Ultrasonic imaging system and ultrasonic signal processing method

An ultrasonic imaging system comprising:

• an ultrasonic probe having a plurality of ultrasonic elements, for transmitting an ultrasonic pulse to a living body, and receiving the ultrasonic pulse reflected by said living body;
• a transmit beam former for outputting a transmit signal of an ultrasonic wave transmitted from said ultrasonic probe;
• a receive beam former for generating an RF signal as a receive beam signal from a signal received from said ultrasonic probe and outputting the RF signal;
• a transmit/receive switch for switching transmission and reception of the ultrasonic wave to/from said ultrasonic probe;
• an envelope detector for detecting an envelope of said RF signal and outputting the envelope as a video signal;
• a scan converter to which said video signal is input;
• a structure extractor for extracting structure-emphasized image data in which a structure of a tissue in said living body is emphasized from an output of said scan converter;
• a texture pattern extractor for extracting texture-emphasized image data in which a texture pattern coming from properties of a tissue in said living body is emphasized from an output of said scan converter;
• an image synthesizer for obtaining a synthesized image by weighting and combining said structure-emphasized image data and said texture-emphasized image data;
• a parameter controller for setting parameters for signal processing into said structure extractor, said texture pattern extractor, and said image synthesizer;
• an input unit for receiving said parameters for signal processing and setting said parameters for signal processing into said parameter controller;
• a control unit for controlling said transmit beam former, said transmit/receive switch, and said receive beam former on the basis of the control parameters supplied from said input unit;
• and
• a display for displaying at least one of said structure-emphasized image data, said texture-emphasized image data, and said synthesized image;
• wherein said structure extractor and said texture pattern extractor extract said structure-emphasized image data and said texture-emphasized image data, respectively, from the same B-mode image data.

An ultrasonic imaging system comprising,

• an ultrasonic probe having a plurality of ultrasonic elements, for transmitting an ultrasonic pulse to a living body, and receiving the ultrasonic pulse reflected by said living body;
• a transmit beam former for outputting a-transmit signal of an ultrasonic wave transmitted from said ultrasonic probe;
• a receive beam former for generating an RF signal as a receive beam signal from a signal received by said ultrasonic probe and outputting the RF signal;
• a transmit/receive switch for switching transmission and reception of the ultrasonic wave to/from said ultrasonic probe;
• a structure extractor for extracting structure-emphasized image data in which a structure of a tissue in said living body is emphasized from said RF signal;
• a texture pattern extractor for extracting texture-emphasized image data in which a texture pattern coming from properties of a tissue in said living body is emphasized from said RF signal;
• an image synthesizer for obtaining a synthesized image by weighting and combining said structure-emphasized image data and said texture-emphasized image data;
• an envelope detector for detecting an envelope of an output signal of said image synthesizer and outputting the envelope as a video signal;
• a scan converter to which said video signal is input;
• a parameter controller for setting parameters for signal processing into said structure extractor, said texture pattern extractor, and said image synthesizer;
• an input unit for receiving said parameters for signal processing and setting said parameters for signal processing into said parameter controller;
• a control unit for controlling said transmit beam former, said transmit/receive switch, and said receive beam former on the basis of the control parameters supplied from said input unit;
• and
• a display for displaying at least one of said structure-emphasized image data, said texture-emphasized image data, and said synthesized image;
• wherein said structure extractor and said texture pattern extractor extract said structure-emphasized image data and said texture-emphasized image data, respectively, from the same B-mode image data.

