PORTABLE ULTRASONIC MEDICAL APPLIANCE
Technical Field
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic medical device, and more particularly to a portable ultrasonic medical device.
Background Art
Currently, interest in health is on the rise. The desire of users or patients to be able to simply perform medical treatment or measurement by themselves anywhere and anytime and to continuously observe their current body states has been growing.
An ultrasonic wave is a high frequency sound wave of more than 20 KHz that exceeds a frequency band audible by humans . The ultrasonic wave is frequently employed in systems such as a sensor for detecting sound wave reflection and a cleaner for cleaning precision instruments, and a typical example in the medical field is ultrasonic diagnostic equipment. Further, the ultrasonic wave is used in various applications such as geological stratum exploration, a fish finder, a nondestructive inspector, etc., including communication in an environment that does not allow radio or
optical communication.
Among them, the ultrasonic diagnostic equipment in the medical field operates in the following manner. After a probe transmitting and receiving ultrasonic wave is placed on a body portion, it emits an ultrasonic wave, so that an ultrasonic pulse of about 10 MHz penetrates into the body and is incident on an organ such as a heart, and it is then partially reflected therefrom, returning to the probe. The time difference between the ultrasonic transmission and reception is converted to a distance value, which is imaged for diagnosing whether there is abnormality in the body. In addition to being used in the diagnostic field as ultrasonic diagnostic equipment, the ultrasonic wave is used as means of performing medical treatment by applying a specific energy to an affected part, thanks to its inherent properties.
Technology related to a small-size ultrasonic diagnostic device was disclosed in Korean Patent Publication Nos. 2002- 0043561 and 2002-0060573.
However, solutions proposed by the publications are designed only for the convenience of an operator such as a doctor or a nurse who performs an ultrasonic diagnosis, and none has proposed a technical spirit for allowing patients to easily perform ultrasonic diagnosis by themselves in conducting daily life. In detail, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the publications
have proposed an ultrasonic diagnostic device that is composed of a single unit, or is divided into two units, for example a main unit and a display unit, or divided into a first unit including a transducer, a beam former and an image processor, and a second unit including a display, where the units are connected to each other though a wire cable. One of the two units is grasped by one palm of a doctor, and the other unit is grasped by the other palm and then moved along the body surface of a patient . However, in the case where the ultrasonic diagnostic device is composed of a single unit, it is difficult for a patient himself or herself to bring it into contact with a required portion of his or her body and maintain the contact state for a sufficient time to perform the ultrasonic diagnosis or treatment. Additionally, it is troublesome for the patient to manipulate the device and difficult to know the currently displayed state. Further, also in the case where the device is divided into two units by a wire cable, it is troublesome and inconvenient for the patient to carry the device with him or her, since in order for the patient to use the device by himself or herself, the wire cable should be long enough that one unit thereof can be easily brought into contact with any portion of his or her body.
In addition, in the ultrasonic medical instrument field of the prior art, there is no trial to allow a single
portable device to provide an ultrasonic diagnosis function and an ultrasonic treatment function, while integrating them with each other. Both of the two functions use ultrasonic waves, and if he or she is interested in health, a user (or a patient) would desire to simply and conveniently use a single portable device in order to perform the ultrasonic diagnosis and treatment by himself or herself.
Further, a probe composed of an array of ultrasonic vibrators is generally connected to both a transmitter circuit for transmitting signals to at least one specific ultrasonic vibrator and a receiver circuit for receiving signals reflected from at least one ultrasonic vibrator appointed to be paired with said at least one specific ultrasonic vibrator. However, in the prior art, since paths for signals to be received and transmitted are provided individually for each of the ultrasonic vibrators, the transmitter and receiver circuits are complicated in configuration, enlarged in size, and increased in cost, so that it is not suitable for a patient to carry it for performing diagnosis by himself or herself.
On the other hand, technology for applying local wireless communication such as infrared communication or Bluetooth communication to a small-size portable device is being developed.
Korean Patent Publication No. 2001-0018710 has disclosed technology for applying Bluetooth communication to a mobile communication terminal. As is well known, Bluetooth is a wireless communication scheme for replacing wired communication or infrared communication in a local area. Ericsson company has proposed the Bluetooth protocol, in which a main subject of communication is assumed as a master in a local area, and at the request of the master, communication is performed with other Bluetooth modules according to the Bluetooth protocol.
As shown in Fig. 4, such a Bluetooth module 210 includes an RF transmitter 211, an RF receiver 212, a baseband processor 213, and a link controller 213. The baseband processor 213 and the link controller 214 of the Bluetooth module 210 are connected to a controller 221 of a mobile communication terminal through an HCI (Host Control Interface) to transmit and receive HCI packets, whereby a control command, an operation result thereof, user transmission/reception data are received and transmitted. An RS232C, a USB and a standard PC interface may be used as the HCI, and the HCI packets are classified into command, event and data packets .
