JP4179596B2 - Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that obtains and displays an ultrasonic image of a diagnostic site in a subject using ultrasonic waves, and is capable of rendering the hardness of a living tissue as a quantitative strain elastic image. Relates to the device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can draw a tomographic image and a strain elasticity image on the same screen, if the probe moves while acquiring image information, the strain information of the target tissue cannot be obtained accurately. Further, it is known that tissue elasticity, that is, distribution of tissue hardness, changes depending on the degree of tissue compression. The degree to which the subject is distorted depends only on the sensation of the device handler, and if the device handler is different, there is a high possibility that different diagnostic results will result.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Conventionally, in order to detect various lesions such as cancer at an early stage, tissue morphological information such as tomographic images is displayed, and it depends on the azimuth resolution of the diagnostic device or the color mode that displays blood flow information. Is used. However, tissue elasticity imaging that utilizes the fact that many cancers are harder than normal tissues and makes changes in the composition of the tissues by utilizing the mechanical properties of the physical properties, that is, the difference in hardness. Attempts have been made to use the method (strained elasticity image). Actually, palpation performed in breast cancer diagnosis or the like can be said to be palpating the lesion due to the difference in the hardness of the fabric. In addition, even when various disease bodies exist due to the progression of the disease and the morphological change of the tissue occurs, the information obtained from the tissue elasticity image provides a variety of information compared to conventional tomographic images. It is considered that a more appropriate diagnosis is possible.
[0004]
However, generally, when a strain elasticity image is displayed on a monitor, it is difficult to grasp the absolute position of the target position. In order to solve this, the applicant has proposed an invention in which a strain elastic image and a tomographic image are superimposed and displayed on the same screen as Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-60853. The invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-60853 relates to a low-frequency excitation method using a vibrator as a means for obtaining a strain elastic image. Furthermore, the invention described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-60853 does not mention anything about the case where the probe moves during the measurement.
[0005]
An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of accurately grasping and drawing the positional relationship between a tomographic image and a strain elastic image in any strain elastic image rendering means in view of the above points. It is.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention described in claim 1 is an ultrasonic probe that contacts a subject tissue, and a signal detected by the ultrasonic probe is processed to obtain a tomographic image and a strain elastic image. Based on position information of the ultrasonic probe detected by the position detection means, signal detection means for generating three-dimensional position information of the ultrasonic probe, and position information of the ultrasonic probe detected by the position detection means The image processing apparatus includes display means for displaying the image and the strain elastic image simultaneously and superimposed on the same plane. The position of the observation object obtained by strain elasticity by superimposing an ultrasonic tomographic image that clearly understands the form and position of the observation site and a strain elasticity image that is difficult to confirm with the tomographic image. It can be clearly understood. To superimpose a tomographic image and a strain elastic image in any measurement state, the position of the probe when obtaining the tomographic image and the positional deviation of the probe when obtaining the strain elastic image are relative to each other. It is necessary to superimpose both images with high precision by moving the spatial coordinates. Therefore, position detecting means for detecting three-dimensional position information represented by a magnetic sensor is attached to the ultrasonic probe. This three-dimensional position detection means is capable of grasping a spatial position by a magnetic sensor based on a base point fixed to a certain point. By using this, the position information of the probe when obtaining a tomographic image is compared with the position information of the probe when obtaining a strain elastic image, and the probes that moved when acquiring each other's images are compared. It is possible to grasp the relative shift of the diagnostic image obtained from the movement distance of the child. In addition, by using three-dimensional position detection means, it is possible to keep the amount of pressure applied to the subject tissue constant regardless of the device handler, and it is possible to prepare an examination environment that does not depend on the device handler. It becomes.
[0007]
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the display unit is based on a moving distance or spatial coordinates of the ultrasonic probe when acquiring the tomographic image distortion elastic image. The three-dimensional position information is displayed in real time. The strain distribution, the result of which changes depending on the degree of pressure when the ultrasound probe presses against the subject tissue, provides only information relative to the surrounding tissue of the measurement object. By displaying the position information of the child, it is possible to inform the apparatus operator of the moving distance of the ultrasonic probe, and it is possible to perform rendering that enables a certain amount of quantitative evaluation.