An ultrasonic imaging system comprising:

• an ultrasonic probe having a plurality of ultrasonic elements, for transmitting an ultrasonic pulse to a living body, and receiving the ultrasonic pulse reflected by said living body;
• a transmit beam former for outputting a transmit signal of an ultrasonic wave transmitted from said ultrasonic probe;
• a receive beam former for generating an RF signal as a receive beam signal from a signal received from said ultrasonic probe and outputting the RF signal;
• a transmit/receive switch for switching transmission and reception of the ultrasonic wave to/from said ultrasonic probe;
• an envelope detector for detecting an envelope of said RF signal and outputting the envelope as a video signal;
• a structure extractor for extracting structure-emphasized image data in which a structure of a tissue in said living body is emphasized from said video signal;
• a texture pattern extractor for extracting texture-emphasized image data in which a texture pattern coming from properties of a tissue in said living body is emphasized from said video signal;
• an image synthesizer for obtaining a synthesized image by weighting and combining said structure-emphasized image data and said texture-emphasized image data;
• a scan converter to which an output signal of said image synthesizer is input as a video signal;
• a parameter controller for setting parameters for signal processing into said structure extractor, said texture pattern extractor, and said image synthesizer;
• an input unit for receiving said parameters for signal processing and setting said parameters for signal processing into said parameter controller;
• a control unit for controlling said transmit beam former, said transmit/receive switch, and said receive beam former on the basis of the control parameters supplied from said input unit;
• and
• a display for displaying at least one of said structure-emphasized image data, said texture-emphasized image data, and said synthesized image;
• wherein said structure extractor and said texture pattern extractor extract said structure-emphasized image data and said texture-emphasized image data, respectively, from the same B-mode image data.

An ultrasonic imaging system for transmitting an ultrasonic pulse to a living body, receiving the ultrasonic pulse reflected by said living body, and obtaining B-mode image data of said living body, comprising:

• a structure extractor for extracting structure-emphasized image data in which a structure of a tissue of said living body is emphasized by using data of said B-mode image;
• a texture pattern extractor for extracting texture-emphasized image data in which a texture pattern coming from properties of a tissue in said living body is emphasized by using said B-mode image data in parallel with said structure extractor;
• an image synthesizer for obtaining a synthesized image by weighting and combining said structure-emphasized image data and said texture-emphasized image data;
• and
• a display for displaying at least one of said structure-emphasized image data, said texture-emphasized image data, and said synthesized image;
• wherein said structure extractor and said texture pattern extractor extract said structure-emphasized image data and said texture-emphasized image data, respectively, from the same B-mode image data.

An ultrasonic imaging system having means of transmitting an ultrasonic pulse to a living body, receiving the ultrasonic pulse reflected by said living body, and obtaining B-mode image data of said living body, a structure extractor for extracting structure-emphasized image data in which a structure of a tissue in said living body is emphasized from said B-mode image data, and a display for displaying said structure-emphasized image data,

• wherein said structure extractor comprises:
• means for determining a region of peripheral pixels of each pixel of said B-mode image data;
• and
• means for obtaining a function for determining a weighting function on the basis of the difference between intensity of said each pixel and intensity of each of said peripheral pixels,
• said function has a maximum point when it is 0,
• an integral value of an absolute value of said function in a region from negative infinity to positive infinity is finite,
• said weighting function for each of said peripheral pixels is determined from differentiation of said function, and
• a value obtained by adding a sum of products of said weighting function and intensity of each of said peripheral pixels to intensity of each of pixels of said B-mode image data is used as signal intensity of each of pixels of said structure-emphasized image data.

An ultrasonic imaging system for transmitting an ultrasonic pulse to a living body, receiving the ultrasonic pulse reflected by said living body, and obtaining B-mode image data of said living body, comprising:

• a structure extractor for extracting structure-emphasized image data in which a structure of a tissue in said living body is emphasized from said B-mode image data;
• a texture pattern extractor for extracting texture-emphasized image data in which a texture pattern coming from properties of a tissue in said living body is emphasized from said B-mode image data;
• an image synthesizer for obtaining a synthesized image by weighting and combining said structure-emphasized image data and said texture-emphasized image data;
• and
• a display for displaying at least one of said structure-emphasized image data, said texture-emphasized image data, and said synthesized image;
• wherein said structure extractor extracts a structure of a living body tissue constructed by a set of point reflectors which are continuously distributed in at least one direction in said living body.

