US 12,283,026 B2
Ultrasound imaging apparatus, signal processing method, and signal processing program
Hideki Yoshikawa, Chiba (JP)
Assigned to FUJIFILM Corporation, Tokyo (JP)
Filed by FUJIFILM Healthcare Corporation, Kashiwa (JP)
Filed on Jun. 8, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/835,218.
Claims priority of application No. 2021-106754 (JP), filed on Jun. 28, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0414836 A1, Dec. 29, 2022
Int. Cl. G06T 5/70 (2024.01); A61B 8/00 (2006.01); A61B 8/06 (2006.01); G06T 5/20 (2006.01); G06T 5/50 (2006.01); G06V 10/74 (2022.01)
CPC G06T 5/70 (2024.01) [A61B 8/06 (2013.01); A61B 8/4494 (2013.01); A61B 8/5223 (2013.01); A61B 8/5269 (2013.01); G06T 5/20 (2013.01); G06T 5/50 (2013.01); G06V 10/761 (2022.01); G06T 2207/10132 (2013.01); G06T 2207/20216 (2013.01); G06T 2207/30104 (2013.01)] 14 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An ultrasound imaging apparatus comprising:
a data collection unit that receives a plurality of receive signals obtained by receiving, with an array in which a plurality of transducers are arranged in an x direction, ultrasound waves reflected sequentially in a depth z direction of a subject to which the ultrasound waves are transmitted, that repeats processing of generating frame data by arranging the receive signals on a zx plane, and that generates the frame data for N frames;
a matrix conversion unit that generates a correlation matrix based on a vector in which data at a corresponding position zx of the frame data is arranged for N frames;
a matrix analysis unit that performs singular value decomposition of the correlation matrix and that calculates a singular value and a singular vector for each of N ranks of the receive signals;
a filter element generation unit that generates at least one of a first filter element and a second filter element as a filter element; and
an image processing unit that uses the filter element generated by the filter element generation unit to weight the frame data or a pixel value of an image generated based on the frame data and generate a clutter reducing image, wherein
the filter element generation unit generates the first filter element based on a variance between data at the corresponding position zx among a plurality of blood flow component frame data obtained by multiplying a plurality of the frame data by a plurality of singular vectors in a predetermined rank range of a preset threshold rank k or more, respectively, and
the filter element generation unit generates the second filter element based on tissue component frame data obtained by multiplying one or more of the frame data by a singular vector at a predetermined rank less than the threshold rank k.