JP5613747B2 - Wireless ultrasonic diagnostic system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless ultrasonic diagnostic system that wirelessly transmits a reception signal from an ultrasonic probe to a diagnostic apparatus main body, and more specifically, replacement of a transducer unit in a wireless ultrasonic probe and a wireless and wired ultrasonic probe. The present invention relates to a wireless ultrasonic diagnostic system that can suitably cope with mixing and the like.

  Conventionally, in the medical field, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using an ultrasonic image has been put into practical use. In general, this type of ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus has an ultrasonic probe with a built-in transducer array and an apparatus main body connected to the ultrasonic probe, and ultrasonic waves are directed toward the subject from the ultrasonic probe. , The ultrasonic echo from the subject is received by the ultrasonic probe, and the received signal is electrically processed by the apparatus main body to generate an ultrasonic image.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that connects an ultrasonic probe and a diagnostic apparatus main body by wireless communication in order to eliminate the troublesomeness of a communication cable that connects the ultrasonic probe and the diagnostic apparatus main body and improve operability. Has been developed.
As an example, as shown in Patent Document 1, such a wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus has an ultrasonic probe that transmits and receives an ultrasonic wave to obtain a reception signal of an ultrasonic image, and probe identification. A wireless transmission unit that wirelessly transmits information and a received signal to the diagnostic apparatus body, the apparatus body is a body control unit that performs control according to probe identification information, and an image forming unit that forms an ultrasound image based on the received signal And have.

On the other hand, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is used for various diagnostic purposes of a subject. However, depending on the diagnostic purpose, the diagnostic part, etc., the scanning format by an ultrasonic probe and the appropriate frequency band of ultrasonic waves may differ. Many.
For this reason, it is conceivable to prepare a plurality of types of ultrasonic probes and connect the ultrasonic probe selected for the purpose of diagnosis or the like to the main body of the apparatus. Providing a sonic probe is costly.

Correspondingly, a piezoelectric transducer unit having a transducer array can be attached to and detached from the ultrasonic probe body, and a plurality of types of piezoelectric transducer units can be appropriately replaced and mounted for various diagnoses. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can be used has also been developed.
In such an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, as shown in Patent Document 2, as an example, an ultrasonic probe includes a piezoelectric vibrator unit and a housing portion that holds the piezoelectric vibrator unit. A removable element connector portion is provided between the housing portion and the housing portion.

JP 2007-275087 A JP 2009-60992 A

As described above, the scanning format of the ultrasonic probe varies depending on the diagnosis site and the like. In addition, an appropriate frequency band is often different depending on the purpose of diagnosis.
Therefore, according to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in which the piezoelectric vibrator unit can be exchanged as shown in Patent Document 2, the setting of the ultrasonic probe to be used is changed finely according to the diagnostic part and the diagnostic purpose. Can be

Here, as shown in Patent Document 2, as a method of extending the function of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that transmits a reception signal of an ultrasonic probe to the diagnostic apparatus main body using radio, as shown in Patent Document 1 It is conceivable that a plurality of types of piezoelectric vibrator units can be attached to and detached from the ultrasonic probe main body so that the piezoelectric vibrator units can be exchanged according to the diagnostic site and purpose.
However, as shown in Patent Document 1, when the diagnostic apparatus body simply identifies the ultrasonic probe, for an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can replace the piezoelectric vibrator unit as shown in Patent Document 2, It is not possible to operate sufficiently flexibly.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that transmits a reception signal of an ultrasonic probe to a diagnostic apparatus main body using radio waves, the piezoelectric transducer of the ultrasonic probe An object of the present invention is to provide a wireless ultrasonic diagnostic system in which a unit is replaceable and a wireless connection between an ultrasonic probe set to be used and a diagnostic apparatus main body can be made flexibly and smoothly.

  In order to achieve the above object, the wireless ultrasonic diagnostic system of the present invention includes unique identification information including a preamplifier and a transmission drive unit that transmit and receive ultrasonic waves and output reception signals corresponding to the received ultrasonic waves. At least one piezoelectric vibrator unit, signal processing means for processing a reception signal output from the piezoelectric vibrator unit, wireless communication means for converting the reception signal processed by the signal processing means into a radio signal and transmitting the radio signal, And at least one wireless communication unit having unique identification information, having acquisition means for acquiring identification information of the piezoelectric vibrator unit and configured to be detachable from the piezoelectric vibrator unit via an electrical contact; A diagnostic apparatus that communicates wirelessly with the wireless communication unit and generates an ultrasound image according to a received signal received by the piezoelectric vibrator unit And the diagnostic apparatus main body establishes wireless communication with the wireless communication unit by acquiring both the identification information of the piezoelectric vibrator unit and the identification information of the wireless communication unit. A wireless ultrasonic diagnostic system is provided.

  In such a wireless ultrasonic diagnostic system of the present invention, it is preferable that a wireless ultrasonic probe that can be grasped by an operator's hand is formed by connecting the piezoelectric vibrator unit and the wireless communication unit.

Alternatively, the piezoelectric vibrator unit is preferably a wired ultrasonic probe that can be grasped by an operator's hand, and the wireless communication unit can be connected to a plurality of the wired ultrasonic probes. It is preferable to drive a wired ultrasonic probe designated from the apparatus main body.
Preferably, the diagnostic device body is portable, and further includes a cart on which the wireless communication unit is fixedly mounted and the diagnostic device body can be detachably mounted.

