target of the storage operation. Then, it is stored in the internal storage circuit 18 (step S99). Note that the two-dimensional image data may be stored with the position information related to the biological coordinate system after coordinate conversion added, or may be stored with the position information related to the atlas coordinate system added. Further, the tag added to the two-dimensional image data is not limited to the organ, and may be a tag representing the part of the organ. Further, the two-dimensional image data may be stored with a confirmed examination history added thereto.

  If the storage operation has not been performed (No in step S98), the control circuit 112 cancels the freeze operation, and the process proceeds to step S91.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, the control circuit 112 converts the coordinates of the characteristic part of the magnetic field coordinate system by the position sensor system 30 into the coordinates of the living body coordinate system. Then, the control circuit 112 associates the feature part represented by the coordinates of the living body coordinate system with the feature part represented by the atlas coordinate system, thereby including the position of the organ of the subject and the three-dimensional atlas image. Correlate with the position of the organ etc. The control circuit 112 recognizes the scanning position of the ultrasonic probe 20 in the coordinate space in the atlas image. Then, the image calculation circuit 16 displays support information on the display device 50 based on the internal structure of the subject P grasped from the coordinate space in the atlas image. Thereby, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 can present the instruction information corresponding to the part scanned by the ultrasonic probe 20 to the scanner in the ultrasonic examination.

  Therefore, according to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, scanning using an ultrasonic probe can be supported.

  In the first embodiment, for example, as shown in step S99 of FIG. 9, the image data is added with position information in the magnetic field coordinate system and a tag representing a recognized organ, and the internal storage circuit 18 is added. To remember. Thereby, a medical facility such as a hospital can collect an ultrasonic image together with the scanned organ position. In addition, the medical facility can manage the ultrasonic images classified by tags. For example, when a large amount of ultrasonic images classified by tags are managed in a database or the like, only necessary ultrasonic images can be extracted based on predetermined characteristics. For example, an ultrasonic image related to “pancreas” can be extracted, and an ultrasonic image related to a typical pancreas can be confirmed. For this reason, it is possible to objectively examine and collect images without depending on the examiner. In addition, the burden of diagnosis is reduced even after the examination.

  In the first embodiment, the image data is stored in the internal storage circuit 18 with an inspection history added. As a result, the medical facility can collect the ultrasound image together with the scan trajectory. This type of image data may be used in big data analysis using scan trajectories.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the control circuit 112 converts the coordinates of the characteristic part of the magnetic field coordinate system by the position sensor system 30 into the coordinates of the biological coordinate system. The control circuit 112 associates the feature part represented by the coordinates of the living body coordinate system with the feature part represented by the atlas coordinate system, so that the magnetic field space by the position sensor system 30 and the coordinates in the three-dimensional atlas image A space is associated with each other. In the second embodiment, the magnetic field space by the position sensor system 30 and the coordinate space in the three-dimensional atlas image are associated with each other via three-dimensional medical image data such as three-dimensional MR image data or three-dimensional CT image data. May be.

  FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1a according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 16, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 a includes a main body apparatus 10 a, an ultrasonic probe 20, and a position sensor system 30. The main device 10 a is connected to the external device 40 via the network 100. The main device 10 a is connected to the display device 50.

  The main body apparatus 10a shown in FIG. 16 is an apparatus that generates an ultrasonic image based on a reflected wave signal received by the ultrasonic probe 20. As shown in FIG. 16, the main unit 10a includes an ultrasonic transmission circuit 11, an ultrasonic reception circuit 12, a B-mode processing circuit 13, a Doppler processing circuit 14, a three-dimensional data generation circuit 15, an image calculation circuit 16, and a display processing circuit. 17, an internal storage circuit 18, an image memory 19, an input interface circuit 110, a communication interface circuit 111, and a control circuit 112a.

  The control circuit 112a is a processor that functions as the center of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1a. The control circuit 112a executes a control program stored in the internal storage circuit 18, thereby realizing a function corresponding to the program. Specifically, the control circuit 112a executes a control program according to the present embodiment, thereby realizing processing for associating the position of the organ or the like of the subject with the position of the organ or the like included in the three-dimensional atlas image. . That is, the control circuit 112 has an association function 1125a and a fusion function 1127 by executing a control program.

