Surgery – Diagnostic testing – Detecting nuclear – electromagnetic – or ultrasonic radiation
Reexamination Certificate
2002-07-19
2003-05-06
Lateef, Marvin M. (Department: 3737)
Surgery
Diagnostic testing
Detecting nuclear, electromagnetic, or ultrasonic radiation
C600S447000, C600S437000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06558327
ABSTRACT:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Application No. 2001-221051 filed Jul. 23, 2001.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic scanning method and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and more particularly to an ultrasonic scanning method and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for eliminating the wasteful use of strong ultrasonic waves irrespective of whether to photograph B mode images or to photograph CFM images and enabling BCFM-based intermittent scanning to be performed more appropriately than according to the related art.
FIG.
19
and
FIG. 20
are prior art diagrams illustrating a first example of BCFM-based intermittent scanning performed in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the related art.
A photographing cycle including a weak ultrasonic monitor image photographing step of photographing monitor images M
1
through M
10
by using a weak enough ultrasonic wave not to let the contrast agent (bubbles) disappear, a strong ultrasonic B mode image photographing step of photographing B mode images B
1
by using a strong enough ultrasonic wave to make the contrast agent disappear, and a strong ultrasonic CFM (color flow mapping) image photographing step for photographing CFM image F
1
by using a strong enough ultrasonic wave to make the contrast agent disappear is iterated.
FIG. 20
is a graph showing variations in the quantity of the contrast agent present in the photographed area.
Incidentally, for the convenience of explanation, it is supposed in this specification that immediately after photographing with strong ultrasonic waves 75% of the contrast agent has disappeared and that and during photographing with weak ultrasonic waves the contrast agent increases (flows in).
As is seen from this graph jB, during the weak ultrasonic monitor image photographing step the contrast agent increases, during the strong ultrasonic B mode image photographing step and the strong ultrasonic CFM image photographing step the contrast agent disappears, and again during the weak ultrasonic monitor image photographing step the contrast agent increases; these variations are repeated.
The latest one of the monitor images M
1
through M
10
is displayed on, for instance, the left half of the screen.
The monitor images M
1
through M
10
, because of their high frame rate, excel in real time performance. However, their picture quality is poor because they are photographed by using weak ultrasonic waves.
The latest one of B mode images B
1
is displayed on, for instance, the right half of the screen.
The picture quality of the B mode images B
1
is high, because they are photographed in a state in which the contrast agent has fully infiltrated and by using strong ultrasonic waves. However, because of their low frame rate, they are inferior in real time performance.
The latest one of CFM image F
1
is displayed superposed over the B mode image B
1
.
The picture quality of the CFM image F
1
is not so high because they are photographed in a state in which much of the contrast agent has disappeared, but somewhat higher than the monitor images because they are photographed by using strong ultrasonic waves. Because of their low frame rate, they are inferior in real time performance.
FIG.
21
and
FIG. 22
are prior art diagrams illustrating a second example of BCFM-based intermittent scanning performed in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the related art.
FIG. 21
is a diagram illustrating an ultrasonic scanning method.
A photographing cycle including a weak ultrasonic monitor image photographing step of photographing monitor images M
1
through M
10
by using a weak enough ultrasonic wave not to let the contrast agent disappear, a strong ultrasonic CFM image photographing step for photographing CFM image F
1
by using a strong enough ultrasonic wave to make the contrast agent disappear, and a strong ultrasonic B mode image photographing step of photographing B mode images B
1
by using a strong enough ultrasonic wave to make the contrast agent disappear is iterated.
FIG. 22
is a graph showing variations in the quantity of the contrast agent present in the photographed area.
As is seen from this graph jF, during the weak ultrasonic monitor image photographing step the contrast agent increases, during the strong ultrasonic CFM image photographing step and the strong ultrasonic B mode image photographing step the contrast agent disappears, and again during the weak ultrasonic monitor image photographing step the contrast agent increases; these variations are repeated.
The latest one of the monitor images M
1
through M
10
is displayed on, for instance, the left half of the screen.
The monitor images M
1
through M
10
, because of their high frame rate, excel in real time performance. However, their picture quality is poor because they are photographed by using weak ultrasonic waves.
The latest one of CFM image F
1
is displayed on, for instance, the right half of the screen.
The picture quality of the CFM image F
1
is high because they are photographed in a state in which the contrast agent has fully infiltrated and by using strong ultrasonic waves. However, because of their low frame rate, they are inferior in real time performance.
The latest one of B mode images B
1
is displayed superposed over the CFM mode image F
1
.
The picture quality of the B mode images B
1
is not so high, because they are photographed in a state in which much of the contrast agent has disappeared, but somewhat higher than the monitor images because they are photographed by using strong ultrasonic waves. Because of their low frame rate, they are inferior in real time performance.
FIG.
23
through
FIG. 25
are prior art diagrams illustrating a third example of BCFM-based intermittent scanning performed in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the related art.
As shown in
FIG. 23
, a scanned region S is divided into, for instance, four partial regions a through d.
Then, as shown in
FIG. 24
, a photographing cycle including a weak ultrasonic monitor image photographing step of photographing monitor images M
1
through M
8
all over the scanned region S by using a weak enough ultrasonic wave not to let the contrast agent disappear, a strong ultrasonic B mode partial photographing step of photographing B mode images B
1
in each of the partial regions a, b, c and d by using a strong enough ultrasonic wave to make the contrast agent disappear, and a sequential partial photographic step at which strong ultrasonic CFM image partial photographing steps for sequentially photographing CFM image F
1
by using a strong enough ultrasonic wave to make the contrast agent disappear is iterated.
FIG. 25
is a graph showing variations in the quantity of the contrast agent present in the photographed area.
In partial region a, as is seen from graph jpBa, during the weak ultrasonic monitor image photographing step the contrast agent increases, during the strong ultrasonic B mode partial photographing step and the strong ultrasonic CFM image partial photographing step the contrast agent disappears, and again during the weak ultrasonic monitor image photographing step the contrast agent increases; these variations are repeated.
The same is true of graph jpBb of partial region b, graph jpBc of partial region c and graph jpbd of partial region d as of graph jpBa of partial region a.
The latest one of the monitor images M
1
through M
8
is displayed on, for instance, the left half of the screen.
The monitor images M
1
through M
8
, because of their high frame rate, excel in real time performance. However, their picture quality is poor because they are photographed by using weak ultrasonic waves.
The latest one of B mode images B
1
is displayed on, for instance, the right half of the screen.
The picture quality of the B mode images B
1
is high, because they are photographed in a state in which the contrast agent has fully infiltrated and by using strong ultrasonic waves. However, because of their low frame rate, they ar
Armstrong Teasdale LLP
GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company LLC
Horton Esq. Carl B.
Lateef Marvin M.
Patel Maulin
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