CN114072065B

CN114072065B - Ultrasonic imaging equipment and pulse wave imaging method

Info

Publication number: CN114072065B
Application number: CN201980097841.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李双双; 郭跃新
Original assignee: Shenzhen Mindray Bio Medical Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Mindray Bio Medical Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-12-10
Filing date: 2019-12-10
Publication date: 2025-04-08
Anticipated expiration: 2039-12-10
Also published as: CN120078448A; CN112932540A; WO2021114106A1; CN114072065A

Abstract

The ultrasonic imaging device and the pulse wave imaging method provided by the invention acquire ultrasonic data in a preset time period, generate an ultrasonic image comprising a blood vessel axial sectioning structure according to the ultrasonic data, acquire a blood vessel wall hardness characterization quantity reflected by a pulse wave propagating on a blood vessel wall along the axial direction of the blood vessel according to the ultrasonic data, and visually express the blood vessel wall hardness characterization quantity along the blood vessel axial direction so as to generate and display a pulse wave propagation state diagram. The blood vessel wall hardness characterization quantity is visually expressed along the axial direction of the blood vessel, so that a pulse wave propagation state diagram is generated and displayed, and the propagation of the pulse wave is visually presented.

Description

Ultrasonic imaging equipment and pulse wave imaging method

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of medical equipment, in particular to ultrasonic imaging equipment and a pulse wave imaging method.

Background

The blood vessel pulse wave detection technology is an important means for clinical blood vessel detection. Pulse waves are radially pulsating, axially propagating, mechanical waves on the vessel wall generated by the heart pump blood. Pulse waves are embodied as two vascular expansions that are created when the left ventricle begins pumping blood (mitral valve opening), and when pumping blood ends (mitral valve closing), respectively. The two expansions correspond to the early (Begin of systole, BS) and late (End of systole, ES) contractions pulse waves, respectively, which propagate along the artery from the proximal end to the distal end. In the conventional blood vessel pulse wave detection technology, the propagation velocity (PWV) of the pulse wave is detected and then displayed on a display. However, the medical staff can only obtain a value reflecting the pulse wave propagation velocity and the ultrasonic B-chart, and the dynamic process of pulse wave propagation cannot be effectively represented. Therefore, the existing expression mode is not visual enough, and is easy to confuse medical staff.

Summary of The Invention

Technical problem

The invention mainly provides ultrasonic imaging equipment and a pulse wave imaging method so as to intuitively present the propagation of pulse waves.

Solution to the problem

Technical solution

According to a first aspect, in one embodiment, there is provided a pulse wave imaging method including:

Acquiring ultrasonic data in a preset time period, wherein the ultrasonic data is obtained by taking a blood vessel of a target object as a detection object and performing beam synthesis on an ultrasonic echo signal;

Generating an ultrasonic image containing blood vessels according to the ultrasonic data;

Obtaining a blood vessel wall hardness characteristic quantity reflected by a pulse wave propagating along the axial direction of a blood vessel on the wall of the blood vessel according to the ultrasonic data, wherein the blood vessel wall hardness characteristic quantity is the propagation speed of the pulse wave propagating along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the wall of the blood vessel, and

And dynamically displaying the propagation speed according to the sequence of the propagation time on a display interface in a graphical visualization mode along the blood vessel axis.

According to a second aspect, in one embodiment there is provided a pulse wave imaging method comprising:

Acquiring multi-frame ultrasonic data, wherein the ultrasonic data is obtained by taking a blood vessel of a target object as a detection object and performing beam synthesis on an ultrasonic echo signal;

Generating an ultrasonic image containing a blood vessel axial sectioning structure according to at least part of multi-frame ultrasonic data;

obtaining a blood vessel wall hardness characterization reflected by a pulse wave propagating along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the wall of the blood vessel based on at least part of the multiple frames of the ultrasonic data, and

And visually expressing the blood vessel wall hardness characterization quantity along the axial direction of the blood vessel so as to generate and display a pulse wave propagation state diagram.

According to a third aspect, there is provided in one embodiment an ultrasound imaging apparatus comprising:

the ultrasonic probe is used for transmitting ultrasonic waves to a detected blood vessel and receiving echo waves of the ultrasonic waves to obtain echo signals;

the man-machine interaction device is used for acquiring the input of a user and performing visual output;

The system comprises a processor, a man-machine interaction device and a man-machine interaction device, wherein the processor is used for acquiring echo signals from an ultrasonic probe and processing the echo signals into ultrasonic data, generating an ultrasonic image containing axially arranged blood vessels according to the ultrasonic data, acquiring blood vessel wall hardness characterization quantities reflected by pulse waves axially propagated on blood vessel walls according to the ultrasonic data, and visually expressing the blood vessel wall hardness characterization quantities along the blood vessel axial direction so as to generate a pulse wave propagation state diagram and display the pulse wave propagation state diagram through the man-machine interaction device.

According to a fourth aspect, there is provided in one embodiment an ultrasound imaging apparatus comprising:

a memory for storing a program;

and a processor for executing the program stored in the memory to implement the method as described above.

According to a fifth aspect, an embodiment provides a computer readable storage medium comprising a program executable by a processor to implement a method as described above.

Advantageous effects of the invention

Advantageous effects

According to the ultrasonic imaging device and the pulse wave imaging method of the embodiment, the pulse wave propagation state diagram is generated and displayed by visually expressing the blood vessel wall hardness characterization quantity along the axial direction of the blood vessel, so that the propagation of the pulse wave is visually presented.

Brief description of the drawings

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of pulse wave propagation;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to one embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a pulse wave imaging method according to an embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a pulse wave imaging method according to an embodiment;

FIG. 5a is a schematic diagram of an ultrasonic probe scanning in a plane wave mode in an ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 5b is a schematic view of a reconstructed image of the beam forming after scanning in the manner of FIG. 5 a;

FIG. 6a is a schematic diagram of an ultrasonic probe scanning in a conventional focused wave mode in an ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 6b is a schematic diagram of a reconstructed image using conventional beam forming after being scanned in the manner of FIG. 6 a;

FIG. 7a is a schematic diagram of an ultrasound probe scanning in sparse focused wave mode in an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 7b is a schematic view of a reconstructed image of the beam forming after scanning in the manner of FIG. 7 a;

FIG. 8a is a schematic diagram of an ultrasonic probe scanning in a wide focused wave mode in an ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 8b is a schematic view of a reconstructed image of the beam forming after scanning in the manner of FIG. 8 a;

FIG. 9 is an ultrasound image of a blood vessel in one embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the step 3' of FIG. 4;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of an ultrasound image of two adjacent frames of blood vessels in an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a fitted curve of each detection point space versus the first time in an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a graph showing the change of vessel diameter with time in an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing a pulse wave propagation state diagram displayed in a first visual manner and an ultrasonic image adjacent to each other in an ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to an embodiment;

fig. 15 is a schematic diagram of a pulse wave propagation state diagram and an ultrasound image superimposed display, which are presented in a second visualization manner and an eighth visualization manner, in an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to an embodiment;

Fig. 16 is a schematic diagram showing a pulse wave propagation state diagram and an ultrasonic image superimposed and displayed in a third visual manner in an ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to an embodiment;

fig. 17 is a schematic diagram of a fourth visual mode of displaying a pulse wave propagation state diagram and an ultrasound image in a superimposed manner in the ultrasound imaging apparatus according to the embodiment;

fig. 18 is a schematic diagram showing a pulse wave propagation state diagram and an ultrasonic image superimposed and displayed in a fifth visual manner in an ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to an embodiment;

fig. 19 is a schematic diagram showing a pulse wave propagation state diagram and an ultrasonic image superimposed and displayed in a sixth visual manner in an ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to an embodiment;

Fig. 20 is a schematic diagram showing a pulse wave propagation state diagram and an ultrasonic image superimposed and displayed in a seventh visual manner in an ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram showing a pulse wave propagation state diagram representing propagation velocity and an ultrasonic image adjacent to each other using a waveform diagram in an ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to an embodiment;

fig. 22 is a schematic diagram showing a pulse wave propagation state diagram of propagation velocity shown adjacent to an ultrasound image by using a histogram in the ultrasound imaging apparatus according to the embodiment.

Inventive examples

Embodiments of the invention

The application will be described in further detail below with reference to the drawings by means of specific embodiments. Wherein like elements in different embodiments are numbered alike in association. In the following embodiments, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a better understanding of the present application. However, one skilled in the art will readily recognize that some of the features may be omitted, or replaced by other elements, materials, or methods in different situations. In some instances, related operations of the present application have not been shown or described in the specification in order to avoid obscuring the core portions of the present application, and may be unnecessary to persons skilled in the art from a detailed description of the related operations, which may be presented in the description and general knowledge of one skilled in the art.

Furthermore, the described features, operations, or characteristics of the description may be combined in any suitable manner in various embodiments. Also, various steps or acts in the method descriptions may be interchanged or modified in a manner apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the various orders in the description and drawings are for clarity of description of only certain embodiments, and are not meant to be required orders unless otherwise indicated.

The numbering of the components itself, e.g. "first", "second", etc., is used herein merely to distinguish between the described objects and does not have any sequential or technical meaning. The term "coupled" as used herein includes both direct and indirect coupling (coupling), unless otherwise indicated.

Vascular pulse wave imaging is an important means of clinical vascular sclerosis detection. As shown in fig. 1, the pulse wave is a radially pulsating, axially propagating, pulsed mechanical wave generated by the heart pumping blood on the vessel wall. Pulse waves are embodied as two vascular expansions that are created when the left ventricle begins pumping blood (mitral valve opening), and when pumping blood ends (mitral valve closing), respectively. The two expansions correspond to the pulse waves of early (Begin of systole, BS) and late (End of systole, ES) contractions, respectively, which propagate along the artery from the proximal end to the distal end, and the propagation velocity (PWV) is related to the stiffness of the vessel wall.

The invention can not only effectively correlate the structure of the vessel wall and the pulsation condition by generating a pulse wave propagation state diagram and assisting the ultrasonic B diagram of the vessel, but also intuitively embody the propagation condition of the pulse wave through the dynamic display of the pulse wave propagation state. The following examples are presented in detail.

As shown in fig. 2, the ultrasonic imaging apparatus provided by the present invention includes an ultrasonic probe 30, a transmitting/receiving circuit 40 (i.e., a transmitting circuit 410 and a receiving circuit 420), a beam forming module 50, an IQ demodulating module 60, a processor 20, a man-machine interaction device 70, and a memory 80.

The ultrasonic probe 30 includes a transducer (not shown in the figure) composed of a plurality of array elements arranged in an array, the plurality of array elements being arranged in a row to form a linear array, or being arranged in a two-dimensional matrix to form an area array, the plurality of array elements may also form a convex array. The array element is used for transmitting ultrasonic waves according to the excitation electric signals or converting received ultrasonic waves into electric signals. Each array element can thus be used to achieve a mutual conversion of the electrical pulse signal and the ultrasound wave, so as to achieve an ultrasound wave transmission to the object to be imaged (for example an arterial vessel in the present embodiment), and also to receive an echo wave of the ultrasound wave reflected back through the tissue. In performing ultrasonic detection, the transmitting circuit 410 and the receiving circuit 420 can control which array elements are used for transmitting ultrasonic waves and which array elements are used for receiving ultrasonic waves, or control the interval of the array elements to transmit ultrasonic waves or receive echoes of ultrasonic waves. The array elements participating in the ultrasonic wave transmission can be excited by the electric signals at the same time so as to simultaneously transmit the ultrasonic wave, or the array elements participating in the ultrasonic wave transmission can be excited by a plurality of electric signals with a certain time interval so as to continuously transmit the ultrasonic wave with a certain time interval.

The array elements, for example, employ piezoelectric crystals that convert electrical signals into ultrasound signals in accordance with a transmit sequence transmitted by the transmit circuit 410, which may include one or more scan pulses, one or more reference pulses, one or more push pulses, and/or one or more doppler pulses, depending on the application. Depending on the morphology of the waves, the ultrasound signals include focused waves, plane waves, and dispersive waves.

The user selects a proper position and angle by moving the ultrasonic probe 30 to transmit ultrasonic waves to the object to be imaged 10 and receive echoes of the ultrasonic waves returned by the object to be imaged 10, and outputs ultrasonic echo signals, which are analog electrical signals according to channels formed by taking receiving array elements as channels, carrying amplitude information, frequency information and time information.

