JP2960565B2 - Ultrasonic probe - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe for diagnosing ultrasonic waves by irradiating an ultrasonic wave to a subject by providing an ultrasonic vibrator at the tip of an insertion portion in a body cavity. About

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an ultrasonic endoscope, when performing an ultrasonic diagnosis, an insertion portion is inserted into a body cavity, and degassed water is injected into a body cavity through a channel of the endoscope. Degassing water filling method for ultrasonic diagnosis by filling, or installing a balloon outside the end of the endoscope, and injecting degassed water into this through a degassing water injection hole for ultrasonic diagnosis It was performed by the balloon method.

[0003] Also, in order to make an ultrasonic diagnosis of a narrow body cavity or a stenosis site, an ultrasonic probe having a small diameter is used. Alternatively, a balloon method in which degassed water is injected into a balloon attached to the outside of a sheath covering the ultrasonic transducer to perform ultrasonic diagnosis is performed. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-63345 discloses that water can be supplied to and drained from a balloon simply by operating an operation member while holding a scanner by hand, and the ultrasonic probe can be driven. A radial scanner based on the balloon method, which is constructed so that the scanning can be performed as it is, is disclosed.

[0004]

When ultrasonic scanning is performed by the above-mentioned conventional endoscope and ultrasonic probe, the ultrasonic waves pass through a sheath, degassed water, and a balloon, and then the subject is examined. Will be irradiated. Therefore, there is a problem that the irradiated ultrasonic wave is attenuated and the ultrasonic diagnostic range is narrowed. Particularly, in the case of a small-diameter ultrasonic probe, since the outer diameter of the ultrasonic transducer is small, the transmission power of the ultrasonic wave is weak, and the degree of attenuation is further increased. Therefore, when an ultrasonic image is displayed on the display device, a good image cannot be obtained and proper ultrasonic diagnosis cannot be performed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed to solve the above problems, and has as its object to provide an ultrasonic probe capable of obtaining a good ultrasonic image with little attenuation of ultrasonic waves.

[0006]

According to the present invention, an ultrasonic transducer is provided at the tip of a body cavity insertion portion, and the ultrasonic transducer is driven while rotating or moving forward and backward to achieve the above object. In an ultrasonic probe for performing ultrasonic scanning, the tip of an insertion portion provided with a balloon is formed by an ultrasonic vibrator protection member that covers the periphery of the ultrasonic vibrator, and is provided inside the ultrasonic vibrator protection member. A shaft for rotating or moving the ultrasonic vibrator is connected to a holding member for holding the ultrasonic vibrator to be driven, and the ultrasonic vibrator and the ultrasonic vibrator protecting member are relatively moved to a driving unit that applies a driving force to the shaft. The ultrasonic probe is characterized in that it is provided with a means for moving the ultrasonic vibrator out of the ultrasonic vibrator protection member.

[0007]

As described above, since the ultrasonic vibrator is configured to be able to protrude and retract from the ultrasonic vibrator protection member, when driving the ultrasonic vibrator, the ultrasonic vibrator can be driven by protruding from the ultrasonic vibrator protection member. It is possible to eliminate at least the attenuation of the ultrasonic wave by the ultrasonic transducer protecting member.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using an ultrasonic probe according to the present invention. Ultrasonic pro
The probe 1 is inserted into the channel 3 of the fiber scope 2 and connected to the ultrasonic observation device 4. The ultrasonic probe 1 has a probe unit 5 for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves by an ultrasonic transducer provided inside the distal end, a motor for driving the ultrasonic transducer, a position detecting circuit, and a receiving part. It has a drive unit 6 provided with an amplifier for signal amplification and the like.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the ultrasonic probe according to the first embodiment. The probe portion 5 is connected to a sheath 7 extending in a tubular shape as a cover member, an ultrasonic vibrator 8 provided inside the distal end of the sheath 7, and the ultrasonic vibrator 8. And a balloon 10 provided on the outer side of the distal end of the case 7. The drive unit 6 has a slide shaft mechanism 11 connected to the shaft 9, gears 12 and 13 connected to the slide shaft mechanism 11 to transmit a rotational force to the shaft 9, and a motor 14. Then, the ultrasonic vibrator 8 is rotated via the shaft 9 in a direction orthogonal to the central axis of the shaft 9. Further, the drive section 6 has a ball screw 16 connected to the slide shaft mechanism 11 via an arm 15 and a sliding motor 17 connected to the ball screw 16, Thus, the ultrasonic vibrator 8 is moved forward and backward in the direction of the center axis of the shaft 9.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are a side view showing the details of the slide shaft mechanism 11 and a sectional view taken along line AA. The shaft 9 is connected to one end of the arm 15 via a bearing 18 so that the shaft 9 is rotatable in the outer peripheral direction, and is moved integrally with the arm 15 in the center axis direction of the shaft 9. . An outer shaft 19 is fixed to the motor-side end 9a of the shaft 9, and the outside of the outer shaft 19 is covered with a cover 20. Outer shaft 19 and cover 20 are geared
The gear 12 is engaged with the gear 13 so as to transmit the power of the motor 14. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a notch 21 is formed in the shaft 9, a rotation transmitting pin 22 is fitted in the notch 21, the outer shaft 19 receives the rotational power received by the gear 12, and is further transmitted to the shaft 9. The Rukoto. The outer shaft 23 has a ring-shaped cross section, and the rotation transmission pin 22 is fitted into a gap 23 between the outer shaft 19 and the cover 20, and the shaft 9 and the outer shaft
The shaft 9 can be integrally moved in the outer peripheral direction, and the shaft 9 can slide with respect to the outer shaft 19 in the center axis direction of the shaft 9.

The operation of this embodiment constructed as described above will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, when the balloon 10 is not used, that is, when the ultrasonic scanning is not performed, the ultrasonic vibrator 8 is switched to the sheath. To be located inside the box 7. In the case of ultrasonic scanning, as shown in FIG. 6, deaerated water is injected into the balloon 10 to inflate it, and the slide shaft mechanism is driven to rotate the ball screw by the slide motor to rotate the shaft. 9 is moved toward the tip of the probe section 5.
Thus, the ultrasonic vibrator 8 can be protruded into the balloon 10 from the tip of the sheath 7. Ultrasonic transducer 8
When is projected to a predetermined position, the sliding motor is stopped, a signal is supplied to the ultrasonic vibrator 8 to drive it, and the motor 14 is rotated to perform radial scanning. Become. After the radial scanning, the sliding motor is driven again to store the ultrasonic transducer 8 in the case 7.

According to the present embodiment, when the balloon 10 is not used, the ultrasonic vibrator 8 can be located in the case 7, so that the ultrasonic vibrator 8 can be protected. , The balloon 10 can function as a tip cap. Also, when using balloon 10,
Since the ultrasonic vibrator 8 can be protruded from the sheath 7, when a signal is supplied to the ultrasonic vibrator 8 to drive the ultrasonic vibrator 8, the ultrasonic wave passes through the ultrasonic transmission medium in the balloon 10 and is covered. The sample will be irradiated. Therefore, the attenuation of the ultrasonic wave caused by passing through the sheath 7 can be eliminated, and a good ultrasonic image can be displayed on the display device.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show a second embodiment of the present invention. Parts corresponding to those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals (the same applies to the following embodiments). In this embodiment, a balloon 10 is provided outside the ultrasonic vibrator 8,
A narrow plate 24 made of a shape memory alloy is provided outside the balloon 10. An end 10a of the narrow plate 24 made of a shape memory alloy is fixed to a front end 7a of the sheet 7. The narrow plate 24 made of a shape memory alloy is divided along the central axis direction of the probe portion 5 so as to sandwich the balloon 10 and the ultrasonic vibrator 8 from a direction perpendicular to the central axis direction. It is provided in. The narrow plate 24 made of a shape memory alloy changes its shape when it is energized, as shown in FIG. The configuration of the ultrasonic vibrator 8, the shaft 7, the shaft rotation mechanism in the drive unit, and the like are the same as those in the first embodiment, but in this embodiment, no shaft slide mechanism is provided in the drive unit.

The operation of this embodiment constructed as described above will be described. When the balloon 10 is not used, that is, when the ultrasonic scanning is not performed, as shown in FIG. The housing 10 is covered with a narrow plate 24 made of a shape memory alloy. Next, when the balloon 10 is used, that is, when ultrasonic scanning is performed, power is supplied to the narrow plate 24 made of a shape memory alloy. Then, the narrow plate 24 made of a shape memory alloy changes its shape as shown in FIG. Bal
By injecting degassed water into the housing 10 and inflating the same, a signal is supplied to the ultrasonic vibrator 8 to drive the ultrasonic vibrator 8 and drive the shaft 7.
To perform ultrasonic scanning.

According to the present embodiment, when ultrasonic scanning is not performed, the ultrasonic vibrator 8 and the balloon 10 are covered by the narrow plate 24 made of a shape memory alloy as a protective member. In this case, since there is no member that causes the attenuation of the ultrasonic wave around the ultrasonic transducer 8, a good ultrasonic image can be displayed.

FIG. 9 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment. Instead of taking the means to make the ultrasonic vibrator protrude from the sheath, the ultrasonic vibrator is fixed and the sheath is moved. It is intended to be. The slide shaft mechanism provided in the drive section is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, except that the moving member 25 which receives the driving force of the motor 17 via the arm 15 and the ball screw 16 is used. The end 7b of the case 7 is fixed. Other configurations are almost the same as those of the first embodiment.

With such a configuration, when performing ultrasonic scanning, first, deaerated water is injected into the balloon 10 to inflate it, and then the slide motor 17 is driven to drive the balloon. -Rotating the screw 16 to transmit power to the moving member 25,
Retreat 7 Then, the ultrasonic vibrator 8 becomes the sheath 7
And is located inside the balloon 10 that has been moved together with the sheath 7. In this state, the ultrasonic vibrator 8
The ultrasonic scanning can be performed by supplying a signal to the device and driving and rotating the device. After the ultrasonic scanning, the sheath 7 is returned to the original state and the ultrasonic transducer 8 is sealed.
The degassed water in the balloon 10 may be discharged by placing the degassed water in the balloon 10.

As described above, according to this embodiment, when performing ultrasonic scanning, there is no sheath 7 around the ultrasonic vibrator 8, so that attenuation of ultrasonic waves can be avoided and a good ultrasonic image can be obtained. When the ultrasonic scanning is not performed, the ultrasonic transducer 8 is protected by the sheath 7.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment of the present invention, and various modifications and changes are possible. For example, adding a means for detecting a balloon contraction state and a means for preventing the probe portion from being pulled out when the balloon expands is added to each of the above embodiments, thereby preventing attenuation of ultrasonic waves and protection of ultrasonic transducers. In addition to the original effect, the effect of preventing damage to the balloon can be obtained. In other words, the applicant has disclosed in
When removing the insertion portion inserted into the guide member as proposed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 24, a means for informing in advance that the balloon has been forgotten is provided to prevent damage to the balloon and ensure safety. The configuration described above may be applied to the present invention. Also,
As shown in FIG. 10, a housing for holding the ultrasonic vibrator 8
By forming the tip 26a of the curved surface 26 as a curved surface, the possibility of damaging the balloon is reduced even if the ultrasonic vibrator projects outside the sheath and comes into contact with the balloon. Further, it is possible to prevent the balloon from being damaged and the living body from being damaged even if the ultrasonic transducer comes into contact with the living body.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, the ultrasonic vibrator is exposed from the ultrasonic vibrator protection member at the time of ultrasonic scanning. Without passing through the ultrasonic vibrator protection member
The object can be irradiated by passing only the ultrasonic transmission medium in the chamber. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the ultrasonic wave from passing through the ultrasonic transducer protecting member and attenuate the ultrasonic wave, and to display a good ultrasonic image. Further, when ultrasonic scanning is not performed, the ultrasonic transducer can be housed in the ultrasonic transducer protecting member, so that the ultrasonic transducer can be protected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall schematic diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the ultrasonic probe according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a driving unit.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an ultrasonic probe in a state where ultrasonic scanning is not performed.

FIG. 6 shows an ultrasonic probe in a state where ultrasonic scanning is being performed.
FIG.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of an ultrasonic probe according to a second embodiment of the present invention in a state where ultrasonic scanning is not performed.

FIG. 8 is an ultrasonic probe in a state where ultrasonic scanning is being performed.
FIG.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of an ultrasonic probe according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a partial side view of an ultrasonic probe section according to a modification of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ultrasonic probe 5 Probe part 6 Drive part 7 Seed 8 Ultrasonic transducer 9 Shaft 10 Balloon 11 Slide shaft mechanism 12 Gear 13 Gear 14 Motor 15 Arm 16 Ball screw 17 Motor for slide

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] In an ultrasonic probe for performing ultrasonic scanning by providing an ultrasonic vibrator at a distal end of a body cavity insertion portion and driving the ultrasonic vibrator while rotating or advancing / retreating, a balloon is used. The tip of the insertion portion provided is formed by an ultrasonic vibrator protection member that covers the periphery of the ultrasonic vibrator, and the ultrasonic vibrator is attached to a holding member that holds the ultrasonic vibrator provided inside the ultrasonic vibrator protection member. A shaft for rotating or moving the ultrasonic transducer is connected, and the ultrasonic vibrator and the ultrasonic vibrator protection member are relatively moved to a drive unit that applies a driving force to the shaft, so that the ultrasonic vibrator moves out of the ultrasonic vibrator protection member. An ultrasonic probe provided with means for causing the ultrasonic probe to operate.