JPH08168490A - Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain an excellent ultrasonic tomographic image from a celom with a very complicated shape and a fine diameter such as blood vessel by forming a polymer piezoelectric film on the side of the tip of an ultrasonic probe and while rotating the polymer piezoelectric film in a state whose inside surface is in contact with a disc electrode or a rotary electrode part. CONSTITUTION: When a rotating shaft 19 is rotated, a disc electrode 100 turns while being is contact with internal electrodes 98. A control section in a body part of this apparatus determines a timing at which an electrode 101 built on the circumference of the disc electrode 100 just contacts one of the internal electrodes 98 to generate a transmitted electric signal in signal lines 102 and 103 from a transmitting/receiving section for circumferential direction. Owing to a characteristic of a polymer piezoelectric film 97 with a laterally weaker bonding strength, the transmitted electric signal is converted to an ultrasonic wave and propagated into an examinee body only concerning an area sandwiched between an external electrode 99 and the internal electrodes 98 connected electrically to the transmitting/receiving part for circumferential direction through the electrode 101. A reflection signal is received by a time difference according to a positional relationship between various reflectors located in the direction of propagation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention transmits / receives an ultrasonic signal into / from an object while mechanically changing the ultrasonic wave transmission / reception direction, and uses the reflected signal to detect the direction of the circumference of the object or the forward fan direction. In particular, the present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can be inserted into the body cavity of an extremely thin living body such as a blood vessel to obtain both ultrasonic tomographic images.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in response to diseases such as stenosis and occlusion in blood vessels, a micro ultrasonic transducer is provided at the end of a hollow tube made of a flexible material that can be inserted into blood vessels, for example, a polymer material. This micro ultrasonic transducer is mechanically two-dimensionally scanned by a rotational force generated by an external driving unit, or a plurality of micro ultrasonic transducers are electronically arranged at the outer peripheral portion of the hollow tube tip.
There is one that obtains an ultrasonic tomographic image in the circumferential direction of a plane orthogonal to the axis of the hollow tube by dimensional scanning. In addition, as a treatment method from the inside of the blood vessel at the stenosis or occlusion of the blood vessel, a balloon expansion method (balloon angioplasty) in which a balloon is inflated at the stenosis site, and a mechanical ablation method (Select Me: Aterect)
omy), yag, CO, thermal removal by irradiation with excimer laser, etc., evaporation method (laser angioplasty: La
ser angioplasty), a method of leaving an expansion part on an affected area (stents), and the like.

The above-mentioned diagnostic method using ultrasonic waves is capable of acquiring information inside the subject, which is one of the beneficial characteristics of ultrasonic waves, as compared with the X-ray transmission diagnostic method and the angioscopic method using visible light. Therefore, it becomes possible to bring useful information to the selection of treatment method before treatment and improve the treatment effect, and it is possible to make a postoperative course diagnosis after treatment and make an early decision on the next treatment. It is a useful diagnostic method and has attracted attention. As an ultrasonic diagnostic device for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves from the inside of the blood vessel, for example, US Pat.
No. 9,130, “System and Method for Pressure Filing Casseter: SY
STEM AND METHOD FOR PRESS
URE FILLING OF CATTHERS "
The configuration described as is known.

A conventional two-dimensional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for blood vessels will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 51 shows an ultrasonic probe 16 for obtaining a two-dimensional ultrasonic tomographic image in a blood vessel.
2 is a sectional view of FIG.

In FIG. 51, the ultrasonic probe 161 is roughly divided into a front end side 162 and a rear end side 163. On the distal end side 162, 164 is a flexible catheter having a hollow structure made of a polymer material, and its outer diameter is 3F to 12F (F:
It is necessary to make it about 1/3 mm thick. Reference numeral 165 denotes a flexible torque transmission shaft that extends into the catheter 164 and transmits a rotational force generated by an external drive unit (not shown), and 166 is fixed to the tip of the torque transmission shaft 165 and integrally rotated to generate ultrasonic waves. , 167 is a reflecting surface of the mirror 166, 168 is a bearing member, 169 is an ultrasonic oscillator for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, and 170 is a signal line electrically connected to an external transmitting and receiving unit (not shown). , 171 is an acoustic window made of a thin film, 172 is a guide wire, 173 is a propagation space, 174 is a drain port, 175 is a Y-shaped branch on the rear end side 163, and 176 is fixed on the rear end side of the torque transmission shaft 165. At the time of use, the connecting portion is connected to a driving portion (not shown). Reference numeral 177 is a propagation medium injection port branched by the Y-shaped branch 175.

The ultrasonic probe 1 constructed as described above
The operation of 61 will be described below.

First, the distal end side 162 is inserted into a blood vessel, and the guide wire 172 is inserted into a target site. After that, the distal end side 162 is inserted into the affected area along the guide wire 172. When the distal end side 162 reaches the affected area, a torque is generated by the drive unit and the torque transmission shaft 165 is rotated via the connecting portion 176. The torque transmission shaft 165 transmits the rotational force generated in the drive unit to the tip side, and consequently rotates the mirror 166 with respect to the bearing member 168. In this manner, the transmission electric signal generated by the external transmission unit while the mirror 166 is rotated is supplied to the ultrasonic transducer 169 through the signal line 170. Upon receiving the transmission electric signal, the ultrasonic transducer 169 converts the electric signal into ultrasonic waves and transmits the ultrasonic waves.

The ultrasonic wave transmitted from the ultrasonic transducer 169 propagates in the propagation medium filled in the propagation space 173, for example, physiological saline, and reaches the reflecting surface 167 of the mirror 166. The ultrasonic waves that have reached the reflecting surface 167 are reflected in a direction corresponding to the transmission direction and the tilt angle of the mirror 166, that is, in the direction orthogonal to the catheter 163 axis shown by the arrow in the figure,
Propagate to the blood vessel wall. The ultrasonic waves that have reached the blood vessel wall are sequentially reflected due to the difference in acoustic impedance on the surface of the blood vessel wall or inside, propagate through the path opposite to that at the time of transmission, and the ultrasonic transducer 169
The received signal is converted into an electric signal and transferred to the receiving unit through the signal line 170.

An ultrasonic tomographic image can be obtained by performing the acquisition of the received signal a plurality of times during the rotation of the mirror 166, performing the image forming process and displaying the image on a monitor (not shown). The scanning angle information of the mirror 166 necessary for forming the ultrasonic tomographic image can be measured by using, for example, an encoder in the driving unit. By injecting the propagation medium from the propagation medium injection port 177 on the rear end side 163, the propagation medium can pass through the gap between the catheter 164 and the torque transmission shaft 165 and fill the propagation space 173. Here, the excess propagation medium is discharged to the outside through the drainage port 174.

