Ultrasonic imaging apparatus and control method thereof

1 . An ultrasonic imaging apparatus comprising:

an ultrasonic probe;

a display; and

at least one processor configured to:

obtain ultrasound image data from the ultrasonic probe via a wired or wireless communication interface;

pre-store a landmark list that should be included in a reference plane,

wherein the landmark list includes at least one anatomical feature;

recognize, from the ultrasound image data, anatomical features that should be included in the landmark list based on a similarity between an object in the ultrasound image data and landmarks in the pre-stored landmark list;

automatically acquire the ultrasound image data as a reference plane image based on at least a predetermined number of the anatomical features being recognized from the ultrasound image data; and

display the acquired reference plane image on the display.

2 . The ultrasonic imaging apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to automatically acquire the reference plane image from the obtained ultrasound image data by using an AI (artificial intelligence) model.

3 . The ultrasonic image apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to perform an operation of the AI model.

4 . The ultrasonic image apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to recognize the at least one anatomical feature by using an AI model.

5 . The ultrasonic image apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to provide anatomical feature recognition result which represents whether each of the at least one anatomical feature included in the landmark list is detected in the acquired reference plane image,

wherein the landmark list of the reference plane comprises at least one anatomical feature which is required in the reference plane.

6 . The ultrasonic image apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to display the anatomical feature recognition result on the display.

7 . The ultrasonic image apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to display the anatomical feature recognition result along with at least one of the obtained ultrasound image data or the acquired reference plane image.

8 . The ultrasonic image apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to provide the anatomical feature recognition result by indicating a boundary of each of the recognized at least one anatomical feature on the reference plane image.

9 . The ultrasonic image apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to provide the anatomical feature recognition result by displaying shade or color overlaid on a region of each of the recognized at least one anatomical feature in the reference plane image.

10 . The ultrasonic image apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to provide the anatomical feature recognition result by displaying a list of the at least one anatomical feature included in the landmark list of the reference plane, and information of whether each of the at least one anatomical feature in the list is recognized in the acquired reference plane image.

11 . The ultrasonic image apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to display an anatomical feature indicator which indicates the recognized at least one anatomical feature.

12 . The ultrasonic image apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the anatomical feature indicator comprises at least one of a boundary of the recognized anatomical feature, shade or color overlaid on a region of the recognized anatomical feature in the reference plane image, text, annotation, or icon.

13 . The ultrasonic image apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to recognize the at least one anatomical feature by using text or annotation which is represented as a pixel data of the ultrasound image data.

14 . The ultrasonic image apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to provide reference plane acquisition result which represents whether the reference plane image included in a reference plane list is acquired, wherein the reference plane list comprises at least one reference plane required to be acquired.

15 . The ultrasonic image apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to display the reference plane list on the display, and display the reference plane acquisition result by displaying the acquired at least one reference plane image on the displayed reference plane list.

16 . The ultrasonic image apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to, if a new reference plane image is acquired, update the displayed reference plane acquisition result by adding the acquired new reference plane image to the displayed reference plane list.

17 . The ultrasonic image apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to display a pictogram which represents a shape of the object, and display the acquired reference plane image on the corresponding position of the pictogram.

18 . The ultrasonic image apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to estimate a position of the ultrasonic probe based on the obtained ultrasound image data.

19 . A method of controlling an ultrasonic imaging apparatus, the method comprising steps of:

obtaining ultrasound image data acquired by an ultrasonic probe;

pre-storing a landmark list that should be included in a reference plane,

wherein the landmark list includes at least one anatomical feature;

recognizing, from the ultrasound image data, anatomical features that should be included in the landmark list based on a similarity between an object in the ultrasound image data and landmarks in the pre-stored landmark list;

automatically acquiring the ultrasound image data as a reference plane image based on at least a predetermined number of the anatomical features being recognized from the ultrasound image data; and

displaying the acquired reference plane image.

20 . A non-transitory computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the steps of the method of claim 19 .