According to such a wireless ultrasonic diagnostic system of the present invention, the diagnostic apparatus main body establishes wireless communication after acquiring identification information of both the piezoelectric vibrator unit and the wireless communication unit. Therefore, in a system in which the piezoelectric vibrator unit can be exchanged, the connection from the piezoelectric vibrator unit to the diagnostic apparatus main body can be smoothly performed in response to the ultrasonic probe of a desired setting, and the diagnostic apparatus main body is super It is possible to reliably recognize the setting of the acoustic probe.
In addition, according to the wireless ultrasonic diagnostic system of the present invention, a system in which a wireless ultrasonic probe is used and the probes can be exchanged or a plurality of connections can be flexibly handled. Furthermore, it is possible to flexibly cope with a system in which a wireless ultrasonic probe and a wired ultrasonic probe are mixed.

It is a figure which shows notionally an example of the radio | wireless ultrasonic diagnostic system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the radio | wireless ultrasonic diagnostic system shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows notionally another example of the radio | wireless ultrasonic diagnostic system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the radio | wireless ultrasonic diagnostic system shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, the ultrasonic diagnostic system of the present invention will be described in detail based on a preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 conceptually shows an example of the ultrasonic diagnostic system of the present invention.
A wireless ultrasonic diagnostic system 10 (hereinafter, referred to as a diagnostic system 10) illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a diagnostic apparatus body 12 and a wireless ultrasonic probe 14. The diagnostic apparatus main body 12 and the wireless ultrasonic probe 14 are connected by wireless communication, and an ultrasonic echo reception signal received by the wireless ultrasonic probe 14 is transmitted to the diagnostic apparatus main body 12 by wireless communication.
Moreover, in the example of illustration, the diagnostic apparatus main body 12 is a portable type (it can carry by a hand) as a preferable aspect.

The wireless ultrasonic probe 14 (hereinafter, referred to as a wireless probe 14) includes a wireless probe main body 16 and a piezoelectric vibrator unit 18.
The piezoelectric transducer unit 18 (hereinafter referred to as the transducer unit 18) is detachably attached to the wireless probe main body 16 via an electrical contact by a connector 20 (see FIG. 2) described later. In the diagnostic system 10 shown in FIG. 1, three types of vibrations are used as the transducer unit 18: a linear scanning transducer unit 18D1, a convex scanning transducer unit 18D2, and a sector scanning transducer unit 18D3. A child unit 18 is prepared.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the diagnostic system 10.
The transducer unit 18 has a transducer array 24 including a plurality of ultrasonic transducers arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally. A preamplifier 28 and a transmission drive unit 30 are connected in parallel to the transducer array 24 via a transmission / reception changeover switch 26, and a control unit 32 is connected to the transmission drive unit 30. Furthermore, a storage unit 34 is connected to the control unit 32.

On the other hand, the wireless probe main body 16 has an ADC (A / D converter (analog-digital conversion circuit)) 36 connected to the preamplifier 28 of the transducer unit 18 via the connector 20, and the ADC 36 includes a reception signal processing unit. 38 is connected to the reception signal processing unit 38 via the parallel / serial conversion unit 40.
A control unit 46 is connected to the reception signal processing unit 38 and the parallel / serial conversion unit 40, and the control unit 46 is connected to the control unit 32 of the transducer unit 18 via the connector 20. Further, a storage unit 48 is connected to the control unit 46.

  In the transducer unit 18, each of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers constituting the transducer array 24 transmits ultrasonic waves according to the drive signal supplied from the transmission drive unit 30 and receives ultrasonic echoes from the subject. To output the received signal.

In the ultrasonic transducer, for example, electrodes are formed on both ends of a piezoelectric body composed of a piezoelectric ceramic represented by PZT (lead zirconate titanate) or a polymer piezoelectric element represented by PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) ( It has an ultrasonic transducer.
When a pulsed or continuous wave voltage is applied to the electrodes of such a transducer, the piezoelectric material expands and contracts, and pulsed or continuous wave ultrasonic waves are generated from the respective transducers. As a result, an ultrasonic beam is formed. In addition, each transducer generates an electric signal by expanding and contracting by receiving propagating ultrasonic waves, and these electric signals are output as ultrasonic reception signals.

The transmission / reception changeover switch 26 selectively connects the transducer array 24 to either the preamplifier 28 or the transmission drive unit 30 under the control of the control unit 32.
The preamplifier 28 amplifies the reception signal output from each ultrasonic transducer of the transducer array 24 and sends the amplified signal to the ADC 36 of the wireless probe main body 16.

The transmission drive unit 30 includes, for example, a plurality of pulsers, and the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the transducer array 24 cover the tissue area in the subject based on the transmission delay pattern selected by the control unit 32. The delay amount of each drive signal is adjusted so as to form a wide ultrasonic beam to be supplied to a plurality of transducers of the transducer array 24.
Based on various control signals transmitted from the control unit 46 of the wireless probe main body 16 connected via the connector 20, the control unit 32 includes various parts of the wireless probe 14 such as the transmission drive unit 30 and the transmission / reception changeover switch 26. Control.

The transducer array 24 has a specific frequency band and a specific drive voltage.
Correspondingly, as the preamplifier 28, a frequency band corresponding to the frequency band of the transducer array 24 is used, and the transmission drive unit 30 corresponds to the drive voltage of the transducer array 24. A device that outputs a driving voltage is used.

Furthermore, a storage unit 34 is connected to the control unit 32.
The storage unit 34 is a memory that stores identification information (ID information) unique to the wireless probe 14. That is, identification information unique to the transducer unit 18D1 is stored in the storage unit 34 of the transducer unit 18D1, and identification information unique to the transducer unit 18D2 is stored in the storage unit 34 of the transducer unit 18D2. In the storage unit 34, identification information unique to the transducer unit 18D3 is stored.

