IP Library Granted Patent US 12708348
Granted Patent B2
US 12708348 · App. 18/774,876 · Granted Aug 18, 2026

Ultrasound diagnostic apparatus

Inventors: Tsuyoshi Matsumoto (Tokyo, JP); Tomoki Inoue (Tokyo, JP); Tomohiko Tanaka (Tokyo, JP); Nobuhiko Fujii (Chiba, JP)
Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
A61B8/488A61B8/5207A61B8/5223
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12708348
App. No.
18/774,876
Granted
Aug 18, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

An information processing unit included in an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus executes a process of generating a B-mode image based on transmission of an ultrasonic wave to a subject and reception of the ultrasonic wave reflected by the subject, a process of generating a Doppler waveform image based on transmission of an ultrasonic wave to the subject and reception of the ultrasonic wave reflected by the subject, a process of recognizing a Doppler observation target on the B-mode image, and a process of generating an evaluation value for the Doppler waveform image based on a reference Doppler waveform image corresponding to the Doppler observation target and the Doppler waveform image.

Claims (34)

1 . An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus comprising:

one or more processors that are configured to execute

a process of generating a B-mode image based on transmission of a first ultrasonic wave to a subject and reception of the first ultrasonic wave reflected by the subject,

a process of recognizing a Doppler observation target in the subject on the B-mode image,

a process of generating a Doppler waveform image for the Doppler observation target based on transmission of a second ultrasonic wave to the subject and reception of the second ultrasonic wave reflected by the subject, and

a process of generating a first evaluation value for the Doppler waveform image based on a reference Doppler waveform image corresponding to the Doppler observation target and the Doppler waveform image, wherein

the one or more processors are further configured to execute

a process of freezing an image to be displayed and using the B-mode image generated immediately before an image freeze operation for recognizing the Doppler observation target, and

a process of releasing the image freezing in response to the Doppler observation target being recognized.

2 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the one or more processors are configured to construct a machine learning model that is configured to specify an examination site as the Doppler observation target in response to being given the B-mode image, and are configured to output a second evaluation value for the reference Doppler waveform image in response to being given information specifying the examination site and the Doppler waveform image.

3 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the one or more processors are configured to construct a disease determination model that outputs a type of a disease, a disease possibility evaluation value for the disease, and disease Doppler waveform image data in response to being given information specifying an examination site and Doppler waveform image data, and set the Doppler observation target as the examination site.

4 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute a process of indicating a possibility that a disease is recognized in the Doppler observation target based on a disease Doppler waveform image showing the Doppler waveform image in a case where the disease is recognized in the Doppler observation target and the Doppler waveform image.

5 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the one or more processors are configured to

execute a process of displaying the first evaluation value, and

execute a process of adjusting an operation parameter of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus based on the B-mode image or the Doppler waveform image, in response to an operation of a user when the first evaluation value is displayed.

6 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute a process of adjusting an operation parameter of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus based on the B-mode image or the Doppler waveform image, in a case where the first evaluation value is less than a predetermined reference value.

7 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the one or more processors are configured to

construct a detail evaluation model that is configured to output a detail included in an examination site, the reference Doppler waveform image for the detail, and the first evaluation value in response to being given information specifying the examination site and the Doppler waveform image, and

set the Doppler observation target for which the first evaluation value has been previously generated as the examination site in the detail evaluation model.

8 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute a process of recognizing a detail included in the Doppler observation target for which the first evaluation value has been previously generated based on the Doppler waveform image and the reference Doppler waveform image for a detail included in an examination site, and

the process of generating the first evaluation value includes a process of generating the first evaluation value based on the Doppler waveform image and the reference Doppler waveform image corresponding to the detail.

9 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute a process of providing a user with an instruction for an operation of an ultrasound probe through a man-machine interface based on the first evaluation value.

10 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute a process of recognizing one of a plurality of types of examination sites as the Doppler observation target by referring to the B-mode image and an examination site database in which a reference B-mode image is associated with each of the plurality of types of examination sites.

11 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 10 ,

wherein the one or more processors are configured to obtain a degree of approximation between the B-mode image and the reference B-mode image for the plurality of types of examination sites, specify reference B-mode image having a greatest degree of approximation, and recognize the examination site associated with the specified reference B-mode image as the Doppler observation target.