The transmitting circuit 410 is configured to generate a transmitting sequence according to the control of the processor 20, where the transmitting sequence is configured to control some or all of the plurality of array elements to transmit ultrasonic waves to the object to be imaged, and the transmitting sequence parameters include an array element position for transmitting, the number of array elements, and ultrasonic beam transmitting parameters (such as amplitude, frequency, number of transmitting times, transmitting interval, transmitting angle, waveform, focusing position, etc.). In some cases, the transmitting circuit 410 is further configured to delay the phases of the transmitted beams so that different transmitting elements transmit ultrasound waves at different times, so that each transmitting ultrasound beam can be focused at a predetermined region of interest. Different modes of operation, such as B-image mode, C-image mode, and D-image mode (doppler mode), the transmit sequence parameters may be different, and after the echo signals are received by the receive circuit 420 and processed by subsequent modules and corresponding algorithms, B-images reflecting tissue anatomy, C-images reflecting blood flow information, and D-images reflecting doppler spectrum images may be generated.

The receiving circuit 420 is used for receiving and processing the ultrasonic echo signals from the ultrasonic probe 30. The receive circuitry 420 may include one or more amplifiers, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), and the like. The amplifier is used for amplifying the received echo signals after proper gain compensation, and the amplifier is used for sampling the analog echo signals at preset time intervals so as to convert the analog echo signals into digitized echo signals, wherein the digitized echo signals still retain amplitude information, frequency information and phase information. The data output by the receiving circuit 420 may be output to the beam forming module 50 for processing or output to the memory 80 for storage.

The beam forming module 50 is in signal connection with the receiving circuit 420, and is configured to perform corresponding beam forming processes such as delay and weighted summation on the echo signals, and because distances from the ultrasonic receiving points in the tissue to be measured to the receiving array elements are different, channel data of the same receiving point output by different receiving array elements have delay differences, delay processing is required to be performed, phases are aligned, and weighted summation is performed on different channel data of the same receiving point, so as to obtain beamformed ultrasonic image data, and the ultrasonic image data output by the beam forming module 50 is also referred to as radio frequency data (RF data). The beam forming module 50 outputs the radio frequency data to the IQ demodulation module 60. In some embodiments, the beam forming module 50 may also output the rf data to the memory 80 for buffering or saving, or directly output the rf data to the processor 20 for image processing.

The beam forming module 50 may perform the above-described functions in hardware, firmware, or software, for example, the beam forming module 50 may include a central controller Circuit (CPU), one or more micro-processing chips, or any other electronic component capable of processing input data according to specific logic instructions, which when the beam forming module 50 is implemented in software, may execute instructions stored on tangible and non-transitory computer readable media (e.g., memory) to perform beam forming calculations using any suitable beam forming method. The beam forming module 50 may be integrated in the processor 20 or may be separately provided, which is not limited by the present invention.

The IQ demodulation module 60 removes the signal carrier by IQ demodulation, extracts the tissue structure information contained in the signal, and performs filtering to remove noise, and the signal obtained at this time is referred to as a baseband signal (IQ data pair). The IQ demodulation module 60 outputs IQ data pairs to the processor 20 for image processing.

In some embodiments, the IQ demodulation module 60 also outputs IQ data pairs to the memory 80 for buffering or saving so that the processor 20 reads the data from the memory 80 for subsequent image processing.

The IQ demodulation module 60 may also perform the above functions in hardware, firmware or software, and in some embodiments, the IQ demodulation module 60 may also be integrated with the beam forming module 50 in a single chip.

The processor 20 is configured to be a central controller Circuit (CPU), one or more microprocessors, graphics controller circuits (GPU) or any other electronic component capable of processing input data according to specific logic instructions, which may perform control of peripheral electronic components, or data reading and/or saving of memory 80, according to the input instructions or predetermined instructions, and may also perform processing of the input data by executing programs in the memory 80, such as one or more processing operations on the acquired ultrasound data according to one or more modes of operation, including but not limited to adjusting or defining the form of ultrasound emitted by the ultrasound probe 30, generating various image frames for display by a display of a subsequent human-machine interaction device 70, or adjusting or defining the content and form displayed on the display, or adjusting one or more image display settings (e.g., ultrasound images, interface components, locating regions of interest) displayed on the display.

The acquired ultrasound data may be processed by the processor 20 in real time during scanning as the echo signals are received, or may be temporarily stored on the memory 80 and processed in near real time in an on-line or off-line operation.

In this embodiment, the processor 20 controls the operation of the transmitting circuit 410 and the receiving circuit 420, for example, controls the transmitting circuit 410 and the receiving circuit 420 to operate alternately or simultaneously. The processor 20 may also determine an appropriate operation mode according to a user's selection or a program setting, form a transmission sequence corresponding to the current operation mode, and send the transmission sequence to the transmission circuit 410, so that the transmission circuit 410 controls the ultrasound probe 30 to transmit ultrasound waves using the appropriate transmission sequence.

The processor 20 is also operative to process the ultrasound data to generate a gray scale image of the signal intensity variations over the scan range reflecting the anatomy inside the tissue, referred to as the B image. The processor 20 may output the B-image to a display of the human interaction device 70 for display.

The man-machine interaction device 70 is used for performing man-machine interaction, i.e. receiving input and output visual information of a user, wherein the input of the user can be a keyboard, an operation button, a mouse, a track ball, etc., a touch screen integrated with a display can be also adopted, and the output visual information can be a display.

The basic process of pulse wave imaging based on the ultrasonic imaging equipment shown in fig. 2 is as shown in steps 1,3 and 4 in fig. 3, wherein the basic process of pulse wave imaging is that multi-frame ultrasonic data is obtained, the ultrasonic data is obtained by carrying out beam synthesis on ultrasonic echo signals obtained by taking a blood vessel of a target object as a detection object, the blood vessel wall hardness characterization quantity reflected by pulse waves propagating on the blood vessel wall along the axial direction of the blood vessel is obtained according to the ultrasonic data, and the blood vessel wall hardness characterization quantity is visually expressed along the axial direction of the blood vessel, so that a pulse wave propagation state diagram is generated and displayed. Thus, a doctor can intuitively observe the propagation of the pulse wave along the vascular wall through the pulse wave propagation state diagram.

When multiple frames of ultrasonic data are acquired, ultrasonic data of a certain period of time can be acquired, the certain period of time can be greater than or equal to one cardiac cycle, the preset period of time can be set by default of the system, and the preset period of time can be set by free adjustment of a user. When the ultrasonic data of a certain time period is acquired, the ultrasonic data of the certain time period can be continuously acquired, or the ultrasonic data can be acquired in a segmented mode and accumulated for a certain time period. For example, under the condition of acquiring and obtaining a pulse wave propagation state diagram in real time, the ultrasonic imaging device acquires ultrasonic data in real time according to an echo signal obtained by the ultrasonic probe, and the real-time acquisition time is the certain time period. For example, when acquiring and acquiring a pulse wave propagation state diagram in real time, the ultrasonic imaging apparatus may acquire ultrasonic data in real time according to an echo signal obtained by the ultrasonic probe in a predetermined period of time. For example, when acquiring and acquiring a pulse wave propagation state diagram in real time, the ultrasound imaging apparatus may acquire ultrasound data for a predetermined period of time from the ultrasound data acquired in real time.

Of course, the present invention is not so limited, and a more detailed embodiment is provided below, as shown in fig. 4, the pulse wave imaging method of the ultrasonic imaging apparatus includes the steps of:

Step 1', the processor 20 acquires ultrasonic data of a predetermined period of time, wherein the ultrasonic data is data obtained by beam-forming an ultrasonic echo signal obtained by taking a blood vessel of a target object as a detection object. Specifically, the processor 20 controls the ultrasonic probe 30 through the transmission/reception circuit 40 so that the ultrasonic probe 30 excites the ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves to a target object and receives echoes of the ultrasonic waves in a scanning time to obtain echo signals. For example, the ultrasonic probe 30 transmits ultrasonic waves to a target object at a preset scanning frame rate under scanning control, and receives echoes of the ultrasonic waves to obtain ultrasonic echo signals. The ideal scanning frame rate should reach 1000Hz or exceed 1000Hz, below which the upper limit of pulse wave propagation speed that can be detected by pulse wave imaging is limited, and accuracy may be affected. The scan time is not less than one cardiac cycle (about 0.6 seconds to 1 second) so that the processor 20 obtains ultrasound data for at least one cardiac cycle, less than one cardiac cycle does not guarantee acquisition of a detected pulse wave. The typical scan time lasts for a plurality of cardiac cycles for subsequent sonographer's observation, and the typical target object is the neck or abdomen and the vessel of the target object is the carotid artery or abdominal aorta.

The processor 20 then performs at least beam forming processing on the ultrasound echo signals to obtain ultrasound data for the vessel of the target object for a predetermined period of time. The signal processing of the ultrasonic echo signal in the ultrasonic imaging process can comprise signal processing links such as analog signal gain compensation, beam synthesis, IQ demodulation, digital signal gain compensation, amplitude calculation and the like. Specifically, the echo signal is subjected to front-end filtering amplification (i.e., gain compensation) by an analog circuit, and then is converted into a digital signal by an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and the channel data after the analog-to-digital conversion is further subjected to beam forming processing to form scan line data. The data obtained after this stage, i.e. the ultrasound echo signals output by the beam forming module 50, may be referred to as radio frequency signal data, i.e. RF data. After the RF data is acquired, the signal carrier is removed by IQ demodulation, the tissue structure information contained in the signal is extracted, and filtering is performed to remove noise, and the acquired signal at this time is a baseband signal (IQ data). Finally, the intensity of the baseband signal is obtained, and the gray level of the baseband signal is subjected to logarithmic compression and gray level conversion, so that an ultrasonic image can be obtained.

The ultrasonic data of the invention is the data after the beam forming processing based on the ultrasonic echo signal, namely the ultrasonic data can be the data generated in any one of the above signal processing links after the beam forming link. For example, the ultrasound data may be data after beam synthesis, such as an ultrasound echo signal output by the beam synthesis module 50, or data after IQ demodulation, such as an ultrasound echo signal output by the IQ demodulation module 60, or ultrasound image data obtained by further processing based on the data after beam synthesis or the data after IQ demodulation, or the like.

The ultrasound data acquired by the real-time scanning is sent to the memory 80 for storage, and the processor 20 can directly acquire the ultrasound data from the memory 80 for subsequent pulse wave propagation state processing.

Further, in order to increase the scanning frame rate of the ultrasonic probe 30 in the above steps, any one of the following manners may be adopted.

In a first mode, the ultrasound probe 30 emits unfocused ultrasound to a target object at a predetermined scanning frame rate, and a scanning region of the unfocused ultrasound emitted at one time covers a predetermined examination region (target region a shown in the drawing) of a blood vessel. Unfocused ultrasound includes planar ultrasound or divergent ultrasound. Taking plane ultrasound as an example, the ultrasound probe 30 scans in a plane wave mode, as shown in fig. 5a, an arrow indicates an ultrasound echo, and the ultrasound probe 30 transmits a plane wave covering the entire target area a (i.e., a blood vessel area of a target object) and receives echo data. As shown in fig. 5b, beam synthesis is performed by the beam synthesis module 50, thereby reconstructing an image b of the entire target region. The mode one is at the cost of reducing the image quality, and the scanning of all areas can be completed once by transmitting and receiving, so that the scanning frame rate is improved.

In the second mode, as shown in fig. 6a, the ultrasonic probe 30 adopts a conventional focused wave mode to transmit focused ultrasonic waves with preset transmission times in a focused imaging mode to a target object, for example, densely transmitting focused waves (100-200 beams) to cover the whole designated inspection area (a target area b in the drawing) and receiving echo signals. The entire target area is then reconstructed with beam synthesis, see fig. 6b. The conventional focused wave mode can perform imaging with high image quality, but the scanning frame rate is lower than that of the mode because of more times of scanning the densely emitted focused waves.