[0008]
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the first aspect, in which the display unit is configured such that the display unit moves the ultrasonic probe and the contact between the ultrasonic probe and the subject tissue. Based on the area, the pressure distribution in the subject tissue is estimated and displayed as a graph. By displaying the pressure distribution in a graph, it is possible to easily grasp how much pressure is applied to the measurement site.
[0009]
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the display means sets the degree of pressurization / decompression by the ultrasonic probe to the subject tissue at a plurality of levels. It is classified and displayed. By classifying and displaying the degree of pressurization / decompression into a plurality of levels, it is possible to easily grasp how much pressure is applied to the subject.
[0010]
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the display unit includes a moving distance of the ultrasonic probe, the ultrasonic probe, and the subject tissue. The pressure intensity calculated based on the contact area or the pressure intensity calculated based on the moving distance of the ultrasonic probe is displayed as character information. By displaying the pressure intensity as character information, it is possible to easily grasp how much pressure is applied to the measurement site simply by looking at the character.
[0011]
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention provides the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the ultrasonic probe is applied to the subject tissue when the strain elastic image is rendered. It is provided with a mechanical scanning means by a motor or the like that presses or pressurizes or depressurizes. A more quantitative measurement result can be obtained by using a mechanical scanning device such as a motor as the moving means of the ultrasonic probe.
[0012]
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the sixth aspect, wherein the mechanical scanning unit has an automatic stop mechanism for controlling the ultrasonic probe so as not to exceed a preset threshold value. It is provided. The automatic stop mechanism makes it possible to avoid performing an unnecessary pressurizing operation due to a malfunction of a mechanical scanning unit such as a motor.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention, which is an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a probe on which a three-dimensional position detection sensor is mounted. It is a figure which shows the block block diagram of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus which can be acquired.
[0014]
This ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes an ultrasonic probe 1, an ultrasonic transmission / reception circuit 2, a phasing processing circuit 3, a signal processing circuit 4, an image processing circuit 5, a monitor 6, and a three-dimensional position detection means. It comprises. The ultrasonic signal is generated by a transmission signal generation circuit (not shown) in the ultrasonic transmission / reception circuit 2, and the ultrasonic probe 1 formed by arranging a large number of transducers in a strip shape is sufficiently used. Amplified to a voltage level that can be driven. Each vibrator generally has a function of converting an input pulse wave or continuous wave transmission signal into an ultrasonic wave and emitting it, and receiving an ultrasonic wave reflected from the inside of the subject to receive an electric signal. It is formed with the function of converting to and outputting.
[0015]
The reflected signal from the subject in contact with the ultrasonic probe 1 is amplified by a receiving amplifier (not shown) in the ultrasonic transmitting / receiving circuit 2 and the number of received signals corresponding to the number of each transducer. Are input to the phasing processing circuit 3 as independent received signals. The phasing processing circuit 3 captures an input received wave signal and eliminates a time lag when reflected waves emitted from one focal point in the subject reach a plurality of transducers arranged in a strip shape. By delaying the phase of the received signal output from the vibrator, the phase of each received signal is matched. A plurality of received signals whose phases are matched are added to form a received beam signal, and acoustic characteristic information from one focal point is obtained. The reception signal output from the phasing processing circuit 3 is input to the signal processing circuit 4, subjected to signal processing such as filter processing, compression processing, detection processing, and enhancement, and is output to the image processing circuit 5. The image processing circuit 5 has a function of a digital scan converter (DSC), converts the received signal into image data (ultrasonic tomographic image), and draws it on the monitor 6.
[0016]
The three-dimensional position detection means detects the three-dimensional position of the ultrasonic probe 1 in order to perform alignment with the distorted image when acquiring a tomographic image. The three-dimensional position detection means includes a three-dimensional magnetic field position detection sensor 7 (hereinafter referred to as a magnetic field sensor 7), a magnetic field generation means (hereinafter referred to as a magnetic field source) 8, a position / direction analysis unit 9, and a coordinate conversion unit 10. And the measurement site calculation unit 11. In this embodiment, a case where a three-dimensional magnetic field position detection sensor 7 is used as a three-dimensional position detection unit will be described. The magnetic field source 8 is installed at a position relatively fixed with respect to a living body that is a measurement target when performing diagnosis using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to this embodiment, and stably radiates a high-frequency magnetic field. To do. A magnetic field sensor 7 which is a magnetic field detection means is provided in the ultrasonic probe 1 and detects a high frequency magnetic field radiated from the magnetic field source 8. The position / direction analysis unit 9 analyzes the magnetic detection signal detected by the magnetic field sensor 7 in a state where the high frequency magnetic field is radiated by the excitation of the magnetic field source 8, thereby making the magnetic field sensor 7 based on the magnetic field source 8. That is, the position and direction of the ultrasonic probe 1 are obtained. The coordinate conversion unit 10 projects the ultrasonic probe 1 onto an arbitrary coordinate system being measured based on the position and direction obtained by the position / direction analysis unit 9. The measurement site calculation unit 11 converts the relative position information with the magnetic field source 8 as a base point, and transfers it to the image processing circuit 5. Thereby, an ultrasonic tomographic image having position information is acquired from the image processing circuit 5.
[0017]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, which is an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a probe equipped with a three-dimensional position detection sensor, and acquires a strain elastic image. It is a figure which shows the block block diagram of a possible ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.
[0018]
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes an ultrasonic probe 1, an ultrasonic transmission / reception circuit 2, an orthogonal detector 12, a complex two-dimensional correlation calculation unit 13, a displacement calculation unit 14, a distortion calculation unit 15, and a monitor. 6 and three-dimensional position detecting means.
[0019]
The ultrasonic probe 1 and the ultrasonic transmission / reception circuit 2 are the same as those in FIG. The quadrature detector 12 converts the RF signals before and after tissue compression into complex envelope signals (IQ signals) before and after tissue compression, respectively, and outputs them to the complex two-dimensional correlation calculation unit 13. The complex two-dimensional correlation calculation unit 13 calculates a two-dimensional correlation between the RF signals before and after tissue compression, and outputs the position where the correlation is maximum and the phase of the correlation function at that time to the displacement calculation unit 14. However, the correlation is calculated only at the half wavelength interval of the ultrasonic center frequency, which is the maximum interval at which the phase can be detected without causing aliasing in the axial direction. This is to prioritize the real-time display of the ultrasonic diagnostic system. Therefore, in order to calculate a highly accurate correlation, it is not necessary to limit to this half wavelength interval. The displacement calculation unit 14 determines the horizontal displacement u based on the maximum horizontal correlation position from the complex two-dimensional correlation calculation unit 13. _x And the axial displacement u based on the axial maximum correlation position and the phase at that time _y Is output to the distortion calculation unit 15. The strain calculation unit 15 receives the lateral displacement u from the displacement calculation unit 14. _x The lateral strain distribution signal ε by spatially differentiating the distribution of _x To calculate the lateral displacement u _y The axial strain distribution signal ε is obtained by spatially differentiating the distribution of _y And the distortion distribution signal is output to the image processing circuit 5. The image processing circuit 5 generates a lateral distortion distribution signal ε _x And axial strain distribution signal ε _y Is quantized for gray scale display (or color display) and output to the monitor 6. The monitor 6 displays each quantized distortion distribution.
[0020]
This ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus uses the three-dimensional position detection means used in FIG. 1 in order to perform alignment by superimposition with the ultrasonic tomographic image acquired by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of FIG. That is, a magnetic field source 8 that radiates a high-frequency magnetic field is installed, a magnetic field sensor 7 is provided in the ultrasonic probe 1, and a position / direction for obtaining the position / direction of the ultrasonic probe 1 with reference to the magnetic field source 8. An analysis unit 9 is provided, which is projected onto an arbitrary coordinate system under measurement by the coordinate conversion unit 10 and the measurement site calculation unit 11, and the relative position information based on the magnetic field source 8 is transferred to the image processing circuit 5. It is like that. Thereby, an ultrasonic distortion elastic image having position information is acquired.
[0021]
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 acquires an ultrasonic tomographic image and a strain elastic image separately from each other. By combining both ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses, the ultrasonic tomographic image and the strain elastic image are obtained. Both images can be acquired. Therefore, how these two images are processed and superimposed will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram when acquiring an image obtained by superimposing the ultrasonic tomographic image acquired by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of FIG. 1 and the strain elastic image acquired by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of FIG. FIG. 3 shows details of a portion related to the image processing circuit 5 of FIGS. 1 and 2. Accordingly, the illustration of components other than the image processing circuit 5 is omitted.
[0022]
The ultrasonic tomographic image probe position memory 16 stores a received signal having the positional information acquired by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of FIG. The distortion distribution signal having the positional information acquired by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 2 is also stored.
[0023]
The position information of the received signal stored in the ultrasonic tomographic probe position memory 16 is, for example, (X _B , Y _B , Z _B The position information of the strain distribution signal stored in the strain elastic image probe position memory 17 is, for example, (X _S , Y _S , Z _S ). These received signals and distortion distribution signals have been subjected to various signal processing as described above. The data stored in the ultrasonic tomographic image probe position memory 16 and the strain elastic image probe position memory 17 are output to the image processing unit 18. The image processing unit 18 converts the received signal into image data (ultrasonic tomographic image), and converts the distortion distribution signal into image data (distortion elastic image) quantized for gray scale display (or color display). , It is output to the alignment circuit 19 together with the position information. The alignment circuit 19 (X _S -X '= X _B = X _N , Y _S -Y '= Y _B = Y _N , Z _S -Z '= Z _B = Z _N ), And outputs it to the superimposed image data 20. As the superimposed image data 20, the image data in which both image positions are combined is simultaneously displayed on the monitor 6. Where (X _N , Y _N , Z _N ) Is a new coordinate obtained by combining the positions of both the tomographic image and the strain elastic image.
[0024]
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen when position information of an ultrasonic probe equipped with the three-dimensional position detection sensor according to the present invention is displayed on a diagnostic image. The display screen includes a main display unit 6a that displays an ultrasonic tomographic image and a strain elasticity image, and a sub display unit 6b that displays various related images. 5-8 is a figure which shows an example of the display screen of the sub display part 6b. FIG. 5 shows the three-dimensional movement direction and distance of the ultrasonic probe 1 obtained by the three-dimensional position detection sensor 7 and the movement distances (x [mm], y of the x axis, y axis, and z axis). [Mm], z [mm]) are displayed by the respective numerical values and arrows together with the three-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system 21. This three-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system 21 is displayed in real time in coordination with the movement of the ultrasound probe 1 on the sub display unit 6b when, for example, a strain elastic image is displayed on the monitor 6. The sub display unit 6b does not have to be present as a part of the display screen of the monitor 6 as shown in FIG. 4, and may be displayed in a place that is easy for the device operator to view, for example, on another monitor device. Good. This is the same even if the means for moving the ultrasound probe 1 is based on the procedure of the apparatus handler or uses an xyz stage described later.
[0025]
FIG. 6 is an example of a screen that displays the pressure distribution in the subject of the pressure obtained from the movement distance obtained by the three-dimensional position detection sensor, the contact area between the ultrasonic probe 1 and the measurement subject. Indicates. At this time, the measurement object may be assumed to be isotropic in terms of pressure distribution, or the pressure distribution obtained by various means may be approximated. As shown in FIG. 6, by displaying the pressure distribution, it is possible to easily grasp how much pressure is applied to the measurement site.
[0026]
FIG. 7 shows an example of a screen that displays the pressure intensity applied to the measurement object in a graph or text. The pressure depends on the moving distance of the ultrasonic probe 1. The magnitude of the pressure can be estimated from the distance information obtained by the three-dimensional position detection sensor and the area where the ultrasonic probe 1 and the subject are in contact with each other. Therefore, it is possible to determine how much pressure is being applied to the subject from the distance traveled by the ultrasonic probe by setting the pressure in several stages in advance. . In the figure, “HH” has the highest pressure, “LL” has the lowest pressure, and the middle is divided into “H”, “M”, and “L”. As the display method, as shown in FIG. 7, the magnitude of pressure is plotted on the vertical axis, the moving distance of the ultrasound probe 1 is plotted on the horizontal axis, and the current pressurization position is plotted on the horizontal axis. The triangle may be displayed using a circle on the graph, or may be displayed as a pressure level 27 allocated in advance from the current transfer distance as shown in FIG. That is, in FIG. 8, the letter “M” indicating the pressure intensity shown in FIG.
[0027]
In FIG. 8, the measurement target part indicating the magnitude of the pressure is determined by setting a ROI (Region of Interest) like a circle 26, for example. The size of the ROI can be arbitrarily changed.
[0028]
According to the above-described embodiment, in order to make a desired diagnosis, it is possible for the operator to know how to apply pressure to the subject and the state of pressure propagation in the subject. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a measurement error due to a difference in apparatus handler.