  The association function 1125a is a function for associating the position of an organ or the like included in a 3D MR image or the position of an organ or the like included in a 3D CT image with the position of an organ or the like included in a 3D atlas image. Specifically, for example, when the association is requested through the input interface circuit 110, the control circuit 112a executes the association function 1125a. By executing the associating function 1125a, the control circuit 112a uses, for example, a landmark-based alignment algorithm by image registration, or is included in the feature part included in the 3D MR image data or in the 3D CT image data. The characteristic part is associated with the characteristic part included in the three-dimensional atlas image data.

  The fusion function 1127 is a function for associating 3D MR image data or 3D CT image data with an ultrasound image. Specifically, for example, when the association between the feature part included in the three-dimensional MR image data or the feature part included in the three-dimensional CT image data and the feature part included in the three-dimensional atlas image data is completed, the control is performed. The circuit 112a performs the fusion function 1127. By executing the fusion function 1127, the control circuit 112a associates the three-dimensional MR image data with the position of the ultrasonic image and the position of the ultrasonic probe 20. Alternatively, the control circuit 112 a associates the three-dimensional CT image data with the position of the ultrasonic image and the position of the ultrasonic probe 20.

  FIG. 17 shows the position of an organ or the like included in various image data generated by the three-dimensional data generation circuit 15 and the organ or the like included in the three-dimensional atlas image data by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1a according to the second embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the flow of a process which matches these positions.

  Prior to performing the ultrasonic examination on the subject P, input of diagnostic information, setting of transmission / reception conditions, setting of collection conditions of various received signals, and the like are executed in accordance with an operator instruction via the input interface circuit 110. . These pieces of information are stored in the internal storage circuit 18.

  The control circuit 112a accepts a request for associating the position of an organ or the like included in various image data generated by the three-dimensional data generation circuit 15 with the position of an organ or the like included in the three-dimensional atlas image data. The operator inputs a request for association, for example, from the input interface circuit 110. When the association is requested through the input interface circuit 110, the control circuit 112a executes the association function 1125a. By executing the association function 1125a, the control circuit 112a reads out 3D MR image data or 3D CT image data from the internal storage circuit 18. In addition, the control circuit 112 a reads the three-dimensional atlas image data from the internal storage circuit 18. The control circuit 112a uses a landmark-based registration algorithm, a feature part included in the three-dimensional MR image data, a feature part included in the three-dimensional CT image data, and a feature part included in the three-dimensional atlas image data. Are associated (step S171).

  When the feature site included in the 3D MR image data or the feature site included in the 3D CT image data is associated with the feature site included in the 3D atlas image data, the control circuit 112a activates the fusion function 1127. Run. By executing the fusion function 1127, the control circuit 112 a is based on the position information of the ultrasonic probe 20 acquired by the position sensor system 30, the three-dimensional MR image data, the position of the ultrasonic image, and the position of the ultrasonic probe 20. Associate. Alternatively, the control circuit 112a associates the three-dimensional CT image data with the position of the ultrasound image 20 and the position of the ultrasound probe 20 based on the position information of the ultrasound probe 20 acquired by the position sensor system 30 (step). S172). FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display image in which the cross-sectional position of the three-dimensional CT image, the scanning position of the ultrasonic probe 20, and the ultrasonic tomographic image are associated by the fusion function 1127. In FIG. 18, an ultrasound image related to the liver is displayed in the first display region G10, and an MPR image representing the same cross section as the ultrasound image is displayed in the third display region G30. Thereby, the magnetic field space by the position sensor system 30 and the coordinate space in the three-dimensional atlas image are associated with each other.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, the control circuit 112a is included in the position of an organ or the like included in the 3D MR image or the position of the organ or the like included in the 3D CT image and the 3D atlas image. Correlate with the position of organs. The control circuit 112 associates the three-dimensional MR image data or the three-dimensional CT image data with the ultrasonic image by a fusion function. Then, the image calculation circuit 16 displays support information on the display device 50 based on the internal structure of the subject P grasped from the coordinate space in the atlas image. Thereby, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1a can present the instruction information corresponding to the part scanned by the ultrasonic probe 20 to the scanner in the ultrasonic examination.

