The entire disclosure of Japanese patent Application No. 2022-101313, filed on Jun. 23, 2022, is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present disclosure relates to a medical image processing apparatus, a control method, and a program.
As an example of a medical image diagnostic apparatus, an ultrasonic image diagnostic apparatus that transmits an ultrasonic wave to a subject, receives and processes an echo signal of it, and generates an ultrasonic image is widely used.
For example, in an ultrasonic image diagnostic apparatus described in JP 2021-029538 A, a first display area for displaying an ultrasonic image and a measurement cursor for measurement and a second display area for displaying a measurement value measured by the measurement cursor are displayed on an inspection screen. Then, in the ultrasonic image diagnostic apparatus described in JP 2021-029538 A, when the inspector performs an operation of correcting any one of the measurement values displayed in the second display area, the display of the measurement value displayed in the second display area is corrected, and the display position of the measurement cursor in the first display area is corrected.
In addition, in the ultrasonic image diagnostic apparatus described in JP 2021-029538 A, when the measurement value displayed in the second display area is corrected, the corresponding measurement value included in the report that can output the measurement result is also corrected.
Incidentally, when measurement is performed using a medical image diagnostic apparatus or the like, it is generally performed to improve reliability of an inspection result by storing history data of measurement values.
In the ultrasonic image diagnostic apparatus disclosed in JP 2021-029538 A, in a case where history data of measurement values is stored, for example, in a case where a measurement value displayed in the second display area is corrected, there may be a problem that the measurement value displayed in the second display area and the measurement value included in the report are different from the measurement value remaining in the history data.
The present disclosure has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of it is to provide a medical image processing apparatus, a control method, and a program capable of eliminating discrepancy between the display contents and the history data at the time of correcting the measurement value.
To achieve the abovementioned object, according to an aspect of the present invention, a medical image processing apparatus reflecting one aspect of the present invention comprises a hardware processor that displays a measurement image including a measurement object and a measurement scale for measuring a measurement value related to the measurement object in a manner that the measurement scale is superimposed on the measurement image, manages history information related to the measurement value, and accepts correction or deletion of a position of the measurement scale, wherein the hardware processor corrects or deletes a history measurement value corresponding to the measurement scale having the position corrected or deleted among history measurement values included in the history information in a case where the position of the measurement scale is corrected or deleted.
The advantages and features provided by one or more embodiments of the invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the appended drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not intended as a definition of the limits of the present invention:
Hereinafter, one or more embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the scope of the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Note that, in the following description, components having the same functions and configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description will be omitted.
As illustrated in
The ultrasonic probe P transmits an ultrasonic wave to a subject such as a living body (not illustrated) and receives a reflection wave (reflection echo) of the ultrasonic wave reflected by the subject. Then, the ultrasonic probe P acquires a reception signal which is an electric signal from the received reflection echo and outputs the reception signal to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body 10.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body 10 is connected to the ultrasonic probe P via a cable or the like. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body 10 transmits a transmission signal of an electric signal to the ultrasonic probe P to cause the ultrasonic probe P to transmit an ultrasonic wave to the subject. In addition, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body 10 images and displays the internal state of the inside of the subject as an ultrasonic image based on the reception signal received from the ultrasonic probe P.
As illustrated in
The control unit 11 controls the entire ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1. The control unit 11 is a processor including, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a random access memory (RAM), or the like. The control unit 11 executes various processings in cooperation with various programs stored in the storage unit 17 to integrally control the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1.
The ultrasonic transmission/reception unit 12 supplies a transmission signal to the ultrasonic probe P and causes the ultrasonic probe P to generate an ultrasonic wave. In addition, the ultrasonic transmission/reception unit 12 receives a reflection echo generated in the subject by the ultrasonic probe P, generates a reception signal, and outputs the reception signal to the signal processing unit 13.
The signal processing unit 13 electrically amplifies the reception electrical signal obtained by converting the reception signal, performs signal processing such as digital conversion, and outputs the signal to the image processing unit 14.
The image processing unit 14 generates an ultrasonic image (for example, the B-mode image) based on the digital reception signal output from the ultrasonic transmission/reception unit 12. The B-mode image represents the intensity of the reception signal by luminance. The ultrasonic image generated by the image processing unit 14 is stored in the frame memory in units of frame images. When the ultrasonic image is output from the image processing unit 14, the control unit 11 overwrites the output ultrasonic image in the frame memory in units of frames and causes the display unit 16 to display the ultrasonic image.
The display unit 16 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a cathode-ray tube (CRT) display, an organic electronic luminescence (EL) display, or a plasma display. The display unit 16 sequentially and continuously displays the ultrasonic images stored in the frame memory (not illustrated) under the control of the control unit 11. In addition, the display unit 16 displays various operation screens or the like on the screen under the control of the control unit 11.