[0029]
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in which a mechanical scanning unit such as a motor is used when a subject is pressurized and decompressed to obtain a strain elastic image. This ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is provided with a mechanism that does not apply excessive pressure to a subject due to pressurization by a motor. In the figure, an ultrasonic probe, means for pressurizing and depressurizing without applying more pressure than necessary to the subject, and three-dimensional position detecting means are shown, and other ultrasonic transmission / reception circuit 2 and quadrature detector. 12, the complex two-dimensional correlation calculation unit 13, the displacement calculation unit 14, the distortion calculation unit 15, and the monitor 6 are not shown.
[0030]
The xyz stage 28 uses a motor as a driving force source, and moves the ultrasonic probe 1 three-dimensionally. The xyz stage control unit 29 controls the movement of the xyz stage 28 based on a threshold value preset in the threshold value setting / determination unit 30. The threshold setting / determination unit 30 sequentially reads position information (actual movement distance of the ultrasonic probe 1) sent from the position / direction analysis unit 9 of the three-dimensional position detection means, compares it with the threshold, The comparison result is supplied to the xyz stage controller 29. The threshold value of the threshold value setting / determination unit 30 is set in advance by the operator of the apparatus, and is a threshold value of distance information that does not allow the ultrasonic probe 1 to move further, that is, an allowable movement range. Therefore, the ultrasonic probe 1 is controlled to move only within a preset allowable range, and does not apply more pressure than necessary to the subject.
[0031]
The xyz stage control unit 29 controls the xyz stage 28 according to the algorithm shown in FIG. In step S31, probe movement distance information or pressure intensity information that is considered to achieve arbitrary pressurization or decompression is set in the xyz stage controller 29 in advance by the apparatus operator.
[0032]
In step S32, the xyz stage control unit 29 drives the xyz stage 28 based on these pieces of information to move the ultrasonic probe 1. When the pressure intensity information is set, the probe is moved according to the pressure-probe moving distance curve converted from the elasticity model of the subject. At the same time, the movement distance information (x ′, y ′, z ′) of the actual probe 1 by the motor is grasped by the three-dimensional position detection device. On the other hand, before starting the movement of the probe 1, the apparatus handler sets the movement limit distance information (x ″, y ″, z) in the threshold setting / determination unit 30 in order to limit the movement distance of the probe 1. Accordingly, the movement distance information (x ′, y ′, z ′) of the probe 1 due to the movement of the motor is input to the position / direction analysis unit 29 as needed. The setting / determination unit 30 receives the travel distance information (x ′, y ′, z ′) of the probe 1 as needed from the position / direction analysis unit 29 and is set before the probe 1 moves. The movement limit distance information (x ″, y ″, z ″) is input.
[0033]
In step S33, the threshold value setting / determination unit 30 performs a comparison process between the movement distance information (x ′, y ′, z ′) and the movement restriction distance information (x ″, y ″, z ″) as needed, and the movement distance ( If none of x ′, y ′, z ′) reaches the movement limit distance (x ″, y ″, z ″), the process of step S32 is executed, and then the probe 1 is moved. When any one of the movement distances (x ′, y ′, z ′) reaches the movement limit distance (x ″, y ″, z ″), that is, any of the movement distances (x ′, y ′, z ′) If one of them becomes equal to the movement limit distance (x ″, y ″, z ″), the process proceeds to the next step S34. In step S34, the movement of the probe 1 by the motor, that is, the driving of the xyz stage 28 is stopped. Accordingly, it is possible to avoid the execution of the pressurizing operation by the probe 1 more than necessary due to the malfunction of the motor.
[0034]
As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the position detection sensor is attached to the probe with the tomographic image and the distortion image, so that the probe can be superimposed on the same screen even if the probe moves during the acquisition of the diagnostic image. The display can be performed, and the position specified by the tissue elasticity can be easily specified. Furthermore, the moving distance of the probe can be grasped quantitatively by detecting the three-dimensional position. In addition, by displaying the probe movement distance, subject pressure distribution, pressure intensity, etc. obtained from this distance information simultaneously with the diagnostic image in real time, strain elasticity image diagnosis with a certain degree of quantification is possible. .
[0035]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, any strain elastic image rendering means can accurately grasp and render the positional relationship between a tomographic image and a strain elastic image.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention, which is an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a probe on which a three-dimensional position detection sensor is mounted; It is a figure which shows the block block diagram of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus which can be acquired.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, which is an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a probe equipped with a three-dimensional position detection sensor, and acquires a strain elastic image It is a figure which shows the block block diagram of a possible ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.
