Ultrasound diagnostic apparatus and method for operating same
Inventors
PARK, Moonho • SON, Kihong • Lee, Hojun • PAUL, Anjan Kumar • Ahn, Sujin • SEONG, Yeongkyeong
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-12290406-B2
Publication Date
2025-05-06
Expiration Date
Abstract
Disclosed is a method for operating an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, comprising the steps of: acquiring a first ultrasound image of an object; detecting a first nerve region corresponding to a first target nerve in the first ultrasound image; determining whether an abnormal region is present in the first nerve region of the first ultrasound image, on the basis of a determination standard for determining whether a target nerve is abnormal; and on the basis of a result of determining whether an abnormal region is present in the first nerve region, displaying at least one of information on the abnormal region and basis information regarding the basis for determining the abnormal region as abnormal.
Core Innovation
The invention relates to an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus and an operation method that acquires an ultrasound image of an object in real time, detects a nerve region corresponding to a target nerve, and determines whether an abnormal region is present in the nerve region based on a determination standard for determining whether a target nerve is abnormal. Based on the determination result, the method displays at least one of information about the abnormal region and basis information about a basis for determining the abnormal region.
The determination of whether the abnormal region is present is performed using at least one of a similarity between a reference honeycomb structure in a reference nerve region and a target honeycomb structure in a target nerve region, a difference between a reference aspect ratio of the reference nerve region and an aspect ratio of the target nerve region, and a difference between a size of a cross-sectional area of the reference nerve region and a size of a cross-sectional area of the target nerve region. The abnormal-region determination is grounded on comparison against reference anatomical and structural characteristics.
The invention also includes displaying supporting information that provides a basis for the abnormal-region determination. The basis information can include parameter values and reference values, a boundary of an abnormal region, preset-priority basis ranking, and trend information referencing a previous ultrasound image. The apparatus architecture includes a probe configured to transmit and receive ultrasound signals, and a processor, memory, display, and user interface to implement acquisition, detection, determination, and display.
Claims Coverage
Independent claims include a method claim, an apparatus claim, and a computer-program claim, for a total of three inventive claim sets. Across these independents, the inventive features focus on ultrasound image acquisition and nerve-region detection, abnormal-region determination using reference-based determination standards, and display of abnormal-region information together with basis information for the determination.
Ultrasound image acquisition, nerve-region detection, and abnormal-region determination with reference-based standards
An operation method that acquires an ultrasound image, detects a nerve region corresponding to a target nerve, and determines whether an abnormal region is present in the nerve region based on a determination standard for determining whether a target nerve is abnormal, wherein the determination is performed using at least one of a similarity between a reference honeycomb structure and a target honeycomb structure, a difference between a reference aspect ratio and an aspect ratio, and a difference between a reference cross-sectional area size and a target cross-sectional area size.
Displaying abnormal-region information with basis information
Displaying at least one of information about the abnormal region and basis information about a basis for determining the abnormal region, based on a result of determining whether the abnormal region is present in the nerve region, where the determining uses reference honeycomb similarity, reference aspect-ratio difference, and/or cross-sectional-area difference.
Ultrasound diagnostic apparatus configured to execute the reference-based determination and display
An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus including a probe, user interface device, display, processor, and memory storing instructions executable by the processor, wherein the processor executes instructions to acquire an ultrasound image, detect a nerve region corresponding to a target nerve, determine whether an abnormal region is present in the nerve region based on a determination standard using reference honeycomb similarity, reference aspect-ratio difference, and/or cross-sectional-area difference, and display at least one of information about the abnormal region and basis information for determining the abnormal region.
Computer program to perform the reference-based abnormal-region determination and display in an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus
A computer program stored in a medium to perform a method in combination with an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, comprising acquiring an ultrasound image, detecting a nerve region corresponding to a target nerve, determining whether an abnormal region is present based on a determination standard using at least one of reference honeycomb similarity, reference aspect-ratio difference, and cross-sectional-area difference, and displaying at least one of information about the abnormal region and basis information based on the determination result.
The independent claims collectively cover an ultrasound diagnostic method, apparatus, and computer program that compare a detected target nerve region to a reference nerve region using honeycomb-structure similarity and/or aspect-ratio and cross-sectional-area differences, determine abnormality, and output both abnormal-region information and basis information supporting the abnormal-region determination.
Stated Advantages
Displays abnormal-region information together with basis information about a basis for determining the abnormal region.
Supports abnormal-region determination using structural comparison to a reference nerve region via honeycomb similarity, aspect-ratio difference, and cross-sectional area difference.
Supports generation of a learning model for honeycomb similarity using an artificial neural network trained with normal and abnormal ultrasound images.
Documented Applications
Ultrasound diagnostic use to detect whether an abnormal region is present in a nerve region corresponding to a target nerve in an ultrasound image and to display abnormal-region information with basis information, including basis ranking and trend information referencing a previous ultrasound image.
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