The idea of incorporating additional optional circuits into a battery pack has been proposed in order to extend the functions of a mobile communication terminal. Japanese Patent
Publication No. 9-270836 published on October 14, 1997 has disclosed an additional device implemented as a radio receiver circuit embedded in a battery pack that is detachably coupled to a mobile communication terminal. Korean Patent Publication No. 2001-19664, filed by Kim, Tea-Jin et al . , and published on March 15, 2001 has described an audio reproducing device that includes an MP3 codec and a flash memory module incorporated into a battery pack of a mobile communication terminal, and is controlled by a user interface of the terminal. The present applicant has observed that the incorporation of additional functions into a battery pack makes it possible to implement a large number of functions easily without hardware modification of the terminal body. The present applicant has also noticed that daily and continuous treatment and data collection is important for the functionality of medical treatment and diagnosis, as for skin beautification and in the measurement of body fat based on bioimpedance . Thus, the present applicant has filed Korean Patent Application Nos. 2002-53004, 2002-52996, 2002-52995, and 2002-52994 on September 3, 2002 which have described battery pack devices that are coupled to mobile communication terminals and can support low frequency treatment, supersonic cosmetic treatment, bioimpedance measurement, etc. These devices each incorporate necessary probes and driving circuits related thereto into a battery pack, communicate with the main
body of a mobile communication terminal, and control the circuits inside the battery pack, through an application program executed in the terminal, to support the additional functions described above. Further, the present applicant has studied how to provide an ultrasonic medical device which minimizes the burden on a user in bringing, on his or her own, a probe into contact with a desired body portion, and whereby easy portability, convenient manipulation, continuous observation, and manufacturing cost reduction can be achieved in conducting daily life.
Furthermore, the present applicant has studied how to implement a probe module and an interface between the probe module and the mobile communication terminal in order to incorporate such an ultrasonic medical device into a mobile communication terminal. In addition, the present applicant has studied how to enable the incorporation while minimizing changes to the existing hardware of the terminal, by providing an additional circuit to the battery pack as needed.
Disclosure of the Invention
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the
present invention to provide a portable ultrasonic medical device which minimizes the burden on a user in bringing, on his or her own, a probe into contact with a desired body portion, and whereby easy portability, convenient manipulation, continuous observation, and manufacturing cost reduction can be achieved in conducting daily life.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a portable ultrasonic medical device that allows a single portable device to provide an ultrasonic diagnosis function and an ultrasonic treatment function, integrated with each other.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a portable ultrasonic medical device that minimizes the burden on a user in bringing, on his or her own, a probe into contact with a desired body portion.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a portable ultrasonic medical device that enables the incorporation of an ultrasonic medical function into a mobile communication terminal while minimizing changes to the existing hardware of the terminal.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a portable ultrasonic medical device that is smaller in size and reduced in manufacturing cost.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished
by the provision of a portable ultrasonic medical device wherein a single portable device is provided with an ultrasonic diagnosis unit and an ultrasonic treatment unit that use the same probe. Accordingly, both of ultrasonic diagnosis and ultrasonic treatment can be performed using a single portable device to meet the demand of users for simple and convenient use. In particular, the users can also check immediately the result of ultrasonic treatment (performed by themselves) through the ultrasonic diagnosis.
Preferably, the ultrasonic diagnosis unit includes transmitter/receiver circuits for transmitting a diagnostic pulse to an ultrasonic vibrator of the probe, and receiving a reflection signal from the ultrasonic vibrator; a reflection signal detecting and focusing unit for detecting an ultrasonic component from a received reflection signal, and focusing it; a timing controller for controlling focus timing and time gain of the received reflection signal; and an analysis unit for analyzing the focused reflection signal to provide the ultrasonic diagnosis result.
Accordingly, the ultrasonic treatment unit has a simple configuration that makes it possible to output a pulse signal to a desired depth of a human body and obtain the attenuated amount of a reflection signal corresponding to the pulse signal, thereby allowing the provision of a
handy ultrasonic medical device which is not expensive and is also easy to carry and manipulate.
Preferably, the analysis unit provides the ultrasonic analysis result by comparing information of an average attenuated amount of at least one of moisture, epidermis, fat and bone density with an attenuated amount of the focused reflection signal .
Accordingly, it is possible to provide an analysis result simply by comparing the attenuated amount of an actual reflection signal with the average value, and the user can receive various ultrasonic analyses of moisture, epidermis, fat, bone density, etc., from the portable device .
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a probe module comprising: a first wireless communication unit capable of communicating wirelessly with a corresponding external wireless communication unit; a probe controller for receiving a control signal for controlling the operation of transmitting a diagnostic pulse and a control signal for controlling the operation of receiving a reflection signal from the external wireless communication unit, which are inputted from the first wireless communication unit, and controlling the transmission/reception operations according to the received control signals; transmitter/receiver circuits for
transmitting a diagnostic pulse to an ultrasonic vibrator of a probe, and receiving a reflection signal from the ultrasonic vibrator, under the control of the probe controller; and the probe including the ultrasonic vibrator, said probe being brought into contact with a human body.
Accordingly, only three elements, the first being an element for ultrasonic transmitter/receiver circuits, the second for controlling the circuits and the third for communicating wirelessly with the outside, are provided in a probe module, so that it is possible to minimize the burden on a user in bringing, on his or her own, the probe into contact with a desired body portion.
Preferably, the probe module further comprises an ultrasonic treatment unit for generating a treatment ultrasonic signal and outputting it through the probe, and wherein, upon receipt of a control signal for controlling the operation of generating a treatment ultrasonic signal from the external wireless communication unit, which is inputted from the first wireless communication unit, the probe controller further controls said operation for generating the treatment ultrasonic signal .
