CN114699108A

CN114699108A - Ultrasonic imaging method and ultrasonic imaging system for anal sphincter

Info

Publication number: CN114699108A
Application number: CN202210456522.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 丁鹏; 邹耀贤; 林穆清; 杨俊英
Original assignee: Shenzhen Mindray Bio Medical Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Mindray Bio Medical Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-04-27
Filing date: 2022-04-27
Publication date: 2022-07-05

Abstract

An ultrasonic imaging method and an ultrasonic imaging system of an anal sphincter, the method comprising: transmitting ultrasonic waves to the anal sphincter of the detected object to obtain ultrasonic volume data of the anal sphincter; identifying the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter based on the ultrasonic volume data, and determining a plurality of reference lines for performing cross sectional tomography on the anal sphincter based on the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter; and performing transverse tomographic imaging according to the plurality of reference lines, and generating and displaying a plurality of transverse tomographic images of the anal sphincter corresponding to the plurality of reference lines. The method automatically determines a reference line for performing cross-section tomography on the anal sphincter according to the position of the anal canal structure, the internal anal sphincter or the external anal sphincter, and automatically generates a cross-section tomography image according to the reference line, so that manual operation of a user is greatly reduced, and the efficiency and accuracy of cross-section tomography on the anal sphincter are improved.

Description

Ultrasonic imaging method and ultrasonic imaging system for anal sphincter

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of ultrasound imaging technology, and more particularly, to an ultrasonic imaging method and an ultrasonic imaging system for anal sphincter.

Background

The physiological function of the anal sphincter is mainly to close the anus and assist defecation, and if the anal sphincter is damaged, the control force on the anus is reduced, thereby affecting the normal anus closing and causing the incapability of defecation or even defecation leakage.

At present, in clinical practice, the anal sphincter injury is screened mainly by multi-parallel tomography on 3D/4D ultrasound, and the method can provide valuable anal sphincter section anatomical information and has higher consistency on diagnosis of the anal sphincter injury. However, the current tomography method needs the user to manually correct the anus ultrasonic volume data and then manually determine the imaging range of the tomography. Since the consistency of the position and the range is low when the user scans the anus three-dimensional ultrasonic data, the user usually needs to repeatedly adjust the angles of the cross section, the coronal plane and the sagittal plane in order to obtain a standard anal sphincter tomography image. This tomographic acquisition is time consuming and labor intensive, highly dependent on the user's experience, and consumes a significant amount of time and effort for the user's examination.

Disclosure of Invention

In this summary, concepts in a simplified form are introduced that are further described in the detailed description. This summary of the application is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

In one aspect, the present invention provides a method for ultrasonic imaging of an anal sphincter, the method comprising:

transmitting ultrasonic waves to the anal sphincter of the tested object and receiving echoes of the ultrasonic waves to obtain ultrasonic echo signals;

carrying out signal processing on the ultrasonic echo signal to obtain ultrasonic volume data of the anal sphincter;

identifying the position of an anal canal structure, an external anal sphincter or an internal anal sphincter based on ultrasonic volume data, and determining a plurality of reference lines for performing cross-sectional tomography on the anal sphincter based on the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter;

and performing transverse tomographic imaging according to the plurality of reference lines, and generating and displaying a plurality of transverse tomographic images of the anal sphincter corresponding to the plurality of reference lines.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an ultrasonic imaging method for an anal sphincter, including:

transmitting ultrasonic waves to the anal sphincter of the tested object and receiving the echo of the ultrasonic waves to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal;

identifying a three-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter based on the ultrasonic volume data, and determining a plurality of reference directions for performing cross sectional tomography on the anal sphincter based on the three-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter;

transverse tomographic imaging is performed according to the plurality of reference directions, and a plurality of transverse tomographic images of the anal sphincter corresponding to the plurality of reference directions are generated and displayed.

Another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention provides an ultrasound imaging system, including:

an ultrasonic probe;

the transmitting circuit is used for exciting the ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves to the anal sphincter of the measured object;

the receiving circuit is used for controlling the ultrasonic probe to receive the echo of the ultrasonic wave so as to obtain an ultrasonic wave echo signal;

a processor for performing signal processing on the ultrasonic echo signals to obtain ultrasonic volume data of the anal sphincter, the processor being further configured to perform the steps of the ultrasonic imaging method of the anal sphincter provided in any one of the above embodiments to generate a plurality of cross-sectional tomographic images;

a display for displaying a plurality of cross sectional tomographic images.

According to the ultrasonic imaging method and the ultrasonic imaging system of the anal sphincter, disclosed by the embodiment of the invention, the reference line for performing cross-section tomography on the anal sphincter is automatically determined according to the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter, and the cross-section tomography image is automatically generated according to the reference line, so that the manual operation of a user is greatly reduced, and the efficiency and the accuracy of cross-section tomography on the anal sphincter are improved.

Drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present application will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate like parts or steps.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an ultrasound imaging system according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic flow diagram of a method of ultrasound imaging of the anal sphincter muscle according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of the anal sphincter cross-section, sagittal plane and coronal plane before and after correction according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of generating a plurality of transverse tomographic images from a reference line disposed in the sagittal plane according to one embodiment of the present invention;

figure 5 shows a schematic flow diagram of a method for ultrasonic imaging of the anal sphincter according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more apparent, exemplary embodiments according to the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present application and not all embodiments of the present application, and that the present application is not limited by the example embodiments described herein. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments of the invention described in the present application without inventive step, shall fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the present application. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present application may be practiced without one or more of these specific details. In other instances, well-known features of the art have not been described in order to avoid obscuring the present application.

It is to be understood that the present application is capable of implementation in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the application to those skilled in the art.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of the associated listed items.

In order to provide a thorough understanding of the present application, a detailed structure will be provided in the following description in order to explain the technical solution proposed in the present application. Alternative embodiments of the present application are described in detail below, however, the present application may have other implementations in addition to these detailed descriptions.