The present invention further improves upon such conventional focused wave approaches to increase the scanning frame rate, and the ultrasonic probe 30 of the present invention transmits the multi-focused ultrasonic waves to the target object at a preset scanning frame rate, wherein the number of transmissions of the multi-focused ultrasonic waves is lower than the preset number of transmissions of the focused imaging, and the scanning area of the multi-focused ultrasonic waves covers the designated examination area of the blood vessel. See in particular the following way three and way four.

In the third mode, the ultrasonic probe 30 scans in a sparse focused wave mode, as shown in fig. 7a, an arrow indicates an ultrasonic echo, and the ultrasonic probe 30 performs focused imaging based on the focused wave scanning mode, so that the emission density is reduced, and the number of times of emission (for example, 10-20 times) is reduced, thereby improving the scanning frame rate. Since echo data originates mainly from the focused wave coverage area, beam synthesis only reconstructs image information within that area. In fig. 7b there are only two focused beams in the target area a, so only the area covered by these two focused beams is reconstructed in the target area a after beam synthesis.

The fourth mode is that the ultrasonic probe 30 scans in a wide focused wave mode, and emits at least one wide focused ultrasonic wave to the target object at a preset scanning frame rate, and a scanning area of the at least one wide focused ultrasonic wave covers a designated examination area of the blood vessel. As shown in fig. 8a, the arrow indicates an ultrasonic echo, the ultrasonic probe 30 performs focus imaging based on a focus wave scanning mode, emits a wide focus wave to cover the entire target area a and receives a echo signal, and increases the scanning frame rate by reducing the number of emissions. The beam synthesis reconstructs the entire target area a to obtain an image b.

Step 2', processor 20 generates an ultrasound image comprising the blood vessel from the ultrasound data. Wherein the orientation of the vessel in the ultrasound image is an axial arrangement, i.e. the physician can see vessels arranged in a "one" or "I" shape. For example, as shown in fig. 5a and 5b, the processor 20 reconstructs an image b of the target area a from the echo signals of the respective target position points by using a plurality of synthesis lines, i.e., obtains one ultrasound image frame. Since the ultrasound data corresponds to more than one cardiac cycle, the ultrasound image generated by the processor 20 from the ultrasound data may be an ultrasound image video or may be an ultrasound image frame in an ultrasound image video. In addition, the ultrasound image may be a three-dimensional ultrasound image, or may be two-dimensional, such as an ultrasound B image, an ultrasound C image, or the like. The ultrasound image generated by the processor 20 is a three-dimensional ultrasound image, which may be an image (not a cross-sectional view) of the length of the blood vessel, or may include an axially-sectioned structure (an axially-sectioned view) of the wall of the blood vessel, both reflecting the axial direction of the blood vessel. The ultrasound image generated by the processor 20 is a two-dimensional ultrasound image, and includes an axial cut structure of the blood vessel wall, as shown in fig. 9, the present embodiment is illustrated by taking a two-dimensional ultrasound B image as an example, but the pulse wave propagation state diagram described in connection with the two-dimensional ultrasound B image can be equally applied to a three-dimensional ultrasound B image, a two-dimensional or three-dimensional ultrasound C image, and the like.

Step 3', processor 20 obtains from the ultrasound data a blood vessel wall stiffness characteristic reflected by a pulse wave propagating on the blood vessel wall along the axial direction of the blood vessel. The vessel wall hardness characteristic value may be a propagation velocity (PWV) at which a pulse wave propagates through the vessel wall in the axial direction of the vessel, or a pulsation parameter (such as radial displacement and radial movement velocity) at which the vessel wall is pulsating in the radial direction of the vessel. The present embodiment will be described taking the propagation velocity as an example. The pulse wave propagation velocity (PWV) refers to the pulse wave propagation velocity between two predetermined points of the arterial system, including the pulse wave propagation velocity at the start of the systole of the anterior wall of the artery (BS) and at the end of the systole (ES). Only one of the BS and ES may be calculated and displayed, or both may be calculated and displayed. Fig. 13 shows the change in tube diameter in two cardiac cycles, one with two peaks, the highest peak being formed by the beginning of the anterior wall systole and the lower peak being formed by the end of the systole.

As shown in fig. 10, step 3' specifically includes:

Step 31, the processor 20 detects the pulsation parameters of each detection point arranged along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the wall of the blood vessel in the ultrasonic image at different time points according to the ultrasonic data of the preset time period. The pulsation parameter is a parameter reflecting pulsation of a vessel wall of a vessel in a radial direction. The vessel wall is mainly pulsating along the radial direction of the vessel under the action of the heart pulsation, so the pulsation parameter of the present invention is referred to as radial direction. The pulsation parameter includes at least one of a displacement of the unilateral vessel wall, a radial movement velocity of the unilateral vessel wall, a radial movement acceleration of the unilateral vessel wall, a change in vessel diameter, a change velocity of the vessel diameter, or a change acceleration of the vessel diameter. If the user does not select the ROI (region of interest) by the human-computer interaction device, the processor 20 calculates the pulsation parameters of the vessel wall in the whole target region (acoustic window), and if the user selects the ROI, the processor 20 calculates only the pulsation parameters in the ROI.

Further, the processor 20 detects the pulsation parameters of each detection point arranged along the axial direction of the blood vessel at different time points in the ultrasonic image according to the ultrasonic data of the preset time period, wherein the detection of the position of the blood vessel wall in the image frame according to one frame of image data in the ultrasonic data, the calculation of the radial displacement of each detection point arranged along the axial direction of the blood vessel at different time points in the blood vessel wall according to the position of the blood vessel wall in different frames, and the obtaining of the pulsation parameters of each detection point at different time points according to the radial displacement of each detection point on the blood vessel wall. Each detection point can be uniformly distributed along the axial direction of the blood vessel wall and is equivalent to a sampling point, so that the operation amount is saved. In some examples, the spacing between the individual detection points may also be unequal, i.e., the detection points are unevenly distributed. Specifically, based on the ultrasound data, the processor 20 first extracts spatial position information (e.g., coordinates) of the vessel wall from a frame of beamformed data obtained in the beamformed data link, or extracts spatial position information of the vessel wall from an ultrasound image obtained in the image synthesis link. Because of the significant differences in acoustic properties of the vessel wall with blood within the lumen and peripherally wrapped soft tissue, the image appears as a front and back two highlighted elongated structures that are in close proximity to the anechoic area of the lumen, as shown in fig. 9. The specific position of the tube wall can be obtained by setting a proper threshold value in the Y-axis direction (radial direction of the blood vessel) and screening the signals. The processor 20 takes a piece of one-dimensional data of a fixed size (a solid line segment passing through the point M in the left diagram of fig. 11) in the Y-axis direction of the first frame of beam forming data or the first frame of ultrasound image with each detection point on the pipe wall as a center point (point M in the left diagram of fig. 11) as feature information of the pipe wall at the current position. And searching a data segment (a broken line segment in the right graph of fig. 11) which is matched with the characteristic information in a one-dimensional searching area (a solid line segment in the right graph of fig. 11) in the Y-axis direction on the second frame beam forming data or the second frame ultrasonic image by taking the same position as a center point (an M point in the right graph of fig. 11), and taking the position of the center point (an N point in the right graph of fig. 11) of the data segment as a new blood vessel wall position on the current horizontal position of the frame. The position change of each detection point between two frames is the radial change of the blood vessel wall in the corresponding time period. This is repeated until the radial change in the vessel wall between every two adjacent frames or between several frames over the entire predetermined period of time is calculated. And accumulating the change results to obtain the displacement of each detection point on the vascular wall at different time points in a preset time period. The pulsation parameter is radial displacement, radial velocity, radial acceleration, variation of the vessel diameter or variation of the vessel diameter. The radial displacement of the corresponding back wall detection point is subtracted from the radial displacement of the front wall detection point to obtain the variation of the blood vessel diameter corresponding to the front wall detection point or the back wall detection point (fig. 13). The radial displacement and the change amount of the blood vessel diameter are respectively calculated to be a first derivative and a second derivative in the time dimension, and the radial speed, the radial acceleration, the change speed of the blood vessel diameter, the change acceleration and the like can be obtained. And synthesizing the pulsation parameters of each detection point on the blood vessel wall at different time points to obtain the displacement of the single-side blood vessel wall, the radial movement speed of the single-side blood vessel wall, the radial movement acceleration of the single-side blood vessel wall, the variation of the blood vessel diameter, the variation speed of the blood vessel diameter or the variation acceleration of the blood vessel diameter at different time points. If the user does not circled the ROI (region of interest), the processor 20 calculates the pulsatile parameters of the vessel wall in the whole target region, and if the user has circled the ROI, the processor 20 calculates only the pulsatile parameters in the ROI. When the pulsation parameter of the vessel wall is calculated, after the central point is determined, two-dimensional data with fixed size can be obtained from the first frame of beam synthesis data or the first frame of ultrasonic image, the same position is taken as the central point on the second frame of beam synthesis data or the second frame of ultrasonic image, a data block with the best matching characteristic information is searched in a two-dimensional searching area by the two-dimensional image block through template matching and other modes, and the central point position of the data block is taken as the new vessel wall position on the current horizontal position of the frame.

The processor 20 is further configured to obtain a propagation velocity of the pulse wave propagating axially on the vessel wall according to the pulse parameters of each detection point. See steps 32 and 33 for specific procedures.

Step 32, the processor 20 detects a first time when the pulsation parameter of each detection point reaches a first predetermined threshold.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 12, the point in the figure is a detection point, the abscissa thereof is the position of the detection point in the axial direction of the blood vessel wall, the ordinate thereof is the first time corresponding to the detection point, the first predetermined threshold may be set according to the user requirement, for example, for the pulse wave in early stage of contraction, the pulsation parameter may be selected to be radial displacement, and the first predetermined threshold may be the minimum value in the empirical value of the maximum radial displacement (corresponding to the peak), or may be 50% or more of the empirical value of the maximum radial displacement. For the pulse wave in the late systole, detecting the first time when the pulse parameter of each detection point is in the first preset threshold interval and is the maximum value, the peak in the early systole can be eliminated by setting the maximum value of the first preset threshold interval, the maximum value (the peak lower in the cardiac cycle) in the late systole can be covered by setting the minimum value of the first preset threshold interval, and the first time reflecting the arrival of the peak of the pulse wave in the late systole can be obtained by judging the maximum value (the conventional mathematical method). This embodiment will be described by taking the pulse wave in early stage of contraction as an example.

The user can conveniently observe the interested pulsation parameter by taking the minimum value of the experience value of the interested pulsation parameter as the first preset threshold value. In other words, the pulse parameters of the detection points are connected in series to reflect the propagation process of the pulse wave, and the user is generally interested in the propagation process of the wave crest, so this embodiment is described.

Step 33, the processor 20 obtains the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vessel wall in the ultrasound image according to the position of each detection point in the vessel axial direction and the first time corresponding to each detection point. The method comprises the steps of obtaining average propagation speed of pulse waves on a part of or the whole blood vessel wall in an ultrasonic image according to positions of detection points in the blood vessel axial direction and first time corresponding to the detection points, and obtaining the propagation speed of the pulse waves at the detection points according to the positions of two adjacent detection points in the blood vessel axial direction and difference values of the first time corresponding to the two adjacent detection points. Here, the two adjacent detection points are not limited to two adjacent detection points in a spatial position relationship, and may also refer to two detection points on a boundary in a blood vessel range corresponding to an acoustic window. For example, the processor 20 selects at least two detection points, extracts a first time of the detection points, and obtains a propagation velocity of the pulse wave according to an axial distance between the detection points and a difference value of the first time. In order to improve accuracy, the more detection points are selected, the better the more the detection points are in the processing capacity range, the corresponding relation between time and space of each detection point is obtained, as shown in fig. 12, linear fitting is performed on each point to obtain a slope, and the slope of the slope is the average propagation speed of pulse waves in the current cardiac cycle. Of course, the propagation speed of the pulse wave at each detection point can be obtained according to the positions of the two adjacent detection points in the axial direction of the blood vessel and the difference value of the corresponding first time of the two adjacent detection points, so that the hardness difference of the blood vessel wall at different positions can be obtained by a user.

Since the positions of the detection points and the corresponding first time are known, the pulse wave propagation velocity at the Beginning (BS) and the End (ES) of the systolic period of the anterior wall of the artery, the propagation velocity of any detection point on the wall of the blood vessel, the average propagation velocity of any segment, and the like can be calculated by the above method.

