CN117832974A - Photoelectric signal bimodal slip ring - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a photoelectric signal bimodal slip ring; wherein the stator and the rotor are directly connected by a distal bearing and a proximal bearing and concentrically and relatively rotate along a rotation axis, and the optical path component is used for communicating the OCT system and the SC/APC adapter; the circuit slip ring assembly is used for communicating the IVUS system and the probe; the circuit slip ring assembly includes: the electric motor comprises an inclined electric brush group, a first conducting ring and a first rotating surface, wherein the first conducting ring and the first rotating surface are connected with the inclined electric brush group through sliding contact, the first rotating surface is generated around a rotating axis of rotation, and the first conducting ring is arranged on the first rotating surface; the extending direction of each brush from the installation position in the inclined brush group is not parallel to the rotating shaft of the slip ring, and the inclined brush group is elastically bent; the first conductive ring is part of a first rotational surface; the first rotating face is not held parallel to the tilting brush set. The invention reduces the transmission noise of the electric signal and can ensure the continuous transmission of the photoelectric signal in the rotation process of the catheter; and the complexity of the structure is reduced.

Description

Photoelectric signal bimodal slip ring

Technical Field

The invention belongs to the technical field of diagnosis, and particularly relates to a bimodal slip ring capable of transmitting photoelectric signals, which is used for realizing a rotary transmission system of a photoelectric bimodal probe in a medical imaging system.

Background

Intravascular imaging is widely used in atherosclerotic disease, especially coronary heart disease, with the most common imaging systems being intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). Both of which use an intra-coronary imaging catheter to image a cross-section of the coronary artery, and which have different imaging principles to provide different imaging advantages. Because the penetration capability of the IVUS to the tissue is better than that of the OCT, the identification of the wall thickness of the blood vessel can be realized, and the axial resolution of the OCT is 10 times that of the IVUS, so that the identification of plaque microstructures can be realized. OCT uses infrared light to image the lumen, and red blood cells can scatter infrared light to influence the recognition of vascular structures, so that contrast agent is required to wash the lumen when OCT is applied to image, and IVUS imaging is less influenced by blood flow. In clinical diagnosis and treatment, detailed information of lesions is helpful for better assessment of plaque stability and personalized diagnosis and treatment strategies are formulated, so that the application of the lesion and the plaque to the same lesion can increase clinical benefit of a patient, but multiple invasive imaging increases the occurrence rate of instrument-related complications and increases the economic burden of the patient.

In order to solve the problem, the prior art scheme has a probe integrating optical coherence tomography (Optical Coherence Tomography, OCT) and intravascular ultrasound (Intravascular Ultrasound, IVUS) and is used for realizing multi-mode imaging of the optical coherence tomography (Optical Coherence Tomography, OCT) and the intravascular ultrasound, two imaging technologies are fused into the same catheter, two mode images are obtained through one-time detection, and the occurrence of complications is reduced while the benefit of a patient is increased.

Imaging catheters for OCT and IVUS are currently common, both of which are imaged by rotational scanning. Rotation of the bimodal probe requires a bimodal slip ring to effect signal transduction during rotation. The bimodal slip ring can ensure continuous transmission of photoelectric signals in the rotation process of the catheter, and is an important link of bimodal imaging technology.

However, a conventional existing contact electrical signal communication technology is shown in fig. 3; which is typically designed with brushes 301 and conductive grooves 303. The conductive slot design is typically mounted on a cylindrical surface 304, which ensures that the brushes are in close contact with the conductive slot by mounting springs 302 on the brushes. The problem with the placement of brushes is that the grooves in the cylindrical surface are rotated to require coaxial rotation with the optical fiber coupling of the optical communication. If the two parts are not rotated coaxially, optical losses tend to result, or brush contact is not uniform during rotation, thereby introducing noise in the electrical signal. This also increases the difficulty in machining the rotor and stator. But also the use of springs complicates the slip ring structure. A coaxial arrangement is thus now required for alignment of the brush 301 and the conducting slot 303; or require a very complex structure to ensure its coaxial alignment in the region of the brushes and the conducting grooves, which also affects the dimensions and operability.

