阅读说明：本技术 超声波诊断系统及超声波诊断系统的工作方法 (Ultrasonic diagnostic system and method for operating ultrasonic diagnostic system ) 是由 远藤恒史 高平正行 于 2020-03-11 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供一种改善用于设定测量时间的操作性,并能够自动获取经过测量时间的时间点的超声波图像的超声波诊断系统及超声波诊断系统的工作方法。在本发明的超声波诊断系统及超声波诊断系统的工作方法中,保持多种包括从触发时刻起开始测量的多个测量时间在内的记录形式的记录时刻管理部,根据来自用户的指示从多种记录形式中选择一个记录形式,每当从触发时刻起经过一个记录形式中所包括的多个测量时间的每一个测量时间时,自动保存控制部从由超声波图像生成部连续生成的多个超声波图像中,使经过了多个测量时间的每一个测量时间的时间点的超声波图像记录在图像记录部中。(The invention provides an ultrasonic diagnostic system and an operating method of the ultrasonic diagnostic system, which can improve the operability for setting the measuring time and can automatically acquire an ultrasonic image at the time point when the measuring time passes. In an ultrasonic diagnostic system and an operating method of the ultrasonic diagnostic system according to the present invention, a recording time management unit that holds a plurality of types of recording formats including a plurality of measurement times from a trigger time, selects one of the plurality of types of recording formats in accordance with an instruction from a user, and an automatic save control unit causes an image recording unit to record, from a plurality of ultrasonic images continuously generated by an ultrasonic image generation unit, an ultrasonic image at a time point at which each of the plurality of measurement times has elapsed, every time each of the plurality of measurement times included in the one recording format has elapsed from the trigger time.)

1. An ultrasonic diagnostic system is provided with:

an ultrasonic image generating unit that drives an ultrasonic transducer to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves and generates an ultrasonic image from a reception signal of the ultrasonic waves;

an instruction acquisition unit that acquires an instruction input by a user;

a recording time management unit that holds a plurality of recording formats including a plurality of measurement times from a trigger time, and selects one recording format from the plurality of recording formats in accordance with an instruction from the user;

an image recording unit that records at least one ultrasound image from among a plurality of ultrasound images continuously generated by the ultrasound image generating unit; and

and an auto-save control unit that records, in the image recording unit, an ultrasound image at a time point when each of the plurality of measurement times included in the one recording format has elapsed, from among the plurality of ultrasound images continuously generated by the ultrasound image generation unit, each of the plurality of measurement times having elapsed.

2. The ultrasonic diagnostic system according to claim 1,

the automatic saving control unit receives a recording format from a recording format generating device disposed outside the ultrasonic diagnostic system, and records the ultrasonic image in the image recording unit using the recording format received from the recording format generating device, wherein the recording format is generated based on at least one of information on the subject input to the recording format generating device, information on the observation target site of the subject, and setting information of the ultrasonic diagnostic system.

3. The ultrasonic diagnostic system according to claim 1,

the recording time management unit receives a recording format from a recording format generation device disposed outside the ultrasonic diagnostic system, and holds the recording format received from the recording format generation device, the recording format being generated based on at least one of information of a subject input to the recording format generation device, information of an observation target site of the subject, and setting information of the ultrasonic diagnostic system.

4. The ultrasonic diagnostic system according to claim 1,

the ultrasonic diagnostic system further includes:

a recording format generating unit that generates a recording format based on at least one of information on a subject input in accordance with an instruction from the user, information on a site to be observed of the subject, and setting information of the ultrasonic diagnostic system,

the automatic saving control unit records the ultrasonic image in the image recording unit using the recording format generated by the recording format generating unit.

5. The ultrasonic diagnostic system according to claim 1,

the ultrasonic diagnostic system further includes:

a recording format generating unit that generates a recording format based on at least one of information on a subject input in accordance with an instruction from the user, information on a site to be observed of the subject, and setting information of the ultrasonic diagnostic system,

the recording time management unit holds the recording format generated by the recording format generation unit.

6. The ultrasonic diagnostic system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

the ultrasonic diagnostic system further includes:

a timer control section having a timer and controlling time measurement based on the timer,

the automatic saving control unit sets a start time of time measurement by the timer as the trigger time.

7. The ultrasonic diagnostic system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

the ultrasonic diagnostic system further includes:

and an image playback unit that displays the plurality of ultrasound images recorded in the image recording unit on a monitor in a simultaneous array.

8. The ultrasonic diagnostic system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

at least one of the plurality of recording formats held by the recording time management unit includes a determination flag for causing the ultrasonic diagnostic system to determine a recording time at which the ultrasonic image is recorded in the image recording unit.

9. The ultrasonic diagnostic system according to claim 8,

the ultrasonic diagnostic system further includes:

an image analysis unit having a temporary storage area, storing the ultrasonic image in the temporary storage area from the trigger time, analyzing the ultrasonic image stored in the temporary storage area, and determining the recording time based on the analysis result,

when the determination flag is included in the one recording format, the automatic saving control unit records, in the image recording unit, an ultrasonic image at a recording time determined based on the analysis result, from among the ultrasonic images stored in the temporary storage area.

10. A method of operating an ultrasonic diagnostic system, comprising:

an ultrasonic image generating unit that drives an ultrasonic transducer to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves and generates an ultrasonic image from a reception signal of the ultrasonic waves;

a recording time management unit that holds a plurality of recording formats, each including a plurality of measurement times measured from a trigger time, and selects one of the plurality of recording formats in accordance with an instruction from a user; and

and a step in which the auto-save control unit records, in the image recording unit, an ultrasound image at a time point at which each of the plurality of measurement times has elapsed, from among the plurality of ultrasound images continuously generated by the ultrasound image generation unit, every time each of the plurality of measurement times included in the one recording format has elapsed from the trigger time.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic system for observing a state of an observation target portion in a body of a subject using ultrasonic waves and an operating method of the ultrasonic diagnostic system.

Background

For example, an ultrasonic endoscope system is configured to insert an ultrasonic endoscope having an endoscope observation portion and an ultrasonic observation portion at a distal end thereof into a digestive tract of a subject, and to take an endoscopic image of the digestive tract and an ultrasonic image of a site outside the digestive tract wall, for the main purpose of observing a pancreas, a gallbladder, or the like through the digestive tract.

In an ultrasonic endoscope system, illumination light is irradiated from an illumination unit provided at the distal end of an ultrasonic endoscope to an observation target adjacent region in a digestive tract, and reflected light is received by an imaging unit provided at the distal end of the ultrasonic endoscope, and an endoscopic image is generated from an imaging signal of the reflected light. Then, a plurality of ultrasonic transducers provided at the distal end of the ultrasonic endoscope are driven to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves to and from an observation target site such as an organ on the outer side of the digestive tract wall, and an ultrasonic image is generated from a reception signal of the ultrasonic waves.

When identifying whether a neoplastic disease such as pancreas and liver is benign or malignant, for example, cancer or non-cancer, a doctor injects a contrast medium into a subject to observe an ultrasonic image of a region to be observed, and sometimes observes a temporal change in brightness value to identify whether the disease is benign or malignant.

In the case of such observation, as described in patent documents 1 to 3, etc., the temporal change in luminance value is analyzed based on TIC (time intensity Curve). TIC is a graph showing temporal changes in luminance values in a region of interest in a plurality of ultrasound images.

Patent document 1 describes an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that measures the time from the start time to the end of administration of an ultrasonic contrast agent by a stopwatch, and displays or stores the measurement time and an ultrasonic image in association with each other by linking control related to the measurement time and control related to the imaging or storage of the ultrasonic image. Further, it is described that: TIC is created from the plurality of ultrasound images and displayed on a monitor.

Patent document 2 describes an ultrasonic image diagnostic apparatus that starts measuring time in conjunction with injection of a contrast medium into a subject and displays the measured time together with ultrasonic image data. Further, it is described that: a change in the brightness value of the ultrasonic image data caused by the injection of the contrast agent is displayed.

Patent document 3 describes an ultrasound observation apparatus that measures a brightness value or time as a measurement item related to injection of a contrast agent, and controls change of image quality setting of an ultrasound image based on the measurement result. Further, it is described that: from the start of contrast agent injection, the time Intensity curve TIC (time Intensity curve) of the image data in the observation target region is recorded and analyzed as TIC analysis data.

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2001-178717

Patent document 2: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2011-087629

Patent document 3: japanese patent No. 5905177

For example, a TIC graph is created by acquiring a plurality of ultrasound images generated continuously as a moving image and calculating the brightness value in the region of interest from each of the plurality of ultrasound images acquired as a moving image. When a certain amount of time has elapsed after the injection of the contrast agent, the brightness sharply increases and then gradually decreases at the time when the contrast agent reaches the region of interest. The graph curve when the luminance is decreased changes depending on the characteristics of a disease or the like, and may be abruptly decreased or slowly decreased.

Using TIC, for example, after injection of a contrast agent, various index values such as the luminance value of a region of interest at an arbitrary measurement time, the difference between the luminance values at two measurement times, and the rate of change thereof are calculated and analyzed, thereby diagnosing whether a disease is benign or malignant. However, the operation of acquiring a moving image for TIC, calculating and analyzing various index values is very troublesome, and burdens a doctor. Depending on the disease, diagnosis may be performed using contrast ultrasonography results for 2 to 4 measurement periods in many cases, and it is considered useful if an ultrasonic image at an appropriate time point can be easily acquired.