Based on the above method for calculating the propagation velocity, in an alternative embodiment, the method for calculating the propagation velocity is optimized, specifically, the processor 20 detects a time point when the pulse parameter of a specific detection point reaches a predetermined specific value, extends forward and/or backward for a preset time with the time point as a starting point to obtain an effective time period, obtains the pulse parameters of different time points in the effective time period of each detection point, detects the first time when the pulse parameter of each detection point in the effective time period reaches a first predetermined threshold, and obtains the propagation velocity of the pulse wave on the vessel wall in the ultrasound image according to the position of each detection point in the vessel axial direction and the corresponding first time of each detection point. The specified detection point may be a detection point at a peak position so as to identify and select the specified detection point. The preset time can be set according to the actual situation, and the obtained effective time period is only required to be not shorter than the time required for the pulse wave to pass through each detection point, and the setting of the effective time period is to reduce the operation amount of the processor 20. This is because the scanning range of the ultrasonic probe is small (0.03 m to 0.05 m), the propagation time (0.003 s to 0.02 s) of the pulse wave in one cardiac cycle (0.6 s to 1 s), the time for the pulse wave to pass through each detection point is short (0.003 s to 0.02 s), and then the change of the pulsation parameter of each detection point is small in a relatively long time (0.597 s to 0.98 s), and the calculation amount is increased if the data of the small pulsation parameter change is also calculated, so that the calculation amount of the propagation speed calculated by the processor 20 can be saved by the limitation of the effective time period.

In some examples, the ultrasound imaging device may perform M-imaging and doppler imaging of the blood vessel of the target image in addition to B-imaging (two-dimensional or three-dimensional tissue grayscale imaging) of the blood vessel of the target object, which may include, for example, tissue doppler imaging (Tissue doppler imaging, TDI) and tissue velocity imaging (Tissue velocity imaging, TVI). The propagation velocity of the pulse wave can be obtained according to the following steps in each ultrasonic imaging mode.

The ultrasound imaging device may obtain ultrasound data in the form of M data when performing M imaging. The M data includes gradation data on a plurality of scanning lines arranged along the blood vessel axis direction, and each detection point is a point at the blood vessel wall on each scanning line. When the pulse wave propagates through a certain detection point, the blood vessel wall at the detection point has a certain displacement change in the depth direction (namely the radial direction of the blood vessel) due to the action of the pulse wave, and correspondingly, the M data can reflect the change of the radial displacement. The processor 20 may obtain a time-varying gray value of the detection point on the vessel wall of each scan line according to the M data of the scan line, and may calculate a time-varying radial displacement of the detection point on the vessel wall according to the gray value.

The processor 20 may then detect a first time at which the radial displacement of each detection point reaches a second predetermined threshold. The second predetermined threshold may be set according to user requirements. For example, the second predetermined threshold may be a minimum value among the maximum radial displacement empirical values, 50% or more of the maximum radial displacement empirical values, or the like. After detecting the first time of each detection point, the processor 20 may obtain the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the blood vessel wall according to the position of each detection point in the blood vessel axial direction and the first time corresponding to each detection point. The position of each detection point on the vascular wall is known, and the propagation speed of pulse wave can be obtained after the time difference between each detection point is determined.

When the ultrasound imaging apparatus performs B imaging, ultrasound data in the form of M data may be obtained based on ultrasound data in the form of B data (tissue gradation), and then the processor 20 may calculate the propagation velocity of the pulse wave based on the method in the M imaging mode described above.

Ultrasound imaging devices may obtain ultrasound data with doppler information when performing TVI imaging or TDI imaging. The processor 20 may analyze the Doppler information of the ultrasound data and calculate velocity information at different time points for each of the detection points arranged along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the wall of the blood vessel. For example, when TVI imaging is performed, velocity variance energy solution may be performed on the ultrasound data with doppler information, so as to obtain velocity information of each detection point changing with time. For example, a spectrum image of each detection point on the wall of a blood vessel can be obtained when TDI imaging is performed, the spectrum image records frequency information of each detection point changing with time, and speed information of each detection point at different time points can be obtained by performing simple conversion based on the frequency information.

Processor 20 may then detect a first time at which the speed information for each detection point reaches a third predetermined threshold. The third predetermined threshold may be set according to user requirements. For example, the third predetermined threshold may be 50% or more of the detected maximum speed information, or the like. After detecting the first time of each detection point, the processor 20 may obtain the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the blood vessel wall according to the position of each detection point in the blood vessel axial direction and the first time corresponding to each detection point. The position of each detection point on the vascular wall is known, and the propagation speed of pulse wave can be obtained after the time difference between each detection point is determined.

Step 4', the processor 20 visually expresses the blood vessel wall hardness characterization quantity along the blood vessel axial direction, so as to generate and display a pulse wave propagation state diagram through the man-machine interaction device 70. For example, the pulse wave propagation velocity corresponding to each detection point is visually expressed by using a preset image element at a position corresponding to each detection point along the axial direction of the blood vessel. The pulse wave propagation state diagram may be static or dynamic, for example, the processor 20 dynamically displays the pulse wave propagation speed on the display interface of the man-machine interaction device in a graphical visualization manner along the blood vessel axis according to the sequence of propagation time, for example, at the position corresponding to each detection point along the blood vessel axis direction, and when the first time corresponding to each detection point arrives, the pulse wave propagation speed corresponding to each detection point is visually expressed by adopting a preset image element, so that the pulse wave propagation speed is periodically updated by each detection point. The image elements may be a combination of one or more of color, pattern, texture, and pattern density. The pulse wave propagation state diagram shows propagation velocities, and since a doctor may be interested in the propagation velocities on the whole blood vessel wall, on a certain blood vessel wall, or on the corresponding position of each detection point, there are various ways in which the pulse wave propagation state diagram visually expresses the blood vessel wall hardness characterization amount, which will be specifically described below.

Before the various visual expressions are exemplified, a description will be given of a manner in which the pulse wave propagation state diagram is displayed together with the ultrasound image on the display interface. In order to combine the pulse wave propagation state diagram with the actual ultrasound image, there are specifically two kinds of adjacent display and superimposed display. The processor 20 displays the pulse wave propagation state diagram A1 in the vicinity of the ultrasonic image C, as shown in fig. 14, which is an adjacent display, in such a way that the pulse wave propagation state diagram A1 and the ultrasonic image C share an abscissa, that is, the two diagrams are correspondingly arranged up and down when the blood vessel is in the horizontal direction, as shown in fig. 14, and the pulse wave propagation state diagram and the ultrasonic image share an ordinate, that is, the two diagrams are correspondingly arranged left and right when the blood vessel is in the vertical direction. Of course, the processor 20 may also superimpose and display the axial cut structure of the blood vessel in the pulse wave propagation state diagram A2 and the ultrasound image C according to a preset weight, and as shown in fig. 15, the superimposed and displayed pulse wave propagation state diagram A2 and the ultrasound image C share the coordinate system. Further, the processor 20 is further configured to detect a modification of the weight by the user through the human-computer interaction device 70, and update the superimposed display of the pulse wave propagation state diagrams A2-A8 and the axial cut-open structure of the blood vessel in the ultrasound image C according to the modified weight. When the weight of one graph is 0, only the other graph is displayed, and when the weights are not 0, the structure of the vessel wall can be reflected and the propagation speed can be reflected visually, and by setting the weights, a doctor can adjust the display effect to protrude the structure or the propagation speed of the vessel wall. The ultrasound image C generated from the ultrasound data displayed on the display interface may be an ultrasound image frame or an ultrasound video, and this embodiment is described by taking the case that the ultrasound image is an ultrasound video and is displayed in a superimposed manner.

Of course, the processor 20 also synchronously displays the magnitude bar B for indicating the correspondence between the magnitude of the blood vessel wall hardness characterization quantity and the color, texture, pattern or pattern density through the display interface of the man-machine interaction device, whether the adjacent display or the superimposed display.

In an example, the vessel wall hardness characterization is visually expressed in the manner shown in fig. 14, where the vessel wall hardness characterization is an average propagation velocity of the pulse wave propagating along the axial direction of the vessel on the entire vessel wall in the ultrasound image, for example, an average of propagation velocities of all detection points. The processor 20 uses a preset image element to visually express the average propagation velocity at a position corresponding to the whole blood vessel wall along the blood vessel axial direction, and generates and displays a pulse wave propagation state diagram A1 distributed along the blood vessel axial direction. Taking the density of the image element as an example, in the pulse wave propagation state diagram A1 shown in fig. 14, the whole blood vessel wall is covered with oblique lines (patterns), and the whole blood vessel wall is covered with a certain length in the axial direction of the blood vessel, but the whole blood vessel wall is not necessarily covered with the whole blood vessel wall in the radial direction as in fig. 14. The doctor can know the approximate range of the average propagation speed at a glance according to the density of the oblique lines, and can know the accurate average propagation speed by comparing with the magnitude bar B. For the convenience of the physician, a specific value of the average propagation velocity is also displayed on the display interface, as well as the instant of time of the current instant with respect to the entire time of the ultrasound data. Of course, it is more intuitive to use different colors to indicate different average propagation speeds, such as a region with a color covering the entire blood vessel wall, a faster color with a faster color, a slower color with a bluer color, etc., which in effect corresponds to replacing the diagonal region of fig. 14 with the corresponding color. Of course, the average propagation velocity may be the average propagation velocity of the pulse wave in one cardiac cycle, or may be the average value of the average propagation velocity of the pulse wave in each cardiac cycle, and in any case, since the propagation velocity of the pulse wave does not change much between cycles, the pulse wave propagation state diagram A1 shown in fig. 14 basically belongs to a static state even if updated with the cardiac cycle.

In another example, the vessel wall stiffness characteristic is an average propagation velocity of the pulse wave propagating along the vessel axis on a target segment vessel wall of the ultrasound image, the target segment vessel wall of the ultrasound image including a segment of the vessel wall through which the pulse wave is currently propagating in the ultrasound image. As shown in fig. 15, the processor 20 uses a preset image element to visually express the average propagation velocity at a position corresponding to the blood vessel wall of the target segment along the blood vessel axial direction, and generates and displays a pulse wave propagation state diagram A2 distributed along the blood vessel axial direction. For example, the processor 20 obtains the average propagation velocity of the blood vessel wall segment through which the pulse wave has passed when the pulse wave propagates to each detection point along the blood vessel axis direction on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasonic image, and the average propagation velocity is represented by the color, pattern or density of the pattern at the position corresponding to the blood vessel wall segment through which the pulse wave has passed along the blood vessel axis direction, and generates and displays a pulse wave propagation state diagram A2 distributed along the blood vessel axis direction, and updates the pulse wave propagation state diagram A2 (i.e., dynamic display) according to the time of the pulse wave propagation to the detection point when the pulse wave propagates. Since the pulse wave propagation state diagram A2 shows the average propagation velocity of a section of the blood vessel wall through which the pulse wave is currently propagated in the ultrasound image, the average propagation velocity shown in the pulse wave propagation state diagram A2 is dynamically changed with the lapse of time. As shown in fig. 15, the average propagation velocity of the pulse wave in the period of time is calculated once for 0.03s (seconds) on the vessel wall, and is displayed as a preset image element in the range from the proximal end of the vessel (the start end of the ultrasound image) to the current propagation position, for example, the pattern density, as in the diagonal line area of the left graph of fig. 15, and the average propagation velocity in 0.033s is calculated once again as the pulse wave continues to propagate on the vessel for 0.033s, and is also displayed as a preset image element in the range from the proximal end of the vessel to the current propagation position, as in the diagonal line area of the right graph of fig. 15. By analogy, the length of the axial coverage of the diagonal line area is determined by the current propagation range, the density of the diagonal line area is determined by the average propagation speed of the current propagation range, and the density of the diagonal line area changes along with the propagation, and the diagonal line area lengthens along the axial direction of the blood vessel. Likewise, different colors may be used to represent different average propagation velocities, such as a region with a color covering the entire blood vessel wall, a more red color having a faster velocity, a more blue color having a slower velocity, etc., which in effect corresponds to the substitution of the diagonal region of fig. 15 with the corresponding color.