Disclosure of Invention

Aiming at the problems in the background technology, the invention provides a photoelectric signal bimodal slip ring, which comprises the following specific scheme: the stator, the rotor, the light path component and the circuit slip ring component; wherein the stator and the rotor are directly connected by a distal bearing and a proximal bearing and concentrically and relatively rotate along a rotation axis, and the optical path assembly is used for communicating the OCT system with an SC/APC adapter installed in the rotor;

the circuit slip ring assembly is used for communicating a proximal wire and a distal wire, the proximal wire is connected with the IVUS system, and the distal wire is connected with the IVUS probe through a connecting joint;

the circuit slip ring assembly includes: the electric motor comprises an inclined electric brush group, a first conducting ring and a first rotating surface, wherein the first conducting ring and the first rotating surface are connected with the inclined electric brush group through sliding contact, the first rotating surface is generated around a rotating axis of rotation, and the first conducting ring is arranged on the first rotating surface; the extending direction of each brush from the installation position in the inclined brush group is not parallel to the rotating shaft of the slip ring, and the inclined brush group is elastically bent;

the first conductive ring is part of a first rotational surface; the first rotating face is not held parallel to the tilting brush set.

The length of the straight line of the contact point between the root of the inclined electric brush group and the conducting ring is smaller than the length of the inclined electric brush group at the part, and the extending length of the inclined electric brush group is adjusted in the installation process, so that the electric brush is elastically bent.

The root part of the inclined brush group is a position where an electric wire in the inclined brush group extends out of the rotor or the stator, and the installation position of the inclined brush group is the rotor or the stator;

when the installation position of the inclined brush group is a rotor, the first conducting ring and the first rotating surface are arranged on the stator;

when the installation position of the inclined brush group is a stator, the first conductive ring and the first rotating surface are arranged on the rotor.

The circuit slip ring assembly further includes: the installation position of the inclined ground wire electric brush group is the same as that of the inclined ground wire electric brush group, the second conducting ring is installed on the second rotating surface, and the inclined ground wire electric brush group is connected with the second conducting ring in a sliding contact manner and is elastically bent.

The second rotating surface and the first rotating surface are the same rotating surface.

The center position of the synchronous wheel fixed outside the rotor and the center position of the far-end bearing are positioned on the same diameter surface; the rotation of the rotor is realized by driving the synchronous wheel; the coupling of the optical paths in the optical path component uses the short-distance coupling of the optical fiber inserted core, and uses a gradient index lens or a collimated light lens.

The close-range coupling of the optical fiber ferrule is as follows: the proximal optical fiber is fixed by a proximal ferrule; the proximal ferrule is fixed in the stator alignment barrel through glue; the proximal optical fiber can extend to the outside of the stator through the optical cable to connect with the patient-interacting unit and the OCT system; the distal optical fiber is fixed by a distal ferrule; the far-end insert core is fixed in the rotor collimating barrel through glue; the distal fiber extension connects to an SC/APC adapter mounted in the rotor; the optical path in the rotating conduit in the bimodal system can be connected through the SC/APC connector and the SC/APC adapter so as to realize optical path communication; the OCT signal is connected into the SC/APC adapter through the SC/APC connector;

the distal end of the rotor is provided with a clamp, and the clamp fixed with the distal end of the rotor collimating barrel drives the SC/APC joint to rotate so as to drive the catheter to rotate.

The proximal end of the proximal end bearing is provided with a proximal end bearing compression ring, a distal end step of the distal end bearing is provided with a distal end bearing compression ring, and an air gap is arranged between contact surfaces of a proximal end optical fiber of the stator and a distal end optical fiber of the rotor.

The inclined electric brush group is provided with 1 to 5 groups of electric brushes, the number of wires arranged in each group of electric brushes side by side is 2 to 5, and the thickness of the wires in the inclined electric brush group is 0.1 to 1 millimeter.

The thickness of the wire is 0.2 to 0.4 mm.

