We describe a new ultrasonography system, which can identify an implant position in bone. Although conventional X-ray fluoroscopy can visualize implants, it has the serious disadvantage of X-ray exposure. Therefore, we developed a system for orthopedic surgery that involves no X-ray exposure. Barriers to the development of the system were overcome using an ultrasonic instrument and fuzzy logic techniques. We located distal transverse screw holes in an intramedullary nail during surgery for femur fracture. The screw hole positions are identified by calculating two fuzzy degrees of intensity and the variance. Results allow this system to identify the screw hole positions within an error of 1.43 mm, an error ratio adequate for clinical surgical practice.

This paper proposes an automated 3D visualization method of embedded tubes applicable to the scanned result of pulse-radar Non-Destructive Testing (NDT). The proposed method consists of three stages. First, our method defines the processing region which includes a pattern generated by a tube. This region is determined by referring to the composition of a received wave. Second, after expert knowledge of a tube is translated into fuzzy inference rules, the positions of embedded tubes are identified by inferring them. Third, 3D links of the identified positions are formed to visualize the continuous shape of the tubes. Consequently, the tubes are extracted, and their 3D shapes are visualized. The experimental result on the specimens shows that our method was able to find all tubes that exist in the radiograph and the schematic. Our method could thus provide the internal information of concrete with sufficient accuracy required in the practical construction work.

We describe a new automated method for detecting embedded objects in the ultrasonic non-destructive testing (NDT) system. A-scan waves collected by our developed system are converted into a B-scan image. The sensor system has the noise signals independent from targets to be detected. In the ultrasonic NDT system, the signals are due to disturbing of echoes produced by the transducers and multiple reflections. These signals are called inherent wave. This paper first proposes the estimation method of the inherent wave from the B-scan image. After this method subtracts the inherent wave, the resultant image (suppression image) is considered as the image consisting of only echoes from the embedded objects. Second, analysis of the intensity histogram of the suppression image leads the candidate points of embedded objects. Finally, fuzzy if-then rules can represent information on distribution of the intensity histogram and the homogeneous intensity levels of the objects. Evaluated degrees from the inference results can demonstrate the embedded objects. The method was applied to concrete members with reinforcing bars, resin tubes and steel pipes. The experimental results showed that this method was able to automatically detect the embedded objects with high accuracy and to display the location of embedded objects.