Since the pulse wave propagation state diagram A2 is dynamically changed, the superposition result of the pulse wave propagation state diagram A2 and the ultrasonic image C is equivalent to dynamic playing in the form of a movie according to the time sequence, that is, reflecting the propagation of the pulse wave in real time. The pulse wave propagation is realized in that the pulse wave propagation state diagram A2 or an image element area of the pulse wave propagation state diagram A2 is pushed from a near center end to a far center end along the axial direction of a blood vessel according to the pulse wave propagation time, for example, as shown in fig. 15, the pulse wave propagation time is pushed along the horizontal direction, the left diagram of fig. 15 is the superposition display of the pulse wave propagation state diagram A2 and an ultrasonic video at one moment, the diagram after the superposition display is the right diagram after a period of time, and the process of the pulse wave propagation from the left side to the right side of the diagram is shown. The pulse wave propagation state diagram A2 is dynamic (the image element changes with the change of time) when displayed on the display interface of the man-machine interaction device, and may also be referred to as a pulse wave propagation state video or a pulse wave propagation state diagram.

In another example, the vessel wall stiffness characteristic is an average propagation velocity of the pulse wave propagating along the vessel axis on a target segment vessel wall of the ultrasound image, the target segment vessel wall of the ultrasound image including a segment of the vessel wall through which the pulse wave is currently propagating in the ultrasound image. As shown in fig. 16, the processor 20 visually expresses the average propagation velocity of the target segment blood vessel wall with a preset image element at a position corresponding to the whole segment blood vessel wall of the ultrasound image along the blood vessel axial direction, and indicates the position corresponding to the target segment blood vessel wall on the whole segment blood vessel wall of the pulse wave propagation state diagram A3 (as shown by the triangle arrow in the figure, so that the doctor can know the peak position). In other words, the processor 20 acquires the average propagation velocity of the blood vessel wall section through which the pulse wave passes when the pulse wave propagates to each detection point along the blood vessel axis direction on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasonic image, and generates and displays a pulse wave propagation state diagram distributed along the blood vessel axis direction by representing the average propagation velocity by using the color, the pattern or the density of the pattern at the position corresponding to the whole blood vessel wall section in the ultrasonic image along the blood vessel axis direction, and updates the pulse wave propagation state diagram according to the time of the pulse wave propagation to the detection point when the pulse wave propagates. That is, the average propagation velocity is the same as that shown in fig. 15, but the presentation is different in that fig. 15 displays the image elements only on the target segment of the blood vessel, and fig. 16 displays the image elements on the whole segment of the blood vessel. For example, the average propagation velocity of the pulse wave in the blood vessel wall section which has propagated through the blood vessel wall section in the time period is calculated once when the pulse wave propagates on the blood vessel wall for 0.03s, the average propagation velocity is displayed in the position corresponding to the whole blood vessel wall section by the preset image elements, such as the oblique line area in fig. 16, and the average propagation velocity of the pulse wave in the blood vessel wall section which has propagated through the blood vessel wall section in the time period is calculated once again when the pulse wave continues to propagate on the blood vessel for 0.033s, and the image elements are updated.

In another example, the vessel wall stiffness characteristic is a propagation velocity of a pulse wave propagating on a vessel wall of the ultrasound image along a vessel axis to each detection point. As shown in fig. 17, the processor 20 uses a preset image element to visually express the propagation speed of each detection point at the position corresponding to each detection point in the ultrasound image along the axial direction of the blood vessel, so as to generate and display a pulse wave propagation state diagram A4 distributed along the axial direction of the blood vessel. For example, if the total propagation time of the pulse wave on the blood vessel in the acoustic window (visual field) is 0.04s, the propagation speed of each detection point when the pulse wave propagates on the blood vessel is obtained by processing and calculating, and the propagation speed of each detection point is displayed in a preset image element, for example, in a color mapping manner, so that the propagation speed of which detection point position is slow and the propagation speed of which detection point position is fast is obvious. Since the detection point is similar to the sampling point, it is impossible to calculate the propagation velocity from the calculation amount for all points in the axial direction of the blood vessel wall, the propagation velocity of the detection point is represented by the image element, and a small area such as a small rectangular frame area in fig. 17 is shown instead of the narrowly defined point, so that the propagation velocity is presented more intuitively as the image element. Since the propagation speeds of the detection points also do not differ greatly between the respective cardiac cycles, the color display range and color in the pulse wave propagation state diagram A4 do not substantially change dynamically with the cardiac cycle. Like the first, the pulse wave propagation state diagram A4 belongs to "static". The propagation speed of dynamic display is more visual, and the invention focuses on the condition of dynamic display. Of course, the processor 20 is further configured to determine a standard deviation of the propagation speed of each detection point, and display the standard deviation synchronously when displaying the pulse wave propagation state diagram A4, so that the doctor can more intuitively see the uniformity of the pulse wave propagation speed.

In another example, the vessel wall stiffness characteristic is a propagation velocity of a pulse wave propagating on a vessel wall of the ultrasound image along a vessel axis to each detection point. As shown in fig. 18, the processor 20 uses a preset image element to visually express the pulse wave propagation velocity corresponding to each detection point when the pulse wave propagates to each detection point (e.g., the first time) at a position corresponding to each detection point along the axial direction of the blood vessel. For example, the processor 20 obtains the propagation speed of the pulse wave at each detection point on the wall of the blood vessel in the ultrasonic image, and the propagation speed at each detection point is represented by the color, pattern or density of the pattern at the position corresponding to each detection point of the wall section of the blood vessel where the pulse wave has passed along the axial direction of the blood vessel, and generates and displays a pulse wave propagation state diagram A5 distributed along the axial direction of the blood vessel, and updates the pulse wave propagation state diagram A5 (i.e. dynamically displays) according to the time of the pulse wave propagation to the detection point. Since the pulse wave propagation state diagram A5 shows the propagation velocity of the pulse wave propagating along the vascular axis on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image to each detection point, the pulse wave propagation state diagram A5 or the region of the image element in the pulse wave propagation state diagram A5 is dynamically changed as the propagation progresses. As shown in the left graph of fig. 18, the propagation speed of the detection point to which the current pulse wave propagates is calculated when the pulse wave propagates on the blood vessel wall for 0.03s, and the propagation speed is displayed as a preset image element at the position corresponding to the detection point, and the image element at the position corresponding to the detection point through which the pulse wave has passed remains. The pulse wave continues to propagate to 0.033s on the blood vessel, calculates the propagation speed of the detection point to which the current pulse wave propagates again, displays the propagation speed on the position corresponding to the detection point in a preset image element, and the image element of the position corresponding to the detection point through which the pulse wave has passed remains as shown in the diagonal line area of the right graph of fig. 18. By analogy, the length of the whole oblique line area is determined by the current propagation range, the oblique line density of the corresponding position of the detection point is determined by the propagation speed of the detection point, and the whole oblique line area lengthens along the axial direction of the blood vessel along with the propagation. Likewise, different colors may be used to represent different propagation speeds, which in fact corresponds to substituting diagonal lines of fig. 18 with corresponding colors.

Since the pulse wave propagation state diagram A5 is dynamically changed, the superposition result of the pulse wave propagation state diagram A5 and the ultrasonic image C is equivalent to dynamic playing in the form of a movie according to the time sequence, that is, reflecting the propagation of the pulse wave in real time. The pulse wave propagation is performed by advancing the pulse wave propagation state diagram A5 or the image element region of the pulse wave propagation state diagram A5 from the proximal end to the distal end along the vascular axis according to the pulse wave propagation time, for example, as shown in fig. 18, and advancing in the horizontal direction according to the pulse wave propagation time. The propagation process of pulse wave is intuitively reflected, and the difference of the propagation speeds of all detection points can be observed.

In another example, the vessel wall stiffness characteristic is a propagation velocity of a pulse wave propagating on a vessel wall of the ultrasound image along a vessel axis to each detection point. As shown in fig. 19, the processor 20 visually expresses the propagation velocity of each detection point with a preset image element at a position corresponding to each detection point of the wall of the target segment of the ultrasound image in the blood vessel axial direction. Wherein the target segment of the vessel wall comprises a segment of the vessel wall through which the pulse wave is currently propagating in the ultrasound image. For example, the processor 20 acquires the propagation velocity of the pulse wave at each detection point (the velocity of the pulse wave passing through the detection point is the instantaneous velocity or the average velocity of the detection point corresponding to a small section of the blood vessel wall) on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasonic image, and the propagation velocity corresponding to the current detection point is represented by the density of the color, pattern or pattern along the blood vessel axial direction at the position corresponding to the current detection point, so as to generate and display a pulse wave propagation state diagram A6 distributed along the blood vessel axial direction, and updates the pulse wave propagation state diagram A6 according to the time of the pulse wave propagation to the detection point during the display. In this scheme, compared with fig. 18, only the image elements outside the wall of the target segment are not actually reserved, and all the other image elements are the same, so that no description is given. Of course, the target segment of the blood vessel wall may be a segment of the blood vessel wall extending from the detection point to which the pulse wave is currently propagated by a predetermined length and through which the pulse wave has propagated, that is, the extending length of the image element region in the blood vessel axial direction may be adjusted as needed on the basis of fig. 19.

In another example, the vessel wall stiffness characteristic is a propagation velocity of a pulse wave propagating on a vessel wall of the ultrasound image along a vessel axis to each detection point. As shown in fig. 20, the processor 20 uses a preset image element to visually express the propagation speed of the detection point to which the pulse wave is currently propagated at a position corresponding to the whole blood vessel wall of the ultrasound image along the blood vessel axial direction, and indicates the position to which the pulse wave is currently propagated on the whole blood vessel wall of the pulse wave propagation state diagram A7. For example, the processor 20 acquires the propagation speed of pulse waves at each detection point on the wall of a blood vessel in an ultrasonic image, represents the propagation speed corresponding to the current detection point by using the color, pattern or density of the pattern at the position corresponding to the whole blood vessel wall in the ultrasonic image along the axial direction of the blood vessel, generates and displays a pulse wave propagation state diagram A7 distributed along the axial direction of the blood vessel, and updates the pulse wave propagation state diagram A7 according to the time of the pulse waves to the detection points during display. Compared with the scheme of fig. 19, the scheme is that the propagation speed corresponding to the current detection point or the propagation speed corresponding to a small blood vessel is presented, and the difference is that in the present mode, the image element area covers the whole blood vessel wall, and indicates the current propagation position of the pulse wave through the mark (triangle arrow in the figure), and the other points are the same, so that the description is omitted.

In another example, the vessel wall stiffness characteristic is a propagation velocity of a pulse wave propagating on a vessel wall of the ultrasound image along a vessel axis to each detection point. The processor 20 visually expresses the propagation speed of the detection point to which the pulse wave is currently propagated by using a preset image element at a position corresponding to a target segment vessel wall of the ultrasonic image in the vessel axial direction, wherein the target segment vessel wall of the ultrasonic image comprises a segment of vessel wall through which the pulse wave is currently propagated in the ultrasonic image. For example, the processor 20 acquires the propagation speed of the pulse wave at each detection point on the wall of the blood vessel in the ultrasonic image, and the propagation speed corresponding to the current detection point is represented by the color, pattern or density of the pattern at the position corresponding to each detection point of the wall section of the blood vessel through which the pulse wave passes along the axial direction of the blood vessel, and generates and displays a pulse wave propagation state diagram A distributed along the axial direction of the blood vessel, and updates the pulse wave propagation state diagram A according to the time of the pulse wave propagation to the detection point during display. The display effect of this manner is similar to that shown in fig. 15, except that fig. 15 shows the average propagation velocity of the pulse wave on the target-segment blood vessel wall at the position corresponding to the target-segment blood vessel wall by the image element, and the propagation velocity of the detection point currently propagated to is shown at the position corresponding to the target-segment blood vessel wall by the image element in this example. Of course, the target segment of the blood vessel wall may be a segment of the blood vessel wall extending from the detection point to which the pulse wave is currently propagated by a predetermined length and through which the pulse wave has propagated, that is, the extending length of the image element region in the blood vessel axial direction may be adjusted as needed on the basis of fig. 20.

In the above-described exemplary visual display manner, the processor 20 further obtains, according to the ultrasound data, a second time when each detection point on the wall of the blood vessel arranged along the axial direction of the blood vessel in the ultrasound image reaches the peak position, and marks the detection point where the current peak is located on the pulse wave propagation state diagram by using a icon (such as triangle arrows in fig. 15, 16, 18-20) to prompt the doctor where the current pulse wave propagates, which is very intuitive. If the first predetermined threshold is a threshold for judging the peak, the current peak is marked on the pulse wave propagation state diagram by using an icon at the first time when each detection point reaches the peak position, and the second time is not required to be calculated repeatedly.