3 is a block configuration diagram in the case of acquiring an image obtained by superimposing the ultrasonic tomographic image acquired by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of FIG. 1 and the strain elastic image acquired by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of FIG. 2; FIG. 3 shows details of a portion related to the image processing circuit 5 of FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen when position information of an ultrasonic probe equipped with a three-dimensional position detection sensor according to the present invention is displayed on a diagnostic image.
FIG. 5 shows three-dimensional Cartesian coordinates of the three-dimensional movement direction and distance of the ultrasonic probe obtained by the three-dimensional position detection sensor, and the movement distances of the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis. It is a figure displayed with each numerical value and an arrow with a system.
FIG. 6 shows an example of a screen that displays the pressure distribution in the subject of the pressure obtained from the movement distance obtained by the three-dimensional position detection sensor, the contact area between the ultrasonic probe and the measurement subject. FIG.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for displaying a pressure intensity applied to a measurement object in a graph.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen that displays, in characters, the pressure intensity applied to the measurement object.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in which a motor is used when pressurizing and depressurizing a subject to obtain a strain elastic image.
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an algorithm of an xyz stage control unit that controls an xyz stage.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 ... Probe
2 ... Ultrasonic transceiver circuit
3 ... Phase adjustment circuit
4 ... Signal processing circuit
5. Image processing circuit
6 ... Monitor
6a ... Main display section
6b ... Sub display section
7 ... Magnetic field sensor
8 ... Magnetic field source
9 ... Position / direction analysis circuit
10. Coordinate conversion circuit
11 ... Measurement site calculation circuit
12 ... RF signal recording circuit
13 ... Tissue displacement distribution detection circuit
14. Displacement / strain conversion circuit
15 ... Weaving strain distribution data
16 ... Ultrasonic tomographic probe position memory
17 ... Strain elastic image probe position memory
18. Image processing unit
19 ... Positioning circuit
20: Superimposed image data
28 ... xyz stage
29 ... xyz stage controller
30: Threshold setting / determination unit

Claims (8)

An ultrasound probe in contact with the subject tissue;
Signal processing means for processing a signal detected by the ultrasonic probe to generate a tomographic image and a strain elastic image;
Position detecting means for detecting three-dimensional position information of the ultrasonic probe;
Ultrasound comprising: display means for simultaneously displaying the tomographic image and the strain elastic image aligned based on positional information of the ultrasonic probe detected by the position detecting means Diagnostic device.   2. The display unit according to claim 1, wherein the display means displays in real time the moving distance of the ultrasonic probe or the three-dimensional position information on spatial coordinates when acquiring the tomographic image distortion elasticity image. Ultrasound diagnostic device.   2. The pressure distribution in the subject tissue according to claim 1, wherein the display means estimates a pressure distribution in the subject tissue based on a moving distance of the ultrasound probe and a contact area between the ultrasound probe and the subject tissue. And displaying it in a graph.   2. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit classifies and displays the degree of pressurization / decompression by the ultrasonic probe on the subject tissue into a plurality of levels.   2. The display unit according to claim 1, wherein the display means calculates a pressure intensity calculated based on a moving distance of the ultrasonic probe and a contact area between the ultrasonic probe and the subject tissue, or the ultrasonic probe. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized in that a pressure intensity calculated based on a moving distance of a child is displayed as character information.   The mechanical scanning means by a motor or the like according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein when the strain elastic image is drawn, the ultrasonic probe is pressed against the subject tissue to perform pressurization or decompression. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising:   7. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the mechanical scanning unit includes an automatic stop mechanism that controls the ultrasonic probe so as not to exceed a preset threshold value. An ultrasound probe in contact with the subject tissue;
Signal processing means for processing a signal detected by the ultrasonic probe to generate a tomographic image and a strain elastic image;
Position detecting means for detecting three-dimensional position information of the ultrasonic probe;
Display means for simultaneously displaying the tomographic image and the strain elastic image aligned based on the position information of the ultrasonic probe detected by the position detection means;
The display means displays in real time the moving distance of the ultrasonic probe when acquiring the tomographic image and the strain elastic image or the three-dimensional position information on the coordinate space. Diagnostic device.

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