CN-114502078-B - Recording ultrasound images

CN114502078BCN 114502078 BCN114502078 BCN 114502078BCN-114502078-B

Abstract

A system for recording ultrasound images includes a memory including instruction data representing a set of instructions and a processor configured to communicate with the memory and execute the set of instructions. The set of instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to receive a data stream of two-dimensional images taken using an ultrasound transducer and determine from the data stream that a feature of interest is in the field of view of the transducer. The set of instructions further cause the processor to trigger an alert to be sent to a user to indicate that the feature of interest is in the field of view of the transducer, and send instructions to the transducer to trigger the transducer to capture a three-dimensional ultrasound image after a predetermined time interval.

Inventors

D.N. Landshire
T. Clind
A. Schmidt-Richberg
M. Langa
E. T. olshanu
C. Lorentz

Assignees

皇家飞利浦有限公司

Dates

Publication Date: 20260508
Application Date: 20200925
Priority Date: 20190930

Claims (12)

1. A system for recording ultrasound images, the system comprising: A memory (104) comprising instruction data, the instruction data representing a set of instructions, and A processor (102) configured to communicate with the memory and execute the set of instructions, wherein the set of instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to: Receiving a data stream of two-dimensional images taken using an ultrasound transducer; determining from the data stream that a feature of interest is in the field of view of the transducer, and Triggering an alert to be sent to a user to indicate that the feature of interest is in the field of view of the transducer; characterized in that the processor (102) is further configured to: Receiving motion data related to the motion of the transducer; In the event that the motion data indicates that the transducer has been moved less than a threshold distance during a predetermined non-zero time interval, sending instructions to the transducer to capture a three-dimensional ultrasound image after the predetermined non-zero time interval, and The instructions are not sent to the transducer if the motion data indicates that the transducer has been moved greater than a threshold distance during the predetermined time interval.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the alert comprises an indication of a remaining time before the three-dimensional ultrasound image capture is to begin.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the indication of the remaining time comprises a countdown or progress bar.
4. A system according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the duration of the predetermined time interval is user configurable.
5. A system according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the ultrasound transducer is contained in a probe comprising a motion sensor.
6. A system according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the processor (102) is configured to determine that a feature of interest is in the field of view of the transducer from the data stream using a machine learning model that has been trained to identify the feature of interest in an ultrasound image.
7. The system of claim 6, wherein the processor (102) is further configured to: Receiving an indication of a potential feature in a field of view of the transducer from the machine learning model, and A determination is made as to whether the potential feature includes a feature of interest by comparing the potential feature to a list of features of interest.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein the list of features of interest is derived from a medical protocol that describes a plurality of anatomical features captured in the three-dimensional ultrasound image according to the protocol.
9. A system according to claim 1,2 or 3, wherein the data stream comprises medical imaging data and the feature of interest comprises an anatomical feature.
10. A system according to claim 1,2 or 3, further comprising a user display (438) for displaying the data stream of two-dimensional images and the warning to the user.
11. A computer-implemented method of recording ultrasound images, the method comprising: (202) Receiving a data stream of two-dimensional images taken using an ultrasound transducer; (204) Determining from the data stream that a feature of interest is in the field of view of the transducer; (206) Triggering an alert to be sent to a user to indicate that the feature of interest is in the field of view of the transducer; characterized in that the method further comprises: Receiving motion data related to the motion of the transducer; (208) Transmitting instructions to trigger the transducer to capture three-dimensional ultrasound images after a predetermined non-zero time interval if the motion data indicates that the transducer has been moved less than a threshold distance during the predetermined non-zero time interval, and The instructions are not sent to the transducer if the motion data indicates that the transducer has been moved greater than a threshold distance during the predetermined time interval.
12. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having computer readable code embodied therein, the computer readable code being configured such that, when executed by a suitable computer or processor, causes the computer or processor to perform the method of claim 11.

Description

Recording ultrasound images Technical Field The disclosure herein relates to ultrasound imaging. In particular, but not exclusively, embodiments herein relate to systems and methods for recording ultrasound images. Background Ultrasound imaging is used in a range of medical applications, such as fetal monitoring. Medical ultrasound imaging involves moving a probe containing an ultrasound transducer that produces high frequency sound waves on the skin. High frequency sound waves pass through tissue and reflect from internal surfaces (e.g., tissue boundaries). The reflected waves are detected and used to construct an image of the internal structure of interest. Ultrasound imaging may be used to create two-dimensional or three-dimensional images. In a typical workflow, a user (e.g., a sonographer, radiologist, clinician, or other medical professional) may use two-dimensional imaging to locate anatomical features of interest. Once the feature is in two dimensions, the user may activate a three-dimensional mode to capture a three-dimensional image. Imaging in this manner is highly specialized and typically requires many years of training. Thus, efficient and accurate three-dimensional image acquisition methods that integrate well into workflows are desired. One object disclosed herein is to develop systems and methods to assist users, for example, to enable inexperienced clinicians (e.g., primary care physicians) to record three-dimensional ultrasound images in an accurate manner. Disclosure of Invention As described above, ultrasound image capture is highly specialized. In a typical workflow, a feature of interest (e.g., an anatomical feature) is located by a user using two-dimensional ultrasound imaging. Once the feature of interest is located, a three-dimensional imaging mode may be activated to acquire a three-dimensional image. In some known methods, the user must activate a three-dimensional mode after locating a feature of interest in a two-dimensional image, for example, by manually clicking a button or interacting with a user screen. Activating the three-dimensional imaging mode in this manner may be distracting. Furthermore, when the three-dimensional imaging mode is activated, the user may inadvertently remove the ultrasound transducer from the feature of interest. Thus, manually triggering a three-dimensional imaging mode may result in non-optimal acquisition, wherein, for example, the target anatomy is only partially visible. It is an object of embodiments herein to improve such existing methods of recording ultrasound images. Thus, according to a first aspect, there is a system for recording ultrasound images. The system includes a memory including instruction data representing a set of instructions and a processor configured to communicate with the memory and execute the set of instructions. The set of instructions, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to receive a data stream of a two-dimensional image taken using an ultrasound transducer, determine from the data stream that a feature of interest is in a field of view of the transducer, trigger a warning to be sent to a user to indicate that the feature of interest is in the field of view of the transducer, and send instructions to the transducer to trigger the transducer to capture a three-dimensional ultrasound image after a predetermined time interval. In this way, the three-dimensional imaging mode is automatically triggered after a predetermined time interval without the user having to manually intervene. Further, the alert provides the user with a pre-alert that three-dimensional image acquisition is about to begin, so that the user can terminate three-dimensional image acquisition during a predetermined time interval (e.g., before three-dimensional image acquisition begins). Because the user does not have to intervene manually, the user can always focus on the position of the ultrasound transducer, thereby achieving a smoother workflow and better ultrasound image quality. According to a second aspect, there is a computer-implemented method of recording ultrasound images. The method includes receiving a data stream of two-dimensional images taken using an ultrasound transducer, determining from the data stream that a feature of interest is in the field of view of the transducer, triggering a warning to be sent to a user to indicate that the feature of interest is in the field of view of the transducer, and sending instructions to the transducer to trigger the transducer to capture a three-dimensional ultrasound image after a predetermined time interval. According to a third aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having computer readable code embodied therein, the computer readable code being configured such that, when executed by a suitable computer or processor, the computer or processor is caused to perform the method described in the second aspect. Drawings For a better