Surgery – Diagnostic testing – Detecting nuclear – electromagnetic – or ultrasonic radiation
Reexamination Certificate
2002-11-18
2003-11-04
Jaworski, Francis J. (Department: 3737)
Surgery
Diagnostic testing
Detecting nuclear, electromagnetic, or ultrasonic radiation
Reexamination Certificate
active
06641538
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-358371, filed Nov. 22, 2001, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for use in, for example, medical image diagnoses, and also to a method of controlling such an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses can display in real time the beating of the heart or the motion of the embryo in the subject, merely by applying an ultrasonic probe to the surface of the subject's body. Furthermore, they can be used repeatedly for the same subject in safety, because they apply no X rays to the subject. Additionally, they are smaller than diagnostic apparatuses of any other type, such as X-ray CT scanners and MRI apparatuses. They can therefore be easily moved to the bedside and can examine the subject. For these and other advantages, ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus are widely used to examine the heart, the abdomen and the urinary organs, in the field of obstetrics and gynecology. Each ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus may have various sizes, depending on what functions the apparatus it performs. Compact ones, small enough to be carried by a single hand, have been developed to date. It is expected that the patient may operate some ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus may be operated by patients in the future.
Various imaging methods are known for ultrasonic image diagnostic apparatus. Among them is a representative one called “contrast echo method.” In the contrast echo method, an ultrasonic an contrast medium containing micro-bubbles is injected into the blood vessel of the subject to intensity the scattering ultrasonic echo.
In recent years, ultrasonic contrast media to be injected into the veins have become commercially available. The contrast echo method is now widely employed. In the method, an ultrasonic contrast medium is injected into the vein of the subject to intensity the blood flow signal and to evaluate the dynamic blood flow. This facilitates the examination of the heart or the abdominal organ. In most contrast media, micro-bubbles work as reflectors. The imaging effect of any contrast medium is prominent when it has a high density and is injected in large quantities. It is known, however, that micro-bubbles, which are weak and delicate, collapse when ultrasonic waves are applied to them. Consequently, the time during which the medium remains effective is shortened.
The simplest technique of receiving an echo signal constantly and continuously receiving from such delicate micro-bubbles is to reduce the acoustic pressure of the ultrasonic waves. Generally, as the transmission output decreases in level, the ratio of the level of the received signal to the system noise of the apparatus, or so-called S/N ratio, decreases, rendering it difficult to obtain satisfactory images for diagnosis. The S/N ratio in ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses has remarkably increased due to the recent advancement in the digital circuit technology. Additionally, it is expected that satisfactorily effective image diagnoses can be achieved in the future at low and intermediate levels of ultrasonic irradiation level. This is because contrast media exhibiting improved resistance to acoustic pressure will be commercially available in the near future.
Typical modes of diagnosis using the contrast echo method include existential diagnosis and qualitative diagnosis. The existential diagnosis is performed by scanning a living organ in three-dimensional fashion and detecting, from the obtained image, a pathologic region, if any, in the organ. To accomplish existential diagnosis, parameters suitable for observing a micro-perfusion image of the organ must be selected and applied to the apparatus. The qualitative diagnosis is to determine the type and progress of disease in the tumor-like lesion detected in a living organ. To achieve qualitative diagnosis, parameters that make the microstructure of the blood vessel more clearly discernible must be selected and applied.
The parameters suitable for existential diagnosis are contradictory to the parameters suitable for qualitative diagnosis. To conduct the two types diagnoses in the single diagnostic sequence by using the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, it is necessary to select parameters that are contradictory to one another. Selection of such parameters is very cumbersome and difficult. In other words, to perform both the existential diagnosis and the qualitative diagnosis, the diagnostic sequence must be carried out twice, which requires a long time and much labor. Such a time-consuming, cumbersome operation is a heavy burden to both the operator and the patient.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing. An object of the invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and a method of controlling such an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, which can accomplish both an existential diagnosis and a qualitative diagnosis in a single diagnostic sequence.
The present invention may provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus which comprises: an ultrasonic probe which transmits an ultrasonic wave to a predetermined region of a subject injected a contrast medium and receiving a reflection wave from the subject; a drive signal generation unit configured to generate a drive signal to drive the ultrasonic probe; a controller which controls the drive signal generation unit to switch at least three wave transmitting conditions in a predetermined order, each of the at least three wave transmitting conditions being for acquiring distribution information on the contrast medium applied into the tissues of the predetermined region and showing different contrast medium destructing abilities; and an image generation unit configured to generate an ultrasonic image from the reflection wave obtained by at least one of the ultrasonic waves transmitted respectively in each of the at least three wave transmitting conditions.
The present invention may also provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus which comprises: an ultrasonic probe which transmits an ultrasonic wave to a predetermined region of a subject injected a contrast medium and receives a reflection wave from the subject; a drive signal generation unit configured to generate a drive signal to drive the ultrasonic probe; a controller which controls the drive signal generation unit to switch a first wave transmitting condition which does not destruct the contrast medium substantially, a second wave transmitting condition which substantially destructs the contrast medium and a third wave transmitting condition which differs from the first and second wave transmitting conditions, in a predetermined order; and an image generation unit configured to generate an ultrasonic image on the basis of the reflection wave obtained by at least one of the ultrasonic waves transmitted respectively on each of the first, second and third wave transmitting conditions.
The present invention may provide a method of controlling an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus which scans a predetermined region of a subject with a contrast medium injected, by using an ultrasonic probe, and which generates an ultrasonic image, the method comprising: supplying drive signals to the ultrasonic probe to switch at least three wave transmitting conditions for acquiring distribution information on the contrast medium in the tissues in the predetermined region, in a predetermined order by the ultrasonic scanning, the at least three wave transmitting conditions showing different contrast medium destructing abilities respectively; and generating an ultrasonic image from the reflection wave obtained from at least one of the ultrasonic waves transmitted respectively in each of the at least three wave transmitting conditions.
The present invention may further prov
Kamiyama Naohisa
Moriyasu Huminori
Nakaya Shigemitsu
Jain Ruby
Jaworski Francis J.
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
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