JP2001258878A - Ultrasonograph - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To ensure flexibility in an operator's making changes during diagnosis such as starting over again or slightly changing the operation in an ultrasonograph. SOLUTION: This ultrasonograph is provided with a scenario 10 stored with operation procedure normally used by the operator for a serried of diagnosis, and attributes following the procedure, mode by mode, a storage means 9 for storing the scenario, a set of operation procedure sequential/reverse sequential instructing means arranged on a console 6 and capable of both sequential execution following the scenario and reverse sequential execution for operation correction, and display 5 for displaying the operation procedure and the attributes of the procedure during execution. Further, the attribute defined in the scenario of the operator in one action mode can be changed during execution. The operator can thereby concentrate on the diagnosis in operating environment with the necessary degree of freedom in the operational flow of a set of operation procedure sequential/reverse sequential instructing means without operating a number of input means, which results in heightening efficiency.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for obtaining a tomographic image of a subject by using a reflected wave signal of an ultrasonic wave, and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in which an operator performs various operations using input means on a console. Related to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Several inventions have been made to solve the difficulty in operating an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. When diagnosing using an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, even if the examination site, examination procedure or measurement procedure is the same, the operation of selecting and operating the key corresponding to the procedure from among a number of keys must be repeated. Therefore, an operation procedure storage circuit for storing the operation procedure, an execution key for inputting the start of execution of each step of the operation procedure, and each step according to the procedure stored in the operation procedure storage circuit each time the execution key is pressed. Is provided in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 62-258641.

In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, when a multi-operation operation for performing a plurality of operations at a time is performed, the operation contents registered by the operator can be displayed on a display and confirmed, and can be changed according to the contents. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-192127 discloses an apparatus which can display an item to be changed and whether or not the item has actually been changed.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H08-08204 discloses a system in which selection and execution of a plurality of functions can be realized only by operating a push switch while monitoring is stopped.
There is 308830 gazette.

[0005]

However, according to the conventional method, each input operation is memorized, and an operation different from the memorized operation contents cannot be performed. There is. Further, there is a problem that the operation order is only the forward direction, and it is necessary to start over from the first procedure in order to start over. Therefore, in order to solve such a problem, the present invention secures a degree of freedom of change during normal work at the time of diagnosis so that an operator can redo or slightly change the operation. It is an object to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a scenario executing means for executing a scenario in which an operation procedure of an operator and attributes associated with the procedure are described for each operation mode, An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: storage means for storing; external storage means for storing the scenario; one set of operation procedure sequential / reverse sequential instruction means; and a display for displaying the operation procedure and attributes associated with the procedure. The display device displays the operation procedure and the attribute associated with the procedure to notify the operator of the execution procedure state so that sequential execution of operations in accordance with the scenario and reverse sequential execution for operation correction can be performed. , The scenario is stored in the external storage means, and can be stored and exchanged with another device having the same function. One after another Operator By can usually diagnosed by a simple operation that the operation of one set of the input means has an action which can be concentrated in the diagnosis, increasing efficiency. Also,
The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that when the execution order is reverse sequential, it is defined whether or not to initialize the information input by the operator, so that rework work at the time of operation correction can be reduced. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the configuration has an operation capable of reducing reworking operations at the time of operation correction.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the attribute of each execution procedure stored in the scenario, the operator normally uses one of a plurality of functions provided in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. 2. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a specific function can be selected during the execution of the scenario. With this configuration, an initial value can be given among various setting items during the execution of the operation mode. This has the effect of giving the operator the flexibility to change necessary settings during the execution of the operation mode.

As described above, according to the present invention, the operation mode is not used as one input unit of the input means, but the operation mode is used as a unit of the procedure as a unit of the operation procedure which is normally used. Can be changed. Further, since a default operation in the operation mode can be defined as an attribute in the scenario, the operator only needs to perform a change operation when necessary. Also one or one
The sequential / reverse sequential instructing means of the formula enables both sequential execution of operations according to a scenario and reverse sequential execution for operation correction.

As described above, the operator can concentrate on the diagnosis in an operating environment having a necessary degree of freedom in a series of diagnoses, and the efficiency can be improved.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention in which an operator can concentrate on diagnosis in an operating environment having a necessary degree of freedom and can improve efficiency. In FIG. 1, an ultrasonic probe 1 transmits an ultrasonic signal to an object by an ultrasonic transmitting / receiving circuit 2 and receives a reflected echo from the object. The received ultrasonic signal passes through an ultrasonic display control circuit 3 and an image / character superimposition control circuit 4 to a display 5.
Displayed above.

On the other hand, in accordance with one or a set of operation procedure sequential / reverse sequential instructions input on the operation console 6 from the operation procedure / sequential instruction means, the operation procedure / etc. It is called by the circuit 7, and is executed in each operation mode such as a patient registration mode, an image display mode, and a measurement mode according to the contents of the scenario.
The contents to be executed are displayed on the display 5 via the display control circuit 8 for operating procedures and the image character superimposition control circuit 4. Further, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus has a scenario external storage means 11 for storing a scenario and exchanging a scenario with another apparatus having the same function, and a scenario external communication means 12 for directly communicating a scenario with a server personal computer or the like. are doing.

The operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a scenario such as an operation procedure. The scenario describes the procedure for each mode. The attribute indicates the initial value specification in the mode. In the case of the reverse sequential operation, designation of whether to initialize the operator information or not is performed here. For example, procedure number 1
In Step No. 3, the patient name registered in Step 3 is returned two steps in reverse order if an error is noticed, and if a part of the patient name is to be corrected, this item of Procedure No. 1 should be described as "No" For example, only a part of the wrong patient name need be corrected without inputting the patient name from the beginning.