Patent document 1 describes: after a contrast medium is injected into a subject, a plurality of ultrasound images are automatically read at equal time intervals from the time when an operator manually reads the first ultrasound image.

However, the timing of obtaining the ultrasonic image required for disease identification may vary depending on the conditions such as sex, age, weight, disease, and observation site of the subject, and the plurality of automatically acquired ultrasonic images are not necessarily suitable for disease identification. Therefore, the doctor needs to repeatedly set an appropriate measurement time determined from the above conditions and the like, and, depending on the case, attempts are made to repeatedly test the setting of various measurement times.

However, the operation of manually setting various measurement times for acquiring a plurality of ultrasonic images is very troublesome, and moreover, since it is necessary to repeat the trial and error many times, there is a problem that it is very troublesome.

Disclosure of Invention

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic system and an operating method of the ultrasonic diagnostic system, which can improve operability for measuring time and can automatically acquire an ultrasonic image at a time point when the measuring time elapses.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an ultrasonic diagnostic system including: an ultrasonic image generating unit that drives the ultrasonic transducer to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves and generates an ultrasonic image from a reception signal of the ultrasonic waves;

an instruction acquisition unit that acquires an instruction input by a user;

a recording time management unit that holds a plurality of recording formats including a plurality of measurement times from a trigger time, and selects one recording format from the plurality of recording formats in accordance with an instruction from a user;

an image recording unit that records at least one ultrasound image from among a plurality of ultrasound images continuously generated by the ultrasound image generating unit; and

the automatic save control unit records, in the image recording unit, an ultrasound image at a time point when each of the plurality of measurement times has elapsed, from among the plurality of ultrasound images continuously generated by the ultrasound image generation unit, every time each of the plurality of measurement times included in one recording format has elapsed from the trigger time.

Here, it is preferable that the automatic saving control unit receives a recording format from a recording format generating device disposed outside the ultrasonic diagnostic system, the recording format being generated based on at least one of information on the subject input to the recording format generating device, information on the observation target site of the subject, and setting information of the ultrasonic diagnostic system, and records the ultrasonic image in the image recording unit using the recording format received from the recording format generating device.

The recording time management unit preferably receives a recording format from a recording format generation device disposed outside the ultrasonic diagnostic system, the recording format being generated based on at least one of information on the subject input to the recording format generation device, information on the observation target site of the subject, and setting information of the ultrasonic diagnostic system, and holds the recording format received from the recording format generation device.

The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus further includes a recording format generation unit for generating a recording format based on at least one of information on the subject, information on a site to be observed of the subject, and setting information of the ultrasonic diagnostic system, which are input in response to an instruction from a user,

preferably, the automatic saving control unit records the ultrasonic image in the image recording unit using the recording format generated by the recording format generating unit.

The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus further includes a recording format generation unit for generating a recording format based on at least one of information on the subject, information on a site to be observed of the subject, and setting information of the ultrasonic diagnostic system, which are input in response to an instruction from a user,

the recording time management unit preferably holds the recording format generated by the recording format generation unit.

Further, the apparatus comprises a timer control unit having a timer and controlling time measurement by the timer,

preferably, the autosave control unit sets a start time of time measurement by the timer as a trigger time.

Preferably, the ultrasound imaging apparatus further includes an image playback unit configured to display the plurality of ultrasound images recorded in the image recording unit on the monitor in a row at the same time.

The image playback unit preferably causes the monitor to display a thumbnail image of the ultrasound image recorded in the image recording unit each time the ultrasound image is recorded in the image recording unit.

Preferably, the image playback unit displays a graph showing a relationship between an elapsed time from the trigger time and an average brightness value in the region of interest in the ultrasound image on the monitor.

Preferably, at least one of the plurality of recording formats held by the recording time management unit includes a determination flag for causing the ultrasonic diagnostic system to determine a recording time at which the ultrasonic image is recorded in the image recording unit.

An image analysis unit having a temporary storage area, storing the ultrasonic image in the temporary storage area from the trigger time, analyzing the ultrasonic image stored in the temporary storage area, and determining the recording time based on the analysis result,

in the case where the determination flag is included in one recording format, the automatic saving control unit preferably records, in the image recording unit, an ultrasonic image at a recording time determined based on the analysis result from among the ultrasonic images stored in the temporary storage area.

The image analysis unit preferably determines at least one of the following times: the recording time at which the average brightness value in the region of interest in the ultrasound image is maximum, the recording time at which the average brightness value is minimum, the recording time at which the amount of change in the average brightness value between two temporally successive ultrasound images is maximum, the recording time at which the variance value in the brightness value in the region of interest is maximum, the recording time at which the variance value in the brightness value is minimum, and the recording time at which the amount of change in the variance value in the brightness value between two temporally successive ultrasound images is maximum.

The auto-save control unit preferably sets an initial value of the region of interest according to the type of the probe used in the ultrasonic diagnostic system.

The recording time management unit preferably further holds a new recording format generated in response to an instruction from the user.

Preferably, the recording time management unit further changes at least one of the plurality of measurement times included in one recording format in accordance with an instruction from a user.

Further, the present invention provides a method of operating an ultrasonic diagnostic system, including: an ultrasonic image generating unit that drives the ultrasonic transducer to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves and generates an ultrasonic image from a received signal of the ultrasonic waves;

a recording time management unit for holding a plurality of recording formats including a plurality of measurement times from a trigger time to start measurement, the recording format management unit selecting one of the plurality of recording formats in accordance with an instruction from a user;

and a step in which the auto-save control unit records, in the image recording unit, an ultrasound image at a time point at which each of the plurality of measurement times has elapsed, from among the plurality of ultrasound images continuously generated by the ultrasound image generation unit, every time each of the plurality of measurement times included in one recording format has elapsed from the trigger time.

Preferably, at least one of information on the subject, information on the observation target site of the subject, and setting information on the ultrasonic diagnostic system is input to a recording format generating device provided in the ultrasonic diagnostic system,

receiving a record format generated based on at least one of information on the subject, information on a site to be observed of the subject, and setting information of the ultrasonic diagnostic system from a record format generating device,

the ultrasonic image is recorded in the image recording unit using the recording format received from the recording format generating device.

Preferably, the trigger time is a start time of time measurement by a timer controlled by a timer control unit having a timer.

Preferably, the method further comprises the following steps: and a step in which the image playback unit simultaneously displays the plurality of ultrasound images recorded in the image recording unit on the monitor.

It is preferable that the monitor be configured to display a thumbnail image of the ultrasound image recorded in the image recording unit each time the ultrasound image is recorded in the image recording unit.

Further, it is preferable that a graph showing a relationship between an elapsed time from the trigger time and an average luminance value in the region of interest in the ultrasound image is displayed on the monitor.

Preferably, at least one of the plurality of recording formats held by the recording time management unit includes a determination flag for causing the ultrasonic diagnostic system to determine a recording time at which the ultrasonic image is recorded in the image recording unit.

Further, the apparatus comprises: a step in which an image analysis unit having a temporary storage area stores the ultrasonic image in the temporary storage area from the trigger time, analyzes the ultrasonic image stored in the temporary storage area, and determines the recording time based on the analysis result,

in the case where the determination flag is included in one recording format, it is preferable that an ultrasonic image at the recording time determined from the analysis result is recorded in the image recording unit from among the ultrasonic images stored in the temporary storage area.

Further, it is preferable to determine at least one of the following times: the recording time at which the average brightness value in the region of interest in the ultrasound image is maximum, the recording time at which the average brightness value is minimum, the recording time at which the amount of change in the average brightness value between two temporally successive ultrasound images is maximum, the recording time at which the variance value in the brightness value in the region of interest is maximum, the recording time at which the variance value in the brightness value is minimum, and the recording time at which the amount of change in the variance value in the brightness value between two temporally successive ultrasound images is maximum.

It is preferable that the initial value of the region of interest is set according to the type of the probe used in the ultrasonic diagnostic system.

It is preferable to also maintain a new recording form made in correspondence with the instruction from the user.

It is preferable that at least one of the plurality of measurement times included in one record form is also changed in accordance with an instruction from the user.

Preferably, the instruction acquisition unit, the timer control unit, the recording time management unit, the recording format generation unit, the image analysis unit, the automatic saving control unit, and the image playback unit are hardware or a processor that executes a program.

Effects of the invention

In the ultrasonic diagnostic system of the present invention, a plurality of types of record including a plurality of elapsed times are held according to sex, age, weight, disease, observation target site, and the like. The user of the ultrasonic diagnostic system can collectively set a plurality of measurement times by a simple operation of designating a desired recording format from among the plurality of recording formats, and can automatically acquire an ultrasonic image at a time point when each of the plurality of measurement times has elapsed from the trigger time.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ultrasonic endoscope system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing a distal end portion of an insertion portion of an ultrasonic endoscope and its periphery.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the distal end portion of the insertion portion of the ultrasonic endoscope cut along the I-I section shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the ultrasonic observation apparatus.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of a diagnosis process using the ultrasonic endoscope system.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the sequence of diagnostic steps in the diagnostic process.

Fig. 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an embodiment of a screen of an operation panel provided in an operation panel.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic system when an ultrasonic image is observed in the contrast mode.

Fig. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment in which an ultrasound image continuously generated in the live mode is displayed on a monitor as a moving image in real time.

Fig. 10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an embodiment in which a plurality of ultrasound images recorded in the image recording unit are simultaneously displayed in a line on the monitor in the contrast mode.

Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic system in determining the recording timing of an ultrasonic image recorded in the image recording unit.

Detailed Description

An ultrasonic endoscope system is an example of an embodiment (present embodiment) of an ultrasonic diagnostic system according to the present invention, and the following detailed description will be given with reference to preferred embodiments shown in the drawings.

The present embodiment is a representative embodiment of the present invention, but is always an example and does not limit the present invention.

In the present specification, the numerical range expressed by the term "to" means a range including numerical values before and after the term "to" as a lower limit value and an upper limit value.

Overview of ultrasonic endoscope System

The ultrasonic endoscope system 10 according to the present embodiment will be described in brief with reference to fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ultrasonic endoscope system 10.

The ultrasonic endoscope system 10 is used to observe a state of an observation target site in the body of a patient as an object using ultrasonic waves (hereinafter, also referred to as ultrasonic diagnosis). Here, the observation target site is a site that is difficult to be examined from the body surface side of the patient, and is, for example, a pancreas or a gallbladder. By using the ultrasonic endoscope system 10, the state and presence or absence of an abnormality of a region to be observed can be ultrasonically diagnosed through a digestive tract such as an esophagus, a stomach, a duodenum, a small intestine, and a large intestine, which are body cavities of a patient.

The ultrasonic endoscope system 10 acquires an ultrasonic image and an endoscopic image, and as shown in fig. 1, includes an ultrasonic endoscope 12, an ultrasonic observation device 14, an endoscope processor 16, a light source device 18, a monitor 20, a water feed tank 21a, a suction pump 21b, and an operation console 100.

The ultrasonic endoscope 12 includes: an insertion portion 22 inserted into a body cavity of a patient; an operation unit 24 that is operated by a doctor (a user of the ultrasonic endoscope system 10) such as a doctor or a technician; and an ultrasonic transducer unit 46 attached to the distal end portion 40 of the insertion portion 22 (see fig. 2 and 3). The doctor acquires an endoscopic image and an ultrasonic image by the function of the ultrasonic endoscope 12.

Here, the "endoscopic image" is an image obtained by optically capturing an image of the inner wall of a body cavity of a patient. The "ultrasound image" is an image obtained by receiving a reflected wave (echo) of an ultrasound wave transmitted from the inside of a body cavity of a patient to an observation target site and imaging the received signal.

The ultrasonic endoscope 12 will be described in detail in a later section.

The ultrasonic observation device 14 is connected to the ultrasonic endoscope 12 via a universal cord 26 and an ultrasonic connector 32a provided at an end thereof. The ultrasonic observation device 14 controls the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 of the ultrasonic endoscope 12 to transmit ultrasonic waves. The ultrasonic observation device 14 images a reception signal when the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 receives a reflected wave (echo) of the transmitted ultrasonic wave, thereby generating an ultrasonic image.

The ultrasonic observation device 14 will be described in detail in the following section.

The endoscope processor 16 is connected to the ultrasonic endoscope 12 via the universal cord 26 and an endoscope connector 32b provided at an end thereof. The endoscope processor 16 acquires image data of an adjacent region to be observed captured by the ultrasonic endoscope 12 (specifically, a solid-state imaging device 86 described later), and performs predetermined image processing on the acquired image data to generate an endoscope image.

Here, the "observation target adjacent region" is a portion of the body cavity inner wall of the patient which is located adjacent to the observation target region.

In the present embodiment, the ultrasonic observation device 14 and the endoscope processor 16 are constituted by two devices (computers) provided separately. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and both the ultrasonic observation device 14 and the endoscope processor 16 may be configured by one device.

The light source device 18 is connected to the ultrasonic endoscope 12 via the universal cord 26 and a light source connector 32c provided at an end thereof. When an adjacent region to be observed is imaged by the ultrasonic endoscope 12, the light source device 18 irradiates white light composed of 3 primary colors of red light, green light, and blue light, or light of a specific wavelength. The light irradiated from the light source device 18 propagates through the ultrasonic endoscope 12 via a light guide (not shown) included in the universal cord 26, and is emitted from the ultrasonic endoscope 12 (specifically, an illumination window 88 described later). Thereby, the adjacent portion to be observed is irradiated with light from the light source device 18.

The monitor 20 is connected to the ultrasonic observation device 14 and the endoscope processor 16, and displays an ultrasonic image generated by the ultrasonic observation device 14 and an endoscope image generated by the endoscope processor 16. The display mode of the ultrasonic image and the endoscope image may be a mode in which either one of the images is switched and displayed on the monitor 20, or a mode in which both images are simultaneously displayed.

In the present embodiment, the ultrasound image and the endoscope image are displayed on one monitor 20, but the ultrasound image display monitor and the endoscope image display monitor may be separately provided. The ultrasonic image and the endoscopic image may be displayed on a display system other than the monitor 20, for example, on a terminal display carried by a doctor.

The console 100 is an example of an instruction acquisition unit that acquires an instruction input from a doctor (user), and is provided for inputting information necessary for the doctor to perform an ultrasonic diagnosis, for instructing the ultrasonic observation apparatus 14 to start the ultrasonic diagnosis, and the like. The console 100 is composed of, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, a touch panel, and the like. When the console 100 is operated, a CPU (control circuit) 152 (see fig. 4) of the ultrasonic observation device 14 controls each unit of the device (for example, a receiving circuit 142 and a transmitting circuit 144 described later) according to the operation content.

Specifically, the doctor inputs examination information (for example, examination order information including the date and year and order number, and patient information including the patient ID and patient name) on the console 100 before starting the ultrasonic diagnosis. After the examination information is input, when the doctor instructs the start of the ultrasonic diagnosis through the console 100, the CPU152 of the ultrasonic observation device 14 controls each section of the ultrasonic observation device 14 to perform the ultrasonic diagnosis based on the input examination information.

When performing ultrasonic diagnosis, the doctor can set various control parameters in the console 100. Examples of the control parameters include results of selecting a live mode and a freeze mode, a set value of a display depth (depth), and a result of selecting an ultrasound image generation mode.

Here, the "live mode" is a mode in which ultrasonic images (moving images) obtained at a predetermined frame rate are sequentially displayed (displayed in real time). The "freeze mode" is a mode in which a 1-frame image (still image) of an ultrasonic image (moving image) generated in the past is read from the video memory 150 described later and displayed.

In the present embodiment, there are a plurality of selectable ultrasound image generation modes, and specifically, a B (Brightness) mode, a CF (Color Flow) mode, a PW (Pulse Wave) mode, a contrast mode, and the like are included. The B mode is a mode in which the amplitude of the ultrasonic echo is converted into brightness to display a tomographic image. The CF mode is a mode in which the average blood flow velocity, blood flow fluctuation, intensity of a blood flow signal, blood flow power, and the like are matched with each color and superimposed on the B-mode image. The PW mode is a mode for displaying the velocity (for example, blood flow velocity) of the ultrasonic echo source detected by transmission and reception of the pulse wave. The contrast mode is a mode in which a contrast agent is injected into a patient to display a B-mode image.

The ultrasound image generation mode is always an example, and may include modes other than the 4 modes, for example, an a (Amplitude) mode and an M (Motion) mode.

Structure of ultrasonic endoscope 12

Next, the structure of the ultrasonic endoscope 12 will be described with reference to fig. 1, 2, and 3. Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the distal end portion of the insertion portion 22 of the ultrasonic endoscope 12 and its periphery. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross section when the distal end portion 40 of the insertion portion 22 of the ultrasonic endoscope 12 is cut at the illustrated I-I cross section in fig. 2.

As described above, the ultrasonic endoscope 12 includes the insertion portion 22 and the operation portion 24. As shown in fig. 1, the insertion portion 22 includes a distal end portion 40, a bent portion 42, and a soft portion 43 in this order from the distal end side (free end side). As shown in fig. 2, the distal end portion 40 is provided with an ultrasonic observation portion 36 and an endoscope observation portion 38. As shown in fig. 3, an ultrasonic transducer unit 46 including a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 48 is disposed in the ultrasonic observation unit 36.

As shown in fig. 2, a treatment instrument outlet 44 is provided at the distal end portion 40. The treatment instrument outlet 44 is an outlet of a treatment instrument (not shown) such as a forceps, a puncture needle, or a high-frequency knife. The treatment instrument outlet 44 also serves as a suction port for sucking a suction material such as blood and body contaminants.

The bending portion 42 is a portion continuously provided on the base end side (the side opposite to the side where the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 is provided) of the distal end portion 40, and is bendable. The flexible portion 43 is a portion connecting the bending portion 42 and the operation portion 24, and is provided in a flexible and elongated state.

A plurality of air/water supply pipes and a plurality of suction pipes are formed in the insertion portion 22 and the operation portion 24, respectively. A treatment instrument channel 45 having one end communicating with the treatment instrument outlet 44 is formed in each of the insertion portion 22 and the operation portion 24.

Next, the ultrasonic observation unit 36, the endoscope observation unit 38, the water feed tank 21a, the suction pump 21b, and the operation unit 24 will be described in detail as the constituent elements of the ultrasonic endoscope 12.

(ultrasonic observation unit 36)

The ultrasonic observation unit 36 is a portion provided for acquiring an ultrasonic image, and is disposed on the distal end side of the distal end portion 40 of the insertion unit 22. As shown in fig. 3, the ultrasonic observation unit 36 includes an ultrasonic transducer unit 46, a plurality of coaxial cables 56, and an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) 60.

