APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MEASURING AN AMOUNT OF URINE IN A BLADDER

摘要

An apparatus for measuring an amount of urine in a bladder includes a transducer, a switch for selecting one of operational modes, which include a bladder position check mode and a urine amount measurement mode, and a central control unit for operating the apparatus according to the operational mode selected by the switch. The central control unit in the bladder position check mode repeats sequentially predetermined operations until the urine amount measurement mode is selected, the predetermined operations include performing a preliminary scan to a single scan plane related to an aiming direction of the transducer, detecting a center point of the bladder in a ultrasound image, and representing a predetermined mark at the center point of the bladder in the displayed ultrasound image in order to indicate visually a center point of the bladder.

主权项

1. An apparatus for measuring an amount of urine in a bladder using ultrasound signals, comprising:
a transducer for transmitting ultrasound signals and receiving ultrasound signals reflected to and from the bladder and tissues surrounding the bladder; a switch for selecting one of operational modes, which include a bladder position check mode and a urine amount measurement mode; a display unit for outputting images; and a central control unit for operating the apparatus according to the operational mode selected by the switch, wherein the central control unit in the bladder position check mode is configured to repeat sequentially predetermined operations until the urine amount measurement mode is selected, the predetermined operations include to perform a preliminary scan to obtain ultrasound signals for a plurality of scan lines of a single scan plane related to an aiming direction of the transducer, to detect location information of a bladder in a ultrasound image by using the obtained ultrasound signals of the single scan plane, to detect a center point of the bladder by using the location information of the bladder, and to represent a predetermined mark at the center point of the bladder in the displayed ultrasound image in order to indicate visually a center of the bladder, and wherein the central control unit in the urine amount measurement mode is configured to perform an main scan to obtain ultrasound signals for a plurality of scan planes from the transducer, to estimate a volume of the bladder by using the ultrasound signals obtained by the main scan, and to measure an amount of urine corresponding to the estimated volume of the bladder.