  Therefore, according to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1a according to the second embodiment, it is possible to support scanning using an ultrasonic probe.

(Other embodiments)
In the above-described embodiment, for example, the control circuit 112 has been described with reference to an example in which support data is acquired based on an input from an operator as illustrated in step S97 in FIG. However, it is not limited to this. The control circuits 112 and 112a may specify an organ included in the ultrasound image based on the atlas coordinates, and automatically read support data corresponding to the specified organ or the like from the internal storage circuit 18.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart when the control circuits 112 and 112a automatically read support data. First, an ultrasonic image or a three-dimensional atlas image corresponding to the position of the ultrasonic probe 20 is displayed, for example, in the second display region G20 of the display device 50 (step S191). Note that the three-dimensional atlas image may represent a cross section. When the three-dimensional atlas image is displayed, the control circuits 112 and 112a execute the support information acquisition function 1126. By executing the support information acquisition function 1126, the control circuits 112 and 112a acquire coordinate information in the atlas coordinate system of the displayed three-dimensional atlas image. Based on the acquired coordinate information, the control circuits 112 and 112a specify an organ and / or a biological structure included in the three-dimensional atlas image (step S192). The control circuits 112 and 112a display the specified organ and / or anatomy on the display device 50, and accept designation from the operator for an organ or anatomy candidate for which support data is requested (step S193). ). For example, any of a plurality of organs and / or anatomical structures specified on the atlas image is designated via the input device 62. At this time, for example, the operator aligns the cursor displayed on the display device 50 with the specified organ and / or anatomy. Further, the specified organs and / or anatomical structures may be displayed as a list on the display device 50, and selection from the operator for the list may be accepted. In addition, when there is one specified organ or anatomy, it is not necessary to accept designation from the operator. That is, the process in step S193 may be skipped.

  When an organ and / or biological structure included in the three-dimensional atlas image is designated, the control circuits 112 and 112a read support data related to the designated organ and / or biological structure from the internal storage circuit 18 ( Step S194). The control circuits 112 and 112a display the read support data on the display device 50 (step S195).

In the above, in the support information acquisition function 1126, the control circuits 112 and 112a acquire coordinate information in the atlas coordinate system of the three-dimensional atlas image, and based on the acquired coordinate information, the organs included in the three-dimensional atlas image, The case where the anatomy is specified is described as an example. However, it is not limited to this. The control circuits 112 and 112a execute the control program to acquire coordinate information in the atlas coordinate system of the three-dimensional atlas image, and based on the acquired coordinate information, organs included in the three-dimensional atlas image, and / or You may make it implement | achieve the structure specific function which specifies a biological structure.
The ultrasound diagnostic apparatuses 1 and 1a according to the above embodiment may automatically change the transmission / reception conditions according to the organ to be recognized. For example, blood flow is slow in the kidney and blood flow is fast in the heart. For example, when the organ to be recognized is the kidney, the control circuits 112 and 112a reduce the speed range during color Doppler, and when the organ to be recognized is the heart, increase the speed range during color Doppler.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart when the control circuits 112 and 112a automatically change the transmission / reception conditions according to the organ to be recognized. First, an ultrasonic image or a three-dimensional atlas image corresponding to the position of the ultrasonic probe 20 is displayed, for example, in the second display region G20 of the display device 50 (step S201). When the three-dimensional atlas image is displayed, the control circuits 112 and 112a execute the support information acquisition function 1126. By executing the support information acquisition function 1126, the control circuits 112 and 112a acquire coordinate information in the atlas coordinate system of the displayed three-dimensional atlas image. Based on the acquired coordinate information, the control circuits 112 and 112a specify an organ and / or a biological structure included in the three-dimensional atlas image (step S202). The control circuits 112 and 112a display the specified organ and / or anatomy on the display device 50, and accept designation from the operator for an organ or anatomy candidate for which support data is requested (step S203). ). For example, any of a plurality of organs and / or anatomical structures specified on the atlas image is designated via the input device 62. In addition, when there is one specified organ or anatomy, it is not necessary to accept designation from the operator. That is, you may skip the process of step S203.