The guide wire 172 is difficult to use because it is fixed to the distal end side 162, but US Pat.
Practical ones such as the monorail system described in Japanese Patent No. 024,234 are known.

[0011]

However, the above conventional structure has a problem that only a tomographic image in the circumferential direction of a plane orthogonal to the blood vessel axis can be obtained. In particular, the blood vessel is thin at the lesion site, and when attempting to insert the tip side of the ultrasonic probe into the affected area in such a state, the diameter of the tip side must be made thinner.

Such a reduction in diameter leads to a reduction in the size of each component, making processing extremely difficult and impractical, and a decrease in sensitivity due to a reduction in the diameter of the ultrasonic transducer cannot be ignored.

Further, the circumferential scanning type cannot be applied to a completely occluded lesion. Further, when the conventional method is used to determine the irradiation position in the treatment method in which the laser beam is irradiated, there is a big problem that useful information cannot be obtained from the tomographic image in the peripheral direction.

Another problem is that the method of obtaining the scanning angle information necessary for constructing an ultrasonic tomographic image by an external drive unit is different from the scanning mode of the mirror located on the tip side. Was there.

That is, in order to flexibly deal with complicated blood vessels, it is necessary for the torque transmission shaft to sacrifice the torque transmissibility and to have flexibility. Therefore, the rotational force generated in the drive unit transmits the torque. It is absorbed by the shaft and cannot be accurately transmitted to the tip side.

Therefore, so-called image distortion occurs in which the relationship between the actual scanning pattern and the ultrasonic tomographic image is displaced.

In this case, there is a problem to be solved by disposing an angle measuring device such as an encoder on the tip side.
Since the size of the ultrasonic probe is limited, it is extremely difficult to construct the angle measuring device without allowing the diameter of the tip side to increase.

Further, as a configuration of another scanning angle information acquisition method, there is a marker disclosed in US Pat. No. 5,054,492, but it limits a valuable image area,
It is not a useful method.

Further, regarding the torque transmission shaft disclosed in the conventional example, the characteristic of the blood vessel shape to be adapted, for example, when inserting into a coronary artery, the distal end side needs to be more flexible, is utilized. However, there is a problem that the rotational stability is not good because there is no idea to improve the rotational stability.

Further, in the method of injecting the propagation medium, a method is shown in which the propagation medium is injected from the rear end side propagation medium injection port and the excess propagation medium and the like are discharged to the outside from the drain port. However, there is a problem in that it is complicated and that a portion through which the propagation medium passes needs to be completely sterilized because an excessive propagation medium is discharged into the blood vessel. This injection of the propagation medium is considered to be a very useful technique in terms of discharging microbubbles existing in the propagation space and obstructing the propagation of ultrasonic waves. Also have.

Further, one of the useful information in the ultrasonic diagnostic method is the distance information which can be calculated from the obtained ultrasonic tomographic image by the sound velocity of the living body and the time difference from the transmitted electric signal of the reflected signal. The so-called caliper function, which is used in ordinary ultrasonic diagnostic equipment, can also be applied to this ultrasonic diagnostic equipment, but in such equipment that easily causes image distortion due to the characteristics of the torque transmission shaft, the caliper function is reliable. There was a problem that it was not good.

Further, the ultrasonic transducer used in such an apparatus has a problem that its shape is extremely small and its characteristics such as sensitivity are poor.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for obtaining an excellent ultrasonic tomographic image from a body cavity having an extremely complicated shape and a small diameter such as a blood vessel. I do.

[0024]

According to the present invention, there is provided an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having an ultrasonic probe and a main body, wherein the ultrasonic probe comprises a flexible hollow thin member. A catheter having a plurality of minute lumens in a diameter tube structure, a hollow shaft fixed to the distal end side of the catheter, and a hollow bearing made of a fluorine-based resin having a small coefficient of friction fixed to the shaft. A first rotating shaft into which the shaft and the bearing are inserted, a rotating electrode rotatable around the first rotating shaft and provided at least partially with a conductive electrode, and an outer electrode provided outside. PVDF or PVD electrically connected to a rotating electrode
A polymer piezoelectric film using an F copolymer, a protective film overlaid on the polymer piezoelectric film, a first signal line electrically connected to the outer electrode through a lumen of the catheter, and torque. A second signal line passing through the inside of the transmission shaft and electrically connected to an electrode unit on the disk electrode, and a probe-side connector connected to a rear end of the torque transmission shaft; A body-side connector provided to be fitted with a probe-side connector provided in the ultrasonic probe, and a second rotating shaft connected to the body-side connector,
A motor for rotating the second rotation shaft, a position detector for detecting a rotation state of the motor, a transmitting / receiving unit for a peripheral direction connected to the second signal line via a signal contact unit, A surrounding image forming unit connected to the transmitting / receiving unit, an image memory unit connected to the surrounding image forming unit, a monitor connected to the image memory unit, and an operation unit for inputting a command, The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus has a control unit connected to the operation unit and configured to generate at least an electrical timing signal of the main unit and data necessary for image stillness control and / or image configuration.

The rotary electrode is a disk electrode made of an insulating material which is fixed to the tip end side of the rotary shaft and has a conductive positive electrode on a part of its circumferential surface. The polymer piezoelectric film has a one-sided outer surface. The ultrasonic probe may be formed on the tip side of the ultrasonic probe so as to have an outer electrode and a plurality of strip-shaped inner electrodes having a longitudinal direction in the axial direction of the catheter, and the inner electrode being in contact with the disc electrode.

In this case, a circular ring electrode made of an insulating material and provided with a plurality of conductive electrodes corresponding to the distance between the inner electrodes may be provided between the inner electrode and the disc electrode.

Alternatively, a plurality of electrodes are provided on the circumference of the disc electrode at intervals according to the pitch of the inner electrodes, and the electrode located in the center connected to each electrode arranged in the disc electrode has a characteristic that the delay amount is large. It may be provided with a plurality of delay elements that it has, and a signal line arranged in the torque transmission shaft connected to the outputs of these delay elements.

On the other hand, the rotating electrode is a rotating electrode portion fixed to the tip side of the rotating shaft, having a flat or concave surface facing the circumferential direction, and having a surface or a whole made of a conductive material.
The polymer piezoelectric film may be formed on the tip side of the ultrasonic probe so that the outer surface of the polymer piezoelectric film has a one-sided outer electrode and the inner side contacts the rotating electrode portion.

Inside the polymer piezoelectric film, a plurality of microelectrodes electrically insulated from adjacent electrodes with a small area and having a large ratio of the total area of the electrode portion to the total area are formed. You may have it.

Alternatively, a plurality of micro holes provided on the surface of the rotating electrode portion, a micro hollow tube connected to the micro holes and arranged in the hollow portion of the rotating shaft and the torque transmitting shaft, and a micro hollow tube in the main body portion. A suction control unit that is connected and whose operation is controlled by the control unit may be provided.

Alternatively, the rotating electrode section is formed in a disk shape, and a mechanism for changing the rotating direction by 90 ° is provided on the tip side of the ultrasonic probe. It is also possible to have a ring electrode provided on the side surface of the electrode section and a brush connected to a signal line arranged in the catheter lumen and electrically connected to the ring electrode.

In this case, the aforementioned microelectrodes may be provided inside the polymer piezoelectric film. Alternatively, a plurality of electrodes may be provided on the disk electrode so that the respective ultrasonic wave transmission directions are different and arranged at different angles with respect to the center of the rotating electrode portion.

Alternatively, a polymer having a polymer piezoelectric film of PVDF or PVDF copolymer having a one-sided electrode on the outer surface of the rotating electrode portion, and a polarization direction formed on the side of the tip of the ultrasonic probe. It is configured to be in the opposite direction to the polarization direction of the piezoelectric film, and is electrically connected so that the surface potential of the rotating electrode part and the outer electrode of the polymer piezoelectric film formed on the side surface of the ultrasonic probe tip side become the same potential. A configuration may be adopted.

Alternatively, there is provided a polymer piezoelectric film formed on the surface of the above-mentioned rotating electrode portion, and the inside of the polymer piezoelectric film disposed in the forward direction on the tip side of the ultrasonic probe is brought into contact with the surface potential of the rotating electrode portion and the ultrasonic probe. A configuration in which the outer electrodes of the polymer piezoelectric film formed on the front side on the tip side are electrically connected so as to have the same potential may be used.

A pre-image memory unit connected to the image memory unit; a correlation comparison unit connected to the pre-image memory unit and the image memory unit and having an output connected to the control unit;
The control unit may be provided with a distance calculation unit connected to the control unit, and the control unit may have a function of ignoring the image still command from the operation unit according to the result of the correlation comparison unit.

Alternatively, the main body side connector may be provided with a hole, a sphere and a spring may be inserted into the hole and fixed by a spring retainer, and the probe side connector may be provided with a dent and a groove that fit into the sphere.

Alternatively, at least one of the ultrasonic transducer for the peripheral direction and the ultrasonic transducer for the forward direction has a multilayer structure in which an electrode, a polymer piezoelectric film, an electrode, a piezoelectric element, an electrode and a back load material are sequentially laminated. The electrode on the surface of the polymer piezoelectric film is divided into a plurality of pieces in a shape symmetrical with respect to the center axis, and the polarization direction of the polymer piezoelectric film becomes symmetrical with respect to the center axis corresponding to the plurality of divided electrodes. In this manner, the signal may be inverted and transmitted by the piezoelectric element and received by the polymer piezoelectric film to perform differential reception.

[0038]

According to the present invention, an insulative disk electrode partially constituted by a conductive electrode is fixed to the tip rotor of the ultrasonic probe and the disk electrode is rotated by the rotation force generated by the driving section. Rotate, a uniform electrode is formed on the sound wave output surface, the back surface is a polymer piezoelectric film composed of a plurality of strip-shaped electrodes in the longitudinal direction against the axial direction, the ultrasonic probe tip side surface is formed, The disc electrode contacts the back electrode while rotating, and a plurality of strip-shaped electrodes are electrically switched by a mechanical rotation operation, thereby scanning the ultrasonic waves in the circumferential direction with respect to the axial direction.

Further, a plurality of conductive electrodes configured as the above-mentioned disc-shaped electrode are provided side by side, and the conductive electrode at the center portion of these is connected to the delay element in the disc electrode, and at the same time a transmission electric signal is generated. By doing so, the ultrasonic transducer located in the central part is transmitted and received with a delay with respect to other parts,
The transmitted ultrasonic wave can be focused at a position corresponding to the characteristics of the delay element.

Further, a polymer piezoelectric film having a uniform electrode formed on the sound wave emitting surface is formed on the side surface on the tip side of the ultrasonic probe, and the surface shape is flat or concave on the rotation axis on the tip side of the ultrasonic probe. By rotating the rotating electrode portion facing in the circumferential direction with respect to the catheter shaft while contacting the inside of the polymer piezoelectric film, only the portion sandwiched between the rotating electrode and the uniform electrode on the surface is excited. In addition, it is possible to scan the ultrasonic waves in the circumferential direction with respect to the axial direction.

Further, by providing a plurality of small, for example, rectangular electrodes electrically insulated from adjacent electrodes on the back surface of the polymer piezoelectric film formed on the side surface on the tip side of the ultrasonic probe, The contact resistance can be reduced, and electric energy can be efficiently input to the ultrasonic vibrator.
It is possible to construct an ultrasonic transducer having good sensitivity as a whole.

Further, by controlling the suction control unit to reduce the pressure during transmission and reception through a plurality of micro holes provided in the rotating electrode unit, the adhesion between the rotating electrode and the ultrasonic vibrator is increased, and the electric power is efficiently supplied. Energy can be input to the ultrasonic vibrator, and an ultrasonic vibrator having good overall sensitivity can be constructed.

Further, the polymer piezoelectric film formed on the surface of the rotating electrode portion is polarized so that the polarization direction is opposite to the polarization direction of the polymer piezoelectric film formed on the side of the tip of the ultrasonic probe. By forming a uniform electrode and electrically connecting the rotating electrode and the sound emitting surface electrode of the polymer piezoelectric film formed on the tip side of the ultrasonic probe, the equivalent electrical impedance of the ultrasonic transducer And electric energy can be efficiently input to the ultrasonic vibrator.

Further, a pre-image memory section is connected to the image memory section of the main body, so that the image stored in the pre-image memory section is a past image with respect to the image stored in the image memory section. The correlation is calculated from a part or all of the two images in the correlation comparison unit connected to the image memory unit and the pre-image memory unit, and the two images are different from the set threshold value. When it is determined that the image is stationary, the control unit ignores the image stationary function, thereby automatically detecting image distortion due to the characteristics of the torque transmission shaft and reducing erroneous diagnosis.

In connection between the rear end side of the ultrasonic probe and the drive section of the main body, the probe side connector fixed to the rear end side of the torque transmission shaft and having a spherical recess is provided with the connection section provided on the drive section. By providing a connector on the body side that has a ball that presses with a certain stress by fitting it into the dent, the torque transmitting shaft is transmitted by the dent and the contact part by the dent and the contact part, and the torque transmitting shaft has some abnormality. When the rotation becomes impossible due to the above, when a rotation force greater than the force corresponding to the stress pressing the ball is generated, the dent and the ball come off, and the torque generated by the drive unit is not transmitted to the torque transmission shaft.

One or both of the peripheral ultrasonic transducer and the front ultrasonic transducer disposed on the tip side of the ultrasonic probe are connected to a back load material, a piezoelectric ceramic or piezoelectric crystal, or a polymer piezoelectric film. By using a piezoelectric ceramic or piezoelectric crystal when transmitting waves, and using a polymer piezoelectric film that is symmetrical to the central axis and reverses the direction of polarization when receiving waves, the receiving sensitivity characteristics are improved. Waves can be received with an excellent polymer piezoelectric material, and random noise can be reduced by differential reception, thereby improving S / N.

[0047]

【Example】

(Embodiment 1) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is an ultrasonic probe to be inserted into a subject, for example, a blood vessel, and 2 is a main body. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention is largely divided into an ultrasonic probe 1 and a main body 2. . 3 is the front end side of the ultrasonic probe 2, 4 is the rear end side, 5 is a drive unit consisting of a motor or position detector that generates drive force, 6 is a transceiver for the ambient direction connected to the drive unit 5, and 7 is The image forming unit for the peripheral direction connected to the peripheral direction transmitting / receiving unit, 8 is the transmitting / receiving unit for the front direction connected to the driving unit 5, 9 is the image forming unit for the front direction connected to the transmitting / receiving unit for the front direction, An image memory unit connected to the peripheral direction image forming unit 7 and the forward direction image forming unit 9, 11 is a monitor connected to the image memory unit 10 for displaying an ultrasonic tomographic image, and 12 is for inputting various control commands. An operator unit consisting of a keyboard, a mouse or a switch, 13 a control unit connected to the operator unit 12, 14 a distance calculation unit connected to the control unit 13, 15 a test tube such as a blood vessel, a drive unit 5, Circumferential direction Transmitter / receiver 6, ambient Image construction unit 7, the forward direction transceiver unit 9, the main body portion 2 is constituted forwardly image construction unit 10, the image memory unit 11, operating unit 12, the control unit 13, the distance calculation unit 14.

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the distal end 3 of the ultrasonic probe 1 in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along the line 2B.

In FIG. 2, 15 is a catheter formed of a flexible hollow tube structure (for example, a polymer resin such as polyethylene, Teflon, or nylon), and 16 is a hollow structure fixed to the distal end side of the catheter 15. Shaft, 17
Reference numeral 18 denotes a hollow bearing having a hollow structure inserted in the hollow portion of the shaft 16. Reference numeral 18 denotes a flexible torque transmission shaft having a multi-layer spring structure for transmitting the rotational force generated in the drive unit 5 in the main body 2 to the distal end side 3. Is a rotary shaft that is inserted into the hollow part of the bearing 17 and fixed to the tip of the torque transmission shaft 18, 20 is a cylindrical rotor that is fixed to the front end of the rotary shaft 19 and has an opening in the sound wave emission direction, and 21 is inside the rotor 20. An ultrasonic transducer for a circumferential direction, which is arranged and has a sound wave emitting direction that is an axial direction of the ultrasonic probe 1, and a reference numeral 22 denotes an ultrasonic transducer for a circumferential direction 2 in the rotor 20
A mirror having a reflecting surface at a reflection angle, for example, 45 °, which is opposed to 1 and reflects the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the ultrasonic transducer 21 for the peripheral direction in the opening direction of the rotor 20.
Reference numeral 23 denotes an eccentric shaft integrally formed or inserted on the tip side of the rotor 20, and 24 denotes a groove 59 fitted to a contact surface with the eccentric shaft 23.
A vibrator holder 25 having a fan-shaped scanning center axis of the vibrator holder 24, and a cap connected and fixed to the bearing 17 by a beam 27; 26 an acoustic window for forward ultrasonic waves provided on the front surface of the cap 25; Is an ultrasonic transducer for the forward direction fixed to the oscillator holder 24, 29 is a pivot shaft which is the fan-shaped scanning central axis of the oscillator holder 24, and 30 is the tip side 3
Of the protective film, which is covered with at least the tip side of the shaft 16, and 31 is a void formed inside the protective film 30.
2 is a plurality of lumens formed in the thick portion of the catheter 15, 33 is a signal line for the ultrasonic transducer 28 for the forward direction arranged in the lumen 32, and 34 is a supersonic wave for the circumferential direction arranged inside the torque transmission shaft. This is a signal line for the sound wave transducer 21.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a connection portion between the rear end side 4 of the ultrasonic probe 1 and the drive section 5 of the main body 6 in FIG.

In FIG. 3, 35 is a propagation medium inlet at a branch side of the Y-shaped branch of the catheter 15 where the torque transmitting shaft 18 is not included, 36 is a probe side mounting portion, and 37 is fixed to the driving portion 5. A body-side mounting portion, 38 is a probe-side connector fixedly connected to the torque transmission shaft 18, 39 is a body-side connector that fits into the probe-side connector 38 and transmits rotational force, 40 is a motor, and 41 is a rotation form of the motor 40. Position detector comprising, for example, an encoder,
Is a first pulley connected to the rotation shaft of the motor 40, 43
Is a second rotating shaft for rotating the main body side connector 39, 44
Is a second pulley connected to the second rotary shaft 43, 45 is a drive belt for transmitting the rotational force of the first pulley 42 to the second pulley 44, and 46 is provided on the second rotary shaft 43. So-called slip ring type signal contact portion, 47
It is an oil seal material that is provided in the main body side attachment portion 37 and prevents the propagation medium filling the ultrasonic probe from flowing into the drive portion 5.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state when the ultrasonic probe 1 is inserted into a coronary artery.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 48 denotes a heart, 49 denotes an aorta, 50 denotes a coronary artery, 51 denotes a stenosis which is a lesion in the coronary artery, and 52 denotes a guide catheter.

The operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 and further FIGS. 4 to 7.

First, the guide catheter 52 is inserted from the aorta and hooked and fixed at the entrance of the coronary artery 50. The ultrasonic probe 1 is inserted into the guide catheter 52,
The ultrasonic probe 1 is inserted into the coronary artery. By using the guide catheter 52 in this manner, the ultrasonic probe 1 or the therapeutic catheter can be placed safely and promptly on the affected area.

When the distal end 3 is located near the affected part, the motor 40 in the drive unit 5 is driven by the operator unit 12 via the control unit 13. The rotational force of the motor 40 rotates the first pulley 42, the drive belt 45, the second pulley 44, and the second rotation shaft 43. Before the treatment, the rear end side 4 is connected using the probe side attachment portion 36 and the main body side attachment portion 37, and the rotational force of the second rotary shaft 43 is applied to the torque transmission shaft 18 by the main body side connector 39 and the probe side connector 38. Transmitted. The inside of the catheter 15 is filled with a propagation medium, for example, physiological saline, through the propagation medium inlet 35, and the space 31 on the distal end side 3 is filled with the medium.

The torque transmitted to the torque transmission shaft 18 is
The rotating shaft 19 and the rotor 20 are rotated with respect to the bearing 17 fixed to the catheter 15 inside the distal end side 3 together with the shaft 16. The bearing 17 is preferably a ball bearing or a lot bearing, but when the distal end side 3 is inserted into the coronary artery 50, the outer diameter of the catheter 15 is 9F (F: 1 /
3mm) or less, and if desired, 6F or less,
It is very difficult to construct a bearing having such a small shape. Therefore, the bearing 17 is made of a fluorine-based plastic material having a small friction coefficient.

While the rotor 20 is rotating, the transmitting / receiving section 6 for the peripheral direction generates a transmission electric signal and transmits it to the ultrasonic transducer 21 in the peripheral direction via the signal line 34. Converts electrical signals into ultrasonic waves. The circumferential ultrasonic transducer 21 has a configuration as shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the ultrasonic vibrator. The ultrasonic vibrator is a piezoelectric element formed of a piezoelectric ceramic or a piezoelectric crystal or a polymer piezoelectric film sandwiched between the back load material 53 and the electrodes 55 and 56. 54, an acoustic matching layer 57 composed of a plurality of layers having a thickness of ¼λ with respect to the assumed frequency of ultrasonic waves, and a signal line 58 connected to the electrodes 55 and 56. The acoustic matching layer 57 is usually made of a material having an acoustic impedance intermediate between the piezoelectric element 56 and the propagation medium for the purpose of efficiently transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves generated by the piezoelectric element 56 in the propagation medium.

The ultrasonic wave transmitted by the peripheral ultrasonic transducer 21 propagates in the propagation medium filled in the gap 31 and is orthogonal to one axis of the ultrasonic probe shown in FIG. The light is reflected in the direction, passes through the protective film 30 through the opening of the rotor 20, and is transmitted toward the blood vessel wall. Protective film 30
Is made of a material having a thin acoustic impedance close to that of the propagation medium or blood and little attenuation, such as polyethylene or silicon, so that it does not become a reflection object for ultrasonic waves. The signal line 34 is connected to the signal contact portion 46 in the drive unit 5.
It is connected to the transmitting / receiving unit for the surrounding direction without being twisted by the rotation.

The ultrasonic wave transmitted in the direction of the blood vessel wall is sequentially reflected on the surface or inside of the blood vessel wall, and a part of the ultrasonic wave follows the same propagation path as the transmitted wave. The transmission / reception unit 6 receives desired processing, for example, amplification, detection, and the like, and outputs the output to the surrounding image forming unit 7.
By repeating this wave transmission / reception operation while the rotor 20 is rotating, scanning in the circumferential direction becomes possible. Using the output of the position detector 41, an image in the peripheral direction is formed by a digital scan conversion method configured by a so-called ordinary ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, stored in the image memory unit 10, and displayed on the monitor 11.

On the other hand, the rotor 20 is rotated by the torque transmission shaft 18 to rotate the eccentric shaft 23 located at the tip thereof,
Transducer holder 2 having groove 59 for inserting eccentric shaft 23
4 is made to scan the pivot shaft 29 in a fan shape. This operation will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the eccentric shaft 23 and the vibrator holder 24. In practice, the eccentric shaft 23 is inserted into the groove 59 formed in the vibrator holder 24,
4 is fixed to a cap 25 (not shown) by a pivot shaft 29. The eccentric shaft 23 is rotated as shown by the arrow, and the groove 59 and the pivot shaft 29 extract the movement of this rotation operation only in the up and down direction in FIG. The ultrasonic waves transmitted from the ultrasonic transducer 28 for the forward direction, which are fixed to, are two-dimensionally scanned. At the time of this fan-shaped scanning, a process equivalent to the acquisition of a tomographic image in the peripheral direction is performed by the front-direction transmitting / receiving unit 8 and the front-direction image forming unit 9 so that a front fan-shaped scanning tomographic image is obtained with respect to the front end side 3. It can be stored in the image memory 10 and displayed on the monitor 11. Signal line 3
2 may be arranged between the catheter 15 and the torque transmission shaft 18.

Since this fan-shaped scanning is performed while rotating the eccentric shaft 23 while contacting the groove 59 of the vibrator holder 24, the frictional resistance at the contact portion between the eccentric shaft 23 and the groove 59 affects the accuracy of the fan-shaped scanning. To do. Therefore, both or one of the eccentric shaft 23 and the vibrator holder 24 may be made of, for example, a fluorine resin material having a small frictional resistance.

Further, as shown in FIG.
On the other hand, by providing a hole in the central shaft and press-fitting or adhering the cylindrical rotary bearing 60 with the pin 61 so that the rotary bearing 60 rotates with respect to the eccentric shaft 23, as shown in FIG. In addition, the eccentric shaft 23 may be rotated while the rotary bearing 60 is rotating in the groove 59 of the vibrator holder 24, and a smoother scan conversion may be possible.

The control unit 13 can easily and simultaneously control the acquisition and display of the two types of tomographic images in the circumferential direction and the forward fan scanning direction. Further, a quantitative evaluation value obtained by activating the image still function, that is, a so-called freeze function from the control unit 13 and measuring the blood vessel wall thickness by the distance calculation unit 14 with respect to the still image is also important together with the morphological diagnosis obtained from the ultrasonic tomographic image. It becomes information.

As described above, while judging the ultrasonic tomographic images in the circumferential direction of the distal end side 3 and in the forward fan-shaped scanning direction, the operator moves the ultrasonic probe 1 with respect to the stenosis portion 51 which is the affected area, and various tomographic images. It is possible to improve the therapeutic effect by obtaining the information necessary for selecting the treatment method. Therefore, complete occlusion and diagnosis of a very narrow stenosis, which were not possible with the ultrasonic probe 1 that scans only in the circumferential direction, can be performed by the ultrasonic transducer 28 for the forward direction.

Therefore, with the above configuration, the circumferential ultrasonic tomographic image in the circumferential direction is imaged by the beam 27 of the cap 25 by the rotator 20 that rotates the peripheral ultrasonic transducer 21 and the mirror 22 in opposition. The eccentric shaft 23 fixed to the tip of the rotor 20, the vibrator holder 24, and the pivot shaft 29 allow ultrasonic waves in the forward sector scan direction to be obtained, although some have an unobtainable area. A tomographic image can be obtained.

Next, FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the distal end side 3 of the ultrasonic probe 1, and FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the eccentric shaft 23 and the vibrator holder 24. doing.

In FIG. 8, reference numeral 20 denotes a rotor, 21 denotes an ultrasonic transducer for surrounding directions, 22 denotes a mirror, and 23 denotes a rotor 20.
Eccentric shaft provided on the tip side, 24 is a vibrator holder, 25
Is a cap, 28 is an ultrasonic transducer for the forward direction, 29 is a pivot shaft, 30 is a protective film, 62 is a rotary bearing inserted in the eccentric shaft 23, and 61 is a pin.

Then, as shown in FIG.
7 has a spherical outer shape with respect to the rotary bearing 62 shown in FIG. 7, and is preferably made of a fluororesin material having a small friction coefficient.

In the scanning in the forward sector scanning direction based on the relationship between the eccentric shaft 23 and the transducer holder 24 shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, the contact position between the eccentric shaft 23 and the transducer holder 24 changes with the change of the scanning angle. That is, the gap between the eccentric shaft 23 and the vibrator holder 24 becomes maximum when the scanning angle is near 0 °, and there is a phenomenon that the scanning angle cannot be accurately identified.

The eccentric shaft 23 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG.
A conceptual diagram showing the positional relationship between the transducer holder 24 and the transducer holder 24 in each scanning state will be described. As shown in FIG.
When the scanning angle is the minimum value of θ (min), the eccentric shaft 23 and the vibrator holder 24 are in contact with each other at the point A, but when the scanning angle shown in FIG. The contact point changes to point B.

This change indicates that the scanning state changes when the scanning angle is 0 ° (the scanning angle at which the contact point changes),
This is a characteristic that is not very desirable for acquiring an ultrasonic tomographic image in the forward fan scanning direction, specifically for identifying the scanning angle.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11A, the gap 6 between the eccentric shaft 23 and the vibrator holder 24 near the scanning angle of 0 ° is obtained.
3 is the maximum, and there are two cases where the eccentric shaft 23 and the vibrator holder 24 have a scanning angle θ1 as shown in FIG. 7B or a scanning angle θ2 as shown in FIG. These causes are that the eccentric shaft 23 has a cylindrical shape, and the apparent width of the groove 59 of the oscillator holder 24 viewed from the eccentric shaft 23 side changes depending on the scanning angle.

If a request for an ultrasonic tomographic image to be acquired is not required to be so precise, the coronary artery 50
The configuration in which the eccentric shaft 23 has a cylindrical shape as an element to be included in the fine tip side 3 that can be inserted into is advantageous in that it is easy in terms of processing, but it requires a publicly accurate tomographic image. If so, improvement is needed.

The operation will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, the rotor 20 rotated by the torque transmission shaft 18 rotates the eccentric shaft 23 located at the tip thereof, and causes the oscillator shaft 24 having a groove for inserting the eccentric shaft 23 to scan the pivot shaft 29 in a fan shape. . Eccentric shaft 2
In FIG. 3, the rotating bearing 62 whose outer shape is spherical and whose diameter is equal to or smaller than the width of the groove 59 is prevented from falling off by the pin 61, and the rotating bearing 62 is kept rotatable with respect to the eccentric shaft 23.

Thus, since the eccentric shaft 23 sandwiched between the grooves 59 of the vibrator holder 24 operates while rotating the rotary bearing 62, the vibrator holder 24 can be easily scanned in a sector shape.

Further, since the outer shape of the rotary bearing 62 is spherical, the eccentric shaft 23 and the groove 59 are always in contact at a substantially constant portion even when the scanning angle changes, so that a stable scanning form can be obtained. Becomes possible.

Then, at the time of the sector scanning, the transmission / reception section 8 for the forward direction and the image forming section 9 for the front direction perform the transmission and reception of the ultrasonic wave and the image formation, so that the tomographic image in the sector scanning direction forward with respect to the distal end side 3 is formed. It can be stored in the image memory 10 and displayed on the monitor 11.

Next, FIG. 12 shows another configuration showing a stable forward sector scanning direction scanning mode. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of another configuration of the tip side 3 of the ultrasonic probe 1 according to the second embodiment.

In FIG. 12, 20 is a rotor, 21 is an ultrasonic transducer for the circumferential direction, 22 is a mirror, 23 is an eccentric axis, and 2 is a mirror.
4 is a vibrator holder, 25 is a cap, 28 is an ultrasonic transducer for forward direction, 29 is a pivot shaft, 30 is a protective film, and 64 is a spherical contact member provided on the rear end side of the vibrator holder 24. , 65 are such that the contact 64 always has the eccentric shaft 64.
Is a spring provided so as to come into contact with.

The operation of the above arrangement will be described below. The vibrator holder 24 is restricted by the spring 65 so that the contactor 64 fixed to the rear end thereof is always in contact with the eccentric shaft 23, and the front-direction ultrasonic vibrator 28 is connected to the contactor 64, the spring 65, and The eccentric shaft 23 is directed in the direction in which it is fully formed.

The rotor 20 rotated by the torque transmission shaft 18 rotates the eccentric shaft 23 located at the tip thereof to move the contactor 64 in the vertical direction of FIG. 12A.
The vibrator holder 24 is fan-shaped scanned.

In order to obtain a desired scanning form, for example, a smooth change, the sectional shape of the eccentric shaft 23 may be a non-circular shape as shown in FIG.

Therefore, by adding the configuration shown in FIGS. 8 to 12, the spherical rotary bearing 62 inserted into the eccentric shaft 23 is rotatably stopped by the pin 61, so that the torque transmitting shaft 18 For changes in scan angle due to rotation,
The eccentric shaft 23 (rotating bearing 62) and the groove 59 are formed in a substantially constant portion.
Are always in contact with each other, and it is possible to obtain a stable scanning pattern for highly accurate acquisition and display of an ultrasonic tomographic image.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the distal end 3 of the ultrasonic probe 1. In FIG. 13, reference numeral 24 denotes a vibrator holder, 25 denotes a cap, 26 denotes an acoustic window, and 28 denotes a forward ultrasonic wave. A vibrator, 29 is a pivot shaft, 30 is a protective film, 66 is a position detection sensor, 67 is a signal line connected to the position detection sensor, and 68 is an insulating material for fixing and protecting the position detection sensor 66 inside the cap 25. It is a coating material consisting of

In the configuration of FIG. 13, a position detection sensor 66 is added, and the position detection sensor 66 has a rear end portion of the vibrator holder 24 at the time when the scanning angle becomes maximum as the vibrator holder 24 scans. Is fixed to the inside of the cap 25, which is in contact with, with a coating material 68.

FIG. 14 shows the structure of the main body 2 to which the position detecting sensor 66 is added. The parts not described are the same as those shown in FIG.

In FIG. 14, reference numeral 69 denotes a position detecting unit;
Is a receiving unit connected to the driving unit 5 and electrically connected to the signal line 67, 71 is a threshold value generating unit, 72 is a comparing unit connected to the threshold value generating unit and the receiving unit 69, and 73 is a comparing unit. A position detection signal generator connected to the receiver 72, a receiver 70, a threshold value generator 71,
The comparison unit 72 and the position detection signal generation unit 73 include the position detection unit 69.
Is composed.

In the acquisition and display of the forward sector scan direction type ultrasonic tomographic image described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 12, the measurement of the scan angle of the forward ultrasonic
This is performed by a position detector 41 which is connected to a motor 40 inside and which is composed of, for example, an encoder.

However, since the torque transmitting shaft 18 has a flexible multilayer spring structure, when the torque generated by the motor 40 is transmitted to the distal end 3, a phase delay occurs between the driving unit 5 and the distal end 3. Is generated.

If this phase delay is always constant, it is possible to identify the scanning angle of the forward ultrasonic transducer 28 by correcting with this value.
If the state is changed, for example, when the tube is inserted into a test tube of a more complicated shape, this phase delay will also change, and it becomes impossible to use the above-mentioned correction, and the front fan-shaped scanning direction displayed on the monitor 11 becomes impossible. Type ultrasonic tomographic image is different from the actual one.

This change depends on the characteristics of the torque transmission shaft 18. The characteristics of the torque transmission shaft 18 are the flexibility and the transmissibility described above. In the case of a multi-layer spring structure, the flexibility sacrifices the transmissibility, and conversely increases the transmissibility to allow the flexibility. Sex decreases.

That is, if the transmission of the torque transmission shaft 18 is increased in order to prevent or reduce the occurrence of a phase delay, the flexibility is reduced and, for example, the coronary artery 50 is reduced.
Therefore, it is necessary to sacrifice the communicability to some extent, because it becomes impossible to respond flexibly to.

The operation will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, the transducer holder 24 is sector-scanned as described with reference to FIGS.
The rear end of the vibrator holder 24 contacts the position detection sensor 66 once.

The position detecting sensor 66 converts an impact due to contact into an electric signal with good responsiveness, and is made of, for example, a piezoelectric material.

As the piezoelectric material, when a ferroelectric ceramic material is subjected to polarization treatment, there is a possibility that the piezoelectric material is easily damaged by impact, and has excellent impact resistance, can be flexibly changed in shape, and can be minutely configured. It is composed of a piezoelectric polymer material having piezoelectricity such as PVDF or PVDF copolymer.

FIG. 15 shows the detailed structure of the position detection sensor 66. In FIG. 15, 74 is a polymeric piezoelectric material, 75 is electrodes provided on both sides of the polymeric piezoelectric material, and two signal lines 67 are formed on the front surface and the back surface and electrically connected to the electrodes 75, respectively. Has been done. The position detection sensor 66 can be fixed to the inner surface of the cap 25 by a coating material 68 coated or coated with an adhesive material having an insulating property such as an epoxy resin.

When the cap 25 is made of a conductive material such as metal, the position of the position detecting sensor 6
It is necessary to insulate from 6.

The position detection sensor 66 is connected to the vibrator holder 24
Upon contact with, an electric pulse signal is generated in response to the impact.

FIG. 16 shows an example of the output of the position detection sensor 66. As shown in FIG. 16A, the position detection sensor 6
6 generates a pulse signal once for the fan-shaped scanning according to the number of times.

This output is input from the driving section 5 to the receiving section 70 of the position detecting section 69 via the signal line 67. On the other hand, in the receiving unit 70, the envelope detection waveform output from the receiving unit 70 is compared with the threshold value generated by the threshold value generating unit 71 and the comparing unit 72 using the pulse signal as shown in FIG. Then, the position signal generator 73 generates a position signal for the impact caused by the contact between the position detection sensor 66 and the vibrator holder 24 as shown in FIG. 16C, and outputs the position signal to the controller 13.

The control section 13 generates various timing signals based on the position detection signal, and transmits and receives the peripheral direction transmitting / receiving section 6, the peripheral direction image forming section 7, the forward direction transmitting / receiving section 8, and the forward direction transmitting / receiving section. The image is output to the image forming unit 9 and the image memory unit 10.

However, in the case of forming a forward sector scan direction ultrasonic tomographic image, a more accurate image can be formed if there is scan angle information for each transmission of the forward direction ultrasonic transducer 28. Since the rotation of 18 can be assumed to be substantially constant during one rotation, an image can be formed only by the position signal at the reference position as described above.

This position signal can be used not only for the configuration of the ultrasonic sector tomographic image in the forward sector, but also for the configuration of the ultrasonic tomographic image for the peripheral direction.

Therefore, as described above, the oscillator holder 24
A position detection sensor 66 is fixed to the inside of the cap 25 where the rear end contacts with a coating material 68, and a threshold value generation unit 71 is output from a comparison unit 72 based on an output corresponding to an impact due to the contact.
By generating a position signal in the position detection signal generating unit 73 in comparison with the threshold value generated in step 3, the phase delay of the torque transmission shaft 18 with respect to the state change of the ultrasonic probe 1 is not affected, and the reference of the vibrator holder 24 is not affected. The position can be obtained, and a highly accurate image can be constructed.

Next, another configuration example of the main body 2 when the position detection sensor 66 is used will be described.

Also in this case, the ultrasonic probe 1 has the same components as those shown in FIG. However, the position detection sensor 66 does not contact the rear end portion of the vibrator holder 24 at the time when the scan angle becomes the maximum as the vibrator holder 24 scans, but makes the vibrator at the time when the scan angle becomes the maximum. The coating material 68 is fixed to the inside of the cap 25 so that the rear end of the holder 24 does not contact.

FIG. 17 shows a specific structure of the main body 2. The parts not described are the same as those of the main body 2 of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

In FIG. 17, reference numeral 76 denotes a position detecting unit;
Is a tamming signal generator, 78 is a transmitter / receiver connected to the timing signal generator 77, 79 is a detector connected to the transmitter / receiver 78, 80 is a pulse generator connected to the detector 79, and 81 is a pulse generator. A counter unit connected to 80, 82 a reference value generation unit, 83 a comparison unit connected to the counter unit 81 and the reference value generation unit 82, 84 a reference gate generation unit connected to the timing signal generation unit 77, 85 Is a latch that temporarily holds the output of the comparison unit 83 according to the gate signal generated by the reference gate generation unit 84
3 is connected.

The timing signal generator 77, the transmitter / receiver 78, the detector 79, the pulse generator 80, the counter 8
The position detecting unit 76 includes the reference value generating unit 82, the comparing unit 83, the reference gate generating unit 84, and the latch unit 85.

The operation of the above configuration will be described below. First, the vibrator holder 24 is fan-shaped scanned as described with reference to FIGS.

During the sector scan, the timing generated by the timing signal generator 77 of the position detector 76 determines
The transmitter / receiver 78 supplies a transmission electric signal to the position detection sensor 66.

Then, the position detection sensor 66 which has received the transmission electric signal converts it into an ultrasonic wave and transmits it. The ultrasonic wave output from the position detection sensor 66 propagates in a propagation medium such as physiological saline filled in the cap 25, and the transducer holder 24 closest to the position detection sensor 66.
The reflected ultrasonic waves reflected by the outer wall of the position sensor 66
Is received by.

The reflected signal output from the position detection sensor 66 is appropriately amplified by the transmission / reception unit 78 and then detected by the detection unit 79.

The timing signal generating section 7
By measuring the time from the transmission electric signal output by the device 7 to the reflected signal, the position of the vibrator holder 24 can be identified, and the reference position as in Example 3 can be obtained. Assuming insertion into a thin tube such as the artery 50, the distal end side 3 needs to have a diameter of 6 F or less, and the change in the distance between the transducer holder 24 and the position detection sensor 66 is extremely small.

Therefore, high measurement accuracy is required, and it is necessary to increase the frequency of the position detection sensor 66.

However, increasing the frequency makes it difficult to process the position detecting sensor 66 and increases the frequency, so that it is necessary to make each component in the position detecting section 76 excellent in high frequency characteristics. Complex, expensive.

For this reason, it is preferable to configure the position detecting section 76 as shown in FIG. 17, and FIG. 18 schematically shows output waveforms of each component of the position detecting section 76 in this case. is there.

As shown in FIG. 18A, the reflection signal from the oscillator holder 24 is very close to the position detection sensor 66 and the propagation medium has a small attenuation. A large number of multiple reflection components corresponding to the distance from the detection sensor 66 are obtained.

From the output signal of the detector 79, the pulse generator 80 generates a pulse wave based on the multiple reflection signal as shown in FIGS. 18 (b) and 18 (c).

The counter 81 counts the number of pulses using the output of the pulse generator 80 as a clock.

However, the counter section 81 is reset by the transmission electric signal output from the timing signal generation section 77.

The output of the counter 81 is always
Is compared with the reference value generated by the reference value generation unit 82. For example, if the reference value is less than the reference value, the Low level is set.
Output level. The output of the comparison unit 83 is latched by the latch unit 85 at, for example, a rising edge of a reference gate signal having a constant width generated by the reference gate generation unit 84 synchronized with the transmission electric signal output from the timing signal generation unit 77. It is transferred to the control unit 13.

FIG. 18B shows a case where the interval between the multiple reflection signals is long because the transducer holder 24 and the position detection sensor 66 are separated, and when the reference gate signal rises, the output of the counter section 81 becomes: The value is smaller than the reference value generated by the reference value generation unit 82, the output of the comparison unit 83 is at the low level, and the output of the latch unit 85 is also maintained at the low level.

On the other hand, in FIG. 18C, the vibrator holder 24 and the position detection sensor 66 are closer to each other than in FIG. 18B, so that the interval between the multiple reflection signals is short, and the reference gate signal Before the rising, the output of the counter unit 81 becomes larger than the reference value generated by the reference value generation unit 82, the output of the comparison unit 83 changes to the High level, and the output of the latch unit 85 is held at the High level. By adjusting the reference value output from the reference value generator 82 and the reference gate signal output from the reference gate signal generator 84, the vibrator holder 2
It is possible to know when 4 is closest to the position detection sensor 66, and it is possible to obtain the reference position of the vibrator holder 24 necessary for the image configuration.

Therefore, as described above, the vibrator holder 24
The position detection sensor 66 is fixed to the inside of the cap 25 with the coating material 68 so as not to come into contact with the rear end portion of the cap 25, and the pulse generator 80 that generates a pulse from the multiple reflection signal and the output of the pulse generator 80 are counted as a clock. Counter section 8
1 and the output of the counter unit 81 corresponding to the gate signal width generated by the reference gate signal generation unit 84 of the counter unit 81 are determined by the comparison unit 83, thereby ensuring high measurement accuracy for the position detection sensor 66 and the position detection unit 76. The distance between the vibrator holder 24 and the position detection sensor 66 can be measured with high accuracy without requesting, and a highly accurate image can be configured.

Next, FIG. 19 shows a more preferable structure of the torque transmission shaft 18 of the multilayer spring structure used in the ultrasonic probe 1 of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of this embodiment.

In FIG. 19, reference numeral 86 denotes a torque transmitting shaft 18.
Tip side having a length of about 100 to 500 mm, 8
7 is the rear end side of the torque transmission shaft, and the inner layer 88 on the rear end side 87 is not wound up to the front end side 86, that is, the front end side 8
No. 6 has a smaller number of layers than the rear end side 87.

As the torque transmission shaft 18, a rod-shaped small-diameter shaft having strong torsional rigidity, such as a piano wire, can be used.
Since the flexibility is not sufficient, the torque transmission shaft 18 having a multilayer spring structure is generally used.

However, in the case of the fine ultrasonic probe 1 supposed to be inserted into a thin tube, a single-layered spring configuration lacks transmission characteristics, and uses a multi-layered spring configuration in which the winding directions of the respective layers are reversed.

Even if the cross section of the wire 90 forming the spring is circular, a square wire is used because of lack of transmission characteristics.

However, since the torque transmitting shaft 18 of this multilayer spring structure has flexibility, the transmitting performance is sacrificed, and the torque generated by the driving unit 5 can be transmitted to the distal end 3 in a stable manner. In addition, the obtained ultrasonic tomographic image is distorted, and shakes or distorts during real-time display.

For example, when the ultrasonic probe 1 is applied to the coronary artery 50 as shown in FIG. 4, the rear end side 4 is located in the relatively linear aorta 49, and the front end side 3 has a complicated bent portion. It has been inserted into the coronary artery 50.

The torque transmission shaft 18 shown in FIG.
Since the front side 86 having a length of about 0 to 500 mm has a smaller number of layers than the rear side 87, the transmissivity is poor but the flexibility is excellent.

On the other hand, the rear end 87 has better transmissivity than the distal end 86 and has flexibility and transmissivity suitable for the shape characteristics of the aorta 49 and coronary artery 50 described above. It is possible to acquire and display an acoustic tomographic image.

[0140] The deterioration of the transfer characteristic on the distal end side 85 does not become a major image deterioration factor because its length is as short as about 500 mm at the maximum.

In processing the torque transmission shaft 18 as shown in FIG. 19, it is easy to think that two multi-layer springs having different numbers of layers are connected by a joint member or the like. It is not preferable because it sometimes comes off.

The production of the torque transmission shaft 18 shown in FIG. 19 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 20, 88
Is an inner layer, 89 is a core material, and 90 is a wire.

First, as shown in FIG. 20 (a), the inner layer 88 is wound from the rear end 87 to the required length of the rear end 87 using the element wire 90.

Next, as shown in FIG. 20 (b), from the rear end 87, using the element wire 90, