Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation

Canon Medical Systems Corporation

Other

Yasuo Miyajima

Nobuyuki Iwama

Isao Uchiumi

Hironobu Hongou

Takuya Sasaki

Tatsuro Baba

Masaaki Ishitsuka

Takatoshi Okumura

Koichi Morikawa

Toru Hirano

Yasutsugu Seo

Takanobu Uchibori

Satoshi Matsuo

Tetsuya Kawagishi

Naohisa Kamiyama

Shinichi Hashimoto

Takeshi Sato

Takashi Ogawa

Yoshitaka Mine

Takashi Takeuchi

Muneki Kataguchi

Satoru Tezuka

Masao Takimoto

Eiji Goto

Tomio Nabatame

Tsuyoshi Yoshie

Masami Takahashi

Gilles Daniel Joseph Guenette

Schuichi Kawasaki

Toshiyuki Koinuma

Masaaki Ishiguro

Toshiaki Nakazato

Toshio Shiraska

An ultrasound diagnosis apparatus includes a transmitting and receiving circuitry, an input circuitry, and a processing circuitry. The transmitting and receiving circuitry transmits a first ultrasound wave used for changing the shape of a tissue in the body of a patient and transmits/receives a second ultrasound wave that is transmitted/received with timing different from that of the first ultrasound wave. The input circuitry receives an input of a request indicating that the first ultrasound wave should be transmitted. When the input circuitry has received the input of the request indicating that the first ultrasound wave should be transmitted, the processing circuitry controls the transmission of the first ultrasound wave in accordance with the strength of a reflected-wave signal of the second ultrasound wave or one or more pixel values of an image resulting from an imaging process performed by using the reflected-wave signal of the second ultrasound wave.

Ultrasound diagnosis apparatus and image processing method

An ultrasound apparatus includes a memory storing reference data of previous images for a selected anatomical region and a predetermined measurement count for the selected anatomical region. The ultrasound apparatus also includes processing circuitry configured to perform measurement acquisition on obtained ultrasound image data of a patient to generate at least one measurement result, display the generated at least one measurement result, calculate measurement metrics of the at least one measurement result, and display the calculated measurement metrics along with guidance for an operator of the ultrasound apparatus, the guidance being determined based on the calculated measurement metrics and the at least one measurement result.

Diagnostic guidance systems and methods

An ultrasonic diagnostic device according to an embodiment includes an ultrasonic probe and transformer circuitry. The ultrasonic probe transmits ultrasonic waves to a subject and converts reflection waves reflected by the subject to a reflection wave signal. The transformer circuitry includes an auto transformer that transforms the reflection wave signal at a transformation ratio in accordance with a control signal based on information related to the ultrasonic probe among a plurality of transformation ratios.

Ultrasonic diagnostic device

An ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus includes an ultrasonic probe, an image generation unit, a display unit, and a control unit. The image generation unit generates image data from a reflected wave received from the ultrasonic probe. The display unit displays the image data. The ultrasonic probe includes a plurality of temperature sensors that measure the temperature of the ultrasonic probe and a switching circuit that is connected to the respective temperature sensors and switches connection to any one of the temperature sensors to a valid state to output data from the temperature sensors to a temperature detector. The control unit includes an instruction unit that instructs the switching circuit to switch connection to any one of the temperature sensors to a valid state at a predetermined time interval and a determination unit that determines whether a temperature measured by the temperature detector is within a set temperature range.

Ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus and ultrasonic probe

To provide an ultrasound diagnosis apparatus capable of appropriately assigning a transmission delay time of a group to a transducer without complicated wires. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of the embodiment comprises a plurality of transducers, a timing pulse generator, a switch part, and a switch controller. Ultrasound waves are transmitted to the transducers. The timing pulse generator has output terminals for outputting timing pulses based on a delay time to a channel corresponding to each of the transducers, in which a plurality of output terminals are divided into groups and each group has the output terminals of a specific number greater than two. The timing pulse generator then generates the transmission delay time within a predetermined time range for the each group. The switch part selectively connects the channels with the output terminals. The switch controller divides the plurality of channels into channel regions of the same number as the specific number, and controls the switch part so as to correspond between the groups and the regions by connecting the channels and the output terminals.

Ultrasound diagnosis apparatus

An ultrasound probe and ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus that can maintain surface temperature of an ultrasound probe within a safe range, without reduction in performance. The ultrasound probe includes a casing, a transducer, an electronic circuit, and a heat-transfer construction. Elements of the transducer are aligned at one end of the casing and send out ultrasound waves in accordance with their respective delay times. The electronic circuit, disposed in the casing, includes a delay circuit setting delay times and pulsers for generating pulses in accordance with the delay times, the pulses being sent to the transducer. While the electronic circuit is being energized, the heat-transfer construction disposes a member having a low heat conductivity at least either between the electronic circuit and the casing or between the electronic circuit and the transducer. Thereby, heat from the electronic circuit is conducted to the other end of the casing.

Ultrasound probe that exhausts heat via infrared-radiative heat transfer

A spatial position x' of each ultrasonic transducer is accurately obtained for each probe in consideration of each edge transducer gap, and a delay time T(x&#x2032;(n)) and a weighting coefficient W(x&#x2032;(n)) are calculated on the basis of the position of each ultrasonic transducer. A control unit executes ultrasonic transmission/reception by using the calculated delay times and weighting coefficients to realize a suitable acoustic field with high deflection angle accuracy, small sidelobes, and the like as compared with the prior art.