  When an organ and / or biological structure included in the three-dimensional atlas image is designated, the control circuits 112 and 112a internally set image quality conditions and / or display conditions related to the designated organ and / or biological structure. Read from the memory circuit 18 (step S204). The control circuits 112 and 112a set the read image quality condition and / or display condition (step S205). The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses 1 and 1a transmit and receive ultrasonic waves according to the set image quality conditions and / or display conditions, and generate ultrasonic images.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the image calculation circuit 16 displays the support data in parallel with the ultrasound image in real time in conjunction with the scanning of the ultrasound probe 20 has been described as an example. However, it is not limited to this. The image arithmetic circuit 16 may generate display image data based on the stored image data after the inspection. At this time, for example, the control circuits 112 and 112a read the image data after the inspection, and recognize the position of the ultrasonic probe 20 when the read image data is acquired from the position information added to the image data. The control circuits 112 and 112a acquire position information of the atlas coordinate system corresponding to the recognized position information, and recognize organs and the like included in the image data. The control circuits 112 and 112a read support data corresponding to the recognized organs and the like from the internal storage circuit 18. Then, the image arithmetic circuit 16 generates display image data from the image data and the read support data.

  In addition, when a predetermined position on the atlas image is designated by the operator, the image calculation circuit 16 according to the above embodiment displays on the display device 50 an ultrasonic image acquired in approximately the same area as the designated position. You may let them. FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example in the case of displaying an atlas image G21 and a plurality of ultrasonic images corresponding to positions specified by the atlas image G21. As shown in FIG. 21, the operator moves the virtual probe G22 onto a desired organ on the atlas image. When the virtual probe is moved, the control circuits 112 and 112a execute the support information acquisition function 1126. When the support information acquisition function 1126 is executed, the control circuits 112 and 112a specify the range of the magnetic field coordinate system corresponding to the position range of the organ in the atlas coordinate system. The control circuits 112 and 112a read out the ultrasonic image included in the range in the specified magnetic field coordinate system from the internal storage circuit 18 and display it on the display device 50. At this time, the internal storage circuit 18 stores an ultrasonic image associated with the atlas image. The displayed ultrasonic image may be a two-dimensional ultrasonic image, a three-dimensional ultrasonic image, or a four-dimensional ultrasonic image. In addition, the displayed ultrasonic image may be an MPR image or a VR image.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, as FIG. 22 showed, the case where the position sensor system 30 was provided with the magnetic sensor 32 was demonstrated. However, the number of magnetic sensors provided in the position sensor system 30 is not limited to one. The position sensor system 30 may include a second magnetic sensor 34 as shown in FIG. The second magnetic sensor 34 is attached to, for example, a living body reference site on the body surface of the subject P. The position detection device 33 transmits the position information of the second magnetic sensor 34 to the main body devices 10 and 10a. The control circuits 112 and 112a recognize the position of the second magnetic sensor 34 as the position of the biological reference site. When the biological reference site exists in the body, the position of the biological reference site is calculated from the position of the second magnetic sensor 34 and the position of the designated site in the ultrasonic tomographic image. Thereby, even when the subject P moves during the examination and when it is necessary to change the posture of the subject P during the examination, it is possible to continuously recognize the biological reference site.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, the case where the position of the biological reference site | part was acquired using the position sensor system 30 using a position sensor was demonstrated to the example. However, the position sensor system 30 is not limited to the one using the position sensor. For example, as shown in FIG. 24, a position sensor system using a robot arm 140 may be used.

  The robot arm control unit 141 of the robot arm 140 drives the robot arm 140. The position of the ultrasonic probe 20 supported by the probe holder 142 of the robot arm 140 is acquired based on the output from the robot arm sensor 143 attached to the robot arm 140. As the robot arm sensor 143, a position sensor, a speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, a pressure sensor, or the like is used. When the ultrasonic probe 20 comes into contact with the living body reference site, the operator of the robot arm 140 inputs a designation instruction from an input means such as a button provided in the robot arm control unit 141. The control circuits 112 and 112a register the position of the robot arm 140 that is grasped when the designation instruction is input as the position of the biological reference site.

  Note that the number of robot arms provided in the position sensor system is not limited to one. The position sensor system may include a second robot arm. For example, the second robot arm is controlled to follow a living body reference site on the body surface of the subject P. The robot arm control unit 141 controls the movement of the second robot arm while grasping the position of the second robot arm. The control circuit 112 recognizes the position followed by the second robot arm as the position of the biological reference site. When the biological reference site exists in the body, the position of the biological reference site is calculated from the position followed by the second robot arm and the position of the designated site in the ultrasonic tomographic image. Thereby, even when the subject P moves during the examination and when it is necessary to change the posture of the subject P during the examination, it is possible to continuously recognize the biological reference site.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, the case where the position of the biological reference site | part was acquired using the position sensor system 30 using a position sensor was demonstrated to the example. However, the position sensor system 30 is not limited to the one using the position sensor. For example, as shown in FIG. 25, a position sensor system using an imaging device 150 such as a camera may be used.

  For example, the imaging device 150 is installed at a position where the whole body of the subject P can be imaged. The image analysis device recognizes the position of the ultrasonic probe 20 in the three-dimensional coordinate system by analyzing the image taken by the imaging device. When the operator of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses 1 and 1a brings the ultrasonic probe 20 into contact with the living body reference site, a designation instruction is input from an input unit provided in the ultrasonic probe 20. The control circuit 112 registers the position of the ultrasonic probe 20 recognized at the time when the designation instruction is input as the position of the biological reference site.

  In the above embodiment, the atlas data processing function 1121, the position information registration function 1122, the position information control function 1123, the coordinate conversion function 1124, the association function 1125, and the support information acquisition function 1126 are as shown in FIG. The case where the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 is provided has been described as an example. However, the apparatus provided with these functions is not limited to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1. These functions may be provided in a medical image processing apparatus such as a workstation.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, an atlas image is not limited to a schema. As the atlas image, a standardized CT image and an MR image can be used.

  The term “processor” used in the above description is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), a programmable logic device (for example, It means a circuit such as a simple programmable logic device (SPLD), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), and a field programmable gate array (FPGA). The processor implements a function by reading and executing a program stored in the storage circuit. Note that each processor of the present embodiment is not limited to being configured as a single circuit for each processor, but may be configured as a single processor by combining a plurality of independent circuits to realize the function. Good. Furthermore, a plurality of components in FIG. 1 may be integrated into one processor to realize the function.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are also included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,1a ... Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, 10, 10a ... Main body apparatus, 11 ... Ultrasonic transmission circuit, 12 ... Ultrasonic reception circuit, 13 ... B mode processing circuit, 14 ... Doppler processing circuit, 15 ... Three-dimensional data generation circuit , 16 ... Image arithmetic circuit, 161 ... Image generation function, 17 ... Display processing circuit, 18 ... Internal memory circuit, 19 ... Image memory, 110 ... Input interface circuit, 111 ... Communication interface circuit, 112, 112a ... Control circuit, 1121 ... Atlas data processing function, 1122 ... Position information registration function, 1123 ... Position information control function, 1124 ... Coordinate conversion function, 1125, 1125a ... Association function, 1126 ... Support information acquisition function, 1127 ... Fusion function, 20 ... Ultrasound Probe 30. Position sensor system 31 Magnetic generator 32 Magnetic sensor 33 Position detector 34 ... second magnetic sensor, 40 ... external device, 50 ... display device, 61 ... operation panel, 62 ... input device, 100 ... network, 140 ... robot arm, 141 ... robot arm controller, 142 ... probe holder, 143 ... Robot arm sensor, 150 ... Imaging device.

