Signal processing apparatus, control method, signal processing system, and signal processing method

Abstract

There is provided a signal processing apparatus including a signal processor for processing a signal to be received from or to be transmitted to a vibrator constituting a probe, and a controller for controlling a signal processing parameter of the signal processor to lower a performance of the signal processor when a motion parameter showing a characteristic of a motion of the probe is large.

1 . A signal processing apparatus comprising:
 a signal processor for processing a signal to be received from or to be transmitted to a vibrator constituting a probe; and   a controller for controlling a signal processing parameter of the signal processor to lower a performance of the signal processor when a motion parameter showing a characteristic of a motion of the probe is large.   
     
     
         2 . The signal processing apparatus according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the signal processing parameter is an external signal processing parameter used in signal processing in relation to transmission, and is an ultrasonic signal processing parameter used in signal processing in relation to ultrasonic treatment, and   wherein the controller controls the ultrasonic signal processing parameter and the external signal processing parameter by setting a priority to lower the performance.   
     
     
         3 . The signal processing apparatus according to  claim 2 ,
 wherein the signal processing parameter is the external signal processing parameter used in signal processing in relation to transmission, the ultrasonic signal processing parameter used in signal processing in relation to ultrasonic treatment, and an internal signal processing parameter used in signal transmission in relation to AD or DA conversion, and   wherein the controller controls the ultrasonic signal processing parameter, the external signal processing parameter, and the internal signal processing parameter by setting a priority to lower the performance.   
     
     
         4 . The signal processing apparatus according to  claim 3 ,
 wherein the signal processing parameter is the external signal processing parameter used in signal processing in relation to transmission, the ultrasonic signal processing parameter used in signal processing in relation to ultrasonic treatment, and the internal signal processing parameter used in signal transmission in relation to AD or DA conversion, and   wherein the controller controls the internal signal processing parameter, the ultrasonic signal processing parameter, and the external signal processing parameter in the stated order in response to a magnitude of the motion parameter to lower the performance.   
     
     
         5 . The signal processing apparatus according to  claim 4 ,
 wherein the internal signal processing parameter is an AD sampling rate, and an AD bit length, and   wherein the controller controls the AD sampling rate, and the AD bit length in the stated order in response to the magnitude of the motion parameter to lower the performance.   
     
     
         6 . The signal processing apparatus according to  claim 4 ,
 wherein the ultrasonic signal processing parameter is the number of transmission/reception vibrators, and the number of transmission beams, and   wherein the controller controls the number of transmission/reception vibrators, and the number of transmission beams in the stated order in response to the magnitude of the motion parameter to lower the performance.   
     
     
         7 . The signal processing apparatus according to  claim 4 ,
 wherein the external signal processing parameter is an error correction, a bit rate, a resolution, and a frame rate, and   wherein the controller controls the error correction, the bit rate, the resolution, and the frame rate in the stated order in response to the magnitude of the motion parameter to lower the performance.   
     
     
         8 . The signal processing apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a focal position controller for controlling a transmission focal position as a focal position of a transmission wave transmitted by a plurality of the vibrators, and a reception focal position as a focal position of a reception wave received by a plurality of the vibrators based on positional information relating to a relative position of a plurality of the vibrators obtained from the motion of the probe, and   wherein the controller controls a parameter used for control by the focal point controller to lower the performance of the signal processor when the motion parameter is large.   
     
     
         9 . The signal processing apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a sensor for detecting the motion of the probe.   
     
     
         10 . A control method performed by a signal processing apparatus, which includes a signal processor for processing a signal to be received from or to be transmitted to a vibrator constituting a probe, the control method comprising:
 controlling a signal processing parameter of the signal processor to lower a performance of the signal processor when a motion parameter showing a characteristic of a motion of the probe is large.   
     
     
         11 . A signal processing system comprising:
 a first signal processing apparatus including
 a signal processor for processing a signal to be received from or to be transmitted to a vibrator constituting a probe, 
 a controller for controlling a signal processing parameter of the signal processor to lower a performance of the signal processor when a motion parameter showing a characteristic of a motion of the probe is large, and 
 a transmitter for transmitting the signal processed by the signal processor; and 
   a second signal processing apparatus including
 a receiver for receiving the signal from the first signal processing apparatus, and 
 a generator for generating an ultrasonic image based on the signal received by the receiver. 
   
     
     
         12 . A signal processing method performed by a first signal processing apparatus, which includes a signal processor for processing a signal to be received from or to be transmitted to a vibrator constituting a probe, the signal processing method comprising:
 controlling a signal processing parameter of the signal processor to lower a performance of the signal processor when a motion parameter showing a characteristic of a motion of the probe is large;   processing the signal to be received from or to be transmitted to the vibrator; and   transmitting the processed signal, and   the signal processing method performed by a second signal processing apparatus, comprising:   receiving the signal from the first signal processing apparatus; and   generating an ultrasonic image based on the received signal.