As described above, the reception signal amplified by the preamplifier 28 is sent to the ADC 36 of the wireless probe main body 16.
The ADC 36 converts the reception signal amplified by the preamplifier 28 into a digital signal.
The reception signal processing unit 38 generates a complex baseband signal by performing orthogonal detection processing or orthogonal sampling processing on the reception signal converted into a digital signal by the ADC 36 under the control of the control unit 46. By sampling the band signal, sample data including information on the tissue area is generated, and the sample data is supplied to the parallel / serial converter 40. The reception signal processing unit 38 may generate sample data by performing data compression processing for high-efficiency encoding on data obtained by sampling a complex baseband signal.
The parallel / serial conversion unit 40 converts the parallel sample data generated by the reception signal processing unit 38 of a plurality of channels into serial sample data.

The wireless communication unit 42 modulates a carrier based on serial sample data to generate a transmission signal, supplies the transmission signal to the antenna, and transmits radio waves from the antenna, thereby transmitting serial sample data. As the modulation scheme, for example, ASK (Amplitude Shift Keying), PSK (Phase Shift Keying), QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying), 16QAM (16 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), and the like are used.
In addition, the wireless communication unit 42 performs wireless communication with the diagnostic device main body 12 to transmit sample data to the diagnostic device main body 12 and to receive and receive various control signals from the diagnostic device main body 12. The control signal thus output is output to the control unit 46.

Based on the control signal received from the diagnostic apparatus main body 12, the control unit 46 transmits a signal to the control unit 32 of the transducer unit 18 to control the transmission drive unit 30, and sets the sample data with the set transmission radio wave intensity. The wireless communication unit 42 is controlled so that transmission is performed.
A storage unit 48 is connected to the control unit 46. The storage unit 48 is a memory that stores identification information unique to the wireless probe main body 16.

The connector 20 detachably attaches the transducer unit 18 to the wireless probe main body 16 via an electrical contact and electrically connects both. By attaching the transducer unit 18 to the wireless probe main body 16 by the connector 20, the wireless probe 14 is formed. In addition, the attachment method of the transducer unit 18 and the wireless probe main body 16 by the connector 20 is not particularly limited, and may be performed by a known method.
The connector 20 includes a reception signal line for transmitting the reception signal amplified by the preamplifier 28 of the transducer unit 18 to the ADC 36 of the wireless probe body 16, a control unit 32 of the transducer unit 18, and a control unit 46 of the wireless probe body 16. And a communication line for transmitting signals to and from.

  The wireless probe main body 16 includes a battery (not shown), and power is supplied from the battery to each circuit of the transducer unit 18 and the wireless probe main body 16 in the wireless probe 14.

As described above, in the illustrated diagnostic system 10, the transducer unit 18 includes a linear scanning transducer unit 18D1, a convex scanning transducer unit 18D2, and a sector scanning transducer unit 18D3. Three types of transducer units 18 are prepared.
In the illustrated example, the linear scanning wireless probe 14 is formed by attaching the transducer unit 18D1 to the wireless probe body 16. Further, by attaching the transducer unit 18D2 to the wireless probe main body 16, the convex scanning type wireless probe 14 is formed. Further, by attaching the transducer unit 18D3 to the wireless probe main body 16, the sector scanning wireless probe 14 is formed.
Therefore, the diagnostic system 10 has three types of wireless probes 14 of a linear scanning type, a convex scanning type, and a sector scanning type with a single wireless probe main body 16.

In the present invention, the transducer unit 18 is not limited to these three types, and instead of or in addition to one or more of the above three types, a scanning type (for example, radial scanning) ultrasonic probe (for example, radial scanning) different from these. You may have the vibrator | oscillator unit 18 corresponding to an ultrasonic probe.
In addition, there are a vibrator unit 18 in which ultrasonic transducers corresponding to different frequency bands are arranged, a vibrator unit 18 in which ultrasonic transducers having a harmonic receiving piezoelectric element corresponding to harmonic imaging are arranged, and the like. May be.
Further, the number of transducer units 18 is not limited to three.
This also applies to the wired probe 76 described later.

Furthermore, in the illustrated example, as a preferred mode, the transducer unit 18 includes a preamplifier 28, a transmission drive unit 30, and the like, and performs amplification and output of drive voltage according to the frequency band of the transducer array 24. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
That is, the preamplifier 28, the transmission drive unit 30 and the like may be provided in the wireless probe main body 16, and the transducer unit 18 may include only the transducer array 24 and the storage unit 34. However, according to the frequency band of the transducer array 24, suitable ultrasonic transmission / reception can be performed. For each corresponding transducer unit 18, an overspec preamplifier or transmission drive unit is provided. It is preferable that the vibrator unit 18 includes the preamplifier 28, the transmission drive unit 30, and the like as in the illustrated example in that they are unnecessary.

  In the illustrated diagnostic system 10, the number of the wireless probe main body 16 is one. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and there are a plurality of wireless probe main bodies 16 and the like that are different in processing in the reception signal processing unit 38. The wireless probe main body 16 may be included.

  On the other hand, the diagnostic apparatus main body 12 includes a wireless communication unit 50, an image forming unit 54 is connected to the wireless communication unit 50 via a serial / parallel conversion unit 52, and a display unit 56 is connected to the image forming unit 54. Has been. A control unit 58 is connected to the wireless communication unit 50, the serial / parallel conversion unit 52, and the image forming unit 54. Further, an operation unit 60 for an operator to perform an input operation is connected to the control unit 58.

The wireless communication unit 50 transmits various control signals to the wireless probe 14 by performing wireless communication with the wireless probe 14. The wireless communication unit 50 also outputs serial sample data by demodulating the signal received by the antenna.
The serial / parallel converter 52 converts the serial sample data output from the wireless communication unit 50 into parallel sample data.

