PROVIDING A COLOR DOPPLER MODE IMAGE IN AN ULTRASOUND SYSTEM

1 . An ultrasound system, comprising:

an ultrasound data acquisition unit configured to transmit and receive ultrasound signals to and from a living body to acquire first ultrasound data and second ultrasound data;

a user input unit configured to receive input information corresponding to a region of interest and a balance threshold value having a predetermined brightness value; and

a processing unit in communication with the ultrasound data acquisition unit and the user input unit, the processing unit being configured to form a brightness mode image and a color Doppler mode image corresponding to the region of interest based on the first and second ultrasound data, respectively, form a balance mask for performing a balance process upon the color Doppler mode image based on the brightness mode image and the input information, and perform the balance process upon the color Doppler mode image based on the balance mask.

2 . The ultrasound system of claim 1 , wherein the input information includes:

first input information for setting the region of interest on the brightness mode image; and

second input information for setting the balance threshold value.

3 . The ultrasound system of claim 2 , wherein the processing unit is configured to:

form the brightness mode image based on the first ultrasound data;

set the region of interest on the brightness mode image based on the first input information;

form the color Doppler mode image based on the second ultrasound data;

set an image parameter for forming the balance mask based on the second input information and the brightness mode image; and

form the balance mask based on the image parameter.

4 . The ultrasound system of claim 3 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to perform a preprocessing upon the brightness mode image to eliminate unnecessary image data.

5 . The ultrasound system of claim 3 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to perform a morphological process upon the balance mask to fill up empty space or enhance connectivity upon the balance mask.

6 . The ultrasound system of claim 3 , wherein the processing unit is configured to:

calculate a mean brightness value of pixels corresponding to the region of interest of the brightness mode image;

calculate a pivot point value of a contrast stretching curve and a gradient of the contrast stretching curve based on the mean brightness value and the balance threshold value, wherein the contrast stretching curve controls brightness levels of the brightness mode image;

set a sign of the contrast stretching curve based on the balance threshold value and the pivot point value; and

set the image parameter based on the mean brightness value, the balance threshold value, the pivot point value, the gradient and the sign.

7 . The ultrasound system of claim 6 , wherein the processing unit is configured to calculate the pivot point value as a following equation:

PPV=( V GB +BTV)/2 ×V PPT

wherein PPV is the pivot point value, V GB is the mean brightness value, BTV is the balance threshold value, and V PPT is a pivot point threshold value.

8 . The ultrasound system of claim 3 , wherein the processing unit is configured to:

calculate a first mean brightness value of pixels corresponding to the region of interest of the brightness mode image;

divide the region of interest into a plurality of regions having a predetermined size;

calculate a second mean brightness value of pixels corresponding to each of the regions;

calculate a mean brightness value of the first mean brightness value and the second mean brightness value for each of the regions;

calculate a pivot point value of a contrast stretching curve and a gradient of the contrast stretching curve based on the mean brightness value and the balance threshold value, wherein the contrast stretching curve controls brightness levels of the brightness mode image;

set a sign of the contrast stretching curve based on the balance threshold value and the pivot point value; and

set the image parameter based on the mean brightness value, the balance threshold value, the pivot point value, the gradient and the sign.

9 . The ultrasound system of claim 3 , wherein the processing unit is configured to:

divide the region of interest into a plurality of regions having a predetermined size;

calculate a mean brightness value of pixels corresponding to each of the regions;

calculate a pivot point value of a contrast stretching curve and a gradient of the contrast stretching curve based on the mean brightness value and the balance threshold value, wherein the contrast stretching curve controls brightness levels of the brightness mode image;

set a sign of the contrast stretching curve based on the balance threshold value and the pivot point value; and

set the image parameter based on the mean brightness value, the balance threshold value, the pivot point value, the gradient and the sign.

10 . The ultrasound system of claim 9 , wherein the processing unit is configured to calculate the pivot point value as a following equation:

PPV=( V LM +BTV)/2 ×V PPT

wherein PPV is the pivot point value, V LM is the mean brightness value, BTV represents the balance threshold value and V PPT represents the pivot point threshold value.