Claims (35)

A position detector that detects the position of the ultrasonic image or the ultrasonic probe in a three-dimensional space;
A bioanatomical chart processing unit using a bioanatomical chart defined in a three-dimensional space;
Using the position and orientation of the structure related to the subject included in the ultrasound image in the first three-dimensional coordinate system and the position and orientation of the structure included in the biological anatomical chart in the second three-dimensional coordinate system, An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: an association unit that associates a structure related to a subject included in a sound wave image and a structure included in the biological anatomical chart. Recognizing the organ and / or anatomy included in the ultrasound image based on the position of the ultrasound probe or the information of the bioanatomy corresponding to the position of the ultrasound image, and the recognized organ; and And / or a support information acquisition unit that acquires support information related to the biological structure;
A display image including the ultrasound image and the support information, an image calculation unit that generates the support image in parallel with the ultrasound image and the support information, or superimposes the support information on the ultrasound image. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 provided. It further comprises an interface that accepts designation from the operator,
The support information acquisition unit recognizes a plurality of organs and / or anatomy, and among the recognized plurality of organs and / or anatomy, an organ designated through the interface, and / or The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein support information about the anatomy is acquired. A structure specifying unit for specifying an organ and / or a biological structure included in the ultrasonic image based on the position of the ultrasonic probe or the information of the bioanatomical chart corresponding to the position of the ultrasonic image;
A support information acquisition unit that acquires support information about the specified organ and / or anatomy;
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a storage unit that stores the ultrasonic image and the support information in association with each other. A storage unit for storing the support information;
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the support information acquisition unit acquires an image using support information stored in the storage unit. Based on the position and orientation of the feature part represented by the first three-dimensional coordinate system detected by the position detection unit by scanning the ultrasonic probe, the position and orientation of the feature part are converted into a living body coordinate system. It further comprises a coordinate conversion unit for conversion,
The associating unit uses the position and orientation of the feature part in the biological coordinate system and the position and orientation of the feature part included in the biological anatomical chart in the second three-dimensional coordinate system, and an ultrasonic image The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the structure related to the subject included in the object is associated with the structure included in the biological anatomical chart.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the association unit associates the second three-dimensional coordinate system by enlarging, reducing, or deforming the second three-dimensional coordinate system based on the first three-dimensional coordinate system.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the association unit associates the second three-dimensional coordinate system by enlarging, reducing, or deforming the second three-dimensional coordinate system based on the biological coordinate system. It further comprises an interface that accepts designation from the operator,
The association unit includes a position and orientation of the structure designated via the interface in the first three-dimensional coordinate system, a position of the structure included in the biological anatomical chart in the second three-dimensional coordinate system, and The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the structure related to the subject included in the ultrasonic image is associated with the structure included in the living body anatomical chart using an orientation. A three-dimensional medical image alignment unit that aligns the position of the first three-dimensional coordinate system and a pre-stored three-dimensional medical image;
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the associating unit associates a feature part included in the three-dimensional medical image with a feature part included in the biological anatomical chart by inter-image alignment.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the support information is a bioanatomical chart image.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 11, wherein an icon representing the position of the ultrasonic probe is superimposed on a position corresponding to the position of the ultrasonic probe in the bioanatomical chart image.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the biological anatomical chart image is a whole body image, a whole organ image, or a cross-sectional image.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the biological anatomical chart image is an image representing at least one of blood vessels, muscles, skeletons, nerves, and organs.   When the organ, blood vessel, and / or skeleton is recognized based on the information of the biopsy anatomy diagram corresponding to the position of the ultrasound probe or the position of the ultrasound image, the support information acquisition unit is used as the support information. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 5, and 11 to 14, which acquires organ content.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the organ content is an inspection example of an ultrasonic examination of the organ.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the organ content is image data acquired in the past by a medical image diagnostic apparatus including an ultrasonic image.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the organ content is an examination finding example of medical image diagnosis other than the ultrasonic of the organ.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the organ content is diagnosis information and / or treatment information of the organ.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the organ content is a result of a non-image test including a blood test of the subject.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the organ content is electronic medical record data of the subject. The support information acquisition unit acquires a biological anatomical chart image and the scanning method of the ultrasonic probe as the support information,
