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EP-4579278-B1 - ULTRASOUND IMAGING SYSTEM, METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE ULTRASOUND IMAGING SYSTEM, AND PROBE INCLUDED IN THE ULTRASOUND IMAGING SYSTEM

EP4579278B1EP 4579278 B1EP4579278 B1EP 4579278B1EP-4579278-B1

Inventors

  • Sung, Jinho
  • LEE, SUNGJAE

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240328

Claims (13)

  1. An ultrasound imaging system (100) comprising: a probe (20) comprising a first transducer array (310) and a second transducer array (320) having different specifications; a display (140) configured to display an ultrasound image, based on ultrasound data received through at least one of the first transducer array (310) and the second transducer array (320); an input interface (170) configured to receive a user input related to a setting value of the ultrasound image; and a processor (120), wherein the processor (120) is configured to: identify the setting value of the ultrasound image included in the user input; set an activation transducer array used to generate the ultrasound image among the first transducer array (310) and the second transducer array (320), based on the setting value; receive the ultrasound data through the activation transducer array; and control the display (140) to display the ultrasound image by using the ultrasound data, wherein the setting value includes at least one of a magnification ratio of the ultrasound image, a depth of the ultrasound image, and a location of a region of interest in the ultrasound image.
  2. The ultrasound imaging system (100) of claim 1, wherein the first transducer array (310) and the second transducer array (320) have central axes parallel to each other and transmit transmission signals in same directions.
  3. The ultrasound imaging system (100) of claim 1, wherein the processor (120) is further configured to, when the magnification ratio is equal to or greater than a minimum change value and less than a first threshold value, change a transmission/reception frequency of the activation transducer array, and, when the magnification ratio is equal to or greater than the first threshold value, change the activation transducer array.
  4. The ultrasound imaging system (100) of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: change the activation transducer array, based on the setting value; and automatically adjust a transmission parameter related to a transmission signal transmitted by the ultrasound imaging system (100) and a reception parameter related to an echo signal received by the ultrasound imaging system (100) such that a degree of change in the ultrasound image is maintained within a threshold range before and after the activation transducer array is changed.
  5. The ultrasound imaging system (100) of claim 4, wherein the transmission parameter includes at least one of a transmission waveform, a transmission frequency, and the number of transmissions, and the reception parameter includes at least one of a reception waveform, a reception frequency, a gain, and a dynamic range.
  6. The ultrasound imaging system (100) of claim 4, wherein the processor (120) sets the transmission parameter and the reception parameter by using at least one of a correlation coefficient of the ultrasound image and a bias value of the ultrasound image, before and after the activation transducer array is changed.
  7. The ultrasound imaging system (100) of claim 1, wherein the processor (120) controls the display (140) to display a guidance window indicating that a function of setting the activation transducer array has been executed.
  8. The ultrasound imaging system (100) of claim 1, wherein the first transducer array (310) has a first structure among a plurality of structures, the second transducer array (320) has a second structure among the plurality of structures, and the plurality of structures include a lead zirconate titanate (PZT)-based piezoelectric structure, a single crystal-based piezoelectric structure, a polymer-based piezoelectric structure, a structure using a piezoelectric composite, a capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (cMUT) structure using micro-electromagnetic system (MEMS) technology, and a piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (pMUT) structure using MEMS technology.
  9. The ultrasound imaging system (100) of claim 1, further comprising: a first beamformer (1410) connected to the first transducer array (310); a second beamformer (1420) connected to the second transducer array (320); and a switching module (1440) configured to receive the ultrasound data by transmitting a setting signal to at least one of the first beamformer (1410) and the second beamformer (1420).
  10. The ultrasound imaging system (100) of claim 1, further comprising: a switching module (1440) configured to transmit a setting signal, which includes a setting value for displaying the ultrasound image, to at least one of the first transducer array (310) and the second transducer array (320) and receive the ultrasound data from the at least one of the first transducer array (310) and the second transducer array (320); and a beamformer configured to transmit the setting signal from the processor (120) to the switching module (1440) and transmit the ultrasound data from the switching module (1440) to the processor (120).
  11. A method of controlling an ultrasound imaging system (100), the method comprising: receiving a user input related to a setting value of an ultrasound image; identifying the setting value of the ultrasound image included in the user input; setting an activation transducer array used to generate the ultrasound image among a first transducer array (310) and a second transducer array (320) being comprised in the same probe (20) and having different specifications, based on the setting value; receiving ultrasound data through the activation transducer array; and displaying the ultrasound image by using the ultrasound data, wherein the setting value includes at least one of a magnification ratio of the ultrasound image, a depth of the ultrasound image, and a location of a region of interest in the ultrasound image.
  12. A probe (20) comprising: a first transducer array (310); a second transducer array (320) having a different specification from the first transducer array (310); and a processor (118), wherein the processor is configured to: receive a setting signal from an ultrasound imaging apparatus (40) that displays an ultrasound image; identify a setting value of the ultrasound image included in the setting signal; set an activation transducer array used to generate the ultrasound image among the first transducer array (310) and the second transducer array (320), based on the setting value; receive ultrasound data through the activation transducer array; and transmit the ultrasound data to the ultrasound imaging apparatus, wherein the setting value includes at least one of a magnification ratio of the ultrasound image, a depth of the ultrasound image, and a location of a region of interest in the ultrasound image.
  13. The probe (20) of claim 12, wherein the first transducer array (310) and the second transducer array (320) are arranged parallel to each other and transmit transmission signals in same directions.

