Method to estimate the in-plane flow from the observation plane Doppler velocity distribution of the fluid

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a method in which an in-plane flow can be estimated simply by a method wherein a two-dimensional boundary inflow and outflow amount and a three-dimensional interlayer inflow and outflow amount are estimated from a Doppler speed distribution so as to be composed. ;SOLUTION: A Doppler flow-rate distance function is separated into a boundary-line flow- rate distance function Q_b(x) and a boundary-face flow-rate distance function Q_s(x) on the basis of a boundary condition. The boundary condition differs depending on the property of an observation face. The boundary-line flow-rate distance function Q_b(x) can be decided by a change with the passage of time in the boundary line of a tomogram. For example, in the ultrasonic image analysis of a heart, the inside wall of the heart is captured as a boundary line, and a boundary-line flow-rate distance function Q_b(x) is found on the basis of a change with the passage of time in the position of the inside wall of the heart in a real-time diagnostic image. A boundary-face flow-rate distance function Q_s(x) is found as the distance between a Doppler flow-rate distance function Q_d(x) and the boundary-line flow- rate distance function Q_b(x). In this manner, when a flow rate [the function Q_b(x)] which flows into and out from the two-dimensional direction and a flow rate [the function Q_s(x)] which flows into and out in an interlayer part in the three-dimensional direction are determined quantitatively, an in-plane flow-rate function and a stream-line flow-rate function can be found separately on the basis of them.;COPYRIGHT: (C)1999,JPO