JP2008154679A - Holding device of ultrasonic probe, water bag for ultrasonic probe and ultrasonic diagnostic device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a holding device of an ultrasonic probe, for improving the reliability of ultrasonic diagnosing. <P>SOLUTION: A holder 16 is largely divided into a lower side housing 34 where a probe 12 is stuck to a bottom surface, and an upper side housing 36 disposing facing the lower side housing with a prescribed gap. An inner side sheet 70 is mounted so as to be attached to the probe 12 stuck to the bottom surface of the lower side housing 34 and an outer side sheet 72 is mounted so as to completely cover the probe 12 with a margin to the bottom surface on the lower side housing 34 respectively by rings 86 and 88 made of rubber. A water path 84 connected to a space formed between the mounted outer side sheet 72 and the bottom surface is formed in the lower side housing 34, and water is injected through the water path 84 to the space to constitute the water bag. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a holding device that holds an ultrasonic probe that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves, an ultrasonic probe water bag, and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that includes the water bag.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that transmits an ultrasonic wave to a diagnostic target part inside a subject and acquires the state of the diagnostic target part based on an echo signal obtained at that time is widely known. . In such an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, diagnosis is performed by bringing an ultrasonic probe that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves into contact with or close to a body surface in the vicinity of a region to be diagnosed. At this time, if air is interposed between the ultrasonic probe and the body surface, the ultrasonic wave is attenuated or reflected by the air, which causes a decrease in reliability of ultrasonic diagnosis. Therefore, in order to remove the air between the ultrasonic probe and the body surface, a water bag, a standoff or the like is often interposed.

  The water bag is a bag member sealed with a liquid (for example, water) functioning as an acoustic matching member, and its specific configuration and usage are disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 below. The stand-off is a gel-like member that functions as an acoustic matching member, and its specific configuration and usage are disclosed in Patent Document 3 below. Both the water bag and the stand-off can be deformed according to the shape of the body surface or the ultrasonic probe, and can be brought into close contact with the body surface and the ultrasonic probe. Then, by adhering to the ultrasonic probe and the body surface, air intervening between them can be removed, and suitable transmission / reception of ultrasonic waves becomes possible.

JP 2003-38485 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-216137 JP 2006-320540 A

  However, the volume of the water bag disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 and the standoff disclosed in Patent Document 3 were both constant. As a result, there is a problem that it is difficult to adjust the distance between the ultrasound probe and the body surface. Of course, the distance between the ultrasonic probe and the body surface can be adjusted to some extent by changing the shape of the water bag or the like. However, in this case, with the deformation of the shape of the water bag or the like, the pressure distribution applied to the body surface by the water bag or the like has changed. Then, the load distribution on the diagnosis target part, in other words, the precondition of the ultrasonic diagnosis has changed due to the change of the pressure distribution. As a result, there is a problem that the reliability of the obtained ultrasonic diagnostic result is lowered.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic probe holding device, an ultrasonic probe water bag, and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can further improve the reliability of ultrasonic diagnosis.

  The ultrasonic probe holding device of the present invention is an ultrasonic probe holding device for holding an ultrasonic probe, and holds the outer sheet which is a flexible sheet-like member. An outer sheet attaching / detaching means detachably attached to the holding device in a state of covering an ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving surface of the ultrasonic probe held by the device, an outer sheet attached to the holding device, and the holding device; And a water channel that is connected to a space formed between the two and that allows liquid to enter and leave the space.

  In a preferred embodiment, the inner sheet, which is a sheet-like member having flexibility, is attached to the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving surface of the ultrasonic probe held by the holding device, and is detachable from the holding device. And an inner sheet attaching / detaching means to be attached to. The sheet attaching / detaching means includes a rubber ring that binds and fixes a peripheral edge of the sheet-like member to a wall surface of the holding device, and a groove that is formed on the wall surface of the holding device and receives the rubber ring. It is also desirable.

  Another ultrasonic probe water bag according to the present invention is an ultrasonic probe water bag that is interposed between an ultrasonic probe and a body surface of a subject and removes air between the two. The outer sheet, which is a sheet-like member having flexibility, and the outer sheet are detachably attached to the ultrasonic probe in a state where the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving surface of the ultrasonic probe is covered. An outer sheet attaching / detaching means; and a water channel that is connected to a space formed between the outer sheet attached to the ultrasonic probe and the holding device and allows liquid to enter and exit the space. To do.

  Another ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention is an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that acquires a state of a diagnostic part based on an echo signal obtained by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from a diagnostic part inside a subject. An ultrasonic probe for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from a diagnostic site inside the subject, and an intervening air between the ultrasonic probe and the body surface of the subject. An ultrasonic probe water bag, wherein the ultrasonic probe water bag is an outer sheet that is a sheet-like member having flexibility, and the outer sheet is ultrasonically probed. An outer sheet attaching / detaching means that is detachably attached to the ultrasonic probe in a state where the ultrasonic transmission / reception surface of the child is covered, and an outer sheet attached to the ultrasonic probe and the holding device. And a water channel that is connected to the space to be formed and allows liquid to enter and exit from the space.

  According to the present invention, the volume of the water bag, and hence the distance between the ultrasonic probe and the body surface can be adjusted, so that the reliability of ultrasonic diagnosis can be further improved.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 has a particularly suitable configuration for diagnosis of fractured bones. However, the present invention can be applied to other uses by appropriately changing the number of probes 12 and the processing contents of the received echo signal.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 includes two probes 12. Each probe 12 is an ultrasonic probe that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves, and nine single transducers are arranged in a 3 × 3 array. Each single transducer transmits an ultrasonic wave in response to an instruction from a transmitting / receiving unit 20 described later, and receives the reflected wave. The received reflected wave is output as an echo signal to the transmission / reception unit 20 via the probe cable 13 that connects the probe 12 and the apparatus main body 11.

  The water bag 14 is a bag filled with a liquid (for example, water) that has acoustic impedance close to that of a living body and functions as an acoustic matching member. This water bag is disposed between the probe 12 and the body surface in order to remove air between the probe 12 and the body surface during ultrasonic diagnosis. By arranging such a water bag 14, attenuation and reflection of ultrasonic waves due to air are prevented, and more efficient transmission / reception of ultrasonic waves becomes possible.

  The probe 12 and the water bag 14 are held in a predetermined position and posture by the holding device 19. The holding device 19 includes a holder 16 that holds each probe 12 and an articulated arm 18 that holds the two holders 16. Although specific configurations of the holder 16 and the multi-joint arm 18 will be described in detail later, in this embodiment, the multi-joint arm 18 is adjusted to roughly adjust the position and posture of the probe 12. The adjustment mechanism is adjusted to finely adjust the posture of the probe 12.

  The apparatus main body 11 includes a transmission / reception unit 20, a signal processing unit 22, a control unit 28, a display 30, and the like as a unit. In response to an instruction from the control unit 28, the transmission / reception unit 20 supplies a transmission signal instructing transmission of ultrasonic waves to the single transducer of the probe 12. The echo signal output from the probe 12 is received and subjected to signal processing such as phasing addition, gain adjustment, and dynamic range adjustment.

  The signal processing unit 22 is a circuit that performs necessary processing on a received signal, and performs signal processing for forming a B mode, signal processing for forming an M mode, and the like according to a display mode. Further, the signal processing unit 22 performs so-called echo tracking processing in which the bone surface portion is extracted from the obtained echo signal and tracking is performed. Specifically, the position of the tracking point is detected from the amplitude of an echo signal obtained by transmitting an ultrasonic wave to a specific bone point, that is, a so-called tracking point. For this echo tracking process, a well-known technique, for example, a technique detailed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-298205 can be used. In the present embodiment, the positions of two tracking points are detected using two probes 12.

  The output processing unit 24 performs coordinate conversion from the transmission / reception coordinate system to the display coordinate system, interpolation processing, and the like on the echo signal to form ultrasonic image data. The formed ultrasonic image data is output to the display 30. Further, the output processing unit 24 calculates the amount of change in the angle of the bone, the amount of change in the relative position of the two tracking points based on the obtained positions of the two tracking points, and converts them into numerical values and graphs. Output to the display unit. A diagnostician such as a doctor diagnoses the degree of fusion of the fractured bone based on the angle change amount and the relative position change amount. The control unit 28 controls the entire apparatus body 11. An instruction from the user is input to the control unit 28 via the operation unit 26. The control unit 28 outputs a control signal to each unit constituting the apparatus main body unit 11 in accordance with the instruction from the user and controls it.

  Next, the holding device 19 used in this ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus will be described in detail. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the entire holding device 19. As described above, the holding device 19 that holds the probes 12 is roughly divided into a holder 16 that holds each probe 12 and an articulated arm 18 that roughly adjusts the position and posture of the holder 16.

  The multi-joint arm 18 includes a plurality of joints (three joints in the illustrated example) 18a, 18b, 18c, and the position and posture of the tip can be adjusted by changing the angle of each joint 18a, 18b, 18c. It is like that. Each joint 18a, 18b, 18c is provided with a lock mechanism so that it can be fixed at a desired angle. In addition, since the conventional well-known technique can be used for the concrete structure of each joint 18a, 18b, 18c and a locking mechanism, detailed description here is abbreviate | omitted. The base end of the articulated arm 18 is fixed to a fixing member (for example, a floor surface or a bed frame). Further, two holders 16 are connected to the tip of the articulated arm 18 via a connecting arm 32.

  The connecting arm 32 is an arm member that connects the two holders 16 to the articulated arm 18 while maintaining the relative positional relationship between them. The holder 16 is connected to both ends of the connecting arm 32, and the articulated arm 18 is connected to the substantially center by screwing.

  The holder 16 is a member that holds the probe 12, but the holder 16 of this embodiment also functions as a posture fine adjustment mechanism that finely adjusts the posture of the probe 12 that is held. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the holder 16 as seen from above. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the holder 16 as viewed from below, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the holder 16.

  The holder 16 is roughly divided into a lower housing 34 having the probe 12 attached to the bottom surface and an upper housing 36 provided to face the lower housing 34.

  The upper housing 36 is a substantially rectangular block body, and a handle 38 that is gripped by the operator is formed on the upper surface of the upper housing 36. A support shaft 40 connected to the connecting arm 32 is also formed on the upper surface of the upper housing 36 so as to protrude. On the upper side of the support shaft 40, a female screw 40 a for screwing and connecting to the connecting arm 32 is formed, and the upper housing 36 is connected to the connecting arm 32 and thus the multi-joint arm 18 via the female screw 40 a. Connected to.

  The lower housing 34 is a substantially rectangular block body having substantially the same width as the upper housing 36 and having a slightly larger depth than the upper housing 36. Therefore, when both the housings 34 and 36 are arranged with their front end surfaces aligned, a part of the upper surface of the lower housing 34 is exposed to the outside on the rear end side. A portion of the upper surface of the lower housing 34 exposed to the outside is formed with a water passage to the water bag 14 described later and a cable hole 42 through which the probe cable 13 is inserted.

  A housing recess 44 for housing the probe 12 is formed on the bottom surface of the lower housing 34. The probe 12 is attached to the housing recess 44 with an adhesive or the like with the ultrasonic transmission / reception surface facing downward, in other words, with the ultrasonic transmission / reception surface exposed to the outside. At this time, since the depth of the accommodating recess 44 and the thickness of the probe 12 are substantially the same, the bottom surface of the lower housing 34 and the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving surface of the probe 12 are arranged in substantially the same plane. The cable 13 of the probe 12 attached to the housing recess 44 is inserted into the cable hole 42 described above and pulled out from the upper surface of the lower housing 34. Further, the remaining space in the accommodation recess 44 is filled with a spacer member 46 that is detachable from the lower housing 34.

  Here, as described above, the holder 16 also functions as a fine adjustment mechanism for the posture of the probe 12. In order to realize the function as the fine adjustment mechanism, in this embodiment, the lower housing 34 can be tilted with respect to the upper housing 36, and the attitude of the probe 12 is finely adjusted by adjusting the tilt amount. ing. In order to make it possible to adjust the amount of tilt of the lower housing 34 with respect to the upper housing 36, in this embodiment, a sphere 48 disposed between the housings 34 and 36 and a gap between the housings 34 and 36 are provided. Adjustment knobs 50x and 50y that variably adjust the amount, and an urging member 60 that urges both the housings 34 and 36 in a direction that attracts each other are provided.

  The sphere 48 disposed between the housings 34 and 36 is made of a rigid material, and functions as a fulcrum member that regulates a gap amount between the housings at a position where the sphere 48 is disposed. The spherical body 48 is accommodated in an incomplete spherical recess formed in the upper surface of the upper housing 36 and the bottom surface of the lower housing 34, and is prevented from falling off. The incomplete spherical concave portion is sufficiently shallow as compared with the radius of the sphere 48, so that a constant gap is always formed between the two housings at the position where the sphere 48 is disposed. Here, the lower housing 34 is in spherical contact with the sphere 48 and is slidable with respect to the sphere 48. Then, the lower housing 34 slides with respect to the sphere 48, whereby the tilt of the lower housing 34 with respect to the upper housing 36 is realized.

  As will be described in detail later, the sphere 48 functions as a fulcrum when adjusting the posture of the probe. It is desirable that the center point of the sphere 48 functioning as the fulcrum is as close as possible to the probe 12 that is the action point. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the concave portion 50 is formed around the arrangement position of the sphere 48 in the upper surface of the lower housing 34, and the convex portion 52 is formed around the arrangement position of the sphere 48 in the bottom surface of the upper housing 36, respectively. The sphere 48 is brought close to the probe 12.

  An X-axis adjustment knob 50x and a Y-axis adjustment knob 50y that variably adjust the gap amount between the two housings are provided in two different directions as viewed from the sphere 48, specifically, in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction in FIG. It has been. Each of the adjustment knobs 50x and 50y functions as adjustment means for adjusting the amount of tilt of the lower housing 34 with respect to the upper housing 36 by variably adjusting the gap amount between the two housings at the position of the adjustment knob. Each of the adjustment knobs 50x and 50y is a male screw that is screwed into the upper housing 36 and passes therethrough. The tips of the adjustment knobs 50x and 50y are substantially hemispherical and are in point contact with the upper surface of the lower housing 34. A recess 54 is formed at a corresponding position of the lower housing 34 to accommodate the tips of the adjustment knobs 50x and 50y. The adjustment knobs 50x and 50y are provided at positions where the distance D1 from the adjustment knobs 50x and 50y to the sphere is at least larger than the distance D2 from the sphere 48 to the probe 12.

  The upper housing 36 and the lower housing 34 are connected by an urging member 60 that urges the upper housing 36 and the lower housing 34 to attract each other. The type of the urging member 60 is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, a metal wire 62 having elasticity is used as the urging member 60. Both ends of the metal wire 62 are above the upper locking bolts 64 formed on the side surfaces of the upper housing 36, and the approximate center of the metal wire 62 is below the lower locking bolts 66 formed on the side surfaces of the lower housing 34. Each side is hooked. In this case, the metal wire 62 urges the upper locking bolt 64 downward and the lower locking bolt 66 upward by elastic restoring force. The urging force causes the upper housing 36 and the lower housing 34 to be attracted to each other, so that the housings 34 and 36 are prevented from being separated or rattled.

  The configuration of the urging member 60 described here is an example, and other elastic bodies such as a compression coil spring may be used as the urging member 60. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 8, a rubber ring 68 may be used as the urging member instead of the metal wire 62. That is, two upper locking bolts 64 are provided on the side surface of the upper housing 36, and two lower locking bolts 66 are provided on the side surface of the lower housing 34, and a total of four locking bolts 64, 66 are made of rubber. A ring 68 may be attached.

  Next, how the posture of the probe 12 is adjusted with the holder 16 will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state of posture adjustment with the holder 16.

  FIG. 6A shows a state in which the bottom surface of the lower housing 34 is substantially parallel to the X axis, in other words, the probe 12 is substantially parallel to the X axis. From this state, when the X-axis adjustment knob 50x is turned in the direction in which the protrusion amount H of the X-axis adjustment knob 50x decreases, the state illustrated in FIG. In this case, the gap amount between the housings 34 and 36 at the position where the X-axis adjustment knob 50x is disposed decreases, and the lower housing 34 tilts in the direction of arrow A about the center point (fulcrum) of the sphere 48. As the lower housing 34 tilts, the probe 12 held by the lower housing 34 tilts in the direction of arrow A about the fulcrum, and the posture is changed. Conversely, when the X-axis adjustment knob 50x is turned in the direction in which the protrusion amount H of the X-axis adjustment knob 50x increases, the state shown in FIG. In this case, the amount of gap between the housings 34 and 36 at the position where the X-axis adjustment knob 50x is disposed increases, and the lower housing 34 tilts in the direction of arrow B about the center point (fulcrum) of the sphere 48. As the lower housing 34 tilts, the probe 12 held by the lower housing 34 tilts in the direction of arrow B about the fulcrum, and its posture is changed. That is, in this embodiment, the tilt amount of the probe 12 with respect to the X axis is adjusted by adjusting the protrusion amount H by turning the X axis adjustment knob 50x. Similarly, if the Y-axis adjustment knob 50y is turned to adjust the protruding amount, the tilting amount of the probe 12 with respect to the Y-axis is adjusted. The probe 12 can be adjusted to a desired posture by appropriately adjusting the tilt amount with respect to both the X axis and the Y axis.

  Here, in order to adjust the attitude of the probe 12 more strictly, it is desirable that the amount of action (probe attitude change amount) with respect to the operation amount (adjustment knob rotation amount) is small. Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to reduce the amount of action with respect to the operation amount, the sphere 48 is arranged at a position directly above the probe, and the adjustment knobs 50x and 50y are provided at positions separated from the sphere (D1 <D2). Yes. In other words, when the holder 16 is viewed as a mechanism similar to a lever having the probe 12 as an action point, the sphere 48 as a fulcrum, and the tip positions of the adjustment knobs 50x and 50y as a force point, the distance between the force points and the fulcrum (D1 ) To the fulcrum-action point distance (D2). As a result, the amount of action with respect to the operation amount is reduced, and the posture of the probe 12 can be adjusted more strictly. In the present embodiment, a screw mechanism is used to advance and retract the tips of the adjustment knobs 50x and 50y, which are power points. The amount of action with respect to the operation amount of the entire holder 16 is further reduced by advancing and retreating the power point position with a mechanism that has a small amount of action (advancing / retreating amount of the screw tip) with respect to an operation amount (screw turning amount). It is possible to adjust the posture of the probe 12 more precisely. Further, if a screw mechanism with a narrow pitch is used, finer posture adjustment becomes possible. In other words, if the pitch of the screw mechanism is adjusted according to the required attitude adjustment accuracy, a desired attitude adjustment accuracy can be obtained.

  By the way, as described above, the holder 16 holds not only the probe 12 but also the water bag 14. The water bag 14 is a bag filled with a liquid (for example, water) that functions as an acoustic matching member. In order to remove air between the probe 12 and the body surface during ultrasonic diagnosis, It is arranged between the probe 12 and the body surface. Conventionally, as this water bag 14, a pre-made bag member sealed with a predetermined volume of liquid and sealed in advance is used. However, in the case of the water bag 14 sealed in advance, there is a problem that the volume of the sealed liquid is always constant and it is difficult to adjust the distance between the probe 12 and the body surface. Of course, it is possible to adjust the distance between the probe 12 and the body surface to some extent by changing the shape of the bag in which the liquid is enclosed, but in this case, as the shape of the water bag 14 changes, The pressure distribution applied to the body surface by the water bag 14 has changed. And the load condition to the fractured bone etc. which is a diagnostic object changed because the pressure distribution changed, and an appropriate ultrasonic diagnosis could not be performed.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the water bag 14 has a special configuration so that the liquid volume can be adjusted. Hereinafter, the configuration of the water bag 14 and the holding thereof will be described in detail.

  FIG. 7 is a view showing a state in which the water bag 14 is held by the holder 16. In the present embodiment, the water bag 14 includes an inner sheet 70 and an outer sheet 72 that are attached to the lower housing 34. The inner sheet 70 and the outer sheet 72 are both sheet-like members made of a flexible material such as resin.

  The inner sheet 70 is disposed so as to cover the bottom surface while being in close contact with the bottom surface of the lower housing 34 (and thus the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving surface of the probe 12). The peripheral edge of the inner sheet 70 is fixed to the side surface of the lower housing 34 by the binding force of the rubber ring 86. A first groove 90 (see FIG. 5) is formed in the vicinity of the lower end of the side surface of the lower housing 34 to prevent the fixing rubber ring 86 from sliding off. The inner sheet 70 is interposed between the liquid 74 filled in the water bag 14 and the probe 12 and is provided to prevent liquid from entering the probe 12.

  The outer sheet 72 is arranged so as to cover the bottom surface with a certain margin with respect to the bottom surface of the lower housing 34. The peripheral edge of the outer sheet 72 is also fixed to the side surface of the lower housing 34 by the binding force of the rubber ring 88. A second groove 92 is formed on the side surface of the lower housing 34 to prevent the fixing rubber ring 88 from sliding off. The second groove 92 is formed at a higher position than the first groove 90. In addition, a water channel port 82 described later is formed between the second groove 92 and the first groove 90.

  The holder 16 is formed with a water channel 84 for introducing the liquid 74 into the water bag 14 constituted by the outer sheet 72 and the inner sheet 70 or for leading the liquid 74 from the water bag 14. The water channel 84 extends from a water channel port 82 formed on the side surface of the lower housing 34 to a pipe 80 that is formed to protrude from the upper surface of the lower housing 34. Here, as described above, the water channel port 82 is formed below the second groove 92 for fixing the outer sheet 72 and above the first groove 90 for fixing the inner sheet 70. Therefore, the liquid 74 injected through the pipe 80 passes through the water channel 84, flows out from the water channel port 82, and is discharged to the water bag 14 constituted by the outer sheet 72 and the inner sheet 70. As a result, a desired volume of liquid 74 can be injected into the water bag 14. The excessively injected liquid 74 is automatically discharged from the tip of the pipe 80 to the outside through the water channel port 82 and the water channel 84 if the shape of the water bag 14 is changed and its internal volume is changed. Is done. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the liquid capacity of the water bag 14 can be adjusted very easily. As a result, the distance between the probe 12 and the body surface can be adjusted without greatly changing the distribution of the pressure applied to the body surface by the water bag 14, and a more reliable ultrasonic diagnosis can be performed. .

  In the present embodiment, the inner sheet 70 is provided in order to waterproof the probe 12, but the inner sheet 70 may be omitted if the probe 12 itself is waterproofed. Further, if the inner sheet 70 and the outer sheet 72 can be detachably mounted on the holder 16, they are mounted by means other than the binding force by the rubber rings 86, 88, for example, means such as fitting or waterproof adhesive tape. It may be.

  Next, a flow in the case of performing a bone fracture fusion diagnosis using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 will be described. When performing a fusion diagnosis of a broken bone, first, the probe 12 is attached to the bottom surface of the holder 16. Subsequently, the inner sheet 70 and the outer sheet 72 are attached to the holder 16 in this order to configure the water bag 14. If the water bag 14 is configured, the liquid 74 is injected from the pipe 80 and the water bag 14 is filled with the liquid 74. At this time, it is desirable that the amount of liquid to be injected is slightly larger than the desired amount.

  If the probe 12 and the water bag 14 can be attached to the holder 16, the holder 16 is connected to the articulated arm 18 via the connecting arm 32. Then, the joint angle of the multi-joint arm 18 is adjusted to roughly adjust the position and posture of the probe 12. That is, the probe 12 is moved to a position where the probe 12 faces the body surface via the water bag 14. When the water bag 14 comes into contact with the body surface, the shape of the water bag 14 is also deformed in accordance with the shape of the body surface. And the volume of the water bag 14 changes with this shape deformation, and the unnecessary liquid 74 is discharged | emitted outside via the water channel 84 and the pipe 80. FIG. As a result, the liquid capacity of the water bag 14 is automatically adjusted to an appropriate amount. It is desirable that a hose or the like is connected to the pipe 80 so that the liquid discharged from the pipe 80 does not directly touch the subject.

  When the coarse adjustment of the position and orientation of the probe 12 is completed, transmission / reception of ultrasonic waves from the probe 12 is started. Then, the user finely adjusts the posture of the probe 12 while monitoring the ultrasonic transmission / reception state (echo signal intensity and the like). That is, the X-axis adjustment knob 50x and the Y-axis adjustment knob 50y provided on the holder 16 are rotated to tilt the probe 12 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction so that the ultrasonic wave transmission / reception state is improved. . At this time, since the amount of action with respect to the operation amount is small, the posture adjustment of the probe 12 can be strictly performed.

  As a result of the adjustment with the adjustment knobs 50x and 50y, if the probe 12 can be adjusted to a desired posture, transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves for fracture healing diagnosis is started. Specifically, the ultrasonic wave is transmitted and received in a state where a predetermined load is applied to the fractured bone, and the change in the surface position of the fractured bone before and after the load is applied based on the obtained echo signal. Get the quantity. Then, based on the obtained change amount of the surface position, the amount of bending of the broken bone is calculated. A user such as a doctor diagnoses the degree of fusion of the fractured bone based on the calculated amount of bending. At this time, since the attitude of the probe 12 is finely adjusted as compared with the prior art, the accuracy of the obtained deflection amount and the like is also improved as compared with the prior art. As a result, it is possible to perform ultrasonic diagnosis with higher reliability than in the past.

  As is clear from the above description, according to the present embodiment, the posture of the probe 12 can be adjusted more strictly, so that the reliability of ultrasonic diagnosis can be further improved. Moreover, since the liquid volume of the water bag 14 can be adjusted, the distance between the probe 12 and the body surface can be adjusted, and the reliability of ultrasonic diagnosis can be further improved.

  In the present embodiment, the sphere 48 is used as a fulcrum member for adjusting the posture of the probe 12. However, the lower housing 34 can be allowed to tilt with respect to the upper housing 36 with the installation position of the fulcrum member as the center of tilting. For example, another member may be used as the fulcrum member. Further, the fulcrum member does not have to be separate from the upper housing 36 and the lower housing 34, and may be integrated with any one of the housings. For example, as shown in FIG. 9A, a semispherical tip 96 may be provided from the bottom surface of the upper housing 36 toward the lower housing, and the protrusion 96 may be used as a fulcrum member. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 9B, a tip weight-shaped protrusion 98 extending toward the upper housing 36 may be provided on the upper surface of the lower housing 34, and the protrusion 98 may be used as a fulcrum member.

  In the present embodiment, the X-axis adjustment knob 50x and the Y-axis adjustment knob 50y are provided to allow the probe 12 to tilt in two directions, the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. 50x and 50y may be omitted. When the adjustment knob 50 is single, the lower housing 34 is tilted only in one axial direction. In this case, the fulcrum member does not need to have a shape that makes point contact or spherical contact with the housings 34 and 36, and any shape that can make line contact or arc surface contact is sufficient. That is, when the adjustment knob 50 is single, the fulcrum member has only one end if it has a cross-sectional fan shape or a cross-sectional square shape (specifically, a cylinder, a prismatic shape, or the like) whose apex is in contact with the housing.

1 is a schematic block diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that is an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of a holding device. It is the perspective view which looked at the holder from the upper side. It is the perspective view which looked at the holder from the lower side. It is sectional drawing of a holder. It is a figure which shows the mode of the attitude | position adjustment of a probe. It is a figure which shows the state which hold | maintained the water bag with the holder. It is a figure which shows the other structural example of a holder. It is a figure which shows the other structural example of a holder.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, 11 Apparatus main body part, 12 Probe, 14 Water bag, 16 Holder, 18 Articulated arm, 19 Holding apparatus, 20 Transmission / reception part, 22 Signal processing part, 24 Output processing part, 26 Operation part, 28 Control Part, 30 indicator, 32 connecting arm, 34 lower housing, 36 upper housing, 44 receiving recess, 48 sphere, 50 adjustment knob, 60 biasing member, 70 inner sheet, 72 outer sheet, 74 liquid, 84 water channel, 86 , 88 Rubber ring, 90 first groove, 92 second groove.

Claims (5)

An ultrasonic probe holding device for holding an ultrasonic probe,
The outer sheet, which is a sheet-like member having flexibility, is detachably attached to the holding device in a state where the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving surface of the ultrasonic probe held by the holding device is covered. Means,
A water channel that is connected to a space formed between the outer sheet attached to the holding device and the holding device, and allows liquid to enter and leave the space;
A holding device for an ultrasonic probe, comprising: The ultrasonic probe holding device according to claim 1, further comprising:
An inner sheet attaching / detaching means that attaches the inner sheet, which is a sheet-like member having flexibility, to the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving surface of the ultrasonic probe held by the holding device and is detachably attached to the holding device. A holding device for an ultrasonic probe, comprising: The ultrasonic probe holding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
The sheet attaching / detaching means includes
A rubber ring that binds and fixes the periphery of the sheet-like member to the wall surface of the holding device;
A groove formed on the wall surface of the holding device and receiving the rubber ring;
A holding device for an ultrasonic probe, comprising: An ultrasonic probe water bag that is interposed between the ultrasonic probe and the body surface of the subject and removes air between the two,
An outer sheet that is a sheet-like member having flexibility;
An outer sheet attaching / detaching means for detachably attaching the outer sheet to the ultrasonic probe in a state of covering the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving surface of the ultrasonic probe;
A water channel that is connected to a space formed between the outer sheet attached to the ultrasonic probe and the holding device, and allows liquid to enter and leave the space;
A water bag for an ultrasonic probe, comprising: Based on an echo signal obtained by transmitting and receiving ultrasound to and from a diagnostic part inside a subject, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that acquires the state of the diagnostic part,
An ultrasound probe that transmits and receives ultrasound to and from the diagnostic site inside the subject;
An ultrasonic probe water bag that is interposed between the ultrasonic probe and the body surface of the subject and removes air between the two,
And the ultrasonic probe water bag comprises:
An outer sheet that is a sheet-like member having flexibility;
An outer sheet attaching / detaching means for detachably attaching the outer sheet to the ultrasonic probe in a state of covering the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving surface of the ultrasonic probe;
A water channel that is connected to a space formed between the outer sheet attached to the ultrasonic probe and the holding device, and allows liquid to enter and leave the space;
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising:

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