Ultrasound diagnostic apparatus that assists in puncturing a blood vessel of a subject

1 . An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus that assists in puncturing a blood vessel of a subject, the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus comprising:

a monitor;

an ultrasound probe; and

a processor configured to

continuously acquire an ultrasound image of the blood vessel using the ultrasound probe,

detect the blood vessel from the ultrasound image,

acquire blood vessel information of the blood vessel which is detected,

acquire needle information of a puncture needle,

set a needle insertion angle range in which the puncture needle can reach the blood vessel based on the blood vessel information and the needle information,

calculate a recommended insertion region of the puncture needle on a body surface of the subject based on the blood vessel information, the needle information, and the needle insertion angle range, the recommended insertion region being defined as a region extending from one end that is located at a distance corresponding to a lower limit of the needle insertion angle range from a contact position of a tip of the ultrasound probe on the body surface of the subject, to another end that is located at a distance corresponding to an upper limit of the needle insertion angle range from the contact position,

display the recommended insertion region on the monitor,

calculate a puncture difficulty level in inserting the puncture needle from the recommended insertion region based on:

a comparison result between the lower limit of the needle insertion angle range and a predetermined threshold value;

a thickness of the blood vessel;

a change rate of a shape and a position of the blood vessel;

a type of the puncture needle; and

presence of a type of an organ recognized around the blood vessel; and

display a message indicating the puncture difficulty level on the monitor, or modify a display form of the recommended insertion region on the monitor according to the puncture difficulty level.

2 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the processor is further configured to acquire a depth and a thickness of the blood vessel as the blood vessel information.

3 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the processor is further configured to superimpose and display the recommended insertion region on the ultrasound image.

4 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2 ,

wherein the processor is further configured to superimpose and display the recommended insertion region on the ultrasound image.

5 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the processor is further configured to notify a user of the puncture difficulty level.

6 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2 ,

wherein the processor is further configured to notify a user of the puncture difficulty level.

7 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3 ,

wherein the processor is further configured to notify a user of the puncture difficulty level.

8 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 5 ,

wherein the processor is configured to change a method of displaying the recommended insertion region on the monitor or display a message on the monitor according to the puncture difficulty level.

9 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 5 ,

wherein the processor is configured to calculate the puncture difficulty level based on the blood vessel information, the needle information, and the recommended insertion region.

10 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 5 ,

wherein the processor is further configured to

recognize an organ located around the blood vessel from the ultrasound image, and

calculate the puncture difficulty level based on the recommended insertion region and the organ which is recognized.

11 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the processor is further configured to

generate a three-dimensional image of the blood vessel based on the ultrasound image, and

calculate the recommended insertion region in consideration of the three-dimensional image.

12 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2 ,

wherein the processor is further configured to

generate a three-dimensional image of the blood vessel based on the ultrasound image, and

calculate the recommended insertion region in consideration of the three-dimensional image.

13 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3 ,

wherein the processor is further configured to

generate a three-dimensional image of the blood vessel based on the ultrasound image, and

calculate the recommended insertion region in consideration of the three-dimensional image.

14 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 5 ,

wherein the processor is further configured to

generate a three-dimensional image of the blood vessel based on the ultrasound image, and

calculate the recommended insertion region in consideration of the three-dimensional image.

15 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:

an optical camera configured to image the subject and the ultrasound probe to acquire an optical image,

wherein the processor is further configured to superimpose the recommended insertion region on the optical image and display the recommended insertion region on the monitor.

16 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the processor is further configured to

detect compression on the body surface of the subject by the ultrasound probe, and

once it is determined that the compression applied to the body surface of the subject is equal to or greater than a predetermined compression value, recalculate the recommended insertion region based on the blood vessel information which is acquired.

17 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:

an optical camera configured to image the subject and the puncture needle to acquire an optical image,

wherein the processor is further configured to

recognize the body surface of the subject and the puncture needle from the optical image, and

determine whether or not the body surface of the subject and the puncture needle are located within the recommended insertion region.

18 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2 ,

wherein the processor is further configured to acquire a running state of the blood vessel in addition to the depth and the thickness of the blood vessel as the blood vessel information.