Surgery – Diagnostic testing – Detecting nuclear – electromagnetic – or ultrasonic radiation
Reexamination Certificate
2002-11-20
2003-08-12
Lateef, Marvin M. (Department: 3737)
Surgery
Diagnostic testing
Detecting nuclear, electromagnetic, or ultrasonic radiation
C345S173000, C358S001150
Reexamination Certificate
active
06605040
ABSTRACT:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Application No. 2001-364501 filed Nov. 29, 2001.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.
FIG. 9
is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus
100
A illustrated in
FIG. 9
comprises an ultrasonic probe (search unit)
1
, transmitting/receiving means
2
, signal processing means
3
, ultrasonic signal processing means
50
, a CRT device
30
A, a keyboard (KB)
31
, a liquid crystal display (LCD) device
40
A, and a touch panel
42
A provided over the front surface of a display portion of the LCD device
40
A.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus
100
A may comprise a trackball
32
and a mouse
33
, but they are not essential.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus
100
A further comprises a printer device
60
.
The ultrasonic signal processing means
50
has a cine memory
51
, a digital scan converter (DSC)
52
, image processing means
53
, first control means
54
, and a status table
55
. The ultrasonic signal processing means
50
further has second control means
56
, a touch sensor interface (I/F)
57
, and graphic processing means
58
.
The CRT device
30
A, LCD device
40
A and KB
31
are disposed as exemplarily shown in FIGS.
2
(A) and (B).
The CRT device
30
A is placed above an operation panel of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and is disposed at a position facing a physician or a technician (referred to as an operator hereinbelow) who sits down in front of the operation panel of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus
100
A and operates the ultrasonic probe
1
on a subject. The CRT device
30
A displays information as exemplarily shown in FIG.
10
. Details of the display illustrated in
FIG. 10
will be described later.
The touch panel
42
A is made of a transparent piezoelectric sheet, through which the items displayed on a display screen of the LCD device
40
A can be viewed. A press of the touch panel
42
A by a finger, a pencil or the like generates a voltage at the pressed portion. By detecting the portion generating the voltage as two-dimensional coordinates by position detecting means (not shown), the pressed portion in the display screen of the LCD device
40
A can be detected. Thus, the LCD device
40
A and touch panel
42
A are used as interactive means for the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.
The LCD device
40
A allows the operator to view the displayed items, and to issue commands for the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus via the display portion of the LCD device
40
A. Accordingly, the LCD device
40
A is disposed within arm's reach of the operator on the operation panel of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus below the CRT device
30
A.
The KB
31
is used to supplement the interactive operation conducted on the LCD device
40
A and touch panel
42
A. For example, the KB
31
is used in selecting the mode of operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.
The trackball
32
and mouse
33
are mainly used as pointing (selecting) means for conducting selection of an item displayed on the CRT device
30
A. For example, the trackball
32
is used in selecting a point displayed on the CRT device
30
A, and the mouse
33
is used in verifying items displayed on the CRT device
30
A.
Now the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus
100
A will be generally described.
After the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus
100
A has been activated and the operator has designated several operation conditions, the transmitting/receiving means
2
drives the ultrasonic probe
1
to emit ultrasound from the ultrasonic probe
1
toward the subject. The ultrasonic probe
1
is grabbed by the operator and is abutted against a predefined portion of the subject. The ultrasonic probe
1
detects ultrasound reflected from the subject, converts the ultrasound into corresponding electric signals, and outputs the signals to the transmitting/receiving means
2
. The transmitting/receiving means
2
receives the electric signals detected by the ultrasonic probe
1
and sends them to the signal processing means
3
.
The signal processing means
3
conducts signal processing including amplification, filtering and the like on the signals received from the transmitting/receiving means
2
, and sends the processed signals to the cine memory
51
in the ultrasonic signal processing means
50
.
The cine memory
51
is a memory that can store a plurality of ultrasonic images, and stores the ultrasonic receive signals supplied from the signal processing means
3
in order of data input for every ultrasonic image in time order.
The digital scan converter (DSC)
52
reads ultrasonic image data from the cine memory
51
in response to a control command from the first control means
54
, and outputs the data to the image processing means
53
.
The image processing means
53
conducts processing for displaying image data output by the DSC
52
and status data read out from the status table
55
on the CRT device
30
A following the control command from the first control means
54
.
The status table
55
stores information indicating the output status, for example, output completed, output in progress, or output waiting, of the ultrasonic image data in the cine memory
51
.
FIG. 10
shows an exemplary screen displayed on the CRT device
30
A.
In
FIG. 10
, a display screen
200
of the CRT device
30
A is comprised of an image display region
202
in which a result of scanning by the ultrasonic probe
1
is displayed as an image, an output status message display region
204
, and a cine gauge display region
206
.
The output status message display region
204
displays the output status, for example, “Output completed”, “Output in progress” or “Output waiting”.
The cine gauge display region
206
displays a status among “Output completed”, “Output in progress” and “Output waiting” with respect to an image read out from the cine memory
51
.
While the CRT device
30
A displays ultrasonic images, the LCD device
40
A and touch panel
42
A serve as interactive means for the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus
100
A.
FIG. 11
exemplarily shows items displayed on the LCD device
40
A as graphics and messages from the graphic processing means
58
under a control command of the second control means
56
, for issuing an operation command to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus
100
A.
The B-mode Select/Show portion
301
is for indicating that an ultrasonic cross-sectional image produced by scanning the interior of the subject with an ultrasonic beam, obtaining reflection signals, and brightness-modulating the reflection signals on the screen of the CRT device
30
is displayed in the image display region
202
of the CRT device
30
A, and for issuing a command to select that mode.
The D-mode Select/Show portion
302
is for indicating that velocity information on blood flow etc. obtained by utilizing the Doppler effect of ultrasound is displayed as an image in the image display region
202
of the CRT device
30
A, and for selecting that mode.
The M-mode Select/Show portion
303
is for indicating that the temporal position change of a reflecting source along an ultrasonic beam direction interpreted as a temporal change of reflection waves is displayed in the image display region
202
of the CRT device
30
A as a motion curve, and for selecting that mode.
The Single/Dual Select/Show portion
304
is for indicating whether in a state for displaying an image corresponding to one time point (or time span) or for displaying images corresponding to different time points side by side on the screen, and issuing a command for these operations.
The Loop/One-way Select/Show portion
305
is for indicating whether in a state for repeatedly returning the display to the top image displayed after displaying the last cine image or for terminating the display after one-way display of the images in time order, and for issuing a command for
Sato Naoto
Yawata Tsutomu
Armstrong Teasdale LLP
Horton Esq. Carl B.
Jain Ruby
Lateef Marvin M.
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