The image forming unit 54 performs reception focus processing on the sample data and generates an image signal representing an ultrasonic diagnostic image. The image forming unit 54 includes a phasing addition unit and an image processing unit.
The phasing addition unit selects one reception delay pattern from a plurality of reception delay patterns stored in advance according to the reception direction set in the control unit 58, and based on the selected reception delay pattern The reception focus process is performed by adding a delay to each of the plurality of complex baseband signals represented by the sample data. By this reception focus processing, a baseband signal (sound ray signal) in which the focus of the ultrasonic echo is narrowed is generated.

The image processing unit of the image forming unit 54 generates, for example, a B-mode image signal that is tomographic image information related to the tissue in the subject based on the sound ray signal generated by the phasing addition unit.
The image processing unit includes an STC (sensitivity time control) unit and a DSC (digital scan converter). The STC unit corrects the attenuation due to the distance according to the depth of the reflection position of the ultrasonic wave on the sound ray signal. On the other hand, the DSC converts the sound ray signal corrected by the STC unit into an image signal according to a normal television signal scanning method (coordinate conversion (raster conversion)), and performs necessary image processing such as gradation processing. To generate an image signal.
Here, the image forming unit 54 processes the received signal corresponding to the combination of both identification information in accordance with the identification information of the transducer unit 18 and the wireless probe body 16 sent from the wireless probe 14 (wireless probe body 16). To do.

The display unit 56 displays an ultrasound diagnostic image based on the image signal generated by the image forming unit 54, and includes a display device such as an LCD.
The control unit 58 controls the wireless communication unit 50 so that various control signals are transmitted with the set transmission radio wave intensity based on an instruction input from the operation unit 60 by the operator, and the image forming unit 54 An image signal is generated and an ultrasonic diagnostic image is displayed on the display unit 56.
The control unit 58 acquires identification information of the transducer unit 18 and the wireless probe main body 16 from the wireless probe 14 when performing ultrasonic diagnosis, and when appropriate identification information is obtained, the wireless probe 14 and the diagnostic device are obtained. An instruction is issued to the image forming unit 54 to establish wireless communication with the main body 12 and to perform processing according to the transducer unit 18 and the wireless probe main body 16.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the diagnostic system 10 will be described to describe the wireless ultrasonic diagnostic system of the present invention in more detail.

Depending on the ultrasonic diagnosis performed by the operator, any one of the transducers from the diagnostic linear scanning transducer unit 18D1, the convex scanning transducer unit 18D2, and the sector scanning transducer unit 18D3 The unit 18 is selected and attached to the wireless probe body 16 to form the wireless probe 14.
Next, the operator inputs diagnostic information including patient information and a diagnostic order from the operation unit 60 of the diagnostic apparatus body 12.

When the diagnostic information is input, the control unit 58 of the diagnostic apparatus main body 12 issues a wireless connection request to the control unit 46 of the wireless probe main body 16 by wireless communication.
Upon receiving this wireless connection request, the control unit 46 of the wireless probe main body 16 instructs the control unit 32 of the transducer unit 18 to read out and transmit the identification information stored in the storage unit 34, and to control it. Identification information of the transducer unit 18 is acquired from the unit 32.
In parallel, the control unit 46 of the wireless probe body 16 reads the identification information stored from the storage unit 48 of the wireless probe body 16 and acquires the identification information of the wireless probe body 16.
After acquiring the identification information of the transducer unit 18 and the identification information of the wireless probe main body 16, the control unit 46 combines both identification information and sends the combined information from the wireless communication unit 42 to the diagnostic device main body 12 by wireless communication. If the transducer unit 18 is not attached to the wireless probe main body 16, the information to that effect and the identification information of the wireless probe main body 16 are combined and sent to the diagnostic apparatus main body 12.

The wireless communication unit 50 of the diagnostic apparatus body 12 that has received the identification information sent from the wireless probe body 16 sends the identification information to the control unit 58.
As an example, the identification information of the wireless probe body 16 is W1, the identification information of the linear scanning transducer unit 18D1 is D1, the identification information of the convex scanning transducer unit 18D2 is D2, and the sector scanning transducer The identification information of the unit 18D3 is D3, and the information when the transducer unit 18 is not attached to the wireless probe body 16 is D0.

When the combination of identification information is W 1 -D 1, the control unit 58 is connected between the linear scanning wireless probe 14 in which the transducer unit 18 D 1 is attached (connected) to the wireless probe body 16 and the diagnostic apparatus body 12. Establishes wireless communication and performs wireless communication.
When the combination of identification information is W1-D2, the control unit 58 performs wireless communication between the diagnostic scanning main body 12 and the convex scanning wireless probe 14 in which the transducer unit 18D2 is mounted on the wireless probe main body 16. To establish wireless communication.
Further, when the combination of the identification information is W1-D3, the control unit 58 is connected between the sector scanning wireless probe 14 in which the transducer unit 18D3 is attached to the wireless probe body 16 and the diagnostic apparatus body 12. Wireless communication is established and wireless communication is performed.

On the other hand, when the combination of identification information is W1-D0, since the transducer unit 18 is not attached to the wireless probe body 16, the control unit 58 is provided between the diagnostic device body 12 and the wireless probe body 16. The wireless communication is terminated.
Further, when the combination of identification information is W1-D0, after the wireless communication is terminated, a warning sound is generated and a display such as “no transducer unit is attached to the wireless probe body” is displayed on the display unit 56. It may be.

When wireless communication is established between the diagnostic device main body 12 and the wireless probe 14 (wireless probe main body 16), a display indicating that diagnosis is possible on the display unit 56 according to an instruction from the control unit 58, if necessary. And waits for the operator to give an instruction to start ultrasonic diagnosis.
Further, the control unit 58 of the diagnostic apparatus body 12 sends information on the combination of the identification information of the wireless probe body 16 and the transducer unit 18 to the image forming unit 54 in parallel with the establishment of the wireless communication.