11 . A method of providing a color Doppler mode image, comprising:

a) forming a brightness mode image based on first ultrasound data for a living body;

b) receiving input information corresponding to a region of interest and a balance threshold value having a predetermined brightness value from a user;

c) forming a color Doppler mode image corresponding to the region of interest based on second ultrasound data for the living body;

d) forming a balance mask for performing a balance process upon the color Doppler mode image based on the brightness mode image and the input information; and

e) performing the balance process upon the color Doppler mode image based on the balance mask.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the input information includes:

first input information for setting the region of interest on the brightness mode image; and

second input information for setting the balance threshold value.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the step d) includes:

d1) setting an image parameter for forming the balance mask based on the second input information and the brightness mode image; and

d2) forming the balance mask based on the image parameter.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the step d) further includes:

performing a preprocessing upon the brightness mode image to eliminate unnecessary image data.

15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the step d) includes:

performing a morphological process upon the balance mask to fill up empty space or enhance connectivity upon the balance mask.

16 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the step d1) includes:

calculating a mean brightness value of pixels corresponding to the region of interest of the brightness mode image;

calculating a pivot point value of a contrast stretching curve and a gradient of the contrast stretching curve based on the mean brightness value and the balance threshold value, wherein the contrast stretching curve controls brightness levels of the brightness mode image;

setting a sign of the contrast stretching curve based on the balance threshold value and the pivot point value; and

setting the image parameter based on the mean brightness value, the balance threshold value, the pivot point value, the gradient and the sign.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the pivot point value is calculated as a following equation:

PPV=( V GB +BTV)/2 ×V PPT

wherein PPV is the pivot point value, V GB is the mean brightness value, BTV is the balance threshold value, and V PPT is a pivot point threshold value.

18 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the step d1) includes:

calculating a first mean brightness value of pixels corresponding to the region of interest of the brightness mode image;

dividing the region of interest into a plurality of regions having a predetermined size;

calculating a second mean brightness value of pixels corresponding to each of the regions;

calculating a mean brightness value of the first mean brightness value and the second mean brightness value for each of the region;

calculating a pivot point value of a contrast stretching curve and a gradient of the contrast stretching curve based on the mean brightness value and the balance threshold value, wherein the contrast stretching curve controls brightness levels of the brightness mode image;

setting a sign of the contrast stretching curve based on the balance threshold value and the pivot point value; and

setting the image parameter based on the mean brightness value, the balance threshold value, the pivot point value, the gradient and the sign.

19 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the step d1) includes:

dividing the region of interest into a plurality of regions having a predetermined size;

calculating a mean brightness value of pixels corresponding to each of the regions;

calculating a pivot point value of a contrast stretching curve and a gradient of the contrast stretching curve based on the mean brightness value and the balance threshold value, wherein the contrast stretching curve controls brightness levels of the brightness mode image;

setting a sign of the contrast stretching curve based on the balance threshold value and the pivot point value; and

setting the image parameter based on the mean brightness value, the balance threshold value, the pivot point value, the gradient and the sign.

20 . The method of the claim 19 , wherein the pivot point value is calculated as following equation:

PPV=( V LM +BTV)/2 ×V PPT

wherein PPV is the pivot point value, V LM is the mean brightness value, BTV represents the balance threshold value and V PPT represents the pivot point threshold value.

21 . A computer readable medium comprising computer executable instructions configured to perform following acts:

a) forming a brightness mode image based on first ultrasound data for a living body;

b) receiving input information corresponding to a region of interest and a balance threshold value having a predetermined brightness value from a user;

c) forming a color Doppler mode image corresponding to the region of interest based on second ultrasound data for the living body;

d) forming a balance mask for performing a balance process upon the color Doppler mode image based on the brightness mode image and the input information; and

e) performing the balance process upon the color Doppler mode image based on the balance mask.