Accordingly, the user can conveniently perform ultrasonic treatment by himself or herself by using the probe module having such characteristics. In accordance with yet another aspect of the present
invention, there is provided a portable ultrasonic medical device comprising a main body and a probe module, communicating wirelessly with each other, said probe module including: a first wireless communication unit for communicating wirelessly with the main body; a probe controller for receiving a control signal for controlling the operation of transmitting a diagnostic pulse and a control signal for controlling the operation of receiving a reflection signal from the main body, which are inputted from the first wireless communication unit, and controlling the transmission/reception operations according to the received control signals, and then transmitting a received reflection signal to the main body through the first wireless communication unit; transmitter/receiver circuits for transmitting a diagnostic pulse to a corresponding ultrasonic vibrator of a probe, and receiving a reflection signal from a corresponding ultrasonic vibrator, under control of the probe controller; and the probe including the ultrasonic vibrator, said probe being brought into contact with a human body, said main body including: a user manipulation unit; a display unit; a second wireless communication unit for communicating wirelessly with the probe module; a main body controller for outputting manipulation guide information through the display unit, and transmitting said control signal for controlling the
operation of transmitting the diagnostic pulse and said control signal for controlling the operation of receiving the reflection signal to the probe module through the second wireless communication unit according to a selection of a user manipulation signal inputted from the user manipulation unit, and further displaying an ultrasonic diagnosis result on the display unit; a reflection signal detecting and focusing unit for detecting an ultrasonic component from a received reflection signal inputted through the second wireless communication unit, and focusing it; a timing controller for controlling focus timing and time gain of the received reflection signal; and an analysis unit for analyzing the focused reflection signal to provide the ultrasonic diagnosis result . Accordingly, only three elements, the first being an element for ultrasonic transmitter/receiver circuits, the second for controlling the circuits and the third for communicating wirelessly with a main body, are provided in a probe module, while elements for detecting/focusing, analysis, display and manipulation are provided in the main body, so that it is possible to minimize the burden on a user in bringing, on his or her own, the probe into contact with a desired body portion, and further to achieve easy portability and convenient manipulation in conducting daily life.
In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable ultrasonic medical device comprising: a battery pack detachably coupled to a main body of a mobile communication terminal; and a probe module, said probe module including: a first wireless communication unit for communicating wirelessly with the battery pack; a probe controller for receiving a control signal for controlling the operation of transmitting a diagnostic pulse and a control signal for controlling the operation of receiving a reflection signal from the battery pack, which are inputted from the first wireless communication unit, and controlling the transmission/reception operations according to the received control signals, and then transmitting a received reflection signal to the battery pack through the first wireless communication unit; transmitter/receiver circuits for transmitting a diagnostic pulse to a corresponding ultrasonic vibrator of a probe, and receiving a reflection signal from a corresponding ultrasonic vibrator, under control of the probe controller; and the probe including the ultrasonic vibrator, said probe being brought into contact with a human body, said battery pack including: a communication interface unit for interfacing with the terminal main body; a second wireless communication unit for communicating wirelessly with the probe module; a pack
controller for transmitting a corresponding control signal for controlling the operation of transmitting a diagnostic pulse and a corresponding control signal for controlling the operation of receiving a reflection signal to the probe module through the second wireless communication unit, in response to an ultrasonic diagnosis operation command from the terminal main body, and transmitting ultrasonic diagnosis result information to the terminal main body through the communication interface unit; a reflection signal detecting and focusing unit for detecting an ultrasonic component from a received reflection signal inputted through the second wireless communication unit, and focusing it; a timing controller for controlling focus timing and time gain of the received reflection signal; and an analysis unit for analyzing the focused reflection signal to provide the ultrasonic diagnosis result .
Accordingly, only three elements, the first being an element for ultrasonic transmitter/receiver circuits, the second for controlling the circuits and the third for communicating wirelessly with a main body, are provided in a probe module, while elements for detecting/focusing and analysis are provided in a battery pack. Therefore, the probe module is simplified in configuration, thereby minimizing the burden on a user in bringing, on his or her own, the probe into contact with a desired body portion, and
the ultrasonic medical function can be incorporated into a mobile communication terminal, thereby achieving easy portability, convenient manipulation, and convenience of continuous observation while minimizing the modification of the mobile communication terminal main body. Since the existing manipulation and display units of the mobile communication terminal are utilized, the implementation can be achieved at low cost, and it is possible to continuously observe the analysis result through a mobile communication terminal that the user always carries. A user interface for the ultrasonic medical function may be easily implemented in a mobile communication terminal in the form of a virtual machine based application such as a GVM (General Virtual Machine) .
Preferably, the terminal main body further includes: an external communication interface unit being coupled to the communication interface unit included in the battery pack to transmit and receive a corresponding signal; and a remote analysis unit for transmitting the ultrasonic diagnosis result information, received through the external communication interface unit, to a host computer through a wireless data communication unit, and controlling a display unit to display an analysis result from the host computer, which is inputted through the wireless data communication unit, wherein manipulation guide information is outputted through the display unit, and the ultrasonic diagnosis result information
inputted through the external communication interface unit is outputted through the display unit, and further, in accordance with a selection of a user manipulation signal inputted from a manipulation unit, a command to perform a corresponding operation is transmitted to the battery pack through the external communication interface unit .
Accordingly, since ultrasonic diagnosis data of a number of subscribers is concentrated on a remote host to be managed thereby, while the history is managed on a subscriber- by-subscriber basis, it is possible to utilize the ultrasonic diagnosis data effectively. Further, such ultrasonic diagnosis data is analyzed by using an expert analysis system or by committing it to an expert, and the analyzed result is then provided to a user through a mobile communication terminal or the like, so that anytime and anywhere the user can check and see the condition of each of his or her body portions and can determine treatment methods thereof for the future .