When an instruction to start diagnosis is issued, first, an operation control instruction is transmitted from the control unit 58 of the diagnostic apparatus body 12 to the wireless probe 14 via the wireless communication unit 50.
This operation control instruction is received by the wireless communication unit 42 of the wireless probe main body 16 and sent to the control unit 46, and the transducer array 24 is transmitted from the control unit 46 to the control unit 32 of the transducer unit 18 via the connector 20. An instruction to drive is output.

In response to this instruction, the control unit 32 of the transducer unit 18 operates the transmission / reception changeover switch 26 so that the transmission drive unit 30 is connected to the transducer array 24, and the vibration is generated according to the drive signal supplied from the transmission drive unit 30. Ultrasonic waves are transmitted from a plurality of ultrasonic transducers constituting the child array 24.
Thereafter, the control unit 32 operates the transmission / reception changeover switch 26 so that the preamplifier 28 is connected to the transducer array 24, and outputs the ultrasonic echo from the subject from each transducer of the transducer array 24. The received signal is amplified by the preamplifier 28 and transmitted to the wireless probe body 16 via the connector 20.

The reception signal transmitted to the wireless probe body 16 is digitized by the ADC 36 and then supplied to the reception signal processing unit 38 to generate sample data. The sample data is serialized by the parallel / serial conversion unit 40 and then wirelessly transmitted from the wireless communication unit 42 to the diagnostic apparatus main body 12.
The sample data received by the wireless communication unit 50 of the diagnostic apparatus body 12 is converted into parallel data by the serial / parallel conversion unit 52 and sent to the image forming unit 54.
The image forming unit 54 generates a display image signal by processing the transferred sample data in accordance with the combination of the identification information of the wireless probe main body 16 and the transducer unit 18 supplied in advance and the diagnosis. To do. For example, in the DSC provided in the image processing unit of the image forming unit 54, image signal coordinate conversion and interpolation processing are performed according to the scanning method in the transducer unit 18 attached to the wireless probe 14.

  The display image signal generated by the image forming unit 54 is sent to the display unit 56, and an ultrasonic diagnostic image is displayed on the display unit 56 based on the image signal.

FIG. 3 conceptually shows another example of the wireless ultrasonic diagnostic system of the present invention.
A wireless ultrasonic diagnostic system 70 (hereinafter referred to as a diagnostic system 70) shown in FIG. 3 is a system that can use a wired ultrasonic probe 76 in addition to the wireless probe 14 described above. As an example, the diagnostic system 70 includes a diagnostic device main body 12a basically having the same configuration as the diagnostic device main body 12, and a wireless probe 14 (wireless probe main body 16 / vibrator units 18D1, D2, and D3). In addition, it has a cart 72, an intermediate processing unit 74, and a wired ultrasonic probe 76 (hereinafter referred to as a wired probe 76).

  Further, in the illustrated diagnostic system 70, as the wired probe 76, there are three types of wires: a linear scanning type wired probe 76A1, a convex scanning type linear scanning type wired probe 76A2, and a sector scanning type wired probe 76A3. A wired probe 76 is prepared. The wired probe 76 is not limited to this, as described above.

In the diagnostic system 70 shown in FIG. 3, the wired probe 76 is a piezoelectric vibrator unit in the present invention, and the intermediate processing unit 74 is a wireless communication unit in the present invention.
Accordingly, the wired probe 76 is connected to the intermediate processing unit 74.

The cart 72 is a movable carriage having a caster 72a on which an intermediate processing unit 74 is fixedly mounted and a portable diagnostic device main body 12a is detachably mounted.
The cart 72 includes a power supply unit 78, and supplies driving power from the power supply unit 78 to the intermediate processing unit 74 through a power supply line 78a. Furthermore, in a state where the cart 72 is mounted, the diagnostic device main body 12a is also supplied with driving power from the power supply unit 78 through the power supply line 78b.

FIG. 4 conceptually shows the configuration of the diagnostic system 70 in a block diagram.
In the diagnostic system 70, the intermediate processing unit 74 and the diagnostic apparatus main body 12a have many of the same parts as those provided in the above-described diagnostic system 10, and the mutual relationship between the parts is basically the same. The same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the following description mainly focuses on different points.

The wired probe 76 includes a transducer array (not shown), a storage unit 82, an electric signal line 76a, and a connector 76b.
The transducer array is the same as the previous transducer array 24 in which a plurality of ultrasonic transducers that transmit and receive ultrasonic waves are arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally.
The storage unit 82 is a memory that stores identification information unique to the wired probe 76. The storage unit 82 may be provided inside the connector 76b.

The transducer array of the wired probe 76 is connected to the connector 76b by an electric signal line 76a. The connector 76b is attached (connected) to the probe connector 84 provided in the connection / selection unit 80 of the intermediate processing unit 74 described later.
By connecting the connector 76b and the probe connector 84, the wired probe 76 (vibrator array) and the intermediate processing unit 74 (a connection / selection unit 80 described later) are electrically connected.

The intermediate processing unit 74 is provided with the preamplifier 28, the transmission / reception changeover switch 26, and the transmission drive unit 30 included in the transducer unit 18 in the wireless probe body 16 of the diagnostic system 10 shown in FIG. A connection / selection unit 80 is provided. Therefore, the operation of the control unit 47 for controlling these is also slightly different from that of the previous control unit 46.
In this example, a configuration in which the wired probe 76 includes the preamplifier 28, the transmission / reception changeover switch 26, and the transmission drive unit 30 can also be used.