In the above-described exemplary visual display mode, the processor 20 also pauses the updating of the pulse wave propagation state diagrams A1-A7 according to a pause instruction input by the user through the human-computer interaction device 70, and displays the propagation speed of the detection point with the nearest cursor position on the paused pulse wave propagation state diagrams A1-A7 according to the position of the human-computer interaction device cursor (mouse cursor, track ball cursor or touch point, etc.). Thus, regardless of the visualization method, the doctor can obtain the propagation speed of the desired detection point position through a manual selection method.

In the above-described exemplary visual display manner, when the pulse wave propagates through the whole blood vessel wall of the ultrasound image, the processor 20 further presents the propagation speed corresponding to each detection point in the form of a picture through the display interface of the man-machine interaction device, so as to facilitate the doctor to observe, record and print the result.

In alternative embodiments, the propagation velocity may be represented by using colors as image elements in the manner of fig. 14-20, and instead of dynamically displaying the propagation velocity in the form of color maps, the propagation velocity may be dynamically displayed in the form of a two-dimensional vector map, for example, the propagation velocity may be represented in the form of a waveform map, a histogram, an area map, or the like, and pulse wave propagation state maps A8 and A9 are generated, as shown in fig. 21 and 22.

The visualization of the invention is preferably dynamic display, and the propagation speed of pulse wave is graphically displayed on the display interface and changes along with time, so that an ultrasonic doctor is clear at a glance, and the method is very convenient and visual.

Similarly, on the display interface, if the user does not select the ROI in a circle, the whole blood vessel wall is a blood vessel wall section of an ultrasonic image in the whole target area, the ultrasonic B image video and the pulse wave propagation state diagrams A1-A7 in the whole target area are overlapped, and if the user selects the ROI in a circle, the whole blood vessel wall is a blood vessel wall section of the ultrasonic image in the ROI area, and only the ultrasonic B image video and the pulse wave propagation state diagrams A1-A7 in the ROI area can be overlapped. Of course, the specific numerical value of the propagation speed can be displayed on the display interface in real time, so that the user can grasp the specific numerical value accurately.

Therefore, by adopting the technical scheme of the invention, if a user only needs to horizontally place the probe on the body surface in a real-time imaging mode, the visual angle is positioned on the long axis of the blood vessel. If the ultrasonic imaging device acquires data stored in a memory in a non-real-time imaging mode, the ultrasonic imaging device generates the blood vessel B diagram and the pulse wave propagation state diagram A after processing, and the propagation speed displayed by the propagation state diagram can be displayed at the corresponding position. Meanwhile, the propagation condition of the pulse wave is dynamically displayed in a film mode and matched with the indication of the wave crest, so that the propagation process of the pulse wave can be intuitively and accurately represented. In the embodiment of the invention, the pulse wave transmission state diagram and the blood vessel B diagram can be synchronously and dynamically displayed, or only the pulse wave transmission state diagram can be dynamically displayed and one frame B diagram in the transmission state process can be statically displayed.

Reference is made to various exemplary embodiments herein. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that changes and modifications may be made to the exemplary embodiments without departing from the scope herein. For example, the various operational steps and components used to perform the operational steps may be implemented in different ways (e.g., one or more steps may be deleted, modified, or combined into other steps) depending on the particular application or taking into account any number of cost functions associated with the operation of the system.

Additionally, as will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the principles herein may be reflected in a computer program product on a computer readable storage medium preloaded with computer readable program code. Any tangible, non-transitory computer readable storage medium may be used, including magnetic storage devices (hard disks, floppy disks, etc.), optical storage devices (CD-ROMs, DVDs, blu-Ray disks, etc.), flash memory, and/or the like. These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus create means for implementing the functions specified. These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including means which implement the function specified. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified.

While the principles herein have been shown in various embodiments, many modifications of structure, arrangement, proportions, elements, materials, and components, which are particularly adapted to specific environments and operative requirements, may be used without departing from the principles and scope of the present disclosure. The above modifications and other changes or modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this document.

The foregoing detailed description has been described with reference to various embodiments. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the present disclosure is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope thereof. Also, advantages, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to various embodiments. The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature. The terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, system, article, or apparatus. Furthermore, the term "couple" and any other variants thereof are used herein to refer to physical connections, electrical connections, magnetic connections, optical connections, communication connections, functional connections, and/or any other connection.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that many changes may be made to the details of the above-described embodiments without departing from the underlying principles of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined from the following claims.

Claims

1. A pulse wave imaging method, characterized by comprising:

Acquiring ultrasound data of a predetermined time period, wherein the ultrasound data is data obtained after beam synthesis of ultrasound echo signals obtained by taking a blood vessel of a target object as a detection object;

generating an ultrasound image including blood vessels according to the ultrasound data;

Obtaining, according to the ultrasound data, a vascular wall hardness characterization amount reflected by a pulse wave propagating along the vascular wall in the axial direction of the vascular wall; and

The vascular wall hardness characterization amount is the average propagation velocity of the pulse wave propagating along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the target segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image, and the target segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image includes a segment of the vascular wall through which the pulse wave currently propagates in the ultrasound image; on the display interface, along the axial direction of the blood vessel at a position corresponding to the vascular wall of the target segment, a preset image element is used to visualize the average propagation velocity, and the average propagation velocity is dynamically displayed in the order of propagation time; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization value is the average propagation velocity of the pulse wave propagating along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the target segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image, and the target segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image includes a segment of the vascular wall through which the pulse wave currently propagates in the ultrasound image; on the display interface, along the axial direction of the blood vessel at a position corresponding to the entire segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image, a preset image element is used to visualize the average propagation velocity, and the average propagation velocity is dynamically displayed in the order of propagation time; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization quantity is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; on the display interface, along the vascular axis direction at the position corresponding to each detection point in the ultrasound image, the propagation speed of each detection point is respectively visualized using preset image elements, and the propagation speed is dynamically displayed in the order of propagation time; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization value is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; on the display interface, along the vascular axis direction at the position corresponding to each detection point, when the pulse wave propagates to each detection point, the pulse wave propagation speed corresponding to each detection point that the pulse wave has passed is visualized using preset image elements, and the propagation speed is dynamically displayed in the order of propagation time; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization quantity is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; on the display interface, along the vascular axis direction at the position corresponding to each detection point of the target segment vascular wall of the ultrasound image, the propagation speed of each detection point is visualized using preset image elements, and the propagation speed is dynamically displayed in the order of propagation time; wherein, the target segment vascular wall includes a segment of the vascular wall through which the pulse wave currently propagates in the ultrasound image, or the target segment vascular wall includes a segment of the vascular wall extending from the detection point to which the pulse wave currently propagates and through which the pulse wave has propagated; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization value is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; on the display interface, along the vascular axis direction at a position corresponding to the target segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image, a preset image element is used to visualize the propagation speed of the detection point to which the pulse wave currently propagates, and the propagation speed is dynamically displayed in the order of propagation time; the target segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image includes a segment of the vascular wall through which the pulse wave currently propagates in the ultrasound image; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization value is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; on the display interface, along the vascular axis direction at a position corresponding to the entire vascular wall of the ultrasound image, a preset image element is used to visualize the propagation speed of the detection point to which the pulse wave currently propagates, and the propagation speed is dynamically displayed in the order of propagation time; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization quantity is the average propagation velocity of the pulse wave along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the entire vascular wall in the ultrasound image; on the display interface, the average propagation velocity is represented by color, pattern or pattern density at a position along the axial direction of the blood vessel corresponding to the entire vascular wall in the ultrasound image, and the average propagation velocity is dynamically displayed in the order of propagation time.

2. A pulse wave imaging method, characterized by comprising:

Acquire multiple frames of ultrasound data, where the ultrasound data is data obtained after beamforming of ultrasound echo signals obtained by taking a blood vessel of a target object as a detection object;

generating an ultrasound image including an axial cross-sectional structure of a blood vessel according to at least a portion of the plurality of frames of ultrasound data;

Obtaining a blood vessel wall hardness representation amount reflected by a pulse wave propagating along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the blood vessel wall according to at least part of the plurality of frames of ultrasound data; and

The vascular wall hardness characterization amount is the average propagation velocity of the pulse wave propagating along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the target segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image, and the target segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image includes a segment of the vascular wall through which the pulse wave currently propagates in the ultrasound image; along the axial direction of the blood vessel at a position corresponding to the vascular wall of the target segment, the average propagation velocity is visualized using a preset image element, thereby generating and dynamically displaying a pulse wave propagation state diagram; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization value is the average propagation velocity of the pulse wave propagating along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the target segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image, and the target segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image includes a segment of the vascular wall through which the pulse wave currently propagates in the ultrasound image; along the axial direction of the blood vessel at a position corresponding to the entire segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image, the average propagation velocity is visualized using a preset image element, thereby generating and dynamically displaying a pulse wave propagation state diagram; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization value is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; along the vascular axis direction at the position corresponding to each detection point in the ultrasound image, the propagation speed of each detection point is respectively visualized using preset image elements, thereby generating and dynamically displaying a pulse wave propagation state diagram; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization value is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; along the vascular axis direction at a position corresponding to each detection point, when the pulse wave propagates to each detection point, a preset image element is used to visualize the pulse wave propagation speed corresponding to each detection point that the pulse wave has passed, thereby generating and dynamically displaying a pulse wave propagation state diagram; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization quantity is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; along the vascular axis direction at the position corresponding to each detection point of the target segment vascular wall of the ultrasound image, the propagation speed of each detection point is visualized using preset image elements, thereby generating and dynamically displaying a pulse wave propagation state diagram; wherein the target segment vascular wall includes a segment of the vascular wall through which the pulse wave currently propagates in the ultrasound image, or the target segment vascular wall includes a segment of the vascular wall extending from the detection point to which the pulse wave currently propagates and through which the pulse wave has propagated; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization quantity is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; along the vascular axis direction at a position corresponding to the target segment vascular wall of the ultrasound image, a preset image element is used to visualize the propagation speed of the detection point to which the pulse wave currently propagates, thereby generating and dynamically displaying a pulse wave propagation state diagram; the target segment vascular wall of the ultrasound image includes a segment of the vascular wall through which the pulse wave currently propagates in the ultrasound image; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization value is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; along the vascular axis direction at a position corresponding to the entire vascular wall of the ultrasound image, a preset image element is used to visualize the propagation speed of the detection point to which the pulse wave currently propagates, thereby generating and dynamically displaying a pulse wave propagation state diagram; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization value is the average propagation velocity of the pulse wave propagating along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the entire vascular wall in the ultrasound image; the average propagation velocity is represented by color, pattern or pattern density at a position corresponding to the entire vascular wall in the ultrasound image along the axial direction of the blood vessel, thereby generating and dynamically displaying a pulse wave propagation state diagram; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization quantity is the vascular wall hardness characterization quantity of each detection point on the vascular wall along the axial direction of the blood vessel; different vascular wall hardnesses are represented by different colors, patterns or pattern densities, or different vascular wall hardnesses are represented by waveform graphs, bar graphs or area graphs; a pulse wave propagation state diagram distributed along the axial direction of the blood vessel is generated and displayed.