In the following, an ultrasound imaging system according to an embodiment of the present application is first described with reference to fig. 1, and fig. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of an ultrasound imaging system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 1, the ultrasound imaging system 100 includes an ultrasound probe 110, transmit circuitry 112, receive circuitry 114, a processor 116, and a display 118. Further, the ultrasound imaging system may further include a transmit/receive selection switch 120 and a beam forming module 122, and the transmit circuit 112 and the receive circuit 114 may be connected to the ultrasound probe 110 through the transmit/receive selection switch 120.

The ultrasound probe 110 includes a plurality of transducer elements, which may be arranged in a line to form a linear array, or in a two-dimensional matrix to form an area array, or in a convex array. The transducer elements are used for transmitting ultrasonic waves according to the excitation electric signals or converting the received ultrasonic waves into the electric signals, so that each transducer element can be used for realizing the mutual conversion of the electric pulse signals and the ultrasonic waves, thereby realizing the transmission of the ultrasonic waves to tissues of a target area of a measured object and also receiving ultrasonic wave echoes reflected by the tissues. In ultrasound detection, which transducer elements are used for transmitting ultrasound waves and which transducer elements are used for receiving ultrasound waves can be controlled by a transmitting sequence and a receiving sequence, or the transducer elements are controlled to be time-slotted for transmitting ultrasound waves or receiving echoes of ultrasound waves. The transducer elements participating in the ultrasonic wave transmission can be simultaneously excited by the electric signals, so that the ultrasonic waves are transmitted simultaneously; alternatively, the transducer elements participating in the transmission of the ultrasonic beam may be excited by several electrical signals having a certain time interval, so as to continuously transmit the ultrasonic wave having a certain time interval.

During ultrasound imaging, the processor 116 controls the transmit circuitry 112 to send the delay focused transmit pulses to the ultrasound probe 110 through the transmit/receive select switch 120. The ultrasonic probe 110 is excited by the transmission pulse to transmit an ultrasonic beam to the tissue of the target region of the object to be measured, receives an ultrasonic echo with tissue information reflected from the tissue of the target region after a certain time delay, and converts the ultrasonic echo back into an electrical signal again. The receiving circuit 114 receives the electrical signals generated by the ultrasound probe 110, obtains ultrasound echo signals, and sends the ultrasound echo signals to the beam forming module 122, and the beam forming module 122 performs processing such as focusing delay, weighting, and channel summation on the ultrasound echo data, and then sends the ultrasound echo data to the processor 116. The processor 116 performs signal detection, signal enhancement, data conversion, logarithmic compression, and the like on the ultrasonic echo signal to form an ultrasonic image. The ultrasound images obtained by the processor 116 may be displayed on the display 118 or may be stored in the memory 124.

Alternatively, the processor 116 may be implemented as software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof, and may use single or multiple Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), single or multiple general purpose Integrated circuits, single or multiple microprocessors, single or multiple programmable logic devices, or any combination of the preceding, or other suitable circuits or devices. Also, the processor 116 may control other components in the ultrasound imaging system 100 to perform the respective steps of the methods in the various embodiments herein.

The display 118 is connected with the processor 116, and the display 118 may be a touch display screen, a liquid crystal display screen, or the like; alternatively, the display 118 may be a separate display, such as a liquid crystal display, a television, or the like, separate from the ultrasound imaging system 100; alternatively, the display 118 may be a display screen of an electronic device such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, and the like. The number of the displays 118 may be one or more.

The display 118 can display the ultrasound image obtained by the processor 116. In addition, the display 118 can provide a graphical interface for human-computer interaction for the user while displaying the ultrasound image, and one or more controlled objects are arranged on the graphical interface, so that the user can input operation instructions by using the human-computer interaction device to control the controlled objects, thereby executing corresponding control operation. For example, an icon is displayed on the graphical interface, and the icon can be operated by the man-machine interaction device to execute a specific function, such as drawing a region-of-interest box on the ultrasonic image.

Optionally, the ultrasound imaging system 100 may further include a human-computer interaction device other than the display 118, which is connected to the processor 116, for example, the processor 116 may be connected to the human-computer interaction device through an external input/output port, which may be a wireless communication module, a wired communication module, or a combination thereof. The external input/output port may also be implemented based on USB, bus protocols such as CAN, and/or wired network protocols, etc.

The human-computer interaction device may include an input device for detecting input information of a user, for example, control instructions for the transmission/reception timing of the ultrasonic waves, operation input instructions for drawing points, lines, frames, or the like on the ultrasonic images, or other instruction types. The input device may include one or more of a keyboard, mouse, scroll wheel, trackball, mobile input device (e.g., mobile device with touch screen display, cell phone, etc.), multi-function knob, and the like. The human interaction means may also include an output device such as a printer.

The ultrasound imaging system 100 may also include a memory 124 for storing instructions executed by the processor, storing received ultrasound echoes, storing ultrasound images, and so forth. The memory may be a flash memory card, solid state memory, hard disk, etc. Which may be volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory, removable memory and/or non-removable memory, etc.

It should be understood that the components included in the ultrasound imaging system 100 shown in fig. 1 are merely illustrative and that more or fewer components may be included. This is not limited by the present application.

In the following, an ultrasonic imaging method of the anal sphincter according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 2, which may be implemented in the above-described ultrasonic imaging system 100. Figure 2 is a schematic flow chart of a method 200 for ultrasonic imaging of the anal sphincter muscle in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 2, a method 200 for ultrasonic imaging of an anal sphincter muscle according to one embodiment of the present application comprises the following steps:

in step S210, transmitting an ultrasonic wave to an anal sphincter of a measured object and receiving an echo of the ultrasonic wave to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal;

in step S220, performing signal processing on the ultrasonic echo signal to obtain ultrasonic volume data of the anal sphincter;

identifying a position of an anal canal structure, an external anal sphincter or an internal anal sphincter based on the ultrasound volume data, and determining a plurality of reference lines for cross-sectional tomography of the anal sphincter based on the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter at step S230;

in step S240, the cross-sectional tomography is performed according to the plurality of reference lines, and a plurality of cross-sectional tomograms of the anal sphincter corresponding to the plurality of reference lines are generated and displayed.