The connection / selection unit 80 is provided with three probe connectors 84 for connecting the connector 76b of the wired probe 76 described above.
In the present invention, the number of probe connectors 84 for connecting the wired probes 76 included in the intermediate processing unit 74 is not limited to 3, and may be 2 or less or 4 or more. Further, the connection between the connector 76b and the probe connector 84 may be performed by a known method.

The connection / selection unit 80 is connected to the transmission / reception selector switch 26. The connection / selection unit 80 includes a probe connector 84 to which the connector 76b of the wired probe 76 is attached, and selects the wired probe 76 for which wireless communication has been established by the operation unit 60 of the diagnostic apparatus main body 12a to transmit / receive signals. To do.
That is, in the diagnostic system 70, a drive signal is transmitted from the transmission / reception selector switch 26 to the wired probe 76 (transducer array) selected by the connection / selection unit 80, and a reception signal output from the transducer array is transmitted / received. It is transmitted to the changeover switch 26.

The transmission / reception changeover switch 26, the transmission drive unit 30, the reception signal processing unit 38, the parallel / serial conversion unit 40, and the wireless communication unit 42 are connected to a control unit 47 that performs these controls.
A storage unit 49 is connected to the control unit 47 of the intermediate processing unit 74. The storage unit 49 is a memory that stores identification information unique to the intermediate processing unit 74.

  The diagnostic device main body 12a is obtained by providing the cart detection unit 62 in the diagnostic device main body 12 of the previous diagnostic system 10 and providing the selection unit of the wired probe 76 in the operation unit 60a.

The cart detection unit 62 is for detecting whether or not the diagnostic apparatus main body 12 a is mounted on the cart 72.
There is no particular limitation on the method for detecting whether or not the diagnostic apparatus main body 12a is mounted on the cart 72. For example, a method of using a switch that engages when the diagnostic apparatus main body 12a is mounted at a predetermined position of the cart 72, a method of using a magnetic force that can be detected when mounted at the predetermined position, and a power supply line 78b. Various known methods such as a method for detecting connection can be used.
In the diagnostic system 70, the cart detection unit 62 is not an essential component. For example, it is not necessary to provide a diagnostic system that requires selection / input of which of the wireless probe 14 and the wired probe 76 to use when performing ultrasonic diagnosis.

Hereinafter, the wireless ultrasonic diagnostic system of the present invention will be described in more detail by describing the operation of ultrasonic diagnosis when the wired probe 76 is used in the diagnostic system 70.
In the diagnostic system 70, the ultrasonic diagnosis using the wireless probe 14 may be performed in the same manner as before.

The operator selects any one of the linear scanning type wired probe 76A1, the convex scanning type wired probe 76A2, and the sector scanning type wired probe 76A3 in the connection / selection unit 80 (probe connector 84) of the intermediate processing unit 74. Connect one or more.
Thereafter, the operator inputs diagnostic information including patient information and a diagnostic order from the operation unit 60a of the diagnostic apparatus body 12a.

When the diagnostic information is input, the control unit 58 of the diagnostic apparatus main body 12a issues a wireless connection request to the control unit 47 of the intermediate processing unit 74 by wireless communication.
Upon receiving this wireless connection request, the control unit 47 of the intermediate processing unit 74 reads the identification information from the storage unit 82 of the wired probe 76 connected to the probe connector 84 via the connection / selection unit 80, and Get identification information. In parallel, the control unit 47 of the intermediate processing unit 74 reads the identification information stored from the storage unit 49 of the intermediate processing unit 74 and acquires the identification information of the intermediate processing unit 74.

  When the control unit 47 acquires the identification information of the wired probe 76 and the identification information of the intermediate processing unit 74, the control unit 47 combines both pieces of identification information and sends them from the wireless communication unit 42 to the diagnostic apparatus body 12a by wireless communication. If the wired probe 76 is not connected to the connection / selection unit 80, the information to that effect and the identification information of the intermediate processing unit 74 are combined and sent to the diagnostic apparatus body 12a.

The identification information sent to the diagnostic device main body 12a is sent from the wireless communication unit 50 to the control unit 58 of the diagnostic device main body 12a.
As an example, the identification information of the intermediate processing unit is W2, the identification information of the linear scanning type wired probe 76A1 is A1, the identification information of the convex scanning type wired probe 76A2 is A2, and the identification of the sector scanning type wired probe 76A3 The information is A3, and the information when the wired probe 76 is not connected to the intermediate processing unit 74 is A0.

For example, when only the linear scanning type wired probe 76A1 is connected to the intermediate processing unit 74, identification information of a combination of W2-A1, W2-A0, and W2-A0 is transmitted to the control unit 58. Is done.
In response to this, the control unit 58 establishes wireless communication between the combination of the wired probe 76A1 and the intermediate processing unit 74 and the diagnostic apparatus main body 12a, and performs wireless communication.

When only the linear scanning type wired probe 76A1 and the convex scanning type wired probe 76A2 are connected to the intermediate processing unit 74, the control unit 58 includes W2-A1, W2-A2, and Identification information of a combination of W2-A0 is transmitted.
In response to this, the control unit 58 displays on the display unit 56 a prompt to select which wired probe 76 to use. When the wired probe 76 is selected in response to this request, the control unit 58 establishes wireless communication according to the selected wired probe 76. For example, when the wired probe 76A2 is selected, in response to this, the control unit 58 establishes wireless communication between the combination of the wired probe 76A2 and the intermediate processing unit 74 and the diagnostic apparatus main body 12a. Perform wireless communication.

