US-12622680-B2 - Ultrasound diagnostic apparatus and control method for ultrasound diagnostic apparatus

US12622680B2US 12622680 B2US12622680 B2US 12622680B2US-12622680-B2

Abstract

According to the present invention, in an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus and a control method for an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, there is provided an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus including an ultrasound probe and an apparatus main body to be connected to the ultrasound probe via wireless communication or wired communication, in which a diagnostic purpose setting section is configured to set a diagnostic purpose input from a user, and a wireless communication determination section is configured to determine whether or not to disable the wireless communication according to a wireless communication status in a case where the diagnostic purpose is a predetermined diagnostic purpose. Then, a wireless communication switching section is configured to set the wireless communication to be disabled in a case where it is determined to disable the wireless communication. With this, it is possible to restrict the use of the wireless communication by the user without awareness in an inappropriate wireless communication environment.

Inventors

Hiroyuki Karasawa

Assignees

FUJIFILM CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230914
Priority Date: 20210322

Claims (11)

1 . An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus including an ultrasound probe and an apparatus main body to be connected to the ultrasound probe via wireless communication or wired communication, the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus comprising a processor: the processor being configured to: set a diagnostic purpose input from a user, the diagnostic purpose referring to an object to be observed using the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus; operate the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus such that an ultrasound image is displayed at a frame rate corresponding to the diagnostic purpose; determine whether or not to disable the wireless communication according to a wireless communication status in a case where the diagnostic purpose is a diagnostic purpose which requires a frame rate of a predetermined threshold value or higher; and set the wireless communication to be disabled in a case where it is determined to disable the wireless communication.
2 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: a frame rate memory configured to store a frame rate set in advance, for each diagnostic purpose; and wherein the processor is configured to operate the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus such that an ultrasound image is displayed at a frame rate corresponding to the diagnostic purpose among the frame rates stored in the frame rate memory.
3 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to detect a wireless radio wave intensity of a radio wave signal through the wireless communication, and the processor is configured to, in a case where the wireless radio wave intensity is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, determine to disable the wireless communication.
4 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the threshold value is −60 dBm.
5 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to, in a case where it is determined to disable the wireless communication, notify the user of a message for selecting whether or not to use the wireless communication, and the processor is configured to switch whether or not to set the wireless communication to be disabled, according to a selection made by the user.
6 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to, in a case where it is determined to disable the wireless communication, forcibly set the wireless communication to be disabled.
7 . A control method for an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus including an ultrasound probe, an apparatus main body to be connected to the ultrasound probe via wireless communication or wired communication and a processor, the control method comprising: a step of setting, via the processor, a diagnostic purpose input from a user, the diagnostic purpose referring to an object to be observed using the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus; a step of operating the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, via the processor, such that an ultrasound image is displayed at a frame rate corresponding to the diagnostic purpose; a step of determining, via the processor, whether or not to disable the wireless communication according to a wireless communication status in a case where the diagnostic purpose is a diagnostic purpose which requires a frame rate of a predetermined threshold value or higher; and a step of setting, via the processor, the wireless communication to be disabled in a case where it is determined to disable the wireless communication.
8 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the processor is configured to detect a wireless radio wave intensity of a radio wave signal through the wireless communication, and the processor is configured to, in a case where the wireless radio wave intensity is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, determine to disable the wireless communication.
9 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the threshold value is −60 dBm.
10 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the processor is configured to, in a case where it is determined to disable the wireless communication, notify the user of a message for selecting whether or not to use the wireless communication, and the processor is configured to switch whether or not to set the wireless communication to be disabled, according to a selection made by the user.
11 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the processor is configured to, in a case where it is determined to disable the wireless communication, forcibly set the wireless communication to be disabled.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a Continuation of PCT International Application No. PCT/JP2022/010211 filed on Mar. 9, 2022, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) to Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-047205 filed on Mar. 22, 2021. The above applications are hereby expressly incorporated by reference, in their entirety, into the present application. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus and a control method for an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus in which an ultrasound probe and an apparatus main body are connected via wireless communication or wired communication. 2. Description of the Related Art An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus is known in which an ultrasound probe and an apparatus main body are connected via wireless communication or wired communication. As described above, in the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus that performs wireless communication between the ultrasound probe and the apparatus main body, the number of communication retries may increase depending on a congestion status of the wireless communication or the like, resulting in a decrease in frame rate, missing a frame in an ultrasound image, temporary communication stops, or the like, and in a worst case, the connection via the wireless communication may be disconnected. In response to this, WO2016/129544A and JP2018-527054A disclose an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus in which an ultrasound probe and an apparatus main body are connected via wireless communication, and the wireless communication between the ultrasound probe and the apparatus main body is stopped, pairing is performed, or the like based on a transmission radio wave intensity, a received signal strength indicator, or the like. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION As described above, in a case where the frame rate decreases or the frame of the ultrasound image is missing depending on the congestion status of the wireless communication or the like, it significantly hinders diagnosis and procedures in observing the movement of the heart using the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus or moving a puncture needle while observing a position of the puncture needle. WO2016/129544A and JP2018-527054A disclose that the wireless communication between the ultrasound probe and the apparatus main body is stopped, pairing is performed, or the like based on the transmission radio wave intensity, the received signal strength indicator, or the like, but do not disclose that the use of wireless communication is restricted depending on diagnostic purposes. An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus and a control method for an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus capable of restricting the use of wireless communication by a user without awareness in an inappropriate wireless communication environment. In order to achieve the above-described object, according to the present invention, there is provided an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus including an ultrasound probe and an apparatus main body to be connected to the ultrasound probe via wireless communication or wired communication, the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus comprising: a diagnostic purpose setting section configured to set a diagnostic purpose input from a user;a wireless communication determination section configured to determine whether or not to disable the wireless communication according to a wireless communication status in a case where the diagnostic purpose is a predetermined diagnostic purpose; anda wireless communication switching section configured to set the wireless communication to be disabled in a case where it is determined to disable the wireless communication. Here, it is preferable that a frame rate memory configured to store a frame rate set in advance, for each diagnostic purpose; and an apparatus control unit configured to operate the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus such that an ultrasound image is displayed at a frame rate corresponding to the diagnostic purpose among the frame rates stored in the frame rate memory are further provided. In addition, it is preferable that the wireless communication determination section is configured to determine whether or not to disable the wireless communication in a case where the diagnostic purpose requires a frame rate of 20 Hz or higher. Further, it is preferable that a frame rate memory configured to store a frame rate set in advance, for each diagnostic purpose; a transmission and reception condition setting section configured to set a transmission and reception condition of an ultrasound wave transmitted and received by the ultrasound probe, according to the diagnostic purpose; anda frame rate comparison section configured to compare a frame rate set according to the diagnostic purpose by the transmission and reception condition setting section with a frame rate corresponding to the diagnostic purpose among the frame rates stored in