US 12,465,322 B2
Ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, ultrasound diagnostic system, recording medium, and method for actuating ultrasound diagnostic apparatus
Tomonao Kawashima, Hachioji (JP); Shigenori Kozai, Tama (JP); and Hiromasa Noguchi, Tokyo (JP)
Assigned to OLYMPUS CORPORATION, Tokyo (JP)
Filed by OLYMPUS CORPORATION, Tokyo (JP)
Filed on Aug. 30, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/898,818.
Application 17/898,818 is a continuation of application No. PCT/JP2020/009480, filed on Mar. 5, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0409168 A1, Dec. 29, 2022
Int. Cl. A61B 8/08 (2006.01); A61B 8/00 (2006.01)
CPC A61B 8/085 (2013.01) [A61B 8/463 (2013.01); A61B 8/54 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus comprising:
a drive circuit configured to transmit a drive signal to an ultrasound transducer;
a receiving circuit configured to receive an echo signal from the ultrasound transducer;
a storage configured to store relationship data according to a size of the target region and a parameter that depends on a distance, the relationship data providing a correspondence between a flow velocity of an acoustic streaming being generated in liquid in the target region and a physical property value of the liquid; and
a processor, configured to:
obtain, based on the echo signal or a user input, target information containing at least one of a distance from the ultrasound transducer to a target region containing the liquid or the size of the target region, and set, based on the target information, a drive condition under which a first acoustic streaming generating ultrasound transmitted by the ultrasound transducer generates the acoustic streaming in the liquid in the target region;
control the drive circuit such that the drive signal based on the drive condition is transmitted to the ultrasound transducer;
calculate the flow velocity of the liquid by analyzing the echo signal at a time of the acoustic streaming being generated in the liquid; and
obtain the relationship data corresponding to the target information including the size of the target region from the storage, and estimate the physical property value by referencing the relationship data based on the flow velocity,
the relationship data are data measured by irradiating boundary surfaces of a plurality of model bodies with second acoustic streaming generating ultrasound having a specific irradiation condition, the model bodies being obtained by modelling the target region, and having different sizes and different physical property values, and
the processor is configured to set the drive condition under which the first acoustic streaming generating ultrasound on the boundary surface of the target region coincide with the second acoustic streaming generating ultrasound.