The storage unit 17 includes, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a semiconductor nonvolatile memory, or the like. The storage unit 17 stores various programs, data necessary for executing the programs, or the like.
The operation unit 18 includes various switches, function buttons, a trackball, a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, or the like. The operation unit 18 outputs an operation signal generated based on the operation by the user of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 to the control unit 11.
The display controller 111 generates a screen displayed on the display unit 16 based on the ultrasonic image or the like generated by the image processing unit 14. Examples of the screen displayed on the display unit 16 by the display controller 111 include a measurement screen for performing measurement using an ultrasonic image while keeping the ultrasonic image stationary, a report screen displaying a report summarizing measurement values, or the like.
In a case where an inspection of a certain subject (patient or the like) is performed using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1, a user such as a doctor appropriately performs diagnosis while viewing a real-time ultrasonic image based on an ultrasonic signal obtained from the subject. During diagnosis, when the user desires to perform various measurements related to a structure (an organ, a fetus, or the like) in the subject, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 can transition to the measurement screen and perform various measurements on the ultrasonic image displayed on the measurement screen. In addition, in a case where the user desires to create a report by collecting measurement values obtained by measurement, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 can transition to a report screen to edit and create the report.
The ultrasonic image display field 201 is a field for displaying, as a still image, an ultrasonic image of arbitrary one frame selected by the user from among ultrasonic images of a plurality of frames generated by the image processing unit 14. The ultrasonic image shows a structure of the subject.
The measurement scale 202 is a tool for measuring a measurement value related to the structure of the subject appearing in the ultrasonic image displayed in the ultrasonic image display field 201. In the present embodiment, as an example, the measurement scale 202 is a tool that measures a distance between arbitrary two points in a structure of a subject appearing in an ultrasonic image as a measurement value. As another example, the measurement scale 202 may be a tool that measures various measurement values such as an area, a volume, a speed, and a flow rate. The measurement scale 202 is displayed in the ultrasonic image display field 201. The measurement scale 202 is movable by a user's operation. In the example illustrated in
Note that, when the acceptor 114 to be described later accepts the correction or deletion of the position of the measurement scale 202, the display controller 111 corrects or deletes the position of the measurement scale 202 according to the user's operation. As a result, for example, in a case where there is a measurement scale arranged at a wrong position, the position can be corrected or the measurement scale can be deleted.
The measurement history display field 203 is a field for displaying a history of measurement values of various items.
In the measurement using the measurement screen 200, various items can be measured depending on a structure target. For example, in the example illustrated in
Note that the user may perform measurement for the same item a plurality of times on the measurement screen 200. The plurality of times of measurement can be performed in a case where the previous measurement was insufficient (for example, the position specification of the measurement scale fails, the measurement value is abnormal, or the like), in a case where an item is erroneously measured (for example, an item of the BPD has been selected in order to measure the CRL), or the like.
In the measurement history display field 203, a plurality of measurement values is displayed for items measured a plurality of times. In the measurement history display field 203, in order to distinguish a plurality of times of measurements, for example, the number of times is assigned to the item name of the measurement value. In the example illustrated in
In this manner, the measurement history display field 203 displays a history of measurement values measured during inspection of a certain subject. That is, in the measurement history display field 203, not only the measurement value of the item measured immediately before but also the measurement values of other items measured before the measurement value are displayed. In addition, a plurality of measurement values is displayed in the measurement history display field 203 in a case where measurement is performed a plurality of times. Note that, in a case where the measurement is performed three or more times, all the measurement values may be displayed in the measurement history display field 203, or only some (for example, the latest two) measurement values may be displayed.
The history information regarding the history of the measurement value displayed in the measurement history display field 203 of the measurement screen 200 is managed by the history manager 112 to be described later.
The description returns to
On the measurement screen 200 exemplified in
The measurement value display field 301 is a field for displaying the measurement value measured on the measurement screen 200 for each item. Note that the measurement history display field 203 on the measurement screen 200 and the measurement value display field 301 on the report screen 300 may be different in display format, that is, the presence or absence of a frame line, the size of a frame, the size of a character, the font, or the like.
Note that the measurement value displayed in the measurement value display field 301 of the report screen 300 is managed by the report generator 113 described later. That is, in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1, measurement values are stored and managed separately in the history manager 112 and the report generator 113. In this specification, in order to distinguish between the measurement value managed by the history manager 112 and the measurement value managed by the report generator 113, the measurement value managed by the history manager 112 is referred to as a history measurement value, and the measurement value managed by the report generator 113 is referred to as a report measurement value.
In the example illustrated in
The measurement screen display button 302 is a button for transitioning the display from the report screen 300 to the measurement screen 200.