When the linear scanning type wired probe 76A1, convex scanning type wired probe 76A2, and sector scanning type wired probe 76A3 are connected to the intermediate processing unit 74, the control unit 58 has W2- Identification information of a combination of A1, W2-A2, and W2-A3 is transmitted.
In response to this, the control unit 58 prompts the selection of the wired probe 76 and establishes the wireless communication corresponding to the selected wired probe 76 as before. For example, when the wired probe 76A3 is selected, in response to this, the control unit 58 establishes wireless communication between the combination of the wired probe 76A3 and the intermediate processing unit 74 and the diagnostic apparatus main body 12a. Perform wireless communication.

On the other hand, when no wired probe 76 is connected to the intermediate processing unit 74, identification information of a combination of W2-A0, W2-A0, and W2-A0 is transmitted to the control unit 58. The
In this case, the control unit 58 finds that the wired probe 76 is not connected to the intermediate processing unit 74, and ends the wireless communication between the diagnostic apparatus main body 12a and the intermediate processing unit 74.
Furthermore, in this case, after the end of the wireless communication, the display unit 56 may display a warning sound or display such as “no wired probe connected” after the end of the wireless communication.

When wireless communication is established between the diagnostic apparatus main body 12a, the wired probe 76, and the intermediate processing unit 74, the control unit 58 displays on the display unit 56 that diagnosis is possible as necessary, and operates Wait for the person to give an instruction to start ultrasound diagnosis.
Further, the control unit 58 of the diagnostic apparatus main body 12a sends information on the combination of the identification information of the wired probe 76 and the intermediate processing unit 74 to the image forming unit 54 in parallel with the establishment of the wireless communication.

When an instruction to start diagnosis is issued, first, an operation control instruction is transmitted from the control unit 58 of the diagnostic apparatus body 12a to the intermediate processing unit 74 via the wireless communication unit 50.
This operation control instruction is received by the wireless communication unit 42 of the intermediate processing unit 74 and sent to the control unit 47.

Receiving this instruction, the control unit 47 supplies the drive / signal to the connection / selection unit 80 to the wired probe 76 with which wireless communication has been established, and issues an instruction to receive the received signal.
Thereafter, the transmission / reception selector switch 26 is operated by the control unit 47 so that the transmission drive unit 30 is connected to the connection / selection unit 80, and the wireless probe is established according to the drive signal supplied from the transmission drive unit 30. Ultrasonic waves are transmitted from a plurality of ultrasonic transducers constituting the 76 transducer array.
Thereafter, the control unit 47 operates the transmission / reception changeover switch 26 so that the preamplifier 28 is connected to the wired probe 76 with which wireless communication has been established, and each transducer array that has received an ultrasonic echo from the subject. The reception signal output from the ultrasonic transducer is amplified by the preamplifier 28 and sent to the ADC 36.

Thereafter, as with the previous diagnostic system 10, the received signal is digitized by the ADC 36, sampled by the received signal processing unit 38, serialized by the parallel / serial conversion unit 40, and then wireless communication unit 42 is wirelessly transmitted to the diagnostic apparatus main body 12a.
Sample data received by the wireless communication unit 50 of the diagnostic apparatus main body 12a is converted into parallel data by the serial / parallel conversion unit 52, and the image forming unit 54 combines the wired probe 76 and the intermediate processing unit 74. Processing according to the diagnosis is performed, and an ultrasonic diagnostic image is displayed on the display unit 56.
That is, the diagnostic system 70 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is established as a wireless ultrasonic diagnostic system even when the wireless probe 14 is not provided and only the wired probe 76 is provided.

As is clear from the above description, according to the ultrasonic diagnostic system of the present invention, the diagnostic apparatus main body establishes wireless communication after acquiring the identification information of both the ultrasonic transducer unit and the wireless communication unit. . Therefore, it is possible to smoothly connect from the piezoelectric vibrator unit to the diagnostic apparatus main body corresponding to the ultrasonic probe having a desired setting, and the diagnostic apparatus main body can surely recognize the setting of the ultrasonic probe. it can.
Further, even if the transducer unit 18 is replaceable in the wireless probe 14, the diagnostic apparatus body 12a can reliably acquire information on the transducer unit 18 and the wireless probe body 16. Furthermore, the present invention can be suitably used in a system that does not have the wireless probe 14 and can select and use a plurality of wired probes 76. In addition, a wireless probe in which the transducer unit 18 can be replaced, A system in which the wired probes 76 are mixed can be suitably handled.

  In a diagnostic system in which both the wireless probe 14 and the wired probe 76 can be used like the diagnostic system 70, which of the wireless probe 14 and the wired probe 76 is used for the operation unit 60a of the diagnostic apparatus body 12a. Preferably a selection means is provided.

  Furthermore, in the diagnostic system 70 in which both the wireless probe 14 and the wired probe 76 can be used, the wireless probe 14 and the wired probe 76 (and the combination with the intermediate processing unit 74) according to the installation status of the diagnostic apparatus main body 12a. It may be automatically selected which priority is given to establishment of wireless communication.

For example, if the diagnostic device main body 12a is not mounted on the cart 72 according to the detection result by the cart detection unit 62 of the diagnostic device main body 12a, the diagnostic device main body 12a is carried by the operator and placed next to the bed. In such cases, there is a high possibility that ultrasonic diagnosis using the wireless probe 14 is performed.
Therefore, when the diagnostic apparatus main body 12a is not mounted on the cart 72, the control unit 58 of the diagnostic apparatus main body 12a first issues a wireless connection request to the wireless probe main body 16 of the wireless probe 14, Establish a wireless connection. When wireless communication with the wireless probe main body 16 is not possible (timeout), or when the identification information is W1-D0 (when the transducer unit is not attached), the control unit 58 and then the intermediate processing unit 74 A wireless connection request is issued and a wireless connection is established in the same manner as described above.