Description

BACKGROUND 1. Field The disclosure relates to an ultrasound imaging system, a method of controlling the ultrasound imaging system, and a probe included in the ultrasound imaging system. 2. Description of the Related Art Recently, in the medical field, various medical imaging apparatuses for imaging information about biological tissue of the human body, for the purpose of early diagnosis of various diseases or surgical operations, are being widely used. Representative examples of such medical imaging apparatuses may include an ultrasound imaging apparatus, a computed tomography (CT) apparatus, and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus. Ultrasound imaging apparatuses transmit an ultrasound signal generated by a transducer of a probe to an object and receives information regarding a signal reflected by the object, thereby non-invasively obtaining at least one image of a part (e.g., a soft tissue or a blood stream) inside the object. Ultrasound imaging apparatuses may be used for medical purposes, such as observation of the inside of an object, detection of foreign substances inside the object, and diagnosis of damage thereof. Such ultrasound imaging apparatuses have various advantages, including stability, real-time display, and safety because there is no exposure to radiation, compared to X-ray imaging apparatuses, and thus, the ultrasound imaging apparatuses are commonly used together with other imaging apparatuses. A probe may include a plurality of transducers or a multi-purpose transducer (e.g., a 2D matrix transducer) in order to realize various purposes of an ultrasound imaging apparatus and ensure versatility. The probe may provide a linear array ultrasound image, a convex array ultrasound image, or a phased array ultrasound image to suit a user's purpose. The probe may first set a basic image and then receive a user input for improving image performance. For example, the probe may first set the type of transducer to be activated and then receive a zoom input. The zoom input received by the probe may not affect the type of set transducer. Accordingly, settings for a basic image may be maintained even when the probe receives a user input. US 2007/016058 A1 provides a system and method for controlling an ultrasound probe, wherein the ultrasound probe includes a first transducer array and a second transducer array and a transducer array selector component within a housing. The transducer array selector component is configured to generate a control signal based on a user input to selectively activate one of the first transducer array and the second transducer array. EP 2 205 991 B1 relates to transducer-based systems for ultrasonic diagnostic imaging and more particularly, the document is directed to ultrasonic transducer apparatus/systems and related methods that include and/or facilitate use of a plurality of discrete ultrasonic image data acquisition transducer arrays that are disposed with respect to a single ultrasonic transducer assembly. SUMMARY The invention is defined by claim 1. Regarding the method of controlling an ultrasound imaging system the invention is defined by claim 11. Regarding the probe the invention is defined by claim 12. Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments of the disclosure. An ultrasound imaging system according to an embodiment includes a first transducer array and a second transducer array having different specifications, a display configured to display an ultrasound image, based on ultrasound data received through at least one of the first transducer array and the second transducer array, an input interface configured to receive a user input related to a setting value of the ultrasound image, and a processor. The processor is configured to identify the setting value of the ultrasound image included in the user input, set an activation transducer array used to generate the ultrasound image among the first transducer array and the second transducer array, based on the setting value, receive the ultrasound data through the activation transducer array, and control the display to display the ultrasound image by using the ultrasound data. A method of controlling an ultrasound imaging system, according to an embodiment, includes receiving a user input related to a setting value of an ultrasound image, identifying the setting value of the ultrasound image included in the user input, setting an activation transducer array used to generate the ultrasound image among a first transducer array and a second transducer array having different specifications, based on the setting value, receiving ultrasound data through the activation transducer array, and displaying the ultrasound image by using the ultrasound data. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS This disclosure may be readily understood by reference to the following detailed descr