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable ultrasonic medical device comprising: a probe including an array of ultrasonic vibrators; a transmitter circuit for transmitting a signal to at least one predetermined ultrasonic vibrator; and a receiver circuit for receiving a reflection signal from at least one ultrasonic vibrator appointed to be paired with
said at least one predetermined ultrasonic vibrator, wherein the transmitter circuit provides a path through which a signal is transmitted to a single corresponding ultrasonic vibrator, and the receiver circuit provides a path through which a signal is received from a single corresponding ultrasonic vibrator, and the device further comprises a switching unit for connecting one of the transmitter and receiver circuits to a single corresponding ultrasonic vibrator . Accordingly, differently from the prior art, a path through which a signal is transmitted or received is not provided separately for each ultrasonic vibrator, while only one transmission path and one reception path are provided for all of the ultrasonic vibrators. Therefore, the transmitter and receiver circuits are simplified in configuration, and reduced both in size and in manufacturing cost, so that the device can be used by a patient to perform a simple diagnosis by himself or herself while carrying it. It might be difficult for such a transmitter/receiver circuit configuration to perform correct focusing on a moving object (for example, moving organs inside a human body) , but it can be effectively utilized in diagnosing moisture, epidermis, fat, bone density, etc., which are diagnosis targets in the embodiment of the present invention.
Brief Description of the Drawings
The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 shows an example of a small-size ultrasonic diagnostic device in the prior art;
Fig. 2 shows another example of the small-size ultrasonic diagnostic device in the prior art; Fig. 3a shows the configuration of a transmit focusing portion using a phase array in the prior art;
Fig. 3b shows the configuration of a receive focusing portion using a phase array in the prior art;
Fig. 4 shows the configuration of a mobile communication terminal equipped with a Bluetooth module;
Fig. 5 shows an example of a portable ultrasonic medical device according to the present invention;
Fig. 6 shows an example of a reflection wave detection and focusing unit according to the present invention; Fig. 7 shows another example of the portable ultrasonic medical device according to the present invention;
Fig. 8 shows still another example of the portable ultrasonic medical device according to the present
invention; and
Fig. 9 shows yet another example of the portable ultrasonic medical device according to the present invention.
Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
The above and other aspects of the present invention will be more apparent from preferred embodiments of the present invention, described below with reference to the accompanying drawings . The following description will be given in detail so as to allow those skilled in the art to easily understand and realize the present invention through the preferred embodiments .
Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a portable ultrasonic medical device according to the present invention.
As shown in this drawing, the portable ultrasonic medical device includes a display unit 517; a manipulation unit 519; a probe 501 which includes an ultrasonic vibrator
(not shown) and is brought into contact with a human body; an ultrasonic diagnosis unit 502 connected to the probe 501; an ultrasonic treatment unit 503 connected to the probe 501; and a controller 515 operating as follows. The controller 515 outputs manipulation guide information through the
display unit 517, and controls the ultrasonic diagnosis unit 502 and the ultrasonic treatment unit 503, according to the selection of a user manipulation signal inputted through the manipulation unit 519, and further displays an ultrasonic diagnosis result on the display unit 517.
The configuration of each of the small-size ultrasonic treatment and diagnosis units 503 and 502 have already been known in the art before the filing date of the present invention, so there will be no particular difficulty for those skilled in the art in understanding and realizing an embodiment thereof with reference to the block diagram of Fig. 5.
However, the configuration of Fig. 5 is characterized in that the two elements 502 and 503 are implemented in a single portable device to commonly use the probe 501 and also commonly use the controller 515, the display unit 517 and the manipulation unit 519.
The manipulation unit 519 includes a keypad for allowing a user to input manipulation data of power on/off, function selection and screen menu search, and other required manipulation data. Alternatively, the manipulation unit 519 may be incorporated into the display unit 517 to be provided in the touch panel form, or may be an input device based on voice recognition. The present invention should be construed broadly to include all of them.
The display unit 517 is a liquid crystal display (LCD) in the preferred embodiment. The display unit 517 outputs a menu for manipulation and guide sentences. In addition, the display unit 517 can display analyzed ultrasonic values or remotely analyzed diagnosis information. Although not specified by a reference numeral, a speaker outputting a beep sound or voice guidance may be embedded in the device. The portable device may further include a battery power supply (not shown) to supply power thereto. The ultrasonic treatment unit 503 may be implemented by ultrasonic generators fabrication technology that can implement them in small size, as disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 2002-0047448 for example.
According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ultrasonic diagnosis unit 502 includes transmitter/receiver circuits 505 and 507 for transmitting a diagnostic pulse to an ultrasonic vibrator (not shown) of the probe 501 and receiving a signal reflected from the ultrasonic vibrator; a reflection signal detecting and focusing unit 509 for detecting an ultrasonic component from the received reflection signal, and focusing it; a timing controller 511 for controlling focus timing and time gain of the received reflection signal; and an analysis unit 513 for analyzing the focused reflection signal to provide the ultrasonic diagnosis result.
The probe 501 includes an array of a plurality of ultrasonic vibrators, and is brought into contact with a body portion of the user.