3. A pulse wave imaging method, comprising:

transmitting ultrasonic waves to blood vessels of a target object for ultrasonic imaging;

receiving an ultrasonic echo returned by a blood vessel of the target object to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal;

Performing signal processing on the ultrasonic echo signal to obtain ultrasonic data;

Obtaining, based on the ultrasound data, a vascular wall hardness characterization amount reflected by a pulse wave propagating along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the vascular wall; and

The vascular wall hardness characterization value is the average propagation velocity of the pulse wave propagating along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the target segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image, and the target segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image includes a segment of the vascular wall through which the pulse wave currently propagates in the ultrasound image; along the axial direction of the blood vessel at a position corresponding to the vascular wall of the target segment, the average propagation velocity is visualized using a preset image element to generate a real-time displayed pulse wave propagation state diagram; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization value is the average propagation velocity of the pulse wave propagating along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the target segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image, and the target segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image includes a segment of the vascular wall through which the pulse wave currently propagates in the ultrasound image; along the axial direction of the blood vessel at a position corresponding to the entire segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image, the average propagation velocity is visualized using a preset image element to generate a real-time displayed pulse wave propagation state diagram; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization value is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; along the vascular axis direction at the position corresponding to each detection point in the ultrasound image, the propagation speed of each detection point is respectively visualized using preset image elements to generate a real-time displayed pulse wave propagation state diagram; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization value is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; along the vascular axis direction at a position corresponding to each detection point, when the pulse wave propagates to each detection point, a preset image element is used to visualize the pulse wave propagation speed corresponding to each detection point that the pulse wave has passed, and a real-time pulse wave propagation state diagram is generated; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization quantity is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; along the vascular axis direction at the position corresponding to each detection point of the target segment vascular wall of the ultrasound image, the propagation speed of each detection point is visualized using preset image elements to generate a real-time displayed pulse wave propagation state diagram; wherein the target segment vascular wall includes a segment of the vascular wall through which the pulse wave currently propagates in the ultrasound image, or the target segment vascular wall includes a segment of the vascular wall extending from the detection point to which the pulse wave currently propagates and through which the pulse wave has propagated; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization value is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; along the vascular axis direction at a position corresponding to the target segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image, a preset image element is used to visualize the propagation speed of the detection point to which the pulse wave currently propagates, and a real-time pulse wave propagation state diagram is generated; the target segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image includes a segment of the vascular wall through which the pulse wave currently propagates in the ultrasound image; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization value is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; along the vascular axis direction at a position corresponding to the entire vascular wall of the ultrasound image, a preset image element is used to visualize the propagation speed of the detection point to which the pulse wave currently propagates, and a real-time pulse wave propagation state diagram is generated; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization value is the average propagation velocity of the pulse wave propagating along the axial direction of the entire vascular wall in the ultrasound image; the average propagation velocity is represented by color, pattern or pattern density at a position corresponding to the entire vascular wall in the ultrasound image along the axial direction of the blood vessel to generate a real-time displayed pulse wave propagation state diagram; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization quantity is the vascular wall hardness characterization quantity of each detection point on the vascular wall along the axial direction of the blood vessel; different vascular wall hardnesses are represented by different colors, patterns or pattern densities, or different vascular wall hardnesses are represented by waveform graphs, bar graphs or area graphs; a real-time displayed pulse wave propagation state diagram distributed along the axial direction of the blood vessel is generated.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the vascular wall hardness characterization quantity at each detection point on the vascular wall along the axial direction of the blood vessel is the propagation speed of the pulse wave at each detection point on the vascular wall along the axial direction of the blood vessel.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein acquiring ultrasound data comprises:

Transmitting ultrasonic waves to the target object at a preset scanning frame rate, and receiving echoes of the ultrasonic waves to obtain ultrasonic echo signals;

The ultrasonic echo signal is at least subjected to beamforming processing to obtain ultrasonic data of the blood vessel of the target object.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein transmitting ultrasonic waves to the blood vessels of the target object comprises: transmitting ultrasonic waves to the target object at a preset scanning frame rate.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the scanning frame rate is at least 1000 Hz.

8. The method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein transmitting ultrasonic waves to the target object at a preset scanning frame rate comprises:

Unfocused ultrasound waves are emitted to the target object at a preset scanning frame rate, and a scanning area of the unfocused ultrasound waves emitted once covers a designated inspection area of the blood vessel.

9 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein the unfocused ultrasound wave comprises planar ultrasound wave or divergent ultrasound wave.

10. The method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein transmitting ultrasonic waves to the target object at a preset scanning frame rate comprises:

A plurality of focused ultrasound waves are emitted to the target object at a preset scanning frame rate, the number of emission of the plurality of focused ultrasound waves is lower than the preset number of emission of focused imaging, and the scanning area of the plurality of focused ultrasound waves covers a designated inspection area of the blood vessel.

11. The method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein transmitting ultrasonic waves to the target object at a preset scanning frame rate comprises:

At least one wide focused ultrasound wave is emitted to the target object at a preset scanning frame rate, and a scanning area of the at least one wide focused ultrasound wave covers a designated inspection area of the blood vessel.

12. The method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that obtaining the vascular wall hardness characterization amount reflected by the pulse wave propagating along the vascular axis on the vascular wall according to the ultrasonic data comprises:

Detecting the pulsation parameters of each detection point arranged along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasound image at different time points according to the ultrasound data;

Detecting a first time when a pulsation parameter of each detection point reaches a first predetermined threshold;

The propagation speed of the pulse wave on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasonic image is obtained according to the position of each detection point on the axial direction of the blood vessel and the first time corresponding to each detection point.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of detecting the pulsation parameters of each detection point arranged along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasound image at different time points according to the ultrasound data comprises:

Detecting a time point at which a pulsation parameter of a designated detection point reaches a predetermined specific value, and taking the time point as a starting point and extending forward and/or backward by a preset time to obtain a valid time period;

Obtain the pulsation parameters of each detection point at different time points within the effective time period.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the step of detecting the pulsation parameters of each detection point arranged along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasound image at different time points according to the ultrasound data comprises:

Detecting the position of the blood vessel wall in a frame of image data in the ultrasound data;

Calculate the radial displacement of each detection point arranged along the axial direction of the blood vessel wall at different time points according to the position of the blood vessel wall in different frames;

The pulsation parameters of each detection point at different time points are obtained according to the radial displacement of each detection point on the blood vessel wall.

15. The method as claimed in claim 12 is characterized in that the pulsation parameter is the displacement of a unilateral blood vessel wall, the radial movement speed of a unilateral blood vessel wall, the radial movement acceleration of a unilateral blood vessel wall, the change in blood vessel diameter, the change speed of blood vessel diameter or the change acceleration of blood vessel diameter.

16. The method of claim 3, wherein the ultrasonic imaging performed by emitting ultrasonic waves to the blood vessels of the target object comprises B imaging or M imaging, and the ultrasonic data comprises M data; and obtaining the vascular wall hardness characterization amount reflected by the pulse wave propagating along the vascular wall along the axial direction of the blood vessel according to the ultrasonic data comprises:

Detecting the radial displacement of each detection point arranged along the axial direction of the blood vessel wall at different time points according to the M data;

Detecting the first time when the radial displacement of each detection point reaches a second predetermined threshold;

17. The method of claim 3, wherein the ultrasonic imaging performed by emitting ultrasonic waves to the blood vessels of the target object comprises Doppler imaging; and obtaining, based on the ultrasonic data, a vascular wall hardness characterization amount reflected by a pulse wave propagating along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the vascular wall comprises:

Analyzing the Doppler information of the ultrasound data to obtain velocity information of each detection point arranged along the axial direction of the blood vessel wall at different time points;

Detecting the first time when the speed information of each detection point reaches a third predetermined threshold;

18. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that emitting ultrasonic waves to the blood vessels of the target object for ultrasonic imaging comprises: emitting ultrasonic waves to the blood vessels of the target object for B imaging, M imaging, TDI imaging or TVI imaging.

19. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 18, characterized in that obtaining the propagation velocity of the pulse wave on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasonic image according to the position of each detection point on the axial direction of the blood vessel and the first time corresponding to each detection point comprises:

Obtaining the average propagation velocity of the pulse wave on the entire blood vessel wall in the ultrasound image according to the position of each detection point on the blood vessel axis and the first time corresponding to each detection point; or

The propagation speed of the pulse wave at each detection point is obtained according to the position of two adjacent detection points on the axial direction of the blood vessel and the difference between the first time corresponding to the two adjacent detection points.

20. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 18, characterized in that the use of preset image elements to visually express the pulse wave propagation velocity corresponding to each detection point at the position corresponding to each detection point in the ultrasound image along the axial direction of the blood vessel comprises: using preset image elements to visually express the pulse wave propagation velocity corresponding to each detection point at the position corresponding to each detection point in the ultrasound image along the axial direction of the blood vessel when the first time corresponding to each detection point arrives.

21. The method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that, when the average propagation velocity is visualized using preset image elements at the position corresponding to the entire segment of the vascular wall along the axial direction of the blood vessel, the position corresponding to the target segment of the vascular wall is also indicated on the entire segment of the vascular wall.

22. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the method further comprises:

Determining the standard deviation of the propagation speed of each detection point; and

The pulse wave propagation state diagram and the standard deviation are displayed synchronously.

23. The method according to claim 1, 2 or 3 is characterized in that, when a preset image element is used to visualize the propagation speed of the detection point to which the pulse wave currently propagates at a position along the axial direction of the blood vessel corresponding to the entire blood vessel wall of the ultrasound image, the position where the pulse wave currently propagates is also indicated on the entire blood vessel wall of the pulse wave propagation state diagram.

24. The method of claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the image element comprises a color, a pattern or a density of a pattern.

25. The method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that, when performing visual expression, a value bar is also displayed synchronously to indicate the corresponding relationship between the size of the vascular wall hardness characterization value and the color, pattern or pattern density.

26. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, when displaying the pulse wave propagation state diagram, the pulse wave propagation state diagram and the ultrasound image are superimposed and displayed according to a preset weight; or the pulse wave propagation state diagram is displayed near the ultrasound image.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

detecting a modification of the weight by a user;

The pulse wave propagation state diagram and the superimposed display of the ultrasound image are updated according to the modified weights.

28. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the pulse wave propagation state diagram advances from the proximal end to the distal end along the vascular axis according to the pulse wave propagation time.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the pulse wave propagation state diagram advances in a horizontal direction according to the time of the pulse wave propagation.

30. The method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the propagation velocity of each detection point includes: an average value of the propagation velocity of each detection point arranged along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasound image or a propagation velocity value corresponding to the position of each detection point.

31. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that

The vascular wall hardness characterization amount is the average propagation velocity of the pulse wave propagating along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the target segment vascular wall of the ultrasound image, and the target segment vascular wall of the ultrasound image includes a segment of the blood vessel wall through which the pulse wave currently propagates in the ultrasound image; along the axial direction of the blood vessel at a position corresponding to the vascular wall of the target segment, the average propagation velocity is visualized using a preset image element, so as to generate and dynamically display a pulse wave propagation state diagram or generate a real-time displayed pulse wave propagation state diagram, including:

The average propagation velocity of the blood vessel wall segment through which the pulse wave passes when the pulse wave propagates along the axial direction of the blood vessel to each detection point on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasound image is obtained; at the position corresponding to the blood vessel wall segment through which the pulse wave passes along the axial direction of the blood vessel, the average propagation velocity is represented by color, pattern or pattern density, and a pulse wave propagation state diagram distributed along the axial direction of the blood vessel is generated and displayed, and the pulse wave propagation state diagram is updated according to the time when the pulse wave propagates to the detection point during display; wherein each detection point is arranged along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasound image;

The vascular wall hardness characterization amount is the average propagation velocity of the pulse wave propagating along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the target segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image, and the target segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image includes a segment of the vascular wall through which the pulse wave currently propagates in the ultrasound image; along the axial direction of the blood vessel at a position corresponding to the entire segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image, the average propagation velocity is visualized using a preset image element, so as to generate and dynamically display a pulse wave propagation state diagram or generate a real-time displayed pulse wave propagation state diagram, including:

The average propagation velocity of the blood vessel wall segment through which the pulse wave passes when the pulse wave propagates along the blood vessel axis to each detection point on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasound image; the average propagation velocity is represented by color, pattern or pattern density at a position along the blood vessel axis corresponding to the entire blood vessel wall in the ultrasound image, and a pulse wave propagation state diagram distributed along the blood vessel axis is generated and displayed, and the pulse wave propagation state diagram is updated according to the time when the pulse wave propagates to the detection point during display; wherein each detection point is arranged along the blood vessel axis on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasound image;

The vascular wall hardness characterization amount is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; along the vascular axis direction at the position corresponding to each detection point in the ultrasound image, the propagation speed of each detection point is respectively visualized using preset image elements, so as to generate and dynamically display a pulse wave propagation state diagram or generate a real-time displayed pulse wave propagation state diagram, including:

Acquire the propagation velocity of the pulse wave at each detection point on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasound image; use color, pattern or pattern density to represent the propagation velocity corresponding to each detection point at the position corresponding to each detection point in the ultrasound image along the axial direction of the blood vessel, and generate and display a pulse wave propagation state diagram distributed along the axial direction of the blood vessel; wherein each detection point is arranged along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasound image;

The vascular wall hardness characterization amount is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; along the vascular axis direction at a position corresponding to each detection point, when the pulse wave propagates to each detection point, a preset image element is used to visualize the pulse wave propagation speed corresponding to each detection point that the pulse wave has passed, thereby generating and dynamically displaying a pulse wave propagation state diagram or generating a real-time displayed pulse wave propagation state diagram, including:

Acquire the propagation velocity of each detection point on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasound image; at the position corresponding to each detection point on the blood vessel wall section through which the pulse wave passes along the axial direction of the blood vessel, use color, pattern or pattern density to represent the propagation velocity corresponding to each detection point, generate and display a pulse wave propagation state diagram distributed along the axial direction of the blood vessel, and update the pulse wave propagation state diagram according to the time when the pulse wave propagates to the detection point during display; wherein each detection point is arranged along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasound image;

The vascular wall hardness characterization amount is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; along the vascular axis direction at a position corresponding to each detection point of the target segment vascular wall of the ultrasound image, a preset image element is used to visualize the propagation speed of each detection point, so as to generate and dynamically display a pulse wave propagation state diagram or generate a real-time displayed pulse wave propagation state diagram, the target segment vascular wall includes a segment of the vascular wall extending from the detection point to which the pulse wave currently propagates and through which the pulse wave has propagated; including:

Acquire the propagation speed of the pulse wave at each detection point on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasound image; at the position corresponding to the current detection point where the pulse wave passes along the axial direction of the blood vessel, use color, pattern or pattern density to represent the propagation speed corresponding to the current detection point, generate and display a pulse wave propagation state diagram distributed along the axial direction of the blood vessel, and update the pulse wave propagation state diagram according to the time when the pulse wave propagates to the detection point during display; wherein each detection point is arranged along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasound image;

The vascular wall hardness characterization amount is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; along the vascular axis direction at a position corresponding to the entire vascular wall of the ultrasound image, a preset image element is used to visualize the propagation speed of the detection point to which the pulse wave currently propagates, thereby generating and dynamically displaying a pulse wave propagation state diagram or generating a real-time displayed pulse wave propagation state diagram, including:

Acquire the propagation velocity of the pulse wave at each detection point on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasound image; use color, pattern or pattern density to represent the propagation velocity corresponding to the current detection point at a position corresponding to the entire blood vessel wall in the ultrasound image along the axial direction of the blood vessel, generate and display a pulse wave propagation state diagram distributed along the axial direction of the blood vessel, and update the pulse wave propagation state diagram according to the time when the pulse wave propagates to the detection point during display; wherein each detection point is arranged along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasound image;

The vascular wall hardness characterization quantity is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; on the display interface, along the vascular axis direction at a position corresponding to the target segment vascular wall of the ultrasound image, a preset image element is used to visualize the propagation speed of the detection point to which the pulse wave currently propagates, thereby generating and dynamically displaying a pulse wave propagation state diagram or generating a real-time displayed pulse wave propagation state diagram; the target segment vascular wall of the ultrasound image includes a segment of the vascular wall through which the pulse wave currently propagates in the ultrasound image; including:

Acquire the propagation velocity of the pulse wave at each detection point on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasound image; use color, pattern or pattern density to represent the propagation velocity corresponding to the current detection point at the position corresponding to each detection point in the blood vessel wall segment passed by the pulse wave along the axial direction of the blood vessel, generate and display a pulse wave propagation state diagram distributed along the axial direction of the blood vessel, and update the pulse wave propagation state diagram according to the time when the pulse wave propagates to the detection point during display; wherein each detection point is arranged along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasound image.

32. The method as claimed in claim 31 is characterized in that it also includes: obtaining a second time when each detection point arranged along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasound image reaches the peak position based on the ultrasound data, and marking the detection point where the current peak is located with an icon on the pulse wave propagation state diagram.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein:

Obtaining the blood vessel wall hardness characterization amount reflected by the pulse wave propagating along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the blood vessel wall according to the ultrasound data includes: obtaining the propagation speed of each detection point arranged along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the blood vessel wall in the ultrasound image according to the ultrasound data;

The method further includes: pausing the updating of the pulse wave propagation state diagram according to a pause instruction input by the user; and displaying the propagation speed of the detection point closest to the cursor position on the paused pulse wave propagation state diagram according to the position of the cursor of the human-computer interaction device.

34. The method of claim 1, 2 or 3, further comprising:

When the pulse wave propagates through the entire blood vessel wall of the ultrasonic image, the propagation speed corresponding to each detection point is presented in the form of a picture.

35. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined time period is greater than or equal to one cardiac cycle.

36. An ultrasonic imaging device, comprising:

An ultrasonic probe is used to transmit ultrasonic waves to the blood vessel to be tested, and receive the echo of the ultrasonic waves to obtain an echo signal;

A transmitting circuit, used for stimulating the ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves to the detected blood vessel;

A receiving circuit, used for controlling the ultrasonic probe to receive the echo of the ultrasonic wave returned from the detected blood vessel to obtain an echo signal;

A human-computer interaction device for obtaining user input and performing visual output;

Processor for:

Acquire echo signals from the ultrasound probe and process them into ultrasound data;

generating an ultrasound image including axially arranged blood vessels according to the ultrasound data;

Obtaining, according to the ultrasound data, a vascular wall hardness characterization value reflected by a pulse wave propagating along the axial direction of the vascular wall;

Visually expressing the hardness characterization of the blood vessel wall along the axial direction of the blood vessel to generate a pulse wave propagation state diagram, and displaying the pulse wave propagation state diagram through the human-computer interaction device; wherein, visually expressing the hardness characterization of the blood vessel wall along the axial direction of the blood vessel to generate the pulse wave propagation state diagram includes:

The vascular wall hardness characterization amount is the average propagation velocity of the pulse wave propagating along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the target segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image, and the target segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image includes a segment of the vascular wall through which the pulse wave currently propagates in the ultrasound image; along the axial direction of the blood vessel at a position corresponding to the vascular wall of the target segment, the average propagation velocity is visualized using a preset image element to generate a pulse wave propagation state diagram; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization value is the average propagation velocity of the pulse wave propagating along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the target segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image, and the target segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image includes a segment of the vascular wall through which the pulse wave currently propagates in the ultrasound image; along the axial direction of the blood vessel at a position corresponding to the entire segment of the vascular wall of the ultrasound image, the average propagation velocity is visualized using a preset image element to generate a pulse wave propagation state diagram; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization value is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; along the vascular axis direction at the position corresponding to each detection point in the ultrasound image, the propagation speed of each detection point is respectively visualized using preset image elements to generate a pulse wave propagation state diagram; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization value is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; along the vascular axis direction at a position corresponding to each detection point, when the pulse wave propagates to each detection point, a preset image element is used to visualize the pulse wave propagation speed corresponding to each detection point that the pulse wave has passed, and a pulse wave propagation state diagram is generated; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization quantity is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; along the vascular axis direction at the position corresponding to each detection point of the target segment vascular wall of the ultrasound image, the propagation speed of each detection point is visualized using preset image elements to generate a pulse wave propagation state diagram; wherein the target segment vascular wall includes a segment of the vascular wall through which the pulse wave currently propagates in the ultrasound image, or the target segment vascular wall includes a segment of the vascular wall extending from the detection point to which the pulse wave currently propagates and through which the pulse wave has propagated; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization value is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; along the vascular axis direction at a position corresponding to the target segment vascular wall of the ultrasound image, a preset image element is used to visualize the propagation speed of the detection point to which the pulse wave currently propagates, and a pulse wave propagation state diagram is generated; the target segment vascular wall of the ultrasound image includes a segment of the vascular wall through which the pulse wave currently propagates in the ultrasound image; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization value is the propagation speed of the pulse wave on the vascular wall of the ultrasound image along the vascular axis to each detection point; along the vascular axis direction at a position corresponding to the entire vascular wall of the ultrasound image, a preset image element is used to visualize the propagation speed of the detection point to which the pulse wave currently propagates, and generate a pulse wave propagation state diagram; or,

The vascular wall hardness characterization value is the average propagation velocity of the pulse wave propagating along the axial direction of the blood vessel on the entire segment of the vascular wall in the ultrasound image; the average propagation velocity is represented by color, pattern or pattern density at a position corresponding to the entire segment of the vascular wall in the ultrasound image along the axial direction of the blood vessel to generate a pulse wave propagation state diagram; or,

37. The ultrasonic imaging device as described in claim 36 is characterized in that the vascular wall hardness characterization quantity at each detection point on the vascular wall along the axial direction of the blood vessel is the propagation speed of the pulse wave at each detection point on the vascular wall along the axial direction of the blood vessel.

38. The ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 36, wherein the processor acquires the echo signal from the ultrasonic probe and processes it into ultrasonic data, comprising:

The ultrasonic probe transmits ultrasonic waves to the target object at a preset scanning frame rate, and receives the echo of the ultrasonic waves to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal;

39. The ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 38, wherein the scanning frame rate is at least 1000 Hz.

40. The ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 38 or 39, wherein transmitting ultrasonic waves to the target object at a preset scanning frame rate through the ultrasonic probe comprises:

Unfocused ultrasound waves are emitted to the target object through an ultrasound probe at a preset scanning frame rate, and a scanning area of the unfocused ultrasound waves emitted once covers a designated inspection area of the blood vessel.

41. The ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 40, wherein the unfocused ultrasonic wave comprises a planar ultrasonic wave or a divergent ultrasonic wave.

42. The ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 38 or 39, wherein transmitting ultrasonic waves to the target object at a preset scanning frame rate through the ultrasonic probe comprises:

The ultrasound probe transmits multiple focused ultrasound waves to the target object at a preset scanning frame rate, the number of transmissions of the multiple focused ultrasound waves is lower than the preset number of transmissions of focused imaging, and the scanning area of the multiple focused ultrasound waves covers a part of the designated inspection area of the blood vessel.

43. The ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 38 or 39, wherein transmitting ultrasonic waves to the target object at a preset scanning frame rate through the ultrasonic probe comprises:

At least one wide focused ultrasound wave is transmitted to the target object through an ultrasound probe at a preset scanning frame rate, and a scanning area of the at least one wide focused ultrasound wave covers a designated inspection area of the blood vessel.

44. The ultrasonic imaging device as described in claim 36 is characterized in that when the processor uses preset image elements to visualize the average propagation velocity at a position corresponding to the entire segment of the vascular wall in the ultrasonic image along the axial direction of the blood vessel, it also indicates the position corresponding to the target segment of the vascular wall on the entire segment of the vascular wall in the pulse wave propagation state diagram.

45. The ultrasonic imaging device as described in claim 36 is characterized in that the processor is also used to determine the standard deviation of the propagation speed of each detection point; and synchronously display the pulse wave propagation state diagram and the standard deviation through the human-computer interaction device.

46. The ultrasonic imaging device as described in claim 36 is characterized in that when the processor uses preset image elements to visualize the propagation speed of the detection point to which the pulse wave currently propagates at a position corresponding to the entire blood vessel wall of the ultrasonic image along the axial direction of the blood vessel, it also indicates the current propagation position of the pulse wave on the entire blood vessel wall of the pulse wave propagation status diagram.

47. The ultrasonic imaging device of claim 36, wherein the processor visually expresses the vascular wall hardness characterization along the axial direction of the blood vessel further comprises:

The pulse wave propagation state diagram and the axially arranged blood vessels in the ultrasound image are superimposed and displayed according to preset weights; or the pulse wave propagation state diagram is displayed near the ultrasound image.

48. The ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 47, wherein the processor is further configured to:

detecting a user's modification of the weights through a human-computer interaction device;

The pulse wave propagation state diagram and the superimposed display of the axially arranged blood vessels in the ultrasound image are updated according to the modified weights.

49. An ultrasonic imaging device, comprising:

Memory, used to store programs;

A processor, configured to execute the program stored in the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 35.

50. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising a program, wherein the program can be executed by a processor to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 35.