An ultrasonic imaging system for transmitting an ultrasonic pulse to a living body, receiving the ultrasonic pulse reflected by said living body, and obtaining B-mode image data of said living body, comprising:

• a structure extractor for extracting structure-emphasized image data in which a structure of a tissue in said living body is emphasized from said B-mode image data;
• a texture pattern extractor for extracting texture-emphasized image data in which a texture pattern coming from properties of a tissue in said living body is emphasized from said B-mode image data;
• an image synthesizer for obtaining a synthesized image by weighting and combining said structure-emphasized image data and said texture-emphasized image data;
• and
• a display for displaying at least one of said structure-emphasized image data, said texture-emphasized image data, and said synthesized image;
• wherein said texture pattern extractor extracts a component coming from a reflector constructed by a set of point reflectors which are not continuously distributed in said living body but are spread.

An ultrasonic imaging system for transmitting an ultrasonic pulse to a living body, receiving the ultrasonic pulse reflected by said living body, and obtaining B-mode image data of said living body, comprising:

• a structure extractor for extracting structure-emphasized image data in which a structure of a tissue in said living body is emphasized from said B-mode image data;
• a texture pattern extractor for extracting texture-emphasized image data in which a texture pattern coming from properties of a tissue in said living body is emphasized from said B-mode image data;
• an image synthesizer for obtaining a synthesized image by weighting and combining said structure-emphasized image data and said texture-emphasized image data;
• and
• a display for displaying at least one of said structure-emphasized image data, said texture-emphasized image data, and said synthesized image;
• wherein said structure extractor comprises:
• means for determining a region of peripheral pixels of each pixel in said B-mode image data;
• and
• means for obtaining a function for determining a weighting function on the basis of the difference between intensity of said each pixel and intensity of each of said peripheral pixels,
• said function has a maximum point when it is 0,
• an integral value of an absolute value of said function in a region from negative infinity to positive infinity is finite,
• said weighting function on each of said peripheral pixels is determined from differentiation of said function, and
• a value obtained by adding a sum of products of said weighting function and intensity of each of said peripheral pixels to intensity of each of pixels of said B-mode image data is used as signal intensity of each of pixels of said structure-emphasized image data.

An ultrasonic imaging system for transmitting an ultrasonic pulse to a living body, receiving the ultrasonic pulse reflected by said living body, and obtaining B-mode image data of said living body, comprising:

• a structure extractor for extracting structure-emphasized image data in which a structure of a tissue in said living body is emphasized from said B-mode image data;
• a texture pattern extractor for extracting texture-emphasized image data in which a texture pattern coming from properties of a tissue in said living body is emphasized from said B-mode image data;
• an image synthesizer for obtaining a synthesized image by weighting and combining said structure-emphasized image data and said texture-emphasized image data;
• and
• a display for displaying at least one of said structure-emphasized image data, said texture-emphasized image data, and said synthesized image;
• wherein said texture pattern extractor emphasizes said texture pattern by using a differential filter in two directions of signal intensities of pixels in the same frame of said B-mode image data.

An ultrasonic imaging system for transmitting en ultrasonic pulse to a living body, receiving the ultrasonic pulse reflected by said living body, and obtaining B-mode image data of said living body, comprising:

• a structure extractor for extracting structure-emphasized image data in which a structure of a tissue in said living body is emphasized from said B-mode image data;
• a texture pattern extractor for extracting texture-emphasized image data in which a texture pattern coming from properties of a tissue in said living body is emphasized from said B-mode image data;
• an image synthesizer for obtaining a synthesized image by weighting and combining said structure-emphasized image data and said texture-emphasized image data;
• and
• a display for displaying at least one of said structure-emphasized image data, said texture-emphasized image data, and said synthesized image;
• wherein said structure extractor and said texture pattern extractor extract said structure-emphasized image data and said texture-emphasized image data, respectively, from the same B-mode image data, and
• wherein the B-mode image data is a single tomographic image.