According to the ultrasonic imaging method 200 of the anal sphincter, disclosed by the embodiment of the invention, the reference line for performing cross-sectional tomography on the anal sphincter is automatically determined according to the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter in ultrasonic volume data, and the cross-sectional image is automatically generated according to the reference line, so that the manual operation of a user is greatly reduced, and the efficiency and accuracy of cross-sectional tomography are improved.

Illustratively, in step S210, a three-dimensional ultrasound scan of the anal sphincter muscle of the subject may be performed by a clinician using a transperineal three-dimensional volume probe (or using a transvaginal intracavity volume probe). Referring to the ultrasound imaging system 100 of fig. 1, during a scan, the transmit circuitry 112 sends a set of delay-focused transmit pulses to the ultrasound probe 110 to excite the ultrasound probe 110 to transmit ultrasound waves along a two-dimensional scan plane toward the anal sphincter muscle of the subject. The receiving circuit 114 controls the ultrasonic probe 110 to receive the ultrasonic echo reflected by the anal sphincter of the object to be detected, and then converts the ultrasonic echo into an electrical signal, and the beam forming module 112 performs corresponding delay and weighted summation processing on the ultrasonic echo signal obtained by multiple transmission and reception, so as to implement beam forming, and then sends the ultrasonic echo signal into the processor 116 for subsequent signal processing.

In step S220, ultrasound volume data of the anal sphincter of the object may be obtained by the processor 116 of the ultrasound imaging system based on the echo signal of the received ultrasound waves, and the ultrasound volume data may include three-dimensional ultrasound data or four-dimensional ultrasound data, i.e., three-dimensional ultrasound video data composed of consecutive volumes of three-dimensional ultrasound data. Illustratively, with continued reference to fig. 1, the processor 116 may integrate the three-dimensional spatial relationship of the ultrasound echo signals scanned by the ultrasound probe 110 in a series of scanning planes, so as to realize the three-dimensional scanning of the anal sphincter and the reconstruction of three-dimensional ultrasound data. And finally, obtaining ultrasonic volume data of the anal sphincter of the detected object after partial or all image post-processing steps such as denoising, smoothing, enhancing and the like.

After the ultrasonic volume data of the anal sphincter are obtained, the ultrasonic imaging system can automatically perform cross-section tomography on the anal sphincter through a processor to obtain a plurality of cross-section tomography and display the cross-section tomography, namely, the cross-section tomography is parallel to the cross section. The multiple cross-sectional tomography images can present tissue structures at different positions of the anal sphincter, and the anal sphincter can be comprehensively screened through cross-sectional tomography. When the cross-section tomography is carried out, the ultrasonic imaging system automatically determines a plurality of parallel reference lines, and generates a corresponding cross-section tomography image through each reference line without manually setting the reference lines by a user.

The anal sphincters include the internal and external anal sphincters surrounding the anal canal, which is the terminal segment of the alimentary canal, with the upper portion connected to the rectum and the lower portion connected to the anus, and are apparent in the ultrasound image. According to the embodiment of the invention, the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter is firstly identified, and the position of the reference line of the cross-sectional tomography is determined according to the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter, so that the cross-sectional tomography image which completely covers the anal sphincter can be obtained.

In one embodiment, to determine a reference line for cross-sectional tomography based on the anal canal structure, the ultrasound volume data is first automatically rectified, i.e. the target position is determined based on the ultrasound volume data, and the ultrasound volume data is transformed to the target position. Thereafter, a reference line for cross-sectional tomography is determined based on the ultrasound volume data transformed to the target location. The aim of automatic rectification is to find a standard cross section of the ultrasonic volume data, so that a cross section sectional image parallel to the standard cross section can be conveniently extracted from the ultrasonic volume data, an anatomical structure which is interested in a user in the ultrasonic volume data can be displayed to a position which is convenient to observe, the user does not need to manually rotate, and the efficiency and the accuracy of the ultrasonic examination of the anal sphincter are improved.

For example, a target feature may be detected in the ultrasound volume data by using a method such as machine learning, and an angle that the ultrasound volume data needs to be rotated and/or a distance that the ultrasound volume data needs to be translated may be determined according to the target feature. The target feature may include at least three, including at least one of an anal canal structure, an external anal sphincter, and an internal anal sphincter. The at least three target features may also include at least one feature point of the anal canal structure, such as a center point and an end point. The rotation angle and/or translation distance of the ultrasonic volume data can be determined according to the spatial position relationship among the at least three target characteristic structures, and the spatial position relationship among the target characteristic structures can meet the requirements of standard volume data by transforming the ultrasonic volume data.

The method comprises the steps of detecting a target characteristic structure in ultrasonic volume data by adopting a machine learning method, wherein a three-dimensional convolution neural network needs to be constructed, and compared with a two-dimensional convolution neural network, the three-dimensional convolution neural network adopts a three-dimensional convolution kernel. Illustratively, a database of ultrasonic volume data of the anal sphincter can be constructed, the database containing at least one volume data and the calibration results of the target feature therein. Taking the anal canal structure as an example, the calibration result of the target feature structure can be the spatial position and the category of the three-dimensional area of the anal canal structure, and is used for training a neural network so as to determine the spatial position of the three-dimensional area of the anal canal structure through a three-dimensional target detection network built based on a three-dimensional convolution neural network. The calibration result can also be a mask of the three-dimensional area of the anal canal structure, and the mask is used for training a neural network so as to obtain the mask of the three-dimensional area of the anal canal structure through a three-dimensional target segmentation network built based on the three-dimensional convolution neural network.

After the position of the target feature in the ultrasound volume data is determined, the angle of rotation and the distance of translation required for the ultrasound volume data can be determined according to the spatial position relationship between the target features. When the rotation angle required by the ultrasonic volume data is determined, the three-dimensional space directions of at least three target feature structures can be determined by adopting methods such as principal component analysis algorithm and the like, and the three-dimensional space directions are decomposed into rotation amounts in three directions. Alternatively, convolution layers and full-link layers can be stacked based on a three-dimensional convolution neural network, and spatial transformation matrices of at least three target feature structures can be directly regressed, and the transformation matrices can be directly applied to ultrasonic volume data and also can be decomposed into rotation amounts in three directions.

In another embodiment, the cross-section, sagittal plane, and coronal plane can be resolved in the ultrasound volume data, and automatic rectification is performed based on the positional correlation of the target feature in the resolved cross-section, sagittal plane, and coronal plane. In this embodiment, the cross-section, sagittal plane, and coronal plane correspond to the respective desired angles of rotation and/or the desired distances of translation.

Illustratively, a standard cross-section may be determined first, and a standard sagittal plane and a standard coronal plane may be determined based on the standard cross-section. The determination of the standard cross section may be performed based on the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter, and specifically, a plurality of cross sections are first extracted from the ultrasound volume data, two-dimensional regions of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter are respectively identified in the plurality of cross sections, the confidence of the two-dimensional regions of the identified anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter is determined, and the standard cross section is determined from the plurality of cross sections based on the confidence of the two-dimensional regions of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter, that is, the standard cross section may be one of all cross sections in which the confidence of the two-dimensional regions of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter is the highest. The rotation angle and/or translation distance corresponding to the cross section is the rotation angle and/or translation distance required for transforming the current cross section to the standard cross section.

Wherein the two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter in the plurality of cross sections can be identified and the confidence level of the two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter can be determined based on a machine learning method. The machine learning method needs to construct an image library of cross sections in the ultrasonic volume data of the anal sphincter, wherein the image library contains at least one calibration result corresponding to the cross section. Taking the anal canal structure as an example, the calibration result may be the position and category of the anal canal structure in the cross section, and is used for training the machine model to identify the position and confidence of the anal canal structure in the cross section. And after the confidence degrees of the two-dimensional areas of the anal canal structures in all the cross sections are obtained, sequencing according to the confidence degrees of the two-dimensional areas of the anal canal structures on all the cross sections, wherein the cross section with the highest confidence degree is the standard cross section. The calibration result can also be the score of each cross section in the volume data and the position of the central point of the two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, and is used for training a machine model to regress the confidence score of each cross section and the coordinates of the central point of the two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, then the cross sections with the highest score are ranked according to the confidence scores of all the cross sections in the ultrasonic volume data, and the cross section with the highest score is the standard cross section.

And then, determining the central point of the two-dimensional area of the anal canal structure in the standard cross section, and determining the standard sagittal plane and the standard coronal plane by taking the central point of the two-dimensional area of the anal canal structure as an imaging point, so that the standard sagittal plane, the standard coronal plane and the standard cross section are intersected at the central point of the two-dimensional area of the anal canal structure. When the central point of the two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure in the standard cross section is determined, a bounding box detection and identification method based on deep learning can be adopted, a main network is constructed by stacking light-weight type depth separable convolution layers to extract feature information, and then parameter regression is carried out through a Feature Pyramid (FPN) structure, wherein common network structures comprise SSD, YOLO, RetinaNet and the like. For a standard cross section of the input network, a two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure can be directly regressed through the network, thereby determining the central point of the two-dimensional region. Or, an end-to-end regression network method based on deep learning may be adopted, specifically including stacking a convolution layer and a full connection layer through the deep learning network, and directly regressing coordinate values of the central point of the two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure through the last full connection layer, where common network structures include FCN, UNet, and the like.

After the central point of the two-dimensional area of the anal canal structure in the standard cross section is determined, the corresponding standard sagittal plane and standard coronal plane are respectively obtained based on the point as the imaging point of the ultrasonic volume data, so that the corresponding rotation angle and/or movement distance of the sagittal plane and the coronal plane are determined.

For example, the angle of rotation required for each can be calculated from the symmetry of the anal canal structure in the coronal and sagittal planes. The positions of the two-dimensional regions of the anal canal structure in the coronal plane and the sagittal plane can be identified by a boundary frame detection and identification method based on deep learning, and the positions of the two-dimensional regions of the anal canal structure can also be obtained by a traditional template matching method. After the position of the two-dimensional area of the anal canal structure in the coronal and sagittal planes is obtained, the respective required rotation angles can be obtained based on the symmetry of the anal canal structure.

Or, straight line fitting can be carried out according to the mapping of the central point of the two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure on the cross section of the multiple frames in the ultrasonic volume data to the position points on the coronal plane and the sagittal plane, and the angle of the fitting straight line is the respective correcting angle. Specifically, the position of the central point of the two-dimensional area of the anal canal structure on the plurality of cross sections is obtained first, for example, the position of the detection frame of the anal canal structure on each cross section can be obtained by adopting a boundary frame detection and identification method based on deep learning in machine learning, and the position of the central point of the detection frame is taken as the position of the central point of the two-dimensional area of the anal canal structure; or directly outputting the Gaussian heat map of the two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure by adopting an end-to-end key point regression network method based on deep learning in machine learning, and taking the position with the maximum probability of the Gaussian heat map as the central point position of the two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure. Or, the convolution layer and the full-connection layer can be stacked through the deep learning network, and the coordinates of the central point of the two-dimensional area of the anal canal structure can be directly returned through the last full-connection layer. The central point positions of the two-dimensional areas of the anal canal structures on all the cross sections are mapped to the sagittal plane and are subjected to straight line fitting, the angle of the fitting straight line is the angle needing to be corrected in the sagittal plane, the central point positions of the two-dimensional areas of the anal canal structures on all the cross sections are mapped to the coronal plane and are subjected to straight line fitting, and the angle of the fitting straight line is the angle needing to be corrected in the coronal plane.

In some embodiments, a machine learning method can be further adopted to directly regress the alignment angles corresponding to the coronal plane and the sagittal plane. Specifically, a convolution layer and a full connection layer are stacked through a deep learning network, and the aligning angles corresponding to the coronal plane and the sagittal plane are directly regressed through the last full connection layer.

In other embodiments, the ultrasound volume data may also be input into a trained machine learning model, and the angle that the ultrasound volume data needs to be rotated and/or the distance that the ultrasound volume data needs to be translated may be directly output. When the machine learning model is adopted to determine the rotation angle and translation distance of the ultrasonic volume data, an ultrasonic volume database of the anal sphincter needs to be constructed in advance for training the machine learning model. The ultrasonic volume database of the anal sphincter contains a calibration result corresponding to the ultrasonic volume data of at least one anal sphincter, the calibration result is the angle of rotation required by the ultrasonic volume data and the distance of translation required by the ultrasonic volume data, and the rotation angle and the translation amount can be directly regressed through a trained machine learning model. The machine learning model stacks convolution layers and full connection layers through a deep learning network, angle and translation amount required by rectification are directly regressed through the last full connection layer, and the deep learning network structure comprises but is not limited to VGG, ResNet, DenseNet, DPN and the like.

Then, based on the angle of rotation required and/or the distance of translation required for the ultrasound volume data determined in any manner described above, the ultrasound volume data acquired in step S220 is transformed to the target position. The transformation of the ultrasonic volume data may include at least one of rotation and translation, and when the ultrasonic volume data is rotated, the three dimensions all correspond to a rotation angle, and the corresponding angles are respectively rotated along the three dimensions, so that the rotated ultrasonic volume data can be obtained. Similarly, when the ultrasound volume data is translated, the three dimensions all correspond to a translation amount, and the ultrasound volume data after translation can be obtained by translating the corresponding distances along the three dimensions.

Illustratively, referring to fig. 3, after transforming the ultrasound volume data to the target location, a standard cross-section, a standard sagittal plane, and a standard coronal plane of the anal sphincter may be extracted from the ultrasound volume data transformed to the target location, and the extracted standard cross-section, standard sagittal plane, and standard coronal plane may be displayed in-screen with a cross-sectional tomographic image determined later. By rectifying the ultrasound volume data, the anal sphincter cross-section, sagittal plane and coronal plane are clearly visualized. Further, it is also possible to receive a manual adjustment operation of the user based on the displayed standard cross section, standard sagittal plane, and standard coronal plane, and perform finer rectification on the ultrasound volume data according to the manual adjustment operation of the user.

After the ultrasonic volume data are automatically straightened, the positions of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter are determined based on the ultrasonic volume data transformed to the target position, and a plurality of reference lines for performing cross-section tomography are determined according to the positions of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter. Wherein, if the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter is determined in the automatic correction process, the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter in the ultrasonic volume data converted to the target position can be determined by using the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter determined in the automatic correction process.

In one embodiment, since the shape of the anal canal structure in the standard sagittal plane is more regular, complete and clear, the standard sagittal plane of the anal sphincter muscle can be extracted from the ultrasound volume data, the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter muscle or the internal anal sphincter muscle can be identified in the standard sagittal plane, and a plurality of reference lines for cross-sectional tomography can be determined in the standard sagittal plane according to the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter muscle or the internal anal sphincter muscle. And the reference line determined according to the standard sagittal plane is the intersection line of the transverse sectional image and the standard sagittal plane.

In one example, the position of the anal canal structure, external anal sphincter or internal anal sphincter determined in the standard sagittal plane includes a starting position and an ending position of the anal canal structure, external anal sphincter or internal anal sphincter, and the reference line is determined on the standard sagittal plane according to the position of the anal canal structure, external anal sphincter or internal anal sphincter, including: and a plurality of reference lines are arranged at equal intervals between the starting position and the ending position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter in the standard sagittal plane. Illustratively, the initial position and the ending position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter can be determined by adopting an end-to-end key point regression network method based on deep learning in a machine learning method, or the coordinate values of the initial position and the ending position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter can be directly regressed by adopting a deep learning network stack convolution layer and a full connection layer; reference may be made in particular to the method used for determining the position of the centre point of the two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure as described above.

For example, after determining the starting position and the ending position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter, a plurality of reference lines may be provided at equal intervals in a direction perpendicular to a line connecting the starting position and the ending position. The reference line at the head end can be located at the initial position, the reference line at the tail end can be located at the termination position, and the reference lines are arranged at equal intervals between the initial position and the termination position, so that the position of the reference line completely covers the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter.

Or, the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter comprises a two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter, and a plurality of reference lines for performing cross-sectional tomography are determined on a standard sagittal plane according to the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter, and the method comprises the following steps: and determining the distribution range of a plurality of reference lines according to the two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter, and setting a plurality of reference lines at equal intervals on a standard sagittal plane according to the distribution range. For example, a two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter can be identified based on a deep learning target detection network method, and a distribution region of the reference lines is set according to the width of a detection frame of the two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter, so that a plurality of reference lines cover the whole two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter.

Referring to FIG. 4, after determining the reference line based on the standard sagittal plane, the standard sagittal plane may be displayed, with multiple reference lines displayed on the standard sagittal plane for viewing and adjustment by the user. When an adjusting instruction of the user for the position of the reference line is received, the position of the reference line can be adjusted according to the received user instruction, so that the position of the reference line can better meet the requirement of the user. In some embodiments, the position of the center reference line may be adjusted according to the received user instruction, and the positions of the other reference lines may be adaptively adjusted according to the adjusted center reference line. Alternatively, the position of the outermost reference line may be adjusted according to the received user instruction, and the positions of the other reference lines may be adaptively adjusted according to the adjusted outermost reference line.

In other embodiments, a standard coronal plane of the anal sphincter can also be extracted from the ultrasound volume data, the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter is identified in the standard coronal plane, and a reference line is determined in the standard coronal plane according to the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter, in a manner similar to the method for setting the reference line in the standard sagittal plane. And the reference line determined according to the standard coronal plane is the intersection line of the transverse sectional image and the standard coronal plane. Similar to the determination of the reference line based on the standard sagittal plane, the starting position and the ending position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter can be determined when the reference line is determined based on the standard coronal plane, and a plurality of reference lines are arranged at equal intervals between the starting position and the ending position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter in the standard coronal plane. Or, a two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter can be determined in the standard coronal plane, the distribution range of the plurality of reference lines is determined according to the two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter in the standard coronal plane, and the plurality of reference lines are arranged on the standard coronal plane at equal intervals according to the determined distribution range.

After the reference line is determined based on the standard coronal plane, the standard coronal plane may be displayed, and a plurality of reference lines may be displayed on the standard coronal plane for viewing and adjustment by the user. In some embodiments, the position of the center reference line may be adjusted according to the received user instruction, and the positions of the other reference lines may be adaptively adjusted according to the adjusted center reference line. Alternatively, the position of the outermost reference line may be adjusted according to the received user instruction, and the positions of the other reference lines may be adaptively adjusted according to the adjusted outermost reference line.

In other embodiments, the three-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter may be identified based on the ultrasound volume data without rectifying the ultrasound volume data, and the reference line may be determined according to the three-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter. Specifically, a three-dimensional convolutional neural network can be constructed, and the three-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter is identified based on the three-dimensional convolutional neural network. Taking the anal canal structure as an example, after the three-dimensional region of the anal canal structure is identified, a perpendicular line of the reference line can be determined based on the three-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, and the perpendicular line can be a connecting line of the starting position and the ending position of the anal canal structure; thereafter, a plurality of reference lines are provided at equal intervals in a direction perpendicular to the perpendicular line.

After the plurality of reference lines for cross sectional tomography are determined, cross sectional tomography is performed according to the plurality of reference lines, and a plurality of cross sectional tomographic images of the anal sphincter corresponding to the plurality of reference lines are generated and displayed at step S240. Wherein a corresponding cross-sectional tomographic image can be generated from each reference line. The direction of the transverse sectional image is parallel to the direction of the standard cross section, and compared with the standard cross section, the transverse sectional image can have a certain depth, so that the tissue structure of the anal sphincter can be displayed more clearly. Referring to fig. 4, a plurality of cross-sectional tomographic images may be displayed in a matrix on the same display interface, and a distance between each cross-sectional tomographic image and a standard cross-section may be further displayed in an upper right corner of the cross-sectional tomographic image.

In summary, in the ultrasonic imaging method 200 for the anal sphincter according to the embodiment of the present invention, a reference line for performing cross-sectional tomography on the anal sphincter is automatically determined according to the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter, and a cross-sectional image is automatically generated according to the reference line, so that manual operations of a user are greatly reduced, and the efficiency and accuracy of cross-sectional tomography are improved.

Next, an ultrasonic imaging method of the anal sphincter according to another embodiment of the present invention, which may be implemented in the above-described ultrasonic imaging system 100, will be described with reference to fig. 5. As shown in fig. 5, the method 500 of ultrasound imaging of the anal sphincter comprises the following steps:

in step S510, transmitting an ultrasonic wave to an anal sphincter of a measured object and receiving an echo of the ultrasonic wave to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal;

in step S520, performing signal processing on the ultrasonic echo signal to obtain ultrasonic volume data of the anal sphincter;

identifying a three-dimensional region of an anal canal structure, an external anal sphincter or an internal anal sphincter based on the ultrasound volume data, determining a plurality of reference directions for cross-sectional tomography of the anal sphincter based on the three-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter, at step S530;

in step S540, the cross-sectional tomography is performed according to the plurality of reference directions, and a plurality of cross-sectional tomographic images of the anal sphincter corresponding to the plurality of reference directions are generated and displayed.

In the method 500 for ultrasonic imaging of the anal sphincter, a plurality of reference directions for cross sectional tomography of the anal sphincter are determined based on the three-dimensional area of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter. Illustratively, a three-dimensional convolutional neural network can be constructed that identifies three-dimensional regions of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter, or the internal anal sphincter based on the three-dimensional convolutional neural network. Illustratively, upon identifying the three-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter, a perpendicular to the reference line, which may be a line connecting the starting position and the ending position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter, may be determined based on the three-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter; thereafter, a plurality of reference lines are set in a direction perpendicular to the perpendicular line. The plurality of reference directions may be parallel to each other, but is not limited thereto.

In one embodiment, after obtaining the ultrasound volume data, a target location may be determined based on the ultrasound volume data and the ultrasound volume data transformed to the target location. In step S530, a three-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter, or the internal anal sphincter may be identified based on the ultrasound volume data transformed to the target location.

For example, at least three target features may be detected in the ultrasound volume data, the at least three target features including at least one of an anal canal structure, an external anal sphincter, and an internal anal sphincter; and determining the rotation angle and/or translation distance required by the ultrasonic volume data according to the spatial position relation among the at least three target characteristic structures, and transforming the ultrasonic volume data to the target position according to the rotation angle and/or translation distance required by the ultrasonic volume data.

Or, a standard cross section of the anal sphincter can be extracted from the ultrasonic volume data, the central point of the two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter is determined in the standard cross section, the central point of the two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter is taken as an imaging point, a standard sagittal plane and a standard coronal plane of the anal sphincter are determined in the ultrasonic volume data, the angle of rotation and/or the distance of translation required by the ultrasonic volume data are determined according to the angle of rotation and/or the distance of translation required by the standard cross section, the standard sagittal plane and the standard coronal plane, and the ultrasonic volume data are transformed to the target position according to the angle of rotation and/or the distance of translation required by the ultrasonic volume data.

In one embodiment, a standard sagittal plane, a standard transverse plane and a standard coronal plane of the anal sphincter can be extracted from the ultrasound volume data, and the standard sagittal plane, the standard transverse plane and the standard coronal plane are displayed on the same screen with the plurality of cross-sectional tomographic images. Wherein a standard sagittal plane, a standard transverse plane and a standard coronal plane of the anal sphincter can be extracted in the ultrasound volume data transformed to the target position.

According to the ultrasonic imaging method 500 of the anal sphincter, disclosed by the embodiment of the invention, the reference direction for performing cross sectional imaging on the anal sphincter is automatically determined according to the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the three-dimensional area of the internal anal sphincter, and the cross sectional image is automatically generated according to the reference direction, so that the manual operation of a user is greatly reduced, and the efficiency and the accuracy of cross sectional imaging are improved. For more details of the method 500 for ultrasonic imaging of the anal sphincter, reference may be made to the description of the method 200 for ultrasonic imaging of the anal sphincter, which is not further described herein.

The embodiment of the invention also provides an ultrasonic imaging system, which is used for realizing the ultrasonic imaging method 200 or the ultrasonic imaging method 500 of the anal sphincter. Referring back to fig. 1, the ultrasound imaging system may be implemented as the ultrasound imaging system 100 shown in fig. 1, the ultrasound imaging system 100 may include an ultrasound probe 110, a transmitting circuit 112, a receiving circuit 114, a processor 116, and a display 118, and optionally, the ultrasound imaging system 100 may further include a transmitting/receiving selection switch 120 and a beam forming module 122, the transmitting circuit 112 and the receiving circuit 114 may be connected to the ultrasound probe 110 through the transmitting/receiving selection switch 120, and the description of each component may refer to the above description, which is not repeated here.

Wherein, the transmitting circuit 112 is used for exciting the ultrasonic probe 110 to transmit ultrasonic waves to the anal sphincter of the tested object; the receiving circuit 112 is configured to control the ultrasound probe 110 to receive an echo of the ultrasound wave to obtain an ultrasound wave echo signal; the processor 116 is configured to perform signal processing on the ultrasonic echo signal to obtain ultrasonic volume data of the anal sphincter. The processor 116 is also configured to perform the steps of the method 200 for ultrasound imaging of the anal sphincter, in particular comprising: controlling the ultrasonic probe 110 to transmit ultrasonic waves to the anal sphincter of the measured object and receive echoes of the ultrasonic waves to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal; carrying out signal processing on the ultrasonic echo signal to obtain ultrasonic volume data of the anal sphincter; identifying the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter based on the ultrasonic volume data, and determining a plurality of reference lines for performing cross sectional tomography on the anal sphincter based on the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter; cross-sectional tomographic imaging is performed based on the plurality of reference lines, a plurality of cross-sectional tomographic images of the anal sphincter muscle corresponding to the plurality of reference lines are generated, and the display 118 is controlled to display the cross-sectional tomographic images obtained by the processor 116. The processor 116 is also configured to perform the steps of the method 500 for ultrasound imaging of the anal sphincter, in particular comprising: identifying a three-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter based on the ultrasonic volume data, and determining a plurality of reference directions for performing cross-sectional tomography imaging on the anal sphincter based on the three-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter; transverse tomographic imaging is performed according to the plurality of reference directions, a plurality of transverse tomographic images of the anal sphincter corresponding to the plurality of reference directions are generated, and the display 118 is controlled to display the plurality of transverse tomographic images obtained by the processor 116.

Only the main functions of the components of the ultrasonic imaging system are described above, and for more details, reference is made to the related description of the ultrasonic imaging method 200 for the anal sphincter or the ultrasonic imaging method 500 for the anal sphincter, which is not described herein again.

Although the example embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the above-described example embodiments are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application thereto. Various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one of ordinary skill in the pertinent art without departing from the scope or spirit of the present application. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present application as claimed in the appended claims.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the implementation. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described device embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is only one type of logical functional division, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another device, or some features may be omitted, or not executed.

In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the application may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description.

Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the description of exemplary embodiments of the present application, various features of the present application are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the application and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. However, the method of the present application should not be construed to reflect the intent: this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into this detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this application.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that all of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and all of the processes or elements of any method or apparatus so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where such features are mutually exclusive. Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise.

Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that while some embodiments described herein include some features included in other embodiments, rather than other features, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the application and form different embodiments. For example, in the claims, any of the claimed embodiments may be used in any combination.

Various component embodiments of the present application may be implemented in hardware, or in software modules running on one or more processors, or in a combination thereof. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP) may be used in practice to implement some or all of the functionality of some of the modules according to embodiments of the present invention. The present application may also be embodied as apparatus programs (e.g., computer programs and computer program products) for performing a portion or all of the methods described herein. Such programs implementing the present application may be stored on a computer readable medium or may be in the form of one or more signals. Such a signal may be downloaded from an internet website or provided on a carrier signal or in any other form.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustrate rather than limit the application, and that those skilled in the art will be able to design alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. The application may be implemented by means of hardware comprising several distinct elements, and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In the unit claims enumerating several means, several of these means may be embodied by one and the same item of hardware. The usage of the words first, second and third, etcetera do not indicate any ordering. These words may be interpreted as names.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present application or the description thereof, and the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, and shall be covered by the protection scope of the present application. The protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of ultrasonic imaging of the anal sphincter, characterized in that said method comprises:

transmitting an ultrasonic wave to an anal sphincter of a tested object and receiving an echo of the ultrasonic wave to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal;

performing signal processing on the ultrasonic echo signal to obtain ultrasonic volume data of the anal sphincter;

identifying the position of an anal canal structure, an external anal sphincter or an internal anal sphincter based on the ultrasonic volume data, and determining a plurality of reference lines for performing cross sectional tomography on the anal sphincter based on the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter;

and performing the cross-sectional tomography according to the plurality of reference lines, and generating and displaying a plurality of cross-sectional tomography images of the anal sphincter corresponding to the plurality of reference lines.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a target location based on the ultrasound volume data and transforming the ultrasound volume data to the target location;

the position based on supersound volume data discernment anal canal structure, external anal sphincter or internal anal sphincter includes:

identifying a location of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter, or the internal anal sphincter based on the ultrasound volume data transformed to the target location.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein said identifying a location of an anal canal structure, an external anal sphincter, or an internal anal sphincter based on said ultrasound volume data comprises:

extracting a standard sagittal plane of the anal sphincter in the ultrasound volume data;

identifying a location of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter, or the internal anal sphincter in the standard sagittal plane;

the determining a plurality of reference lines for cross-sectional tomography of the anal sphincter based on the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter, or the internal anal sphincter comprises:

and determining a plurality of reference lines for performing the cross-sectional tomography on the standard sagittal plane according to the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter comprises a starting position and an ending position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter, and wherein the determining the plurality of reference lines for performing the cross-sectional tomography on the standard sagittal plane from the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter comprises:

the plurality of reference lines are arranged at equal intervals between the starting position and the ending position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter in the standard sagittal plane.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the location of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter comprises a two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter in the standard sagittal plane on which the plurality of reference lines for performing the cross-sectional tomography are determined based on the location of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter, comprising:

determining the distribution range of the plurality of reference lines according to the two-dimensional area of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter in the standard sagittal plane;

and arranging the plurality of reference lines on the standard sagittal plane at equal intervals according to the distribution range.

6. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

displaying the standard sagittal plane, and displaying the plurality of reference lines on the standard sagittal plane.

7. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein said identifying a location of an anal canal structure, an external anal sphincter, or an internal anal sphincter based on said ultrasound volume data comprises:

extracting a standard coronal plane of the anal sphincter in the ultrasound volume data;

identifying a location of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter, or the internal anal sphincter in the standard coronal plane;

the determining a plurality of reference lines for cross-sectional tomography based on the location of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter, or the internal anal sphincter comprises:

determining a plurality of reference lines for performing the cross sectional tomography on the standard coronal plane according to the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter comprises a starting position and a terminating position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter, and wherein the determining of the plurality of reference lines for performing the cross-sectional tomography on the standard coronal plane from the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter comprises:

the plurality of reference lines are arranged at equal intervals between the starting position and the ending position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter in the standard coronal plane.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter comprises a two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter in the standard coronal plane, and wherein the determining a plurality of reference lines for performing the cross-sectional tomography on the standard coronal plane based on the position of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter comprises:

determining the distribution range of the plurality of reference lines according to the two-dimensional area of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter in the standard coronal plane;

and arranging the reference lines on the standard coronal plane at equal intervals according to the distribution range.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

displaying the standard coronal plane and displaying the plurality of reference lines on the standard coronal plane.

11. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the method further comprises:

extracting a standard sagittal plane, a standard cross section and a standard coronal plane of the anal sphincter from the ultrasonic volume data, and displaying the standard sagittal plane, the standard cross section and the standard coronal plane on the same screen with the plurality of cross-sectional tomographic images.

12. The method of claim 2, wherein determining a target location based on the ultrasound volume data comprises:

detecting at least three target features in the ultrasound volume data, the at least three target features including at least one of an anal canal structure, an external anal sphincter, and an internal anal sphincter;

and determining the rotation angle and/or translation distance required by the ultrasonic volume data according to the spatial position relation among the at least three target characteristic structures.

13. The method of claim 2, wherein determining a target location based on the ultrasound volume data comprises:

extracting a standard cross section of the anal sphincter in the ultrasound volume data;

determining a center point of a two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter in the standard cross-section;

determining a standard sagittal plane and a standard coronal plane of the anal sphincter in the ultrasonic volume data by taking the central point of the two-dimensional area of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter as an imaging point;

and determining the angle of rotation and/or the distance of translation required by the ultrasonic volume data according to the angle of rotation and/or the distance of translation required by the standard cross section, the standard sagittal plane and the standard coronal plane.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said extracting a standard cross-section of the anal sphincter muscle in the ultrasound volume data comprises:

extracting cross sections of a plurality of anal sphincters from the ultrasound volume data;

identifying a two-dimensional region of an anal canal structure, an external anal sphincter or an internal anal sphincter in the cross-sections of the plurality of anal sphincters, respectively;

determining a confidence level of the identified two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter, or the internal anal sphincter;

determining the standard cross-section from the plurality of cross-sections based on a confidence level of a two-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter, or the internal anal sphincter.

15. The method of claim 2, wherein determining a target location based on the ultrasound volume data comprises:

and inputting the ultrasonic volume data into a trained machine learning model, and outputting the angle of the ultrasonic volume data needing to be rotated and/or the distance of the ultrasonic volume data needing to be translated.

16. A method of ultrasonic imaging of the anal sphincter, characterized in that said method comprises:

identifying a three-dimensional region of an anal canal structure, an external anal sphincter or an internal anal sphincter based on the ultrasound volume data, determining a plurality of reference directions for cross-sectional tomography of the anal sphincter based on the three-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter or the internal anal sphincter;

and performing the transverse tomography according to the plurality of reference directions, and generating and displaying a plurality of transverse tomography images of the anal sphincter muscle corresponding to the plurality of reference directions.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

the three-dimensional region based on supersound volume data discernment anal canal structure, external anal sphincter or internal anal sphincter includes:

identifying a three-dimensional region of the anal canal structure, the external anal sphincter, or the internal anal sphincter based on the ultrasound volume data transformed to the target location.

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, further comprising:

19. The method of claim 17, wherein determining a target location based on the ultrasound volume data comprises:

20. The method of claim 17, wherein determining a target location based on the ultrasound volume data comprises:

21. An ultrasound imaging system, comprising:

an ultrasonic probe;

the receiving circuit is used for controlling the ultrasonic probe to receive the echo of the ultrasonic wave so as to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal;

a processor for signal processing the ultrasound echo signals resulting in ultrasound volume data of the anal sphincter, said processor being further adapted to perform the steps of the method of ultrasound imaging of the anal sphincter of any of claims 1-20 to generate a plurality of cross-sectional tomographic images;

a display for displaying the plurality of cross-sectional tomographic images.