The transmitter/receiver circuits 505 and 507 provide a path through which a diagnostic pulse is transmitted to a corresponding ultrasonic vibrator (not shown) provided in the probe 501, and provides a path through which a reflection signal is received from a corresponding ultrasonic vibrator. The transmitter circuit 505 may include a pulse generator for generating a pulse to be outputted to a corresponding ultrasonic vibrator, according to a control signal from the timing controller 511, a power amplifier for amplifying the generated pulse, etc., which are not shown. The receiver circuit 507 may include a TGC amplifier for performing time gain amplification, according to a control signal from the timing controller 511, so as to compensate ultrasonic energy scattering/attenuation occurring when a reflection signal inputted from an ultrasonic vibrator, appointed to be paired with an ultrasonic vibrator from which the diagnostic pulse is outputted, deeply penetrates into the body's organs.
The reflection wave detecting/focusing unit 509 detects and focuses an ultrasonic component of the received reflection signal. As shown in Fig. 6, the reflection wave
detecting/focusing unit 509 may include a mixer 601 for performing orthogonal mixing of a received reflection signal inputted from the receiver circuit 507; an analog/digital converter 605 for converting the received reflection signal after being subjected to the orthogonal mixing into digital data; and a focusing processor 607 for performing a focusing process in response to a focusing control signal from the timing controller 511.
For example, the mixer 601 multiplies the received reflection signal by a reference frequency, and transfers two heterodyne low-frequency signals according to the difference frequency between the frequency of the reflection signal and the reference frequency, which are identified as an I-signal having a zero phase shift and a Q-signal having a 90° phase shift.
For example, the focusing processor 607 may be a field programmable gate array. For example, the gate array 607 has an embedded memory and a signal processing function. The gate array 607 further has a function to generate a time- gain correction ramp profile and generate a driving profile. The memory provided in the array 607 has a function to store an input signal at least for a time sufficient to collect data of one frame, as a correction time directly proportional to the penetration depth of an ultrasonic energy in an image target.
The reflection wave detecting/focusing unit 509 can be implemented in various forms .
For example, the mixer 601 and a filter 603 multiply a received signal having a shifted signal component by a reference frequency, and pass it through a low pass filter to extract only a shifted frequency. These circuits have two channels and the reference frequency changes the phase by 90°. The combination of the mixer 601 and 603 is called an "orthogonal detection circuit" . The filter 603 may further include a band pass filter structure. In addition, in order to perform the focusing, the A/D converter 605 may receive a range gate control signal from the timing controller 511 to perform a sample and hold process, thereby performing the focusing. Referring to Fig. 5, the analysis unit 513 analyzes the focused reflection signal and provides an ultrasonic diagnosis result thereof. In detail, the analysis unit 513 performs ultrasonic diagnosis by analyzing the attenuated amount of a reflection signal and a selected ultrasonic diagnosis target (moisture, epidermis, fat, bone density, etc.). In the preferred embodiment, the analysis unit 513 may provide the ultrasonic analysis result by comparing the information of an average attenuated amount of at least one of the moisture, epidermis, fat and bone density with the attenuated amount of the focused reflection signal.
Fig. 7 shows another, example of a portable ultrasonic medical device according to the present invention. The following description will be given with reference to Figs . 5 and 6. As shown in Fig. 7, the portable ultrasonic medical device includes a main body 720 and a probe module 710 that communicate wirelessly with each other. The probe module 710 includes a first wireless communication unit 704 capable of communicating wirelessly with the main body 720; a probe controller 702 for receiving a control signal for controlling the operation of transmitting a diagnostic pulse and a control signal for controlling the operation of receiving a reflection signal from the main body 720, which are inputted from the first wireless communication unit 704, and controlling the transmission/reception operations according to the received control signals, and then transmitting a received reflection signal to the main body 720 through the first wireless communication unit 704; transmitter/receiver circuits 705 and 707 for transmitting a diagnostic pulse to a corresponding ultrasonic vibrator of a probe 701, and receiving a reflection signal from a corresponding ultrasonic vibrator, under the control of the probe controller 702; and the probe 701 which includes the ultrasonic vibrator and is brought into contact with a human body. The main body 720 includes a user manipulation unit
719; a display unit 717; a second wireless communication unit 706 for communicating wirelessly with the probe module 710; a main body controller 715 for outputting manipulation guide information through the display unit 717, and transmitting said control signal for controlling the operation of transmitting the diagnostic pulse and said control signal for controlling the operation of receiving the reflection signal to the probe module 710 through the second wireless communication unit 706 according to the selection of a user manipulation signal inputted from the user manipulation unit 719, and further displaying an ultrasonic diagnosis result on the display unit 717; a reflection signal detecting and focusing unit 709 for detecting an ultrasonic component from a received reflection signal inputted through the second wireless communication unit 706, and focusing it; a timing controller 711 for controlling focus timing and time gain of the received reflection signal; and an analysis unit 713 for analyzing the focused reflection signal to provide the ultrasonic diagnosis result.
A description of the same parts as those of Figs. 5 and 6 will be omitted in the description of Fig. 7.
While all elements in Fig. 5 are provided in a single portable device, the device of Fig. 7 is characterized in that it is divided into the probe module 710 and the main body 720
that communicate wirelessly with each other, differently from that of Fig . 5.
Namely, the probe module 710 includes the probe 701, and further includes the transmitter/receiver circuits 705 and 707 associated with a physical connection with the probe 701, and the first wireless communication unit 704 serving to perform wireless communication with the main body 720. In addition, the probe module 710 includes the probe controller 702 that controls the transmitter/receiver circuits 705 and 707 according to the operation control signals from the main body 720, which are inputted from the first wireless communication unit 704, and that further converts a received reflection signal inputted from the receiver circuit 707 into a digital signal, and then transmits it to the main body 720 through the wireless communication unit 704.