In the report screen 300 illustrated in
The description returns to
The history manager 112 collects all the measurement values measured on the measurement screen 200 and manages them as history information. In the present disclosure, as described above, the measurement value included in the history information is described as a history measurement value, and is distinguished from the report measurement value managed by the report generator 113. The history information includes a plurality of measurement values for an item for which measurement has been performed a plurality of times. The display controller 111 displays the measurement history display field 203 illustrated in
The history manager 112 generates history information every time an inspection on a new subject is started, and holds and manages the history information until the inspection on the subject is completed. The history manager 112 adds a new measurement value to the history information each time new measurement is performed on the subject under inspection. In a case where the inspection for the subject under inspection is completed, the history manager 112 may discard the history information, or may store the history information in association with the name, identification number, or the like of the subject in the database of the storage unit 17, for example.
In addition, when correction or deletion of the measurement value is accepted by the acceptor 114 to be described later and the measurement value is corrected or deleted, the history manager 112 reflects the measurement value changed by the correction in the history information or deletes the deleted measurement value from the history information without leaving a history of the correction or deletion. As a result, for example, in a case where an erroneous measurement value is included in the history information, the measurement value can be corrected or deleted.
For example, when an erroneous measurement value is corrected, in a case where the history manager 112 leaves the measurement value before correction in the history information, the measurement value before correction is continuously displayed also in the measurement history display field 203, which may cause confusion of the user who browses the measurement screen 200. In order to avoid such a situation, the history manager 112 does not leave the measurement value corrected or deleted as described above in the history information, and reflects the correction or deletion in the history information. Details of the operation when correcting or deleting the measurement value of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus will be described later.
The report generator 113 generates the report illustrated in the report screen 300 of
The acceptor 114 accepts correction or deletion of a display object displayed on the measurement screen 200 or the report screen 300 according to an operation of the user via the operation unit 18. In a case where the user selects a display object and performs an operation for correction or deletion on the operation unit 18 on the measurement screen 200 or the report screen 300 illustrated in
When accepting the correction or deletion of the display object, the acceptor 114 causes the functional block that manages the display object designated as the target to be corrected or deleted to respond to the correction or deletion of the display object. At the same time, the acceptor 114 causes the functional block that manages another display object to respond to the correction or deletion to cause not only the display object designated as the target to be corrected or deleted but also another display object related to the display object to be corrected or deleted as necessary.
Hereinafter, three specific examples will be described.
First specific example is an example of a case where the acceptor 114 accepts correction or deletion of the measurement scale 202 in the ultrasonic image display field 201. In a case where the user performs an operation of correcting or deleting the measurement scale 202 via the operation unit 18, the acceptor 114 accepts correction or deletion of the measurement scale 202. The acceptor 114 that has accepted the correction or deletion of the measurement scale 202 first causes the display controller 111 to correct or delete the measurement scale 202 that has accepted the correction or deletion. In addition, the acceptor 114 causes the history manager 112 to correct or delete the history measurement value corresponding to the measurement scale 202 corrected or deleted among the history measurement values included in the history information. Further, the acceptor 114 causes the report generator 113 to correct or delete the report measurement value corresponding to the measurement scale 202 corrected or deleted among the report measurement values included in the measurement value display field 301 (see
When the history measurement value included in the history information managed by the history manager 112 is corrected or deleted, the measurement value displayed in the measurement history display field 203 (see
Second specific example is an example of a case where the acceptor 114 accepts correction or deletion of the history measurement value managed by the history manager 112. Note that the correction or deletion of the history measurement value is accepted when the user performs an operation of correcting or deleting the measurement value displayed in the measurement history display field 203 of the measurement screen 200.
In a case where the user performs an operation of correcting or deleting the measurement value displayed in the measurement history display field 203 via the operation unit 18, the acceptor 114 causes the history manager 112 to correct or delete the history measurement value corresponding to the measurement value whose correction or deletion has been accepted among the history measurement values included in the history information. In addition, the acceptor 114 causes the display controller 111 to correct or delete the measurement scale 202 corresponding to the corrected or deleted measurement value among the measurement scales 202 displayed in the ultrasonic image display field 201. Further, the acceptor 114 causes the report generator 113 to correct or delete the report measurement value corresponding to the measurement scale 202 corrected or deleted among the report measurement values included in the report screen 300.
Third specific example is an example of a case where the acceptor 114 accepts correction or deletion of the report measurement value managed by the report generator 113. Note that the correction or deletion of the report measurement value is accepted when the user performs an operation of correcting or deleting the measurement value displayed in the measurement value display field 301 of the report screen 300.