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image calculation unit generates a display image in which the scanning method is superimposed on the biological anatomical chart image. The support information acquisition unit acquires the name of the recognized organ and / or anatomy as the support information,
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image calculation unit generates the display image by assigning the name to the recognized organ and / or anatomy.   The said image calculating part switches the display so that the selected assistance information may be displayed according to the selection instruction | indication of the assistance information to display, Any of Claim 2, Claim 3, Claim 11, or Claim 23 thru | or 23 An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1. A storage unit for storing an ultrasonic image with position information;
When the image calculation unit receives a designation for a predetermined position in the biological anatomical chart image, the image calculation unit reads an ultrasonic image acquired in a region approximately the same as the designated position from the storage unit, and reads the read ultrasonic wave The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 11, wherein a display image including an image is displayed. The support information acquisition unit acquires a bioanatomical chart image as the support information,
The said image calculating part produces | generates the display image which superimposed the information based on the test | inspection log | history which scanned the said ultrasonic probe on the acquired said biological anatomical chart image. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus as described.   27. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 26, further comprising a storage unit that stores the support information and information based on the examination history, or the support information, information based on the examination history, and an examination image.   28. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the support information acquisition unit acquires an image using support information stored in the storage unit and information based on an examination history. A position detection process for detecting the position of the ultrasonic image or the ultrasonic probe in a three-dimensional space;
A bioanatomical chart utilization process using a bioanatomical chart defined in a three-dimensional space;
Using the position and orientation of the structure related to the subject included in the ultrasound image in the first three-dimensional coordinate system and the position and orientation of the structure included in the biological anatomical chart in the second three-dimensional coordinate system, A scanning support program for causing a processor mounted in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus to perform association processing for associating a structure related to a subject included in a sound wave image with a structure included in the biological anatomical chart. Recognizing the organ and / or anatomy included in the ultrasound image based on the position of the ultrasound probe or the information of the bioanatomy corresponding to the position of the ultrasound image, and the recognized organ; and And / or support information acquisition processing for acquiring support information related to the biological structure;
A display image including the ultrasonic image and the support information, and an image calculation process that is generated by paralleling the ultrasonic image and the support information or by superimposing the support information on the ultrasonic image. 30. The scan support program according to claim 29, further executed by said processor. Recognizing an organ and / or a biological structure included in the ultrasonic image based on the position of the ultrasonic probe or the information of the bioanatomical chart corresponding to the position of the ultrasonic image, and the recognized organ; And / or support information acquisition processing for acquiring support information related to the biological structure;
30. The scanning support program according to claim 29, further causing the processor to perform image storage processing for storing the ultrasonic image and the support information in association with each other.   32. The scan support program according to claim 29, further causing the processor to perform an image search process for acquiring an image using stored support information. Based on the position and orientation of the feature part represented by the first three-dimensional coordinate system detected by the position detection process by scanning the ultrasonic probe, the position and orientation of the feature part are converted into a living body coordinate system. Perform further coordinate transformation processing to transform,
The association processing uses the position and orientation of the feature part and the position and orientation of the feature part included in the biological anatomical chart in the second three-dimensional coordinate system, and is included in the ultrasound image. 30. The scanning support program according to claim 29, wherein a structure related to a specimen is associated with a structure included in the biological anatomical chart.   30. The scanning support program according to claim 29, wherein the association processing associates the second three-dimensional coordinate system by enlarging, reducing, or modifying the second three-dimensional coordinate system based on the first three-dimensional coordinate system. Further performing a three-dimensional medical image alignment process for aligning the position of the first three-dimensional coordinate system and a pre-stored three-dimensional medical image;
30. The scanning support program according to claim 29, wherein the associating process associates a feature portion included in the three-dimensional medical image with a feature portion included in the biological anatomical chart by inter-image alignment.