The invention has the beneficial effects that: the design of the rotating surface is matched with the elasticity of the inclined electric brush group to complete sliding contact; the rotating shaft of the inclined electric brush group does not need to be coincident with the symmetrical axis of the conducting ring, and does not need to be coincident with the light path rotating shaft, and the close contact between the electric brush and the conducting ring can be maintained; thereby reducing the transmission noise of the electric signal and ensuring the continuous transmission of the photoelectric signal in the rotation process of the catheter; and the complexity of the structure is reduced.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an embodiment of a dual-mode slip ring for optical signals according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic chord section view of the through axis of the bimodal slip ring of the optoelectronic signal in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of the mating of a brush and a conductive slot of the prior art of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic view of a radial cross section of an optoelectronic signal bimodal slip ring near a brush in an embodiment of the present invention.

The device comprises a patient interaction unit, a photoelectric signal bimodal slip ring, a 103-OCT/IVUS bimodal catheter, a 201-stator, a 202-rotor, a 203-distal optical fiber, a 204-proximal optical fiber, a 205-air gap, a 207-rotor collimating barrel, a 208-SC/APC adapter, a 209-bearing pressure ring, a 210-distal bearing, a 211-rotating surface, a 212-first conducting ring, a 213-second conducting ring, a 214-proximal bearing, a 215-tilting brush group, a 216-distal lead, a 217-connecting joint, a 218-optical cable, a 219-proximal lead, a 220-proximal bearing pressure ring, a 221-proximal ferrule, a 222-distal ferrule, a 223-clamp, a 224-synchronizing wheel, a 301-brush, a 302-spring, a 303-conducting groove, a 304-cylindrical surface and a 401-tilting ground wire brush group.

Detailed Description

The present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The system to which the embodiment of the present invention shown in fig. 1 is applied includes: an IVUS system, an OCT system and patient interaction unit 101, an optoelectronic signal bimodal slip ring 102, an OCT/IVUS bimodal catheter 103; the IVUS system transmits images via electrical signals, while the OCT system transmits images via optical signals. Both signals are coupled into the patient interface unit 101. An opto-electronic signal bimodal slip ring 102 is present in the patient interface unit 101 and functions to transmit both electrical and optical signals into the rotatable OCT/IVUS bimodal catheter 103. The bimodal catheter 103 is rotated by the motor of the patient-interacting unit 101; the electrical slip ring assembly for transmitting electrical signals is connected to the IVUS system by proximal conductors 219 and the electrical slip ring assembly is connected to the IVUS probe by distal conductors 216 by connection joints 217.

The optical-electrical-signal bimodal slip ring 102 as shown in fig. 2 includes: stator 201, rotor 202, optical path assembly and electrical slip ring assembly; the stator 201 and the rotor 202 are directly connected by a distal bearing 210 and a proximal bearing 214 and concentrically and relatively rotate along a rotation axis, and a distal bearing compression ring 209 is arranged on a stepped shaft at the distal end of the distal bearing 210; the distal bearing collar 209 can block bearing lubricant or other sources of contamination from entering the air gap 205; the rotation of the rotor can be achieved by driving the synchronizing wheel 224, the synchronizing wheel 224 is fixed outside the rotor 202, and the center position is generally on the same diameter surface with the center position of the distal bearing 210; a proximal bearing collar 220 disposed proximal to proximal bearing 214 blocks the entry of contamination sources into proximal bearing 214 and prevents radial sliding of rotor collimator tube 207.

As shown in fig. 2, the optical path component is used for communicating the OCT system with the SC/APC adapter 208 installed in the rotor 202, the SC/APC adapter 208 is connected with the OCT probe at the distal end of the OCT/IVUS bimodal catheter 103 through the SC/APC connector in the OCT probe, and the OCT optical signal of the OCT probe is transmitted to the OCT system through the SC/APC connector, the SC/APC adapter 208, and the optical path component in sequence; the coupling of the optical paths uses close-range coupling of the fiber ferrules, resulting in low loss. Other common optical coupling methods, such as those that generate parallel light using gradient index lenses (Grin Lens) or collimating lenses, are also suitable. Meanwhile, an air gap 205 is arranged between the contact surfaces of the proximal optical fiber 204 of the stator 201 and the distal optical fiber 203 of the rotor 202, and the existence of the air gap 205 at the distal end of the distal bearing compression ring 209 can avoid friction heat generation caused by high-speed rotation of the slip ring.

The proximal optical fiber 204 is held by a proximal ferrule 221 with a smooth coupling end face. The proximal ferrule 221 may be secured in the stator alignment sleeve 206 by glue. The proximal optical fiber 204 can be connected to the patient interface unit and OCT system by a fiber optic cable 218 extending to the exterior of the stator. The distal optical fiber 203 is fixed by the distal ferrule 222, and the coupling end surface is flat and smooth. The distal ferrule 222 may be secured in the rotor alignment barrel 207 by glue. The distal optical fiber 203 may be extended to connect to an SC/APC adapter 208 mounted in the rotor 202. The optical paths in the rotating conduits in the bimodal system may be connected by SC/APC connectors and SC/APC adapters 208 to achieve optical path communication.

The OCT signal is coupled into the SC/APC adapter 208 through the SC/APC connector. The distal end of the rotor 202 is provided with a clamp 223, and the clamp 223 fixed with the distal end of the rotor collimating tube 207 can drive the SC/APC connector to rotate so as to drive the catheter to rotate, thereby realizing the function of driving the IVUS/OCT bimodal catheter to rotate.

Electrical communication (communication of electrical signals) between the stator 201 and the rotor 202 as shown in fig. 2 and 4 is achieved by a circuit slip ring assembly for communicating the proximal conductor 219 and the distal conductor 216, comprising: the electric motor comprises a tilting brush group, a first conducting ring 213 and a first rotating surface 211, wherein the first conducting ring 213 is connected with the tilting brush group through sliding contact, the extending direction of each brush in the tilting brush group from an installation position is not parallel to the rotating shaft of a slip ring, the first rotating surface 211 is generated by rotating around a rotating axis, and the first conducting ring 213 is installed on the first rotating surface 211; the extending direction of the inclined brush group 215 from the installation position is not parallel to the rotating shaft of the slip ring and contacts the conductive ring 212 at a certain included angle, so that the linear length of the contact point between the root of the inclined brush group 215 and the conductive ring 212 is smaller than the length of the inclined brush group 215 at the part, and the inclined brush group 215 has elastic bending; the length of the inclined brush group 215 is adjusted in the installation process, so that the brushes themselves are elastically bent; the electric brush can always keep and conduct electricity in the rotating process by means of the stress generated by the elastic bending;

each wire may use a plurality of tilting brush sets 215 to ensure robustness of electrical signal transmission, and the thickness of the wires in the tilting brush sets 215 is 0.1 to 1 mm, preferably 0.2 to 0.4 mm, and the material may be gold, silver, copper, graphite or a combination of these materials. The tilting brush group 215 may be provided with 1 to 5 groups of brushes, each group of brushes having 2 to 5 wires arranged side by side.

The root of the oblique brush group 215 refers to the position where the electric wire from the oblique brush group 215 protrudes from the rotor 202 or the stator 201, and the oblique brush group may be mounted on either the rotor or the stator depending on the mounting position of the oblique brush group 215; so that the first rotation surface 211 for mounting the first conductive ring 213 is also provided on the stator or the rotor in the opposite direction; in the present embodiment, the installation position of the tilt brush group 215 is the rotor 202, and thus the tilt brush group 215 is protruded obliquely from the inner wall of the rotor 202; and a first rotary surface 211 is integrally provided on the stator 201 opposite to the rotor 202 in a region intermediate the distal bearing 210 and the proximal bearing 214.

In the invention, the design of the first rotating surface 211 is matched with the elasticity of the inclined electric brush group 215 to complete sliding contact; the first conductive ring 212 is fixed in one first rotation surface 211, and the first conductive ring 212 is a part of the first rotation surface 211 (edge smooth transition), because they are not parallel to the oblique brush group 215, the rotation axis of the oblique brush group 215 does not need to coincide with the axis of the conductive ring, and even less, the rotation axis of the optical path or the rotation axis, and close contact between the brushes and the conductive ring can be maintained. This reduces the difficulty of processing the rotor and stator (and even the choice of materials). Also, this design can reduce the failure rate by omitting the spring 302 in fig. 3 that presses the brush 301 into the conductive groove 303.

At the rotor 202 end, the tilt brush assembly 215 is connected to the connector 217 via a distal wire 216, which can further be connected to the IVUS probe in the OCT/IVUS bimodal catheter 103 via a wire; at the stator 201 end, a first conductive ring 212 connects the IVUS signal to the IVUS system through a proximal wire 219.

Since it is necessary to ensure that the first rotation surface 211 is not kept parallel to the inclined brush group 215, the first rotation surface 211 may be a plane or a curved surface inclined with respect to the rotation axis; such that this first surface of revolution 211 can be extended widely to other non-cylindrical designs such as spherical, ellipsoidal, etc.; but when the first rotation surface 211 is provided as a curved surface protruding toward the tilt brush group 215, it is easier to maintain the bending of the tilt brush group 215 after installation.

The IVUS in the slip ring assembly of the circuit is formed by a tilt brush group 215 connected with a signal path and two brushes of a tilt ground brush group 401 used for connecting with a circuit, wherein the tilt ground brush group 401 shown in fig. 4 is also installed in the rotor 202, and the installation position of the tilt brush group 215 is the same; a second conductive ring 213 (shown in fig. 2) matching the inclined ground brush group 401 is mounted on the stator, and the inclined ground brush group 401 is connected to the second conductive ring 213 by sliding contact, and the inclined ground brush group 401 is also elastically bent. Meanwhile, the two types of brushes (the inclined brush group 215 and the inclined ground brush group 401) can be installed in a staggered manner in the circumferential direction of the cylinder wall of the rotor 207, so that the probability of poor contact can be reduced; a second conductive ring 213 (its corresponding set of oblique ground brushes 401 is not shown in fig. 2, but is shown in fig. 4) is fixed to a first rotating surface 211 identical to the first conductive ring 212, so that the second conductive ring 213 is also part of the first rotating surface 211 (edge smooth transition), the second conductive ring 213 connecting the IVUS signal to the IVUS system via a proximal wire 219;

the size and arrangement of the two types of brushes can be identical; specifically, the arrangement condition of the oblique ground wire brush group 401 about the extending direction, the elastic bending, the wire material, the wire thickness and the like (such as the length) can be the same as that of the oblique ground wire brush group 215, and can be adjusted according to the actual condition during installation;

the second conductive ring 213 may not be mounted on the first rotation surface 211 but may be mounted on the second rotation surface, but the constraint of the second rotation surface is the same as that of the first rotation surface 211.

In use, the stator 201 may be secured to the patient interface unit and the rotor 202 may be rotated by the motor by driving the synchronizing wheel 224. The OCT fiber in the IVUS/OCT catheter can be connected to the SC/APC adapter 208 using an SC/APC connector and rotated by the clamp 223, and the IVUS signal can be connected to the connector 217.

The electrical and optical signals are then passed through the optical path assembly and the electrical slip ring assembly and to the proximal lead 219 and the optical cable 218, respectively, and ultimately result in the IVUS system and OCT system obtaining electrical and optical signals, respectively.

Claims (10)

1. An optoelectronic signal bimodal slip ring, comprising: a stator (201), a rotor (202), an optical path assembly and a circuit slip ring assembly; wherein the stator (201) and the rotor (202) are directly connected by a distal bearing (210) and a proximal bearing (214) and are concentrically and relatively rotated along a rotational axis, and an optical path assembly for communicating the OCT system with an SC/APC adapter (208) mounted in the rotor (202);

the circuit slip ring assembly is used for communicating a proximal wire (219) and a distal wire (216), the proximal wire (219) is connected with the IVUS system, and the distal wire (216) is connected with the IVUS probe through a connecting joint (217);

the circuit slip ring assembly includes: a tilt brush group (215), a first conductive ring (213) connected to the tilt brush group by sliding contact, and a first rotation surface (211), wherein the first rotation surface (211) is generated around a rotation axis of rotation, and the first conductive ring (213) is mounted on the first rotation surface (211); the direction of each brush extending from the installation position in the inclined brush group (215) is not parallel to the rotating shaft of the slip ring, and the inclined brush group (215) has elastic bending;

the first conductive ring (213) is part of the first rotation surface (211); the first rotation surface (211) is not parallel to the tilt brush group (215).

2. The dual-mode slip ring of claim 1, wherein the linear length of the contact point between the root of the oblique brush set (215) and the conductive ring (212) is smaller than the length of the oblique brush set (215) in the portion, and the length of the oblique brush set (215) extending is adjusted during the installation process, so that the brushes themselves are elastically bent.

3. The dual-mode slip ring of claim 2, wherein the root of said tilt brush set (215) is the position from which the wires in the tilt brush set (215) extend from within the rotor (202) or stator (201), depending on the mounting position of the tilt brush set (215) being either the rotor or stator;

when the installation position of the inclined brush group (215) is a rotor, the first conducting ring (213) and the first rotating surface (211) are arranged on the stator;

when the installation position of the tilt brush group (215) is a stator, the first conductive ring (213) and the first rotation surface (211) are provided on the rotor.

4. The electrical-to-optical signal bimodal slip ring of claim 1 wherein the electrical slip ring assembly further comprises: and the second conducting ring (213) is arranged on the second rotating surface, the inclined ground wire brush group (401) is connected with the second conducting ring (213) through sliding contact, and the inclined ground wire brush group (401) is elastically bent.

5. The dual-mode slip ring of claim 4, wherein said second plane of rotation is the same plane of rotation as said first plane of rotation (211).

6. An optoelectronic signal bimodal slip ring according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the central position of the synchronizing wheel (224) fixed outside the rotor (202) is on the same diametral plane as the central position of the distal bearing (210); the rotation of the rotor is realized by driving a synchronous wheel (224); the coupling of the optical paths in the optical path component uses the short-distance coupling of the optical fiber inserted core, and uses a gradient index lens or a collimated light lens.

7. The dual-mode slip ring of claim 6, wherein said fiber stub is closely coupled to: the proximal optical fiber (204) is secured by a proximal ferrule (221); the proximal ferrule (221) is fixed in the stator collimating barrel (206) by glue; the proximal optical fiber (204) is connected to the patient-interacting unit and the OCT system by an optical cable (218) extending to the outside of the stator; the distal optical fiber (203) is fixed by a distal ferrule (222); the distal ferrule (222) is fixed in the rotor collimating barrel (207) by glue; the distal optical fiber (203) is extended to connect to an SC/APC adapter (208) mounted in the rotor (202); the optical paths in the rotating guide tube in the bimodal system are connected through an SC/APC connector and an SC/APC adapter (208) so as to realize optical path communication; the OCT signal is connected to the SC/APC adapter (208) through the SC/APC connector;

the distal end of the rotor (202) is provided with a clamp (223), and the clamp (223) fixed with the distal end of the rotor collimating tube (207) drives the SC/APC joint to rotate so as to drive the catheter to rotate.

8. An optoelectronic signal bimodal slip ring according to claim 1, characterized in that the proximal end of the proximal bearing (214) is provided with a proximal bearing ring (220), the distal step of the distal bearing (210) is provided with a distal bearing ring (209), and an air gap (205) is provided between the contact surfaces of the proximal optical fiber (204) of the stator (201) and the distal optical fiber (203) of the rotor (202).

9. An optoelectronic signal bimodal slip ring according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the oblique brush group (215) is provided with 1 to 5 groups of brushes, the number of wires arranged side by side in each group of brushes is 2 to 5, and the thickness of the wires in the oblique brush group (215) is 0.1 to 1 mm.

10. The dual-mode slip ring of claim 9, wherein said wire has a thickness of 0.2 to 0.4 mm.