ULTRASOUND DIAGNOSIS APPARATUS
A transmission and reception unit controls probes to form an ultrasound beam which intersects a bone and obtains a reception signal. A beam evaluating unit evaluates an intersection state of the ultrasound beam with respect to the bone based on a shape of an envelope of the reception signal. More specifically, the beam evaluating unit determines a quality of the reception signal based on a height and a slope of a hill-like portion, included in the envelope, corresponding to the bone and evaluates the intersection state of the ultrasound beam.
1 . An ultrasound diagnosis apparatus comprising:
a probe having a plurality of transducer elements which transmit and receive an ultrasound to and from a bone;
a transmission and reception unit which controls the plurality of transducer elements, to form an ultrasound beam which intersects the bone, and which obtains a reception signal; and
an evaluating unit which evaluates an intersection state of the ultrasound beam with respect to the bone based on a shape of an envelope of the reception signal.
2 . The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the evaluating unit evaluates the intersection state based on a shape of a portion, included in the envelope, corresponding to a surface of the bone.
3 . The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein
the evaluating unit evaluates the intersection state based on a height of a hill-like portion, included in the envelope, corresponding to the surface of the bone.
4 . The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein
the evaluating unit evaluates the intersection state based on a slope of a hill-like portion, included in the envelope, corresponding to the surface of the bone.
5 . The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein
the evaluating unit evaluates the intersection state based on a height and a slope of a hill-like portion, included in the envelope, corresponding to the surface of the bone.
6 . The ultra sound diagnosis apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein
the evaluating unit determines that the reception signal from the surface of the bone is satisfactory and the intersection state is satisfactory when the height and the slope of the hill-like portion are superior compared to respective determination standards.
7 . The ultra sound diagnosis apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein
the evaluating unit calculates an evaluation value related to the intersection state based on the height and the slope of the hill-like portion, and
the evaluation value calculated by the evaluating unit is displayed in a form of a graph.
8 . The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the transmission and reception unit forms a plurality of ultrasound beams which intersect the bone and obtains a reception signal for each of the ultrasound beams,
the ultrasound diagnosis apparatus further comprises a surface tracking unit which detects a surface point corresponding to a surface of the bone based on a reception signal obtained for each of the ultrasound beams and tracks a plurality of the surface points detected based on a plurality of the ultrasound beams, and
the evaluating unit evaluates the intersection state with respect to the bone based on a shape of an envelope of the reception signal for each ultrasound beam of the plurality of the ultrasound beams which are used for tracking the plurality of surface points.
9 . The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein
the evaluating unit evaluates the intersection state based on a shape of a portion, included in the envelope, corresponding to the surface of the bone for each of the ultrasound beams.
10 . The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein
the evaluating unit evaluates the intersection state based on a height and a slope of a hill-like portion, included in the envelope, corresponding to the surface of the bone, for each of the ultrasound beams.
11 . The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein
the evaluating unit determines that the reception signal from the surface of the bone is satisfactory and the intersection state is satisfactory when the height and the slope of the hill-like portion are superior compared to respective determination standards, for each of the ultrasound beams.
12 . The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein
the evaluating unit calculates an evaluation value related to the intersection state based on the height and the slope of the hill-like portion for each of the ultrasound beams, and
the evaluation value calculated by the evaluating unit is displayed in a form of a graph for each of the ultrasound beams.