FIG. 3 shows a display example during execution. Attribute display is performed in addition to the operation procedure display. Normally, when measuring the degree of fetal growth, there are many options such as measuring the circumference of the head and the length of the feet, but here the head and buttocks length is selected. Indicates that it is. In other words, this indicates that “head and buttocks length” is selected as an initial value without selecting a part when entering the measurement mode. At this point, the operator can change the option to “foot length”, and can proceed to the next operation procedure without interrupting the scenario. FIG. 4 shows an example of a flowchart when the present invention is executed. This indicates that sequential and reverse sequential execution and attribute initialization selection during reverse sequential execution can be performed according to the description content of the scenario. This will be described below with reference to a flowchart.

First, the process starts in step 401.
In step 402, a scenario is read. In step 403, the procedure number is set to 1. In step 404, the scenario indicated by the procedure number is executed. The execution of the scenario is as follows. In step 405, the execution of the scenario starts at the procedure number. Step 4
At 06, the operation procedure mode is displayed. Next, it is determined whether the operation order of the operation procedure is “sequential” or “reverse sequential”. If “sequential”, the default procedure attribute is executed in step 409. Next, in step 410, the default procedure attribute is executed. If it is "reverse order", it is determined whether or not initialization for reverse order is specified. If not, the process proceeds to step 409. If the initialization for the reverse order is specified, the process proceeds to step 410. In step 411, it is determined whether or not there is an instruction to change the attribute. If there is an instruction to change the attribute, the procedure attribute is changed in step 412, and the procedure attribute is displayed in step 413. If there is no instruction to change the attribute, the process proceeds directly to step 413. This ends the execution of the scenario for each procedure number, and returns to step 404.

In step 415, the process waits for an input from the operation procedure instruction means. In step 416, it is determined whether the operation order is “sequential” or “reverse sequential”, and the operation order is “sequential”.
If so, the procedure number is advanced by one, and it is determined whether or not to end. If yes (Y), the process ends. If no (N), the process returns to step 404. If the operation order is "reverse order", the procedure number is returned by one in step 418, and the process returns to step 404.

FIG. 5 shows an example of operation procedure sequential / reverse sequential instruction means. FIG. 5A shows an indicating means using a button-type switch, and may be either a horizontal arrangement or a vertical arrangement. FIG.
(B) is an instruction means using an automatic center return type switch. In this figure, “sequential” is instructed by tilting to the right, and “reverse sequential” is instructed by tilting to the left. FIG.
(C) is a dial type instruction means. Turning the dial to the right indicates "sequential", and turning to the left indicates "reverse sequential". Each time this unit is operated, transitions can be made in order of each operation mode (procedure number 1 → 2 → 3...) And in reverse order (procedure number 6 → 5 → 4...).

The operation procedure sequential / reverse sequential support means may be other means than the above.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, the operation mode is not a single input unit of the input means but a unit of the procedure as a unit of the operation procedure which is normally used. It is possible to change the operator within the system. Further, since a default operation in the operation mode can be defined as an attribute in the scenario, the operator only needs to perform a change operation when necessary. Further, the present invention is characterized in that one set of operation procedure sequential / reverse sequential instructing means can perform both sequential execution of an operation according to a scenario and reverse sequential execution for operation correction. As described above, the operator can concentrate on the diagnosis in an operating environment having a necessary degree of freedom for a series of diagnoses, which has the effect of increasing the efficiency.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention in which an operator can concentrate on diagnosis in an operating environment having a necessary degree of freedom and can increase efficiency.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a scenario such as an operation procedure in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display during execution according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing operation procedure sequential / reverse sequential instruction means according to the embodiment of the present invention. (A) An explanatory view showing operation procedure sequential / reverse sequential instruction means using a button type switch according to an embodiment of the present invention.
(B) Explanatory drawing showing the operation procedure sequential / reverse sequential instruction means by the automatic center return type switch according to the embodiment of the present invention. (C) Dial type operation procedure sequential / reverse sequential instruction means according to the embodiment of the present invention. Explanatory diagram showing

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ultrasonic probe 2 Ultrasonic image transmission / reception circuit 3 Ultrasonic display control circuit 4 Image character superposition display control circuit 5 Display 6 Operation console 7 Main control circuit 8 Display control circuit such as operation procedure 9 Storage means such as operation procedure 10 Operation Procedure scenario 11 Scenario external storage means 12 Scenario external communication means

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A scenario executing means for executing a scenario in which an operation procedure of an operator and an attribute accompanying the procedure are described for each operation mode, a storage means for storing the scenario, and an external storage means for storing the scenario. 1. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: a set of operation procedure sequential / reverse sequence instructing means; and a display for displaying the operation procedure and an attribute associated with the procedure, wherein the sequential execution and the operation correction according to the scenario are performed. In order to be able to execute in reverse order, to display the operation procedure and the attributes associated with the procedure on the display to notify the operator of the execution procedure state, store the scenario in the external storage means An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized in that it can be stored and exchanged with another apparatus having the same function. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the execution order is reversed, it is defined whether or not to initialize the information input by the operator, so that rework work at the time of operation correction can be reduced. 2. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1. 3. In the attribute of each execution procedure stored in the scenario, a specific function normally used by an operator among a plurality of functions provided in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus during execution of the scenario. 2. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is selectable.