Ultrasonic transmission/reception condition optimization method, ultrasonic transmission/reception condition optimization program, and ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus

An ultrasonic diagnostic device is characterized by being provided with a cooling mechanism for cooling an ultrasonic vibrator by circulating a refrigerant in a cable of an ultrasonic probe in which the ultrasonic vibrator is provided, a cooling abnormality detecting means for detecting the abnormal state of the cooling mechanism, and an operating means for, when the abnormal state of the cooling mechanism is detected by the cooling abnormality detecting means, performing a degraded operation in which the transmission/reception condition of the ultrasonic vibrator is changed according to the detected abnormal state.

To be able to control an aperture in ultrasound transducer units comprised such that the signals from a plurality of ultrasound transducers are added and output. An ultrasound probe comprising a plurality of ultrasound transducers, a plurality of delay circuits, and an adder circuit, and configured to be able to control a reception aperture of ultrasound waves. The delay circuit performs a delay processing to reception signals. The adder circuit adds and outputs the reception signals for each predetermined group. The ultrasound probe further comprises a gate means. The gate means switches connection and disconnection of the signal path for each signal path arranged between the ultrasound transducer and the adder circuit. The gate means also connects only the signal path from the ultrasound transducer corresponding to the initial reception aperture that is previously set after the transmission of ultrasound waves within the cycle of the ultrasound waves and sequentially connects the corresponding signal path from the ultrasound transducer that is closer to the initial reception aperture according to the lapse in time of the reception period.

Ultrasound probe and ultrasound diagnosis apparatus

There is provided an ultrasonic wave diagnosis instrument. The ultrasonic wave Doppler diagnosis instrument transmits an ultrasonic continuous wave in a range direction and receives a reflective wave of the ultrasonic continuous wave. The ultrasonic wave Doppler diagnosis instrument includes: a modulation unit that subjects the ultrasonic continuous wave to frequency modulation such that a phase is varied in accordance with the distance of the range direction; a demodulation unit that demodulates the reflective wave for each range of the range direction while interlocking with the frequency modulation, and generates a reception signal in the range in a separated state; and a presentation unit that presents information by using a signal of a Doppler component based on the reception signal.

Ultrasonic doppler diagnosis device

An ultrasonic probe has a plurality of modules joined at least along the elevation direction. The module has a plurality of first piezoelectric transducers having a first width with respect to the elevation direction. The module has at least one second piezoelectric transducer having a second width narrower than the first width with respect to the elevation direction. The second piezoelectric transducer is arranged at the module ends with respect to the elevation direction. The module is arranged in such a manner that the second piezoelectric transducer faces the second piezoelectric transducer of the adjacent module.

Ultrasonic probe and ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus

A Doppler sensitivity measuring unit measures the Doppler sensitivity of Doppler spectrum data obtained by ultrasonic wave transmission/reception with respect to a predetermined region of an object to be examined. A spectrum shape model generating unit generates a spectrum shape model on the basis of a window function used when the above Doppler spectrum data is generated. A threshold setting unit sets a threshold range in which trace waveform data displaces by a predetermined amount in the frequency axis direction on the basis of the spectrum shape model and the Doppler sensitivity, and sets a predetermined number of thresholds at almost equal intervals in the threshold range. A trace data generating unit selects a threshold for the acquisition of desired trace waveform data by generating trace waveform data while sequentially updating the plurality of set thresholds.

Ultrasonic doppler measuring apparatus and control method therefor

An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus includes first and second probes. The inside of an object to be examined is scanned with a first ultrasound beam through the first probe to acquire first ultrasound image data associated with the object. The inside of the object is scanned with a second ultrasound beam through the second probe to acquire second ultrasound image data associated with the object. The second ultrasound image data is synthesized with the first ultrasound image data on the basis of the position of the first probe relative to the second probe, which is detected by a position detector.

Ultrasound diagnostic apparatus

A medical imaging diagnostic apparatus is maintained by means of a remote computer connected to a communication line. This maintenance includes: generating log data concerning a use state of a medical imaging diagnostic apparatus; transmitting the thus generated log data to the remote computer via the communication line; storing the thus transmitted log data as data that configures a database on the remote computer; and analyzing the use state of the medical imaging diagnostic apparatus so that the use state can be displayed based on the stored log data.

Imaging diagnostic apparatus and maintenance method of the same

A color Doppler-type ultrasonic apparatus is provided in which an ultrasonic pulse beam is transmitted, from a transducer, along a tomographic plane to be scanned toward an object containing a moving target. A Doppler shift frequency is detected on the basis of an echoed ultrasonic pulse beam for every sampling volume of the tomographic plane, and an image of the tomographic plane is displayed. The apparatus comprises an element for calculating movement information including a direction and a magnitude of velocity of the moving target for each of the sampling volumes on the basis of the detected Doppler shift frequency, an element for specifying a reference direction on the image of the tomographic plane, an element for forming data of a color sample showing a directional relation between the calculated directions and the reference direction, an element for creating data for color display of the calculated velocity for each of the sampling volumes on the basis of the directional relation; and an element for color-displaying at least the created data for color display together with the formed data of color sample.

Growing community of inventors

Utsunomiya, Japan

Yasuo Miyajima