The main body 720 includes the elements other than the probe 701 and transmitter/receiver circuits 705 and 707, i.e., includes the main body controller 715 for controlling the main body 720, the display unit 717, the manipulation unit 719, the timing controller 711, the reflection signal detecting/focusing unit 709 and the analysis unit 713. In addition, the main body 720 includes the second wireless communication unit 706 for communicating wirelessly with the probe module 710. Each of the first wireless communication unit 704 and
the second wireless communication unit 706 that correspond to each other may be a Bluetooth module. The following description will be given upon the assumption that each of the wireless communication units 704 and 706 is a Bluetooth module .
The Bluetooth modules 704 and 706 provide a wireless link that allows the two parts corresponding to each other to transmit and receive data from and to each other. The Bluetooth communication supports a point-to-point connection and a multipoint connection between devices in a local area (less than about 10m) through frequency hopping CDMA communication. Transfer rates may be as high as 1 Mbps, and the data transmission is performed through ACL (Asynchronous ConnectionLess) and SCO (Synchronous Connection Oriented) links. In the present invention, the wireless link may also be implemented through one of serial port profiles supported by the Bluetooth, for example through a LAN access profile or a CT profile. The Bluetooth modules 704 and 706 has already been commercialized and developed fully before the filing date of the present invention, and Bluetooth modules currently provided have a small size suitable for a portable device of very small size. The adoption of Bluetooth modules 704 and 706 as communication modules is advantageous in that it minimizes the probability of data error occurrence between medical devices due to electromagnetic interference. In
addition, since Bluetooth modules are expected to be widely spread among small-size consumer devices, the adoption of a Bluetooth module will also make it easier to connect with other devices. Since, in the actual implementation, each of the Bluetooth modules 704 and 706 is implemented by a signal processor and software module, each of the probe controller 702 and the main body controller 715 may also be implemented physically by another software module in the same signal processor as that of the Bluetooth modules 704 and 706. The probe controller 702 receives a control signal for controlling the operation of transmitting a diagnostic pulse and a control signal for controlling the operation of receiving a reflection signal from the main body 720, which are inputted from the first Bluetooth module 704, and controls the transmission/reception operations according to the received control signals. In addition, the probe controller 702 transmits a received reflection signal inputted from the receiver circuit 707 to the main body 720 through the first Bluetooth module 704. The main body controller 715 transmits the control signal for controlling the operation of transmitting a diagnostic pulse and the control signal for controlling the operation of receiving a reflection signal to the probe module 710 through the second Bluetooth module 706, according to the selection of a user manipulation signal inputted from the user
manipulation unit 719. After the detecting and focusing processes (refer to 709 and 711) have been completed, the main body controller 715 displays the ultrasonic analysis result on the display unit 717. Fig. 8 shows another example of a portable ultrasonic medical device according to the present invention. The following description will be given with reference to Figs . 6 and 7.
As shown in Fig. 8, the portable ultrasonic medical device according to the present invention includes a battery pack 820 detachably coupled to a main body 830 of a mobile communication terminal; and a probe module 810. The probe module 810 includes a first wireless communication unit 804 for communicating wirelessly with the battery pack 820; a probe controller 802 for receiving a control signal for controlling the operation of transmitting a diagnostic pulse and a control signal for controlling the operation of receiving a reflection signal from the battery pack 820, which are inputted from the first wireless communication unit 804, and controlling the transmission/reception operations according to the received control signals, and then transmitting a received reflection signal to the battery pack 820 through the first wireless communication unit 804; transmitter/receiver circuits 805 and 807 for transmitting a diagnostic pulse to a corresponding
ultrasonic vibrator of a probe 801, and receiving a reflection signal from a corresponding ultrasonic vibrator, under the control of the probe controller 802; and the probe 801 which includes the ultrasonic vibrator and is brought into contact with a human body. The battery pack 820 includes a communication interface unit 808 for interfacing with the terminal main body 830; a second wireless communication unit 806 for communicating wirelessly with the probe module 810; a pack controller 815 for transmitting a corresponding control signal for controlling the operation of transmitting a diagnostic pulse and a corresponding control signal for controlling the operation of receiving a reflection signal to the probe module 810 through the second wireless communication unit 806, in response to an ultrasonic diagnosis operation command from the terminal main body 830, and transmitting ultrasonic diagnosis result information to the terminal main body 830 through the communication interface unit 808; a reflection signal detecting and focusing unit 809 for detecting an ultrasonic component from a received reflection signal inputted through the second wireless communication unit 806, and focusing it; a timing controller 811 for controlling focus timing and time gain of the received reflection signal; and an analysis unit 813 for analyzing the focused reflection signal to provide the ultrasonic diagnosis result.
A description of the same parts as those of Figs. 6 and 7 will be omitted in the description of Fig. 8.
The example of Fig. 8 differs from that of Fig. 7 in that the elements in the main body shown in Fig. 7 are embedded in the battery pack 820, and user interfaces such as the display unit and the manipulation unit are not separately provided, while utilizing the terminal main body 830.
According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the communication interface unit 808 is a USB port, which is physically implemented as connection points on a coupling surface of the battery pack 820 to be combined with the main body 830. Preferably, the connection points are arranged near a power supply terminal (not shown) . A main chip adopted in a mobile phone improved recently, for example an MSM5000 chip, supports a USB interface therein. If a user joins the battery pack 820 and the terminal main body 830 together in a general manner, two interfaces, one being provided on the coupling surface of the battery pack 820 and the other provided on a corresponding surface (not shown) of the mobile communication terminal, are connected to each other, so that the communication interfaces are conveniently physically coupled to each other.
When an ultrasonic diagnosis operation command is inputted from the terminal main body 830 through the communication interface unit 808, the pack controller 815
transmits a corresponding control signal for controlling the operation of transmitting a diagnostic pulse and a control signal for controlling the operation of receiving a reflection signal to the probe module 810 through the second wireless communication unit 806. In addition, after the detecting and focusing processes have been completed (refer to 809 and 811) , the main body controller 815 transmits the ultrasonic analysis result (refer to 813) to the terminal main body 830 through the second wireless communication unit 806. A battery cell 812 is a battery cell generally included in the battery pack 820.
According to a supplementary aspect of the present invention, the main body 830 of the mobile communication terminal further includes an external communication interface unit 816 being coupled to the communication interface unit 808 included in the battery pack 820 to transmit and receive a corresponding signal; and a remote analysis unit (not shown) for transmitting the ultrasonic diagnosis result information, received through the external communication interface unit 816, to a host computer (not shown) through a wireless data communication unit 822, and controlling a display unit 824 to display an analysis result from the host computer, which is inputted through the wireless data communication unit 822. In addition, manipulation guide information is outputted through the display unit 824, and the ultrasonic diagnosis result
information inputted through the external communication interface unit 816 is outputted through the display unit 824. Further, in accordance with the selection of a user manipulation signal inputted from a manipulation unit 826, a command to perform a corresponding operation is transmitted to the battery pack through the external communication interface unit 816.
The wireless data communication unit 822 may be a mobile communication processor. First, assuming it as a mobile communication terminal, the wireless data communication unit 822 is described as follows. The mobile communication processor 822 processes a signal transmitted and received to and from a base station (not shown) . The mobile communication processor 822 wirelessly processes the signal transmitted and received to and from the base station, demodulates the received signal wirelessly processed, and modulates a signal to be transmitted. The mobile communication processor 822 performs the modulation/demodulation operations in a predetermined mobile communication scheme, and, for example, performs CDMA modulation/demodulation operations such as channel coding/decoding, orthogonal coding/decoding, etc. The mobile communication processor 822 handles data transmission and reception to and from a wireless data communication network (for example, a wireless Internet server) associated with the mobile communication network. In addition, as
circumstances require, the wireless data communication unit 822 may be a wireless LAN communication unit. In this case, the wireless communication is performed in a more restricted region. The user manipulation unit 826 receives a signal input corresponding to a manipulation of the user, and generates corresponding manipulation data, which may be a keypad, a touch panel, a voice recognition unit, a cursive script recognition unit, etc. The display unit 824 may be composed of a liquid crystal or organic EL (electro luminescent) element .
A power supply unit 814 processes DC power supplied from the battery pack 820 to convert it to a required voltage, and then stabilizes and supplies it to each element in the main body 830.
Although not shown, the main body 830 may further include a speaker and a microphone for voice communication and codecs for channel communication and audio compression, which are also included in general mobile communication terminals. The external communication interface unit 816 corresponds to the communication interface unit 808 of the battery pack 820 described above. Both of the interface units are implemented according to the same protocol, and are physically implemented as contact points having shapes corresponding to each other, so as to be combined together
(not shown) .
A controller 818 of the mobile communication terminal is implemented as a software module that is implemented in a microprocessor. Improved CDMA integrated circuits, for example Qualcomm' s MSM chips, each include a high performance microprocessor embedded therein. This microprocessor may be programmable through an external bus or a serial communication link. The programming environment of mobile communication terminals has been dramatically developed recently, so as to provide a development environment similar to a personal computer, and also provide a programming environment based on a virtual machine such as a GVM (General Virtual Machine) . User interfaces associated with ultrasonic medical operations performed by the terminal controller 818 can be realized easily by using such a programming environment .
The mobile communication terminal controller 818 informs the user of a menu selection list associated with ultrasonic treatment/diagnosis through the display unit 824. When a user manipulation signal is received from the user manipulation unit 826, the controller 818 transmits a corresponding operation command to the battery pack 820 through the external communication interface unit 816. In addition, the controller 818 outputs the ultrasonic diagnosis result information inputted through the external communication interface unit 816 through the display unit 824.
The remote analysis unit controls the wireless data communication unit 822 to gain access to a predetermined host through a wireless data communication network such as wireless Internet . When the connection with the host has been established, the remote analysis unit transmits the ultrasonic diagnosis result information to the host . The ultrasonic diagnosis result information is stored in a database of the host that is allocated on an individual basi . The host queries whether the user desires to receive the analysis service of data uploaded using a browser. If the user selects the analysis service in response to the query, the host activates an ultrasonic diagnosis expert engine (not shown) therein to analyze the uploaded data. During this analysis, the diagnosis subject's history data previously stored in the database may be analyzed together with the uploaded data. While the data analysis may be performed by the expert system, the data may also be sent to an analysis expert, as circumstances require, so that the expert inputs the result of analyzing the data. The analysis result obtained through such a procedure is received from the host through the wireless data communication unit 822 of the terminal main body 830 of the diagnosis subject, and the remote analysis unit controls the received analysis result to be displayed on the display unit 824. Accordingly, the display unit 824 displays the analysis result in a text or graphic mode.
Fig. 9 shows still another example of a portable ultrasonic medical device according to the present invention.
A duplicated description of the elements previously described will be omitted in the following description of Fig. 9.
The probe 901 is composed of an array of ultrasonic vibrators 901-1. In the present invention, a transmission or reception path for each of the ultrasonic vibrators is not provided in a transmitter circuit 905 and a receiver circuit 907, differently from the prior art. That is, the transmitter circuit 905 provides only a single path through which a signal is transmitted to a corresponding ultrasonic vibrator, and the receiver circuit 907 provides only a single path through which a signal is received from a corresponding ultrasonic vibrator. Therefore, according to a switching control signal from a timing controller 911, a switching unit 928 connects the transmitter circuit 905 to one of at least one ultrasonic vibrators appointed to be used for transmission, so that an ultrasonic signal transmitted from the transmitter circuit 905 is transferred to the connected ultrasonic vibrator.
Likewise, according to a switching control signal from the timing controller 911, the switching unit 928 connects the receiver circuit 907 to one of at least one ultrasonic vibrators appointed to be used for reception and paired with the transmission ultrasonic vibrators, so that a reflection
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signal received from the connected ultrasonic vibrator is transferred to the receiver circuit 907.
Of course, the two features of this example, one feature being the single path of the transmitter and receiver circuits 905 and 907 and the other being the switching connection between the transmitter and receiver circuits 905 and 907 and a single ultrasonic vibrator, may be applied to every type of portable ultrasonic medical devices previously described.
When connecting an ultrasonic treatment unit (not shown) to a corresponding ultrasonic vibrator, the switching unit 928 may select an ultrasonic vibrator formed in the center of the probe 901 as the corresponding ultrasonic vibrator.
Industrial Applicability
As apparent from the above description, a portable ultrasonic medical device according to the present invention is advantageous in that both of ultrasonic diagnosis and ultrasonic treatment can be performed using a single portable device to meet the demand of users for simple and convenient use. In particular, the users can also check immediately the result of ultrasonic treatment (performed by themselves) through the ultrasonic diagnosis.
In addition, the ultrasonic treatment unit has a simple configuration that makes it possible to output a
pulse signal to a desired depth of a human body and obtain the attenuated amount of a reflection signal corresponding to the pulse signal, thereby allowing the provision of a handy ultrasonic medical device which is not expensive and is also easy to carry and manipulate.
Further, it is possible to provide an analysis result simply by comparing the attenuated amount of an actual reflection signal with the average value, and the user can receive various ultrasonic analyses of moisture, epidermis, fat, bone density, etc., from the portable device.
In addition, only three elements, the first being an element for ultrasonic transmitter/receiver circuits, the second for controlling the circuits and the third for communicating wirelessly with the outside, are provided in a probe module, so that it is possible to minimize the burden on a user in bringing, on his or her own, the probe into contact with a desired body portion.
Furthermore, the user can conveniently perform ultrasonic treatment by himself or herself by using the probe module having such characteristics.
In addition, only three elements, the first being an element for ultrasonic transmitter/receiver circuits, the second for controlling the circuits and the third for communicating wirelessly with a main body, are provided in a probe module, while elements for detecting/focusing,
analysis, display and manipulation are provided in the main body, so that it is possible to minimize the burden on a user in bringing, on his or her own, the probe into contact with a desired body portion, and further to achieve easy portability and convenient manipulation in conducting daily life.
Further, only three elements, the first being an element for ultrasonic transmitter/receiver circuits, the second for controlling the circuits and the third for communicating wirelessly with a main body, are provided in a probe module, while elements for detecting/focusing and analysis are provided in a battery pack. Therefore, the probe module is simplified in configuration, thereby minimizing the burden on a user in bringing, on his or her own, the probe into contact with a desired body portion, and the ultrasonic medical function can be incorporated into a mobile communication terminal, thereby achieving easy portability, convenient manipulation, and convenience of continuous observation while minimizing the modification of the mobile communication terminal main body. Since the existing manipulation and display units of the mobile communication terminal are utilized, the implementation can be achieved at low cost, and it is possible to continuously observe the analysis result through a mobile communication terminal that the user always carries. A user interface for
the ultrasonic medical function may be easily implemented in a mobile communication terminal in the form of a virtual machine based application such as a GVM (General Virtual Machine) . In addition, since ultrasonic diagnosis data of a number of subscribers is concentrated on a remote host to be managed thereby, while the history is managed on a subscriber-by-subscriber basis, it is possible to utilize the ultrasonic diagnosis data effectively. Further, such ultrasonic diagnosis data is analyzed by using an expert analysis system or by committing it to an expert, and the analyzed result is then provided to a user through a mobile communication terminal or the like, so that anytime and anywhere the user can check and see the condition of each of his or her body portions and can determine treatment methods thereof for the future.
Differently from the prior art, a path through which a signal is transmitted or received is not provided separately for each ultrasonic vibrator, while only one transmission path and one reception path are provided for all of the ultrasonic vibrators. Therefore, the transmitter and receiver circuits are simplified in configuration, and reduced both in size and in manufacturing cost, so that the device can be used by a patient to perform a simple diagnosis by himself or herself while carrying it. It might
be difficult for such a transmitter/receiver circuit configuration to perform correct focusing on a moving object (for example, moving organs inside a human body) , but it can be effectively utilized in diagnosing moisture, epidermis, fat, bone density, etc., which are diagnosis targets in the embodiment of the present invention.
Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims .