JPH06304169A - Ultrasonic probe - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the ultrasonic probe which is reduced in the diameter of a probe body and is lessened in the attenuation of ultrasonic beams. CONSTITUTION:A coupling device 1 fixed with a balloon 9 consisting of an elastic material, hermetic sealing members 10a, 10b which are fixed to the inner side at the end of the balloon 9 and has elasticity to allow freely attachable and detachable mounting of these members to and from the probe body 2 and tubes 11a, 11b for water feed and suction between the hermetic sealing members 10a, 10b and the end of the balloon 9 is freely attachably and detachably mounted to the front end of the probe body. The probe body is not provided with a balloon-mounting groove and the tubes 11a, 11b for water feed and suction, by which the diameter of the probe body 2 is reduced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe used for obtaining an ultrasonic image of a diagnosis target in a body cavity.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to perform ultrasonic diagnosis inside a body cavity, an ultrasonic transducer provided at the tip of an insertion portion of an ultrasonic probe is driven so that an ultrasonic image is obtained based on an echo signal from a diagnosis target. ing. In this case, acoustic coupling of the ultrasound probe to the diagnostic object is necessary to obtain a clear ultrasound image. As a conventional technique for this,
For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-116358, a groove for attaching and detaching a balloon is provided on the outer circumference of the probe tip, and the balloon is locked in this groove to cover the outer circumference of the probe tip. It is disclosed that the water supply of the ultrasonic transmission medium liquid and the suction pipe line are provided therein (conventional example 1).

Further, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-37601 discloses that
A balloon portion fixed to the outer circumference of the distal end of the endoscope is disclosed. This is a content in which a tube is inserted between an outer cylinder and an inner cylinder made of an elastic member, and a fixed ring is provided at the ends of the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder (conventional example 2).

[0004]

However, in the probe disclosed in the above-mentioned conventional example 1, since the groove is formed in the outer circumference of the probe and the water supply and suction pipe lines are provided in the probe, This is a problem in that the outer diameter becomes large and the probe needs to be thin. Therefore,
In the case of using a balloon, even if the probe is directly inserted into a thin lumen without using the balloon, there is a problem that the insertion becomes difficult because the probe diameter is large. Also,
There is also a method of fixing the end of the balloon directly to the outer circumference of the probe body by means such as a thread winding without forming a groove on the outer circumference of the probe, but in this case, the wound thread is unwound during long-term use There was a risk of causing an unexpected situation. Next, in the probe disclosed in Conventional Example 2, since the elastic member, which is the balloon portion, has a double structure, there is a problem that the attenuation is large when the ultrasonic beam is transmitted and the resolution of the ultrasonic image is lowered. there were.

The present invention aims to reduce the diameter of the probe body,
Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic probe in which attenuation of the ultrasonic beam is reduced.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an ultrasonic probe having a coupling device for acoustically coupling an ultrasonic probe to a diagnostic object, the balloon comprising an elastic member, An elastic sealing member fixed to the inside of the end of the balloon and detachably attached to the probe main body, and a coupling device in which a water supply / suction tube is fixed between the sealing member and the end of the balloon. Was detachably attached to the tip of the probe body.

[0007]

[Function] As described above, the balloon is attached to the outer periphery of the probe main body without passing through the attachment groove,
Since the suction tube is provided outside the probe body, the diameter of the probe body can be reduced.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state in which ultrasonic diagnosis is performed inside a body cavity using the ultrasonic probe of each embodiment of the present invention. Although this figure shows the case where ultrasonic diagnosis is performed in the bile duct, it goes without saying that ultrasonic diagnosis in blood vessels such as coronary arteries and other ultrasonic diagnoses are similarly performed. As shown in the figure, an acoustic coupling device 1 for an ultrasonic probe is connected to a probe body 2, and the probe body 2 is connected to an ultrasonic observation device 4 via a drive unit 3.

Further, the coupling device 1, together with the insertion portion of the probe main body 2, is introduced into the body cavity through the channel of the videoscope 5. Therefore, the insertion portion 2a
At the same time, the coupling device 1 is inserted into the common bile duct from the duodenal papilla through the scope insertion portion 8 from the forceps port 7 of the videoscope 5. Next, the balloon 9 forming the coupling device 1 is
The probe is attached to the tip of the probe main body 2 so as to cover it, and is attached in close contact with the diagnostic region of the common bile duct. By the drive of the ultrasonic observation device 4 and the drive unit 3, linear scanning, radial scanning, or By scanning both simultaneously, the presence or absence of a lesion such as a main lesion and the state thereof can be diagnosed. The video scoop 5 is controlled by the light source device 6.

FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, which is a sectional view of the probe main body 2 and the coupling device 1 and FIG. 2A.
3 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. As shown, the balloon 9 has a ring shape and is single-layered. Further, sealing members 10a, 10b made of rubber or the like are provided on the inner circumferences of both ends of the balloon 2.
Is stuck. Further, the sealing member 10 on the rear end side is provided.
Between a and the balloon 9, an end portion of a tube 11a for feeding degassed water and a tube 11b for sucking water is inserted into the balloon 9 and fixed in a watertight manner. Incidentally, reference numeral 12 in the figure is an ultrasonic transducer. The tubes 11a and 11b are connected to a pump or syringe not shown.

To construct the ultrasonic probe 2 of the first embodiment, first, the probe main body 2 is inserted from the tip into the coupling device 1 having the balloon 9 and the tubes 11a and 11b, and the ultrasonic transducer 12 is placed on the upper surface thereof. The sealing members 10a and 10b are fixed to the outer circumference of the probe body 2 so that the balloon 9 is positioned. As described above, the outer periphery of the probe body 2 is not provided with a groove or the like for fixing the balloon 9, but the balloon 9 is attached to the outer periphery of the probe body 2 by the radial contraction force of the sealing member 10a and the sealing member 10b. It will be fixed.

Next, degassed water is sent from the water feed pump or syringe into the balloon 9 of the coupling device 1 through the water feed tube 11a to inflate the balloon 9. In this case, since the air in the water supply tube 11a is sent into the balloon 9 together with the degassed water, a suction pump (not shown) is operated to suck the air and the degassed water through the suction tube 11b. Then, the air in the balloon 9 is removed. Therefore, when degassed water is sent again from the water pump or syringe via the water supply tube 11a, the balloon 9 can be filled with only degassed water. The balloon 9 is deflated by operating a suction pump (not shown) to suck degassed water through the suction tube 11b.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the ultrasonic probe is fixed to the diagnosis site 13 in the body cavity and ultrasonic diagnosis is performed. In order to perform such ultrasonic diagnosis, first, the main body of the probe 2 having the coupling device 1 is inserted into the body cavity, and the insertion is stopped when the diagnosis site 13 is reached. Next, deaerated water is sent from the water pump or syringe via the water supply tube 11a to inflate the balloon 9 to bring the balloon 9 into close contact with the diagnostic site 13.

When an ultrasonic beam (arrow) is emitted from the vibrator 12 toward the affected area 14 in this state, the ultrasonic beam passes through the single balloon 9 and is applied to the affected area 14. The ultrasonic beam reflected by the affected part 14 again passes through the balloon 9 and is received by the transducer 12. By processing the received signal, an ultrasonic image is displayed on a monitor (not shown). After the ultrasonic diagnosis, degassed water is sucked by the suction pump through the suction tube 11b to deflate the balloon 9, and then the ultrasonic probe is pulled out from the body cavity.

In the first embodiment, since the balloon mounting groove is not formed on the outer periphery of the probe 2 and the water supply pipe line 11a and the suction pipe line 11b are not provided in the probe main body 2, the ultrasonic probe 2 main body It has become possible to reduce the diameter. Moreover, since the balloons 9 are overlapped, the attenuation of the emitted ultrasonic beam is small. Further, since the water supply pipe line 11a and the suction pipe line 11b of the balloon 9 are individually provided in the coupling device 1, the air in the deaerated water can be reliably removed via the water supply pump and the suction pump.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which parts corresponding to those of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals (the same applies to the following embodiments). This figure is a cross-sectional view of the probe main body 2 and the coupling device 13 fixed to the probe main body 2 and a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 4A. In this embodiment, the balloon 14 has a single-layer structure and is inflated so as to have a cap shape. Also,
The sealing member 15 of the balloon 14 is provided only on the rear end side of the probe body 2. The end portions of the water supply tube 11a and the suction tube 11b are fixed between the sealing member 15 and the balloon 14, and a pump and a syringe are connected to the other ends thereof, which is similar to that of the first embodiment. is there.

To construct this ultrasonic probe, the probe body 2 is inserted into the coupling device 13 from the tip thereof, and the sealing member 15 is provided on the outer periphery of the probe body 2 at a position where the balloon 14 covers the whole transducer 12. Fix it. Then, the balloon 14 is watertightly fixed to the outer circumference of the probe body 2 by the radial contraction force of the sealing member 15. The operation of inflating and contracting the balloon 14 by feeding and suctioning deaerated water is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the effect of the configuration of this embodiment is also substantially the same as that of the first embodiment. However, in this embodiment, since the sealing member 15 is provided only at one place, the attaching / detaching work of the coupling device 13 to / from the probe body 2 can be performed more easily.

FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment of the present invention, and is a sectional view of the probe main body 2 and the coupling device 13 fixed to the probe main body 2 and a sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 5A. In this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the balloon 16 has a single layer and is formed in a ring shape. A sealing member 17 made of rubber or the like is fixed to the inner circumference of the balloon 16 on the tip side of the probe body 2, and a sealing member 19 is also fixed to the inner circumference of the balloon 16 on the rear end side of the probe body 2. Further, the tube 18 is watertightly fixed between the sealing member 19 and the balloon 16. The tube 18 is formed in a multi-lumen shape as shown in FIG. 5B, and a water supply pipe line 18a and a suction pipe line 18b are formed separately. The configuration in which a pump and a syringe are connected to the ends of the water supply conduit 18a and the suction conduit 18b, and other configurations are the same as in the first embodiment.

To construct this ultrasonic probe, firstly,
Similar to the embodiment, the probe main body 2 is connected from the tip to the coupling device 20.
Then, the sealing members 17 and 19 are fixed to the outer circumference of the ultrasonic probe 2 at a position where the balloon 16 covers the whole transducer 12. Then, the balloon 16 is watertightly fixed to the outer circumference of the ultrasonic probe 2 by the radial contraction force of the sealing members 17 and 19. The effect of the configuration of this embodiment is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, but since the water supply conduit 18a and the suction conduit 18b are formed to have a large cross-sectional area, the deaeration water is supplied and sucked into the balloon 16. Etc. can be done quickly.

FIG. 6 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention, which is a modification of the third embodiment. In this embodiment, the third
Similar to the embodiment, the tube 21 is formed in a multi-lumen shape, and the water supply conduits 21a and 21b, the suction conduit 21c,
Two 21d are formed separately. The configuration in which a pump and a syringe are connected to these ends and the other configurations are the same as those in the third embodiment.

Since this embodiment is constructed as described above, the suction operation of deaerated water can be performed by switching the two suction conduits 21c and 21d, so that the air inside the balloon 16 can be easily removed. You can do it. That is, when degassed water is fed from the water feed pumps and syringes connected to the water feed pipes 21a and 21b into the balloon 16 of the coupling device 20, the balloon 16 is inflated.
The air in a and 21b also enters at the same time. Therefore, the suction pipe line (for example, the suction pipe line 21) close to the place where the air exists.
c) is opened, and a suction pump (not shown) is operated to suck air and deaerated water through the suction conduit 21c. Next, degassed water is sent from a water feed pump or syringe (not shown) connected to the water feed conduits 21a and 21b. However, air may still remain in the balloon 16 at this time. Therefore, the suction pipe line (for example, the suction pipe line 21d) near where air is present is opened, and a suction pump (not shown) is operated to suck air and deaerated water through the suction pipe line 21d. By repeating such an operation, most of the air that causes the attenuation of the ultrasonic beam can be removed from the balloon 16. The balloon 16 is deflated by the suction pump by the suction pipe 21c,
What is done via 21d is the same as that of the above-mentioned embodiment. Other effects are similar to those of the third embodiment.

FIG. 7 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention, which is also a modification of the third embodiment. In this embodiment, similarly to the third embodiment, the tube 21 is formed in a multi-lumen shape, and the water supply pipe line 18a and the suction pipe line 18b are further formed.
Are formed independently. Further, in the present embodiment, the water supply conduit 18a and the suction conduit 1 are provided on the outer circumference of the tube 18.
Recesses 22a and 22b are formed between the ends of 8b.
The structure in which a pump and a syringe are connected to the ends of the water supply conduit 18a and the suction conduit 18b, and other structures are the same as in the third embodiment.

In this embodiment, the hollow portion 2 is formed in the tube 18.
Since the coupling device 20 is detached from the probe main body 2 after ultrasonic diagnosis by forming the portions 2a and 22b, it is possible to tear the coupling device 20 from the recessed portions 22a and 22b of the tube 18, which facilitates the detachment. You can do it. Other effects are similar to those of the third embodiment.

FIG. 8 shows the structure of the tip portion of the ultrasonic probe, in which a sealing member 24 is arranged inside the sheath 23, and the outer circumference of the sheath 23 at the 24 positions of the sealing member is wound and adhered. While fixing, the sheath 2 at the 24 sealing members
3 The inner wall was also adhesively fixed. In addition, a guide wire insertion hole 25 is formed on the side surface of the sheath 23 closer to the tip than the sealing member 24. Further, a filler 26 such as a resin or an adhesive is filled on the distal end side of the sealing member 24 in the sheath 23, and the upper surface of the filler 26 is inclined downward from the rear end of the guide wire insertion hole 25 toward the probe distal end. 26a is formed (FIG. 8A). Instead of forming the downward slope 26a, the same downward slope 24a may be formed on the sealing member 24 itself as shown in FIG. 8B.

With this structure, when the guide wire 28 is inserted from the tip end 27 of the ultrasonic probe, the guide wire 28 is filled from the vicinity of the sealing member 24 with the filler 2.
6 or the inclined surface 24a of the sealing member 24
Along the guide wire insertion hole 25 to the outside of the sheath 23. Therefore, the guide wire 28 does not tilt more than necessary with respect to the insertion direction of the ultrasonic probe, can be along the outer wall of the ultrasonic probe, and can extend from the guide wire insertion hole 25 to the distal end port 27 of the ultrasonic probe. Since there is no unnecessary gap in the inner lumen of the sheath 23 and it is possible to prevent thrombus from occurring in this portion or to store dirt, it is possible to improve hygiene management by cleaning the ultrasonic probe.

FIG. 9 shows another structure of the distal end portion of the ultrasonic probe. A guide wire insertion member 29 having a guide wire insertion hole 25 formed therein has a sealing member 24 at the distal end. The guide wire insertion member 29, which is configured to be detachably connectable to 23, is formed of an elastic member such as resin and has a connection portion 30 in which a groove 30a is formed at the rear end. Further, the sealing member 24 is formed with a recess 31 for receiving the connecting portion 30.

With this construction, when the connecting portion 30 is pushed into the recess 31 for receiving the connecting portion 30 in the direction of the arrow, both grooves are elastically engaged with each other, and the guide wire insertion member 29 and The sheath 23 is simply connected. Needless to say, when the two are separated from each other, the reverse operation can be simply performed. Therefore, when it is not necessary to use a guide wire, the length of the distal rigid portion of the ultrasonic probe can be shortened by separating the guide wire insertion member 29 from the sheath 23 and using only the sheath 23. It is possible to improve the operability and reduce the pain of the subject.

FIG. 10 shows another structure of the tip portion of the ultrasonic probe, and relates to various tip members A to C connected to the sealing member 24 of the sheath 23 shown in D. The one shown in A has a hemispherical tip,
What is shown in B is a tip having a guide wire, and C is a tip having a narrowed portion expander made of an elastic material. With this configuration, it becomes easy to select and use the above various tip members as needed when performing ultrasonic diagnosis using the ultrasonic probe. Therefore, the distal end portion can be attached and used depending on the diagnosis site, and the insertability into each part in the body cavity can be improved. Needless to say, the ultrasonic diagnosis as shown in the above embodiment can be performed by attaching the coupling device to the probe main body shown in FIGS. 8 to 10.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, a groove for attaching a balloon is not formed in the probe body, and neither a degassed water feeding tube nor a suction tube is provided in the probe body. Can be realized. Therefore, when attaching the coupling device and inserting it into the body cavity,
Alternatively, when the coupling device is removed and only the probe main body is inserted into the body cavity, it is possible to improve the insertability and reduce the pain of the subject. Further, since the coupling device is attached to the probe main body via the sealing member, the attachment / detachment is easy. Also, since the balloon has a single-layer structure,
The attenuation of the ultrasonic beam can be reduced, and proper ultrasonic diagnosis can be performed. Further, the degassed water can be quickly and appropriately supplied through the water supply pipe line and the suction pipe line which are separately provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state where ultrasonic diagnosis is performed using an ultrasonic probe according to the present invention.

2A and 2B are a cross-sectional view and a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of the probe main body and the coupling device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a state where ultrasonic diagnosis is also performed using the ultrasonic probe.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a probe body and a coupling device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and a BB cross-sectional view.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a probe body and a coupling device according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and a cross-sectional view taken along line CC.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a probe body and a coupling device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a probe body and a coupling device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the tip of the ultrasonic probe.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the tip of another ultrasonic probe.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the tip of another ultrasonic probe.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Coupling device 2 Probe body 9 Balloons 10a, 10b Sealing member 11a Water supply tube 11b Suction tube 12 Transducer 13 Diagnostic site 14 Affected site

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ultrasonic probe having a coupling device for acoustically coupling an ultrasonic probe to a diagnostic object, comprising: a balloon made of an elastic member; An elastic sealing member that can be detachably attached, and a coupling device in which a water supply / suction tube is fixed between the sealing member and the balloon end portion is detachably attached to the tip of the probe body. Sonic probe.