In a case where the user performs an operation of correcting or deleting the measurement value displayed in the measurement value display field 301 via the operation unit 18, the acceptor 114 causes the report generator 113 to correct or delete the report measurement value corresponding to the measurement value whose correction or deletion has been accepted among the report measurement values. In addition, the acceptor 114 causes the display controller 111 to correct or delete the measurement scale 202 corresponding to the corrected or deleted report measurement value among the measurement scales 202 displayed in the ultrasonic image display field 201. Further, the acceptor 114 causes the history manager 112 to correct or delete the history measurement value corresponding to the report measurement value corrected or deleted among the history measurement values included in the history information.
As described in the above specific example, in a case where the acceptor 114 accepts correction or deletion of any one selected correction deletion target object among the measurement scale 202, the history measurement value, and the correction/deletion target object of the report measurement value, correction or deletion of the selected correction/deletion target object is executed, and correction or deletion of an unselected correction/deletion target object is also executed. In this manner, since the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 executes the correction or deletion of the three types of correction/deletion target objects only by the user's operation for correcting or deleting any one type of correction/deletion target object, the user does not need to separately perform correction or deletion operations of different correction/deletion target objects. Therefore, the operation at the time of correction or deletion is simplified, and usability can be improved.
In particular, in a case where any one of the measurement values in the history of the measurement values displayed in the measurement history display field 203 of the measurement screen 200 is corrected or deleted, the history manager 112 does not leave a history related to correction or deletion and leaves only the corrected or deleted history measurement value in the history information. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which an erroneous measurement value is continuously displayed in the measurement history display field 203 and the user is confused.
For example, in a case where the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is connected to another medical device installed in a medical facility or another computer such as an electronic medical record server by a communication method such as Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM), the management information managed by the history manager 112 and the report information generated by the report generator 113 may be configured to be automatically transmitted to another computer. Even in such a case, in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1, the history information and the report information are managed independently of each other, and the history measurement value before correction or deletion does not remain in the history information. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation that causes confusion of a user or the like who checks data of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 using another computer.
Hereinafter, an operation example of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 will be described.
In step S1, the acceptor 114 determines whether or not correction or deletion of any of the display objects on the measurement screen 200 or the report screen 300 has been accepted. In a case where it is determined that the correction or deletion has been accepted (step S1: YES), the processing proceeds to step S2, and otherwise (step Si: NO), the processing of step Si is repeated.
In step S2, the acceptor 114 determines whether the display object (correction/deletion target object) whose correction or deletion has been accepted is the measurement scale 202, the measurement value (history measurement value) displayed in the measurement history display field 203, or the report measurement value. In a case where the correction/deletion target object is the measurement scale 202, the processing proceeds to step S3. In a case where the correction/deletion target object is the history measurement value, the processing proceeds to step S5. In a case where the correction/deletion target object is the report measurement value, the processing proceeds to step S7.
In step S3, the acceptor 114 causes the display controller 111 to correct or delete the position of the measurement scale 202 that has accepted the correction or deletion. Then, in step S4, the acceptor 114 causes the history manager 112 to correct or delete the history measurement value corresponding to the measurement scale 202 that has been corrected or deleted, and causes the report generator 113 to correct or delete the report measurement value corresponding to the measurement scale 202 that has been corrected or deleted.
In step S5, the acceptor 114 causes the history manager 112 to correct or delete the history measurement value corresponding to the measurement value whose correction or deletion has been accepted. Then, in step S6, the acceptor 114 causes the display controller 111 to correct or delete the measurement scale 202 corresponding to the history measurement value that has been corrected or deleted, and causes the report generator 113 to correct or delete the report measurement value corresponding to the measurement scale 202 that has been corrected or deleted.
In step S7, the acceptor 114 causes the report generator 113 to correct or delete the report measurement value whose correction or deletion has been accepted. Then, in step S8, the acceptor 114 causes the display controller 111 to correct or delete the measurement scale 202 corresponding to the report measurement value that has been corrected or deleted, and causes the history manager 112 to correct or delete the history measurement value corresponding to the report measurement value that has been corrected or deleted.
The above-described exemplary embodiments are one aspect of the present disclosure, and the present disclosure is not limited to the contents of the exemplary embodiments.
In the embodiment, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that performs measurement based on an ultrasonic image has been described, but the present disclosure can be applied to a medical image processing apparatus that performs measurement using various medical images in addition to an ultrasonic image.
The present disclosure can be applied to a medical image processing apparatus that performs measurement using a medical image.
According an embodiment of the present disclosure, the discrepancy between the display content and the history data can be eliminated at the time of correcting the measurement value.
Although embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated in detail, the disclosed embodiments are made for purposes of illustration and example only and not limitation The scope of the present invention should be interpreted by terms of the appended claims
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2022-101313 | Jun 2022 | JP | national |