The ultrasound transducer unit 46 corresponds to an ultrasound probe (probe), and transmits ultrasound in a body cavity of a patient using an ultrasound transducer array 50 in which a plurality of ultrasound transducers 48, which will be described later, are arranged, and receives a reflected wave (echo) of the ultrasound reflected at an observation target site and outputs a received signal. The ultrasonic transducer unit 46 according to the present embodiment is convex, and transmits ultrasonic waves radially (in an arc shape). However, the type (type) of the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 is not particularly limited thereto, and may be other types, for example, a radial type, a linear type, or the like, as long as it can transmit and receive ultrasonic waves.

As shown in fig. 3, the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 is formed by laminating a backing material layer 54, an ultrasonic transducer array 50, an acoustic matching layer 74, and an acoustic lens 76.

The ultrasonic transducer array 50 is constituted by a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 48 (ultrasonic transducers) arranged in a one-dimensional array. More specifically, the ultrasonic transducer array 50 is configured such that N (for example, N is 128) ultrasonic transducers 48 are arranged at equal intervals in a convex curved shape along the axial direction of the distal end portion 40 (the longitudinal direction of the insertion portion 22). The ultrasonic transducer array 50 may be configured by arranging a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 48 in a two-dimensional array.

Each of the N ultrasonic transducers 48 is configured by disposing electrodes on both surfaces of a piezoelectric element (piezoelectric body). Barium titanate (BaTiO) is used as the piezoelectric element₃) Lead zirconate titanate (PZT), potassium niobate (KNbO)₃) And the like.

The electrodes are constituted by individual electrodes (not shown) provided individually for each of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 48 and a transducer ground (not shown) common to the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 48. The electrodes are electrically connected to the ultrasound observation device 14 via the coaxial cable 56 and the FPC 60.

The pulse-like drive voltage is supplied as an input signal (transmission signal) from the ultrasonic observation device 14 to each ultrasonic transducer 48 through the coaxial cable 56. When the driving voltage is applied to the electrodes of the ultrasonic transducer 48, the piezoelectric element expands and contracts, and the ultrasonic transducer 48 is driven (vibrated). As a result, a pulse-like ultrasonic wave is output from the ultrasonic transducer 48. At this time, the amplitude of the ultrasonic wave output from the ultrasonic transducer 48 has a magnitude corresponding to the intensity (output intensity) when the ultrasonic transducer 48 outputs the ultrasonic wave. Here, the output intensity is defined as the magnitude of the sound pressure of the ultrasonic wave output from the ultrasonic transducer 48.

When the ultrasonic transducers 48 receive reflected waves (echoes) of the ultrasonic waves, the ultrasonic transducers vibrate (drive) in response to the reflected waves, and the piezoelectric elements of the ultrasonic transducers 48 generate electric signals. The electric signal is output from each ultrasonic transducer 48 to the ultrasonic observation device 14 as a reception signal of the ultrasonic wave. At this time, the magnitude (voltage value) of the electric signal output from the ultrasonic transducer 48 is a magnitude corresponding to the reception sensitivity when the ultrasonic transducer 48 receives the ultrasonic wave. Here, the reception sensitivity is defined as a ratio of the amplitude of the electric signal that the ultrasonic transducer 48 receives and outputs the ultrasonic wave to the amplitude of the ultrasonic wave transmitted by the ultrasonic transducer 48.

In the present embodiment, the N ultrasonic transducers 48 are sequentially driven by an electronic switch such as a multiplexer 140 (see fig. 4), and thereby ultrasonic waves are scanned in a scanning range along the curved surface where the ultrasonic transducer array 50 is arranged, for example, in a range of about several tens mm from the center of curvature of the curved surface. To be more specific, when a B-mode image (tomographic image) is acquired as an ultrasound image, a drive voltage is supplied to m (for example, m is N/2) ultrasound transducers 48 (hereinafter, referred to as drive target transducers) arranged in series among the N ultrasound transducers 48 by selecting an open channel of the multiplexer 140. Thereby, the m transducers to be driven are driven, and ultrasonic waves are output from the transducers to be driven of the open channel. The ultrasonic waves output from the m driving target transducers are immediately synthesized, and the synthesized wave (ultrasonic beam) is transmitted to the observation target portion. Thereafter, each of the m driving target transducers receives the ultrasonic wave (echo) reflected at the observation target site, and outputs an electric signal (reception signal) corresponding to the reception sensitivity at that point in time.

The series of steps (i.e., supply of the driving voltage, transmission and reception of the ultrasonic waves, and output of the electric signal) are repeated while shifting the positions of the driven transducers among the N ultrasonic transducers 48 one by one (by 1 ultrasonic transducer 48). Specifically, the series of steps is performed from m drive target transducers on both sides of the N ultrasonic transducers 48 with the ultrasonic transducer 48 located at one end as the center. Then, the multiplexer 140 switches the open channel, and the above-described series of steps are repeated every time the position of the driving target transducer is shifted. Finally, the series of steps described above is repeatedly performed N times in total until m drive target transducers on both sides of the ultrasonic transducer 48 located at the other end among the N ultrasonic transducers 48 are reached.

The backing material layer 54 supports the ultrasonic transducers 48 of the ultrasonic transducer array 50 from the back side. The backing material layer 54 has a function of attenuating the ultrasonic wave transmitted to the backing material layer 54 side in the ultrasonic wave emitted from the ultrasonic transducer 48 or the ultrasonic wave (echo) reflected at the observation target portion. The backing material is made of a rigid material such as hard rubber, and an ultrasonic attenuation material (ferrite, ceramic, or the like) is added as necessary.

The acoustic matching layer 74 is superimposed on the ultrasonic transducer array 50 and provided to match acoustic impedance between the patient's body and the ultrasonic transducers 48. By providing the acoustic matching layer 74, the transmittance of the ultrasonic wave can be improved. As a material of the acoustic matching layer 74, various organic materials having an acoustic impedance value closer to that of the human body of the patient than the piezoelectric element of the ultrasonic vibrator 48 can be used. Specific examples of the material of the acoustic matching layer 74 include epoxy resin, silicone rubber, polyimide, polyethylene, and the like.

The acoustic lens 76 superimposed on the acoustic matching layer 74 is used to converge the ultrasonic waves emitted from the ultrasonic transducer array 50 toward the observation target region. The acoustic lens 76 is made of, for example, a silicon resin (e.g., a millable silicone rubber (HTV rubber), a liquid silicone rubber (RTV rubber), etc.), a butadiene resin, a urethane resin, etc., and if necessary, a powder of titanium oxide, aluminum oxide, silicon dioxide, etc., is mixed.

The FPC60 is electrically connected to the electrodes provided in the ultrasonic transducers 48. Each of the plurality of coaxial cables 56 is routed at one end thereof to an FPC 60. When the ultrasonic endoscope 12 is connected to the ultrasonic observation device 14 via the ultrasonic connector 32a, the plurality of coaxial cables 56 are electrically connected to the ultrasonic observation device 14 at the other end (the side opposite to the FPC60 side) thereof.

(endoscope observation unit 38)

The endoscope observation unit 38 is a unit provided for acquiring an endoscope image, and is disposed on the proximal end side of the distal end portion 40 of the insertion portion 22 with respect to the ultrasonic observation unit 36. As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the endoscope observation portion 38 includes an observation window 82, an objective lens 84, a solid-state imaging element 86, an illumination window 88, a cleaning nozzle 90, a wiring cable 92, and the like.

The observation window 82 is attached to the tip portion 40 of the insertion portion 22 in a state inclined with respect to the axial direction (the longitudinal axis direction of the insertion portion 22). Light reflected at a portion adjacent to the observation target and incident from the observation window 82 is imaged on the imaging surface of the solid-state imaging element 86 through the objective lens 84.

The solid-state imaging element 86 photoelectrically converts reflected light passing through the observation window 82 and the objective lens 84 and imaged on an adjacent portion of an observation target on the imaging surface, and outputs an imaging signal. As the solid-state imaging element 86, a CCD (charge coupled Device), a CMOS (complementary metal oxide Semiconductor), or the like can be used. The image pickup signal output in the solid-state imaging element 86 is transmitted to the endoscope processor 16 through the universal cord 26 via the wiring cable 92 extending from the insertion portion 22 to the operation portion 24.

The illumination windows 88 are provided at both side positions of the observation window 82. An exit end of a light guide (not shown) is connected to the illumination window 88. The light guide extends from the insertion portion 22 to the operation portion 24, and an incident end thereof is connected to the light source device 18 connected via a universal cord 26. The illumination light emitted from the light source device 18 is transmitted through the light guide, and is irradiated from the illumination window 88 to a portion adjacent to the observation target.

The cleaning nozzle 90 is an ejection hole formed in the distal end portion 40 of the insertion portion 22 for cleaning the surfaces of the observation window 82 and the illumination window 88, and air or a cleaning liquid is ejected from the cleaning nozzle 90 toward the observation window 82 and the illumination window 88. In the present embodiment, the cleaning liquid injected from the cleaning nozzle 90 is water, particularly deaerated water. However, the cleaning liquid is not particularly limited, and may be other liquid such as ordinary water (water that has not been deaerated).

(Water supply tank 21a and suction pump 21b)

The water supply tank 21a is a tank for storing deaerated water, and is connected to the light source connector 32c through the air/water supply pipe 34 a. In addition, deaerated water is used as the cleaning liquid ejected from the cleaning nozzle 90.