Conversely, when the diagnostic device main body 12 a is mounted on the cart 72, the diagnostic device main body 12 a is naturally moved by the cart 72 together with the intermediate processing unit 74.
In this case, the control unit 58 of the diagnostic apparatus main body 12a first issues a wireless connection request to the intermediate processing unit 74, and establishes a wireless connection as before. When wireless communication with the intermediate processing unit 74 is not possible (power off or timeout), or when all the identification information is W2-D0 (when the wired probe 76 is not connected to the intermediate processing unit 74), the control unit Next, a wireless connection request is issued to the wireless probe main body 16 of the wireless probe 14, and the wireless connection is established as before.

  When the probe holder is installed in the cart 72, whether or not the diagnostic probe main body 12a is mounted on the cart 72, whether or not the wireless probe main body 16 is removed from the wireless probe holder, and for the wired probe The presence / absence of removal of the wired probe 76 from the holder may be detected by a sensor to determine a partner (either the wireless probe 14 or the intermediate processing unit 74) that preferentially makes a wireless connection request.

Here, when the diagnostic device main body 12 a is not mounted on the cart 72, the wired probe 76 is used instead of the wireless probe 14 (when it is desired to communicate with the intermediate processing unit 74), or the diagnostic device main body 12 a is installed in the cart 72. There is a case where it is desired to use the wireless probe 14 instead of the intermediate processing unit 74 (when communication is desired) in a state where is mounted.
In this case, in response to a request instruction from the operator, the diagnostic apparatus main body 12a terminates communication with a partner with which communication is currently valid (either the wireless probe 14 or the intermediate processing unit 74), and then the desired A wireless connection request is made to the other party.

Further, in the diagnostic system 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when the transducer unit 18 of the wireless probe 14 is replaced, or in the diagnostic system 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the transducer unit 18 of the wireless probe 14 is replaced. In the case of changing the wired probe 76 connected to the intermediate processing unit 74, it is preferable to perform the processing as follows.
That is, in this case, in response to the replacement request instruction from the operator, first, from any one of the diagnostic apparatus main body 12 (12a), the wireless probe main body 16, and the intermediate processing unit 74 (the part to which the replacement request instruction is input). And issue a wireless connection stop request.
After that, when a change instruction is made by the operator and a restart instruction is issued, a wireless connection request is made again to the wireless probe body 16 and / or the intermediate processing unit 74 from the diagnostic apparatus body 12 (12a). Thereafter, similarly to the above, wireless communication is established according to the identification information acquired by the diagnostic apparatus body 12 (12a), and wireless communication is performed according to the connection mode.

In a system in which the wired probe 76 and the wireless probe 14 can be used like the diagnostic system 70, the communication between the intermediate processing unit 74 and the diagnostic apparatus main body 12a does not necessarily need to be wireless, and may be wired.
In this case, the parallel / serial conversion unit 40 and the wireless communication unit 42 of the intermediate processing unit 74 are not necessary, and the reception signal processed by the reception signal processing unit 38 is transmitted to the image forming unit 54 of the diagnostic apparatus main body 12a or necessary. The reception signal may be sent to a storage means (reception signal storage unit) connected to the image forming unit 54 provided according to the above.

The wireless ultrasonic diagnostic system of the present invention has been described in detail above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various improvements and modifications may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Of course.
For example, in the above example, only one intermediate processing unit 74 is provided. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of intermediate processing units 74 may be provided.

  It can be suitably used for ultrasonic diagnosis in a medical field.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,70 (Ultrasound) diagnostic system 12,12a Diagnostic apparatus main body 14 Wireless (ultrasonic) probe 16 Wireless probe main body 18 (Piezoelectric) vibrator unit 20 Connector 24 Transducer array 26 Transmission / reception changeover switch 28 Preamplifier 30 Transmission drive part 32 , 46, 47, 58 Control unit 34, 48, 49, 82 Storage unit 36 ADC
38 reception signal processing unit 40 parallel / serial conversion unit 42, 50 wireless communication unit 52 serial / parallel conversion unit 54 image forming unit 56 display unit 60, 60a operation unit 72 cart 74 intermediate processing unit 76 wired (ultrasonic) probe 78 power supply Part 80 Connection / selection part 84 Probe connector

Claims (3)

At least one piezoelectric vibrator unit having unique identification information, including a preamplifier and a transmission drive unit, which transmits and receives ultrasonic waves and outputs a reception signal corresponding to the received ultrasonic waves;
Signal processing means for processing the reception signal output from the piezoelectric vibrator unit, wireless communication means for converting the reception signal processed by the signal processing means into a wireless signal, and identification information of the piezoelectric vibrator unit At least one wireless communication unit having unique identification information, having acquisition means for acquiring and configured to be detachable from the piezoelectric vibrator unit via an electrical contact;
A wireless communication unit that wirelessly communicates with the diagnostic device main body that generates an ultrasound image according to the received signal received by the piezoelectric vibrator unit;
The piezoelectric vibrator unit is a wired ultrasonic probe that can be grasped by an operator's hand,
The diagnostic apparatus body establishes wireless communication with the wireless communication unit by acquiring both the identification information of the piezoelectric vibrator unit and the identification information of the wireless communication unit. Ultrasound diagnostic system. The wireless ultrasonic diagnostic system according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of the wired ultrasonic probes can be connected to the wireless communication unit, and the wired ultrasonic probes designated from the diagnostic apparatus body are driven. The diagnostic device body is portable,
The wireless ultrasonic diagnostic system according to claim 1 , further comprising a cart on which the wireless communication unit is fixedly mounted and the diagnostic apparatus main body can be detachably mounted.

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