Method and apparatus for analyzing elastography of tissue using ultrasound waves

Abstract

A method and apparatus for analyzing elastography of tissue using ultrasound waves, wherein elastography information of tissue in a region of interest (ROI) is analyzed by irradiating ultrasound waves for diagnosis towards the ROI to which a shear wave is induced from an ultrasound probe, receiving echo ultrasound waves, and acquiring three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound images with respect to the ROI.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 inducing a shear wave in a tissue in a human body by Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) using an ultrasound probe having a two-dimensional (2D) transducer array;   irradiating ultrasound waves in the tissue using the ultrasound probe;   acquiring three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound data using echo ultrasound waves of the irradiated ultrasound waves and a 3D plane scan method in which a 3D volume of the tissue is scanned by the 2D transducer array;   calculating displacement components of the induced shear wave in the tissue based on the acquired 3D ultrasound data;   calculating a speed of the induced shear wave using the calculated displacement components;   calculating a shear modulus of the tissue using the calculated speed of the induced shear wave; and   displaying at least one 3D image using the calculated speed of the induced shear wave.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the calculating the displacement components of the induced shear wave in the tissue comprises using a wave equation with respect to the induced shear wave. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the irradiating with the ultrasound waves is performed for diagnosis of the tissue and comprises beamforming the ultrasound waves in a defocusing method. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the acquiring of the 3D ultrasound data comprises beamforming the echo ultrasound waves. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising displaying at least one image representing the calculated displacement components of the induced shear wave. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising displaying a modulus of elasticity based on the calculated speed of the induced shear wave. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the speed of the shear wave is calculated using the following equation: 
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     ∂ 
                     2 
                   
                    
                   u 
                 
                 
                   ∂ 
                   
                     t 
                     2 
                   
                 
               
               = 
               
                 
                   C 
                   s 
                   2 
                 
                  
                 
                   ( 
                   
                     
                       
                         
                           ∂ 
                           2 
                         
                          
                         u 
                       
                       
                         ∂ 
                         
                           x 
                           2 
                         
                       
                     
                     + 
                     
                       
                         
                           ∂ 
                           2 
                         
                          
                         u 
                       
                       
                         ∂ 
                         
                           y 
                           2 
                         
                       
                     
                     + 
                     
                       
                         
                           ∂ 
                           2 
                         
                          
                         u 
                       
                       
                         ∂ 
                         
                           z 
                           2 
                         
                       
                     
                   
                   ) 
                 
               
             
           
         
         where u denotes a displacement of the shear wave, t denotes time, and x, y, and z denote the respective calculated displacement components. 
       
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the shear modulus of the tissue is calculated using the following equation:
     G=p×C   S   2      where G denotes the shear modulus of the tissue, and p denotes a density of the tissue.   
     
     
         9 . A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a computer-readable program for executing a method comprising:
 inducing a shear wave in a tissue in a human body by Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) using an ultrasound probe having a two-dimensional (2D) transducer array;   irradiating ultrasound waves in the tissue using the ultrasound probe;   acquiring three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound data using echo ultrasound waves of the irradiated ultrasound waves and a 3D plane scan method in which a 3D volume of the tissue is scanned by the 2D transducer array;   calculating displacement components of the induced shear wave in the tissue based on the acquired 3D ultrasound data;   calculating a speed of the induced shear wave using the calculated displacement components;   calculating a shear modulus of the tissue using the calculated speed of the induced shear wave; and   displaying at least one 3D image using the calculated speed of the induced shear wave.   
     
     
         10 . An apparatus comprising:
 an ultrasound probe having a two-dimensional (2D) transducer array;   a display;   at least one hardware processor;   computer readable memory comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one hardware processor, perform operations comprising:   controlling the ultrasound probe to induce a shear wave in a tissue in a human body by Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI);   controlling the ultrasound probe to irradiate ultrasound waves in the tissue;   acquiring three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound data using echo ultrasound waves of the irradiated ultrasound waves and a 3D plane scan method in which a 3D volume of the tissue is scanned by the 2D transducer array;   calculating displacement components of the induced shear wave in the tissue based on the acquired 3D ultrasound data;   calculating a speed of the induced shear wave using the calculated displacement components;   calculating a shear modulus of the tissue using the calculated speed of the induced shear wave; and   displaying at least one 3D image using the calculated speed of the induced shear wave on the display.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the controlling the ultrasound probe to irradiate the ultrasound waves comprises irradiating plane waves by beamforming the ultrasound waves in a defocusing method and wherein the irradiating of the ultrasound waves is performed for diagnosis of the tissue. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the acquiring of the 3D ultrasound data comprises beamforming the echo ultrasound waves. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 acquiring elastography information of the tissue by calculating an average value of the calculated shear modulus in at least two image frames; and   displaying, on the display, at least one image using the acquired elastography information.