The suction pump 21b sucks the suction material (including the deaerated water supplied for cleaning) in the body cavity through the treatment instrument outlet 44. The suction pump 21b is connected to the light source connector 32c through a suction tube 34 b. The ultrasonic endoscope system 10 may include an air supply pump or the like for supplying air to a predetermined air supply end.

The insertion section 22 and the operation section 24 are provided with a treatment instrument channel 45 and an air/water supply line (not shown).

The treatment instrument channel 45 is connected between the treatment instrument insertion port 30 and the treatment instrument outlet port 44 provided in the operation unit 24. The treatment instrument channel 45 is connected to a suction button 28b provided in the operation unit 24. The suction button 28b is connected to the suction pump 21b in addition to the treatment instrument channel 45.

The air/water supply line communicates with the cleaning nozzle 90 at one end and is connected to an air/water supply button 28a provided in the operation unit 24 at the other end. The air/water feeding button 28a is connected to the water feeding tank 21a in addition to the air/water feeding line.

(operation section 24)

The operation unit 24 is a part for performing a doctor operation when starting the ultrasonic diagnosis, during the diagnosis, and at the end of the diagnosis, and has one end to which one end of a universal cord 26 is connected. As shown in fig. 1, the operation unit 24 includes an air/water feeding button 28a, a suction button 28b, a pair of corner buttons 29, and a treatment instrument insertion port (forceps port) 30.

When each of the pair of corner knobs 29 is turned, the bending portion 42 is remotely operated to be bent and deformed. By this deforming operation, the distal end portion 40 of the insertion portion 22 provided with the ultrasonic observation portion 36 and the endoscope observation portion 38 can be directed in a desired direction.

The treatment instrument insertion port 30 is a hole formed for inserting a treatment instrument (not shown) such as a forceps, and is connected to the treatment instrument outlet port 44 via a treatment instrument channel 45. The treatment instrument inserted into the treatment instrument insertion port 30 is introduced into the body cavity from the treatment instrument outlet port 44 after passing through the treatment instrument channel 45.

The air/water feeding button 28a and the suction button 28b are two-stage switching type buttons, and are operated to switch the opening and closing of the pipes provided in each of the insertion portion 22 and the operation portion 24.

Structure of ultrasonic Observation device 14

The ultrasound observation apparatus 14 transmits and receives ultrasound to and from the ultrasound transducer unit 46, and generates an ultrasound image by imaging a reception signal output from the ultrasound transducer 48 (specifically, the element to be driven) at the time of ultrasound reception. The ultrasonic observation device 14 then displays the generated ultrasonic image on the monitor 20.

As shown in fig. 4, the ultrasonic observation device 14 includes a multiplexer 140, a receiving Circuit 142, a transmitting Circuit 144, an a/D converter 146, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 148, a video memory 150, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 152, a DSC (Digital scan converter) 154, a timer control section 168, a recording time management section 170, a recording format generation section 172, an image analysis section 174, an automatic save control section 176, an image recording section 178, and an image playback section 180.

The receiving circuit 142 and the transmitting circuit 144 are electrically connected to the ultrasonic vibrator array 50 of the ultrasonic endoscope 12. The multiplexer 140 selects a maximum of m transducers to be driven from among the N ultrasonic transducers 48, and opens the channels thereof.

The transmission circuit 144 is configured by an FPGA (field programmable gate array), a pulse generator (pulse generation circuit 158), an SW (switch), and the like, and is connected to the MUX (multiplexer 140). In addition, an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) may be used instead of the FPGA.

The transmission circuit 144 is a circuit for supplying a driving voltage for ultrasonic transmission to the transducer to be driven selected by the multiplexer 140 in accordance with a control signal transmitted from the CPU152 in order to transmit ultrasonic waves from the ultrasonic transducer unit 46. The driving voltage is a pulse-like voltage signal (transmission signal) and is applied to the electrode of the driven transducer via the universal cord 26 and the coaxial cable 56.

The transmission circuit 144 includes a pulse generation circuit 158 that generates a transmission signal in accordance with a control signal, and generates a transmission signal for generating an ultrasonic wave by driving the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 48 using the pulse generation circuit 158 under the control of the CPU152, and supplies the transmission signal to the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 48. More specifically, when the transmission circuit 144 performs ultrasonic diagnosis under the control of the CPU152, the pulse generation circuit 158 generates a transmission signal having a drive voltage for performing ultrasonic diagnosis.

The receiving circuit 142 is a circuit that receives a reception signal, which is an electrical signal output from the transducer to be driven that receives the ultrasonic wave (echo). The reception circuit 142 amplifies the reception signal received from the ultrasonic transducer 48 in accordance with the control signal transmitted from the CPU152, and transmits the amplified signal to the a/D converter 146. The a/D converter 146 is connected to the reception circuit 142, converts a reception signal received from the reception circuit 142 from an analog signal to a digital signal, and outputs the converted digital signal to the ASIC 148.

The ASIC148 is connected to the a/D converter 146, and as shown in fig. 4, includes a phase matching unit 160, a B-mode image generating unit 162, a PW-mode image generating unit 164, a CF-mode image generating unit 166, and a memory controller 151.

In the present embodiment, the above-described functions (specifically, the phase matching unit 160, the B-mode image generating unit 162, the PW-mode image generating unit 164, the CF-mode image generating unit 166, and the memory controller 151) are realized by a hardware circuit such as the ASIC148, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The above-described functions are realized by cooperating a Central Processing Unit (CPU) and software (computer program) for executing various data processes.

The phase matching unit 160 performs a process of giving a delay time to the received signal (received data) digitized by the a/D converter 146 and performing phasing addition (addition after the phase of the received data is performed). The phase adjustment addition processing generates a sound ray signal in which the focus of the ultrasonic echo is narrowed.

The B-mode image generator 162, the PW-mode image generator 164, and the CF-mode image generator 166 generate an ultrasound image from an electric signal (strictly speaking, an acoustic line signal generated by phase-aligning and adding received data) output from a driving target transducer among the plurality of ultrasound transducers 48 when the ultrasound transducer unit 46 receives ultrasound.

The B-mode image generator 162 is an image generator that generates a B-mode image, which is a tomographic image of the inside (inside the body cavity) of the patient. The B-mode image generator 162 corrects attenuation due to propagation distance in accordance with the depth of the reflection position of the ultrasonic wave by STC (Sensitivity Time gain control) on the sequentially generated sound ray signals. The B-mode image generating unit 162 performs envelope detection processing and Log (logarithmic) compression processing on the corrected sound ray signal to generate a B-mode image (image signal).

The PW pattern image generator 164 is an image generator that generates an image showing a blood flow velocity in a predetermined direction. The PW pattern image generator 164 extracts frequency components by performing fast fourier transform on a plurality of acoustic line signals in the same direction, among the acoustic line signals sequentially generated by the phase matching unit 160. Then, the PW mode image generator 164 calculates a blood flow velocity from the extracted frequency components, and generates a PW mode image (image signal) displaying the calculated blood flow velocity.

The CF mode image generator 166 is an image generator that generates an image showing blood flow information in a predetermined direction. The CF-pattern image generator 166 obtains an autocorrelation function of a plurality of acoustic line signals in the same direction among the acoustic line signals sequentially generated by the phase matching unit 160, thereby generating an image signal representing information on blood flow. Then, the CF-mode image generating unit 166 generates a CF-mode image (image signal) as a color image in which information on blood flow is superimposed on the B-mode image signal generated by the B-mode image generating unit 162, based on the image signal.

The memory controller 151 stores the image signal generated by the B-mode image generator 162, the PW-mode image generator 164, or the CF-mode image generator 166 in the video memory 150.

The DSC154 is connected to the ASIC148, converts (raster-converts) the image signal generated by the B-mode image generator 162, the PW-mode image generator 164, or the CF-mode image generator 166 into an image signal in accordance with the scanning method of a normal television signal, performs various image processing such as gradation processing on the image signal, and outputs the image signal to the monitor 20.

The video memory 150 has a capacity for accumulating 1 frame or several frames of image signals. The image signal generated by the ASIC148 is output to the DSC154, and is also stored in the video memory 150 via the memory controller 151. In the freeze mode, the memory controller 151 reads out an image signal stored in the video memory 150 and outputs the image signal to the DSC 154. Thereby, an ultrasonic image (still image) based on the image signal read from the video memory 150 is displayed on the monitor 20.

The CPU152 functions as a control unit for controlling the respective units of the ultrasound observation apparatus 14, and is connected to and controls the reception circuit 142, the transmission circuit 144, the a/D converter 146, the ASIC148, the timer control unit 168, the recording time management unit 170, the recording format generation unit 172, the auto save control unit 176, the image playback unit 180, and the like. Specifically, the CPU152 is connected to the console 100, and controls each part of the ultrasound observation apparatus 14 in accordance with the examination information, control parameters, and the like input to the console 100.

When the ultrasonic endoscope 12 is connected to the ultrasonic observation device 14 via the ultrasonic connector 32a, the CPU152 automatically recognizes the ultrasonic endoscope 12 by means of pnp (plug and play) or the like.

Here, the multiplexer 140, the receiving circuit 142, the transmitting circuit 144, the a/D converter 146, the ASIC148, the video memory 150, the CPU152, and the DSC154 drive the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 48, which are provided in the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 provided at the distal end portion 40 of the insertion portion 22 of the ultrasonic endoscope 12, to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves, and thereby constitute an ultrasonic image generating portion that generates an ultrasonic image from a received signal of the ultrasonic waves.

The timer control unit 168 has a timer 182, and controls time measurement by the timer 182 under the control of the CPU152 in accordance with an instruction from the user.

Specifically, the timer control section 168 starts or stops time measurement by the timer 182 under the control of the CPU152 in accordance with an instruction from the user. After the ultrasound images at the time points when all the measurement times have elapsed, which are included in the recording format described later, are recorded in the image recording unit 178, the timer control unit 168 stops the time measurement by the timer 182.

The recording time management unit 170 holds a plurality of recording formats including a plurality of measurement times from the trigger time, and selects one recording format from the plurality of recording formats under the control of the CPU152 in accordance with an instruction from the user.

The recording time management unit 170 holds a new recording format created in response to an instruction from the user, or changes at least one of the plurality of measurement times included in one recording format in response to an instruction from the user.

The trigger time is a start time at which measurement of a plurality of measurement times included in one recording form is started.

Further, at least one of the plurality of recording formats held by the recording time management section 170 may include a determination flag for causing the ultrasonic endoscope system 10 to determine the recording time at which the ultrasonic image is recorded in the image recording section 178.

As the recording format, different recording formats such as the value of the measurement time, the number of times of the measurement time, the presence or absence of the determination flag, and the like can be used depending on the sex, age, weight, disease, site to be observed, and the like.

The recording format generating unit 172 generates a recording format based on at least one of the information of the patient, the information of the observation target region of the patient, and the setting information of the ultrasonic endoscope system 10, which are input by the instruction from the user, under the control of the CPU 152.

The information of the patient includes sex, length, weight, age, disease, etc. of the patient. The information on the observation target site of the patient includes pancreas, gallbladder, liver, kidney, and the like. The setting information of the ultrasonic diagnostic system includes the type of the probe, the frequency of the ultrasonic beam, the signal processing conditions of the received signal, and the like. The information used by the recording format generating unit 172 to generate the recording format is not particularly limited, and various information can be used.

The recording format generating unit 172 learns in advance the relationship between the recording format and at least one of the information on the patient, the information on the observation target site of the patient, and the setting information on the ultrasound endoscope system 10 with respect to the plurality of recording formats, and generates the optimum recording format corresponding to at least one of the information on the patient, the information on the observation target site of the patient, and the setting information on the ultrasound endoscope system 10, which are input in accordance with an instruction from the user, based on the learning result.

The learning method is not particularly limited, and for example, deep learning (deep learning) using a hierarchical neural network, which is one example of mechanical learning (machine learning) which is one of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques, can be used. Further, mechanical learning other than deep learning may be used, an artificial learning technique other than mechanical learning may be used, or a learning method other than the artificial learning technique may be used.

The image analysis unit 174 has a temporary storage area 184, and stores the ultrasound image generated by the ultrasound image generation unit in the temporary storage area 184 from the trigger time when the determination flag is included in one of the recording formats selected by the recording time management unit 170. The image analysis unit 174 analyzes the ultrasonic image stored in the temporary storage area 184, and determines the recording time at which the ultrasonic image is recorded in the image recording unit 178 based on the analysis result.

The auto-save control unit 176 records, in the image recording unit 178, an ultrasonic image at a time point when each of the plurality of measurement times included in one recording format selected by the recording time management unit 170 has elapsed, from the trigger time, from among the plurality of ultrasonic images continuously generated by the ultrasonic image generation unit, every time each of the plurality of measurement times has elapsed.

The auto-save control unit 176 may use any trigger time, but may use, for example, a time at which a contrast medium is injected into a patient, a start time of time measurement by the timer 182, or the like as the trigger time.

The image recording unit 178 records at least one ultrasound image from among the plurality of ultrasound images continuously generated by the ultrasound image generating unit under the control of the auto-save control unit 176.

The image recording unit 178 is a storage device such as a semiconductor memory.

The image playback unit 180 causes the monitor 20 to simultaneously display the plurality of ultrasound images recorded in the image recording unit 178 in an aligned manner under the control of the CPU152 in accordance with an instruction from the user.

The image playback unit 180 displays, under the control of the CPU152 in accordance with an instruction from the user, a thumbnail image of the ultrasound image recorded in the image recording unit 178 on the monitor 20 every time the ultrasound image is recorded in the image recording unit 178, or displays, on the monitor 20, a graph showing the relationship between the elapsed time from the trigger time and the average brightness value in the Region of interest (ROI) in the ultrasound image.

Example of operation of the ultrasonic endoscope System 10

Next, as an operation example of the ultrasonic endoscope system 10, a flow of a series of processes related to ultrasonic diagnosis (hereinafter, also referred to as diagnosis processes) will be described with reference to fig. 5 and 6. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of a diagnosis process using the ultrasonic endoscope system 10. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the sequence of diagnostic steps in the diagnostic process.

When the power supply of each part of the ultrasonic endoscope system 10 is turned on in a state where the ultrasonic endoscope 12 is connected to the ultrasonic observation device 14, the endoscope processor 16, and the light source device 18, the diagnosis process is started using this as a trigger. In the diagnosis process, as shown in fig. 5, an input step (S001) is first performed. In the input step, the doctor inputs examination information, control parameters, and the like through the console 100. When the input step is completed, a standby step is performed until an instruction to start diagnosis is given (S002).

Next, when a diagnosis start instruction is given from the doctor (yes in S003), the CPU152 controls the respective units of the ultrasound observation apparatus 14 to perform a diagnosis step (S004). The diagnosis procedure is performed according to the flow illustrated in fig. 6, and when the designated image generation mode is the B mode (yes in S031), the respective units of the ultrasound observation device 14 are controlled to generate a B mode image (S032). When the designated image generation mode is not the B mode (no in S031) but the CF mode (yes in S033), the respective units of the ultrasound observation device 14 are controlled to generate CF mode images (S034). When the designated image generation mode is not the CF mode (no in S033) but the PW mode (yes in S035), each unit of the ultrasound observation device 14 is controlled to generate a PW mode image (S036). When the designated image generation mode is not the PW mode (no in S035) but the contrast mode (yes in S037), the respective units of the ultrasound observation apparatus 14 are controlled to generate a contrast mode image (S038). If the designated image generation mode is not the contrast mode (no in S037), the process proceeds to step S039.

Next, the CPU152 determines whether the ultrasonic diagnosis is ended (S039). If the ultrasonic diagnosis is not completed (no in S039), the procedure returns to the diagnosis step S031, and the generation of the ultrasonic image in each image generation mode is repeated until the diagnosis completion condition is satisfied. The diagnosis end condition includes, for example, a doctor instructing the diagnosis end through the console 100.

On the other hand, when the diagnosis end condition is satisfied and the ultrasonic diagnosis is ended (yes in S039), the diagnosis step is ended.

Next, returning to fig. 5, when the power supply to each part of the ultrasonic endoscope system 10 is turned off (yes in S005), the diagnosis process is ended. On the other hand, when the power supply of each unit of the ultrasonic endoscope system 10 is kept turned on (no in S005), the process returns to the input step S001, and the above steps of the diagnosis process are repeated.

Next, a setting screen of the contrast mode will be described with reference to fig. 7.

Fig. 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an embodiment of a screen of an operation panel provided in an operation panel. The operation panel shown in fig. 7 is a touch panel, and a user can input an instruction from the user by pressing various buttons displayed on the operation panel to operate the ultrasonic endoscope system 10.

Before the setting screen of the Contrast mode is displayed, a Contrast mode button (Contrast) for designating the Contrast mode is displayed on the operation panel. Although not shown, a B mode button for specifying the B mode, a CF mode button for specifying the CF mode, a PW mode button for specifying the PW mode, and the like are displayed on the operation panel in addition to the contrast mode button, and the user can press one of these buttons to specify a desired ultrasound image generation mode.

When the user presses a Contrast mode button (Contrast) shown on the left side of fig. 7, the ultrasound image generation mode is set to the Contrast mode. When the contrast mode is set, as shown on the right side of fig. 7, a B-mode setting screen and a contrast mode setting screen are displayed on the operation panel in the form of tabs. If the user presses the tab (B) of the setting screen of the B mode, the setting screen of the B mode is displayed, and if the tab (Contrast) of the setting screen of the Contrast mode is pressed, the setting screen of the Contrast mode is displayed.

Buttons (capture) of a plurality of recording formats are displayed in an up-down direction from the center to the left of the setting screen of the contrast mode. Each of the buttons in the recording format includes a plurality of measurement times measured from the trigger time, and sometimes further includes a button for determining a flag.

For example, "NONE" is displayed on the button of the uppermost record form. "NONE" indicates that the recording format is an unset recording format in which the measurement time has not been set. On the top 2 nd record form button is shown "000, 030, 060, AUTO". "000, 030, 060" means that the measurement time from the trigger time is 0 second, 30 seconds, 60 seconds, respectively. The instant 0 second is the trigger time, and means that an ultrasound image is acquired in a state where the contrast agent does not reach the observation target region. "AUTO" is a determination flag. The same applies to the buttons of the 3 rd and 4 th record formats from the top.

On the right side of the operation panel, a timer start/stop button (cont. timer: continuous timer), a Preview button (Preview), a measurement time Setting button (Auto Capture Setting), and a contrast agent removal button (FRI) are displayed in this order from the top.

The timer start/stop button is a switching button for starting/stopping time measurement based on the timer 182. If the user presses the timer start/stop button to start the time measurement by the timer 182, the time measurement by the timer 182 is not stopped even if the contrast mode is changed to the other ultrasound image generation mode until the user presses the timer start/stop button again to stop the time measurement by the timer 182.

The preview button is a button for simultaneously displaying a plurality of ultrasound images recorded in the image recording unit 178 in the contrast mode on the monitor 20.

The measured time setting button is a button for creating a new recording format in response to an instruction from the user or for changing at least one of a plurality of measured times included in one recording format selected by the recording time management unit 170. That is, the user can manually create a new recording format and hold it in the recording time management unit 170, or can manually change the measurement time included in the existing recording format to an expected value. Further, the recording format generation unit 172 may generate and set the optimum recording format.

The contrast agent removal button is a button for removing the contrast agent injected into the patient. Since the contrast medium may be air bubbles, if ultrasound with high sound pressure is transmitted to the contrast medium injected into the patient, the air bubbles of the contrast medium can be destroyed and removed. This enables observation of the inflow of the contrast medium into the screen.

Next, the operation of the ultrasonic endoscope system 10 when an ultrasonic image is observed in the contrast mode will be described with reference to the flowchart of fig. 8.

The user inserts the insertion section 22 of the ultrasonic endoscope 12 into the body cavity of the patient, and drives the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 48 provided in the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves to and from the observation target site.

In response to this, the ultrasound image generating unit continuously generates ultrasound images of the observation target region from the reception signals of the ultrasound waves. When the continuously generated ultrasonic image is in a live mode, for example, as shown in fig. 9, the continuously generated ultrasonic image is displayed on the monitor 20 in real time as a moving image.

Fig. 9 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an embodiment of an ultrasound image displayed on the monitor 20 in the live mode. Two ultrasound images are displayed in a horizontal arrangement from the center to the left of the screen of the monitor 20, the left side being an image in which echoes from the contrast agent are emphasized, and the right side being a corresponding B-mode image. Further, an endoscopic image in which the same observation target region as the ultrasound image is captured is displayed in the lower right portion, and thumbnails of a plurality of ultrasound images recorded in the image recording unit 178 are displayed in the upper right portion. In the central ultrasonic image, the region surrounded by the circular broken line is a region of interest set by the user. The dotted line of the region of interest can also be displayed on the left ultrasonic image.

In the ultrasonic endoscope system 10, the autosave control unit 176 sets an initial value of a region of interest in accordance with the type of the probe, which is the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 used in the ultrasonic diagnostic system.

For example, in the case of a convex probe, ultrasonic waves are transmitted in a radial shape (circular arc shape), and in the case of a radial probe, ultrasonic waves are transmitted over the entire circumference in the radial direction of the ultrasonic endoscope 12, and the range that can be observed as an ultrasonic image is greatly different. Accordingly, by setting the initial value of the region of interest according to the type of the probe, the region of interest can be set in an appropriate region according to the range that can be observed as an ultrasonic image.

Although the user can change the region of interest to an arbitrary region after setting the initial value of the region of interest, there is an advantage that the ultrasound image can be observed immediately because the region of interest does not need to be changed or the change amount thereof is small by setting an appropriate initial value of the region of interest in advance.

Next, on the setting screen of the contrast mode shown in fig. 7, the user designates a recording format used in the contrast mode by pressing a button of a desired recording format from among the plurality of types of recording formats displayed on the operation panel.

Here, the user designates a button of the 2 nd record format from the top shown in fig. 7. Accordingly, the recording format specified by the user includes 0 seconds, 30 seconds, and 60 seconds as the measurement times 1, 2, and 3, and further includes a determination flag.

In response to this, the recording time management unit 170 selects one recording format corresponding to the recording format designated by the user from among the plurality of recording formats stored therein (S101). One recording format selected by the recording time management unit 170 is input to the automatic save control unit 176.

Next, the user presses a timer start/stop button displayed on the operation panel while injecting the contrast medium into the patient.

In response to this, time measurement by the timer 182 is started under the control of the timer control unit 168 (S102). The time measured by the timer 182 is input to the autosave control section 176.

In the case of the present embodiment, 0 second, which is the start time of the time measured by the timer 182, is set as the trigger time by the automatic saving control unit 176. That is, the trigger time is set in conjunction with the start of time measurement by the timer 182. Thus, both the start of time measurement by the timer 182 and the setting of the trigger time can be performed at the same time by only one operation of pressing the timer start/stop button, and the trouble of setting these can be eliminated separately.

When the determination flag is included in one of the recording formats selected by the recording time management unit 170, the image analysis unit 174 starts storing the ultrasonic image in the temporary storage area 184 when the trigger time is set, that is, when the time measurement by the timer 182 is started (S103).

The image analysis unit 174 may store a plurality of continuously generated ultrasonic images as moving images in the temporary storage area 184, and may store ultrasonic images acquired at a predetermined time interval in the temporary storage area 184 as still images, for example, every 1 second, every 10 seconds, or the like.

Next, the automatic saving control unit 176 compares the measurement time 1(0 second) included in the one recording format selected by the recording time management unit 170 with the time measured by the timer 182, and checks whether or not the measurement time 1 has elapsed from the trigger time (S104).

As a result, if the measurement time 1 has not elapsed (no in S104), the process returns to step S104, and the automatic saving control unit 176 stands by until the measurement time 1 has elapsed.

On the other hand, when the measurement time 1 has elapsed (yes in S104), the ultrasound image 1 at the time point when the measurement time 1 has elapsed is recorded in the image recording unit 178 by the auto-save control unit 176 (S105).

Subsequently, the auto-save control unit 176 similarly checks whether or not the measurement time 2(30 seconds) has elapsed from the trigger time (S106), and records the ultrasonic image 2 at the time point when the measurement time 2 has elapsed in the image recording unit 178 (S107).

Subsequently, the auto-save control unit 176 similarly checks whether or not the measurement time 3(60 seconds) has elapsed from the trigger time (S108), and records the ultrasonic image 3 at the time point when the measurement time 3 has elapsed in the image recording unit 178 (S109).

As shown in fig. 9, each time an ultrasonic image is recorded in the image recording unit 178, a thumbnail image of the ultrasonic image recorded in the image recording unit 178 is displayed on the upper right portion of the screen of the monitor 20, that is, on the upper side of the endoscope image, by the image playback unit 180. This allows the user to confirm the ultrasonic image recorded in the image recording unit 178 while observing the ultrasonic image in real time.

As shown in fig. 9, a graph showing a relationship between an elapsed time from the trigger time and a luminance value in the region of interest in the ultrasound image is displayed on the lower side of the thumbnail image in the right center portion of the screen of the monitor 20. The ordinate of the graph indicates the luminance value in the region of interest, and the abscissa indicates the elapsed time from the trigger time. The graph is plotted in order of the passage of time from the moment of triggering. Thus, the user can confirm the change in the luminance value in the region of interest while observing the ultrasonic image in real time.

When the measurement time 3 elapses, the time measurement by the timer 182 is stopped by the control of the timer control unit 168 (S110).

When the time measurement by the timer 182 is stopped, the image analysis unit 174 stops the presence of the ultrasonic image in the temporary storage area 184 (S111). The user can also stop the timer 182 at an arbitrary timing by pressing a timer start/stop button.

After the timer 182 is stopped and the recording of the ultrasonic image in the temporary storage area 184 is stopped, the image analyzer 174 analyzes the ultrasonic image stored in the temporary storage area 184, and determines the recording time of the ultrasonic image recorded in the image recorder 178 from the ultrasonic image stored in the temporary storage area 184 based on the analysis result. In the present embodiment, the recording time at which the ultrasound image having the largest average brightness value in the region of interest is stored in the temporary storage region 184 is determined among the ultrasound images stored in the temporary storage region 184.

Next, when the determination flag is included in one of the recording formats selected by the recording time management unit 170, the automatic saving control unit 176 records the ultrasonic image 4 at the recording time determined from the analysis result in the image recording unit 178 from the ultrasonic images stored in the temporary storage area 184 (S112).

When the ultrasonic images corresponding to all the measurement times 1, 2, and 3 and the determination flag included in one recording format selected by the recording time management unit 170 are recorded in the image recording unit 178, the user presses the preview button displayed on the operation panel.

In response to this, as shown in fig. 10, the plurality of ultrasonic images recorded in the image recording unit 178 are simultaneously displayed in an array on the monitor 20 (S113). The user can preview a plurality of ultrasonic images displayed on the monitor 20 and perform disease identification.

Fig. 10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an embodiment in which a plurality of ultrasound images recorded in the image recording unit are simultaneously displayed in a line on the monitor in the contrast mode. 4 ultrasonic images are displayed in a vertical and horizontal direction from the center to the left of the screen of the monitor 20. Information indicating the recording format is displayed in the upper right portion, and a graph indicating the relationship between the elapsed time from the trigger time and the brightness value in the region of interest on the ultrasound image is displayed in the central right portion. In the lower right, the endoscopic image can be observed in real time also at the time of preview.

As shown in fig. 10, the ultrasonic images displayed at the upper left, upper right, and lower left are ultrasonic images 1, 2, and 3 at the time points when 0 second, 30 seconds, and 60 seconds have elapsed from the trigger time, as described in 000s, 030s, and 060s, respectively. The lower right ultrasound image is the ultrasound image 4 having the largest average brightness value in the region of interest among the ultrasound images stored in the temporary storage region 184, and the recording time thereof is 25 seconds from the trigger time, as described in 025 s.

Next, the operation of the ultrasonic endoscope system 10 when determining the recording time of the ultrasonic image recorded in the image recording unit 178 will be described with reference to the flowchart of fig. 11.

In the present embodiment, the image analysis unit 174 determines, from the ultrasound images stored in the temporary storage area 184, the frame number of the ultrasound image having the largest average brightness value in the region of interest as the recording time.

The total number of frames of the ultrasound image obtained during the operation of the timer 182 from the time measurement by the timer 182 to the time stop is N, the frame number being processed is i, the average luminance value in the region of interest in the ultrasound image of the frame number i is Li, the maximum value of the average luminance values in the region of interest in the ultrasound image of the total number of frames N is Lmax, and the frame number of the ultrasound image having the maximum average luminance value in the region of interest is Fmax.

First, the frame number i in the process is initialized to 1(i is 1), and the maximum value Lmax of the average luminance value in the region of interest and the frame number Fmax of the ultrasound image having the maximum average luminance value in the region of interest are initialized to 0(Lmax is 0 and Fmax is 0) (S120).

Next, the average luminance value Li in the region of interest in the ultrasound image of frame number i is calculated (S121).

Next, the average luminance value Li in the region of interest in the ultrasound image of frame number i is compared with the maximum value Lmax of the average luminance value in the region of interest (S122).

As a result, if Li < Lmax is not satisfied, that is, if the average luminance value Li in the region of interest in the ultrasound image of frame number i is equal to or greater than the maximum value Lmax of the average luminance value in the region of interest (no in S122), after Lmax is updated to Li (Lmax ═ Li) and Fmax is updated to i (Fmax ═ i) (S123), the process proceeds to step S124.

On the other hand, if Li < Lmax, that is, if the average luminance value Li in the region of interest in the ultrasound image of the frame number i is smaller than the maximum value Lmax of the average luminance value in the region of interest (yes in S122), the frame number i in the process is compared with the total number of frames N of the ultrasound image (S124).

As a result, if i < N is satisfied, that is, if the frame number i in the process does not reach the total number of frames N of the ultrasound image (yes in S124), i is updated to i +1, and thereafter (i ═ i +1) (S125), the process returns to step S121 and the above operation is repeated.

On the other hand, if i < N is not satisfied, that is, if the frame number i in the process reaches the total number of frames N of the ultrasound image (no in S124), the frame number Fmax of the ultrasound image having the largest average brightness value in the region of interest is input as the recording time of the ultrasound image recorded in the image recording unit 178 (S126).

Before the timer 182 is stopped, that is, while the ultrasonic image is recorded in the temporary storage area 184, the image analyzer 174 analyzes the ultrasonic image stored in the temporary storage area 184, and determines the recording time of the ultrasonic image recorded in the image recorder 178 from the ultrasonic image stored in the temporary storage area 184 based on the analysis result.

In this case, similarly, the image analysis unit 174 compares the maximum value Lmax of the average luminance value Li in the region of interest and the average luminance value in the region of interest within the range of the ultrasound image stored in the temporary storage region 184, and as a result, outputs the frame number Fmax of the ultrasound image having the maximum average luminance value in the region of interest as the recording time of the ultrasound image recorded in the image recording unit 178.

In the ultrasonic endoscope system 10, a plurality of types of records including a plurality of elapsed times are held according to sex, age, weight, disease, observation target site, and the like. Thus, the user can set a plurality of measurement times in a lump by a simple operation of specifying a desired recording format from among the plurality of recording formats, and can automatically acquire an ultrasonic image at a time point when each of the plurality of measurement times has elapsed from the trigger time.

The image analysis unit 174 determines at least one of a recording time at which the average luminance value in the region of interest in the ultrasound image is the largest, a recording time at which the average luminance value is the smallest, a recording time at which the amount of change in the average luminance value between two temporally consecutive ultrasound images is the largest, a recording time at which the variance value in the luminance value in the region of interest is the largest, a recording time at which the variance value in the luminance value is the smallest, and a recording time at which the amount of change in the variance value in the luminance value between two temporally consecutive ultrasound images is the largest, by appropriately changing the inequality in step S122.

Further, when the recording format generating unit 172 is provided as in the ultrasonic endoscope system 10, the automatic save control unit 176 may use the recording format generated by the recording format generating unit 172 instead of one recording format selected by the recording time management unit 170, and may record the ultrasonic image in the image recording unit 178. Alternatively, the recording time management unit 170 may hold the recording format generated by the recording format generation unit 172, and the user may specify the recording format generated by the recording format generation unit 172.

The ultrasonic endoscope system 10 does not need to include the recording format generating unit 172, and may use a recording format generating device disposed outside the ultrasonic endoscope system 10, having the same function as the recording format generating unit 172.

In this case, at least one of the information of the subject, the information of the observation target site of the subject, and the setting information of the ultrasonic diagnostic system is input to the recording format generating apparatus under the control of the CPU152 in accordance with the instruction from the user.

The automatic save control unit 176 receives a recording format from a recording format generating device, which is generated based on at least one of information on the subject input to the recording format generating device disposed outside the ultrasonic endoscope system 10, information on the observation target site of the subject, and setting information of the ultrasonic diagnostic system, and can record the ultrasonic image in the image recording unit 178 using the recording format received from the recording format generating device.

Alternatively, the recording time management unit 170 may receive a recording format from a recording format generation device, and may hold the recording format received from the recording format generation device, the recording format being generated based on at least one of information of the subject input to the recording format generation device disposed outside the ultrasonic endoscope system 10, information of the observation target site of the subject, and setting information of the ultrasonic diagnostic system.

The number of times of the measurement time included in the recording format is not particularly limited, but may be any number of times necessary to determine whether the disease is malignant or benign from the temporal change in the brightness value. In this respect, the number of times of measurement is preferably 2 to 4.

The present invention is not limited to the ultrasonic endoscope system according to the above-described embodiment, and can be applied to various ultrasonic diagnostic systems that observe the state of an observation target region in the body of a subject using ultrasonic waves in a contrast mode.

In the apparatus of the present invention, the hardware configuration of a Processing Unit (Processing Unit) that executes various processes, such as the console (instruction acquisition Unit) 100, the timer control Unit 168, the recording time management Unit 170, the recording format generation Unit 172, the image analysis Unit 174, the auto save control Unit 176, and the image playback Unit 180, may be dedicated hardware, or may be various processors or computers that execute programs.

Among the various processors are: processors such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an FPGA (Field Programmable gate array), and the like, which are general-purpose processors that execute software (programs) to function as various Processing units and can change Circuit configurations after manufacturing, and processors such as Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), ASICs (Application Specific Integrated circuits) having Circuit configurations specifically designed to execute Specific processes, that is, dedicated circuits, and the like.

The 1 processing unit may be constituted by 1 of these various processors, or may be constituted by a combination of 2 or more processors of the same kind or different kinds, for example, a combination of a plurality of FPGAs, a combination of an FPGA and a CPU, or the like. Further, the plurality of processing units may be configured by 1 of various processors, or 2 or more of the plurality of processing units may be classified and configured by using 1 processor.

For example, by: as represented by a computer such as a server or a client, 1 processor is configured by a combination of 1 or more CPUs and software, and functions as a plurality of processing units. The following embodiments are also described: a processor is used, which is represented by a System on Chip (SoC) or the like, and realizes the functions of the entire System including a plurality of processing units by one IC (Integrated Circuit) Chip.

More specifically, the hardware configuration of these various processors is a circuit (circuit) in which circuit elements such as semiconductor elements are combined.

The method of the present invention is implemented, for example, by a program for causing a computer to execute the steps. Further, a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded can also be provided.

The present invention has been described above in detail, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Description of the symbols

10-ultrasonic endoscope system, 12-ultrasonic endoscope, 14-ultrasonic observation device, 16-endoscope processor, 18-light source device, 20-monitor, 21 a-water feed tank, 21 b-suction pump, 22-insertion portion, 24-operation portion, 26-universal cord, 28 a-air-water feed button, 28 b-suction button, 29-corner button, 30-treatment instrument insertion port, 32 a-connector for ultrasonic wave, 32 b-connector for endoscope, 32 c-connector for light source, 34 a-air-water feed tube, 34 b-suction tube, 36-ultrasonic observation portion, 38-endoscope observation portion, 40-tip portion, 42-bending portion, 43-soft portion, 44-treatment instrument discharge port, 45-treatment instrument channel, 46-ultrasonic transducer unit, 48-ultrasonic transducer, 50-ultrasonic transducer array, 54-backing material layer, 56-coaxial cable, 60-FPC, 74-acoustic matching layer, 76-acoustic lens, 82-observation window, 84-objective lens, 86-solid imaging element, 88-illumination window, 90-cleaning nozzle, 92-wiring cable, 100-console, 140-multiplexer, 142-receiving circuit, 144-transmitting circuit, 146-A/D converter, 148-ASIC, 150-video memory, 151-memory controller, 152-CPU, 154-DSC, 158-pulse generating circuit, 160-phase matching section, 162-B mode image generating section, 164-PW mode image generation section, 166-CF mode image generation section, 168-timer control section, 170-recording time management section, 172-recording format generation section, 174-image analysis section, 176-automatic save control section, 178-image recording section, 180-image playback section, 182-timer, 184-temporary storage area.