Object information acquiring apparatus and control method for the object information acquiring apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9513262-B2
Application number	US-201314068090-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 31, 2013
Priority date	Nov 12, 2012
Publication date	Dec 6, 2016
Grant date	Dec 6, 2016

Abstract

An object information acquiring apparatus comprises a receiver receiving an acoustic wave propagating inside an object and convert the acoustic wave into an electric signal; a scanning unit configured to causing the receiver to scan the object; a control unit configured to controlling operation of the scanning unit; a detection unit configured to detecting a status of the acoustic wave reception; and a processing unit for acquiring characteristic information on the inside of the object on the basis of the electric signal, wherein the control unit decides whether or not the operation of the scanning unit is changed, on the basis of a result of detection by the detection unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An object information acquiring apparatus comprising:
a receiver that receives an acoustic wave propagating inside an object and convert the acoustic wave into an electric signal;
a scanning unit that causes the receiver to move relative to the object and scan the object;
a control unit that controls an operation of the scanning unit;
a detection unit that detects an error in an acoustic wave reception; and
a processing unit that acquires characteristic information on the inside of the object on the basis of the electric signal,
wherein the control unit decides, on the basis of the detection of the error by the detection unit, whether or not to change the operation of the scanning unit.

2. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, in a case in which the detection unit detects an error that influences reception of the acoustic wave, the control unit decides whether or not the scanning unit causes the receiver to move depending on a content of the error detected by the detection unit.

3. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein, in a case in which a decision is made that the receiver is caused to move, the control unit decides on a position to which the receiver is caused to move from a position where the acoustic wave is received when the error occurred, depending on the content of the error.

4. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the receiver restarts receiving the acoustic wave from the position where receiver is caused to move after an occurrence of the error.

5. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein, in a case in which the error is not a continuous error, the control unit causes the receiver to move to a position just before the error occurs.

6. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the scanning unit causes the receiver to perform scanning in a main scanning direction, and a sub-scanning direction intersecting with the main scanning direction,
the object is sectioned into a plurality of stripes corresponding to the main scanning direction, and
the control unit causes the receiver to move to a start point of a stripe where the acoustic wave is received in the occurrence of the error, in a case where the error is a continuous error.

7. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 6 , further comprising a designation unit that receives designation from a user, the designation being relevant to an acoustic wave acquisition region where the acoustic wave from the object is acquired,
wherein, in a case in which the acoustic wave acquisition region is smaller in size than a predetermined value, the control unit causes the receiver to move to a position where the reception of the acoustic wave has started.

8. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the predetermined value is decided on the basis of a number of times of movement of the receiver in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction.

9. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the predetermined value is decided on the basis of time required for acquiring the acoustic wave until the occurrence of the error.

10. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising an irradiation unit for applying light to the object,
wherein the receiver receives a photoacoustic wave generated by a photoacoustic effect.

11. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the detection unit is detects, as the error, that a quantity of light applied from the irradiation unit does not satisfy a predetermined reference.

12. A control method for an object information acquiring apparatus, the method comprising:
operating a receiver to receive an acoustic wave propagating inside an object and convert the acoustic wave into an electric signal, with the receiver;
operating a scanning unit to cause the receiver to scan the object;
operating a control unit to control operation of the scanning unit;
operating a detection unit to detect an error in the reception of the acoustic wave; and
operating an operating processing unit to acquire characteristic information on inside of the object on the basis of the electric signal,
wherein in the operating a control unit to control operation of the scanning unit, a decision is made as to whether or not the operation of the scanning unit is changed, on the basis of the detection of the error by the detection unit.

13. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the irradiation unit applies the light to the object from the same side as the receiver with respect to the object.

14. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the detection unit is detects, as the error, an abnormality of communication.

15. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 7 , further comprising an input unit that allows an input of the designation by the user.

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Watanabe Tadaki

Classifications

• G01N29/223

  Supports, positioning or alignment in fixed situation (mounting transducers per se G10K11/004) · CPC title

• G01N29/26 Primary

  Arrangements for orientation or scanning {by relative movement of the head and the sensor (mechanical steering of sound transducers or their beams G10K11/35)} · CPC title

• G01N2291/26

  Scanned objects · CPC title

• A61B5/0095 Primary

  by applying light and detecting acoustic waves, i.e. photoacoustic measurements · CPC title

• G01N29/2418

  using optoacoustic interaction with the material, e.g. laser radiation, photoacoustics (photoacoustic cells G01N21/1702; measuring characteristics of vibrations by using radiation-sensitive means G01H9/00; acousto-optical conversion techniques for short-range imaging G01S15/8965; sound-producing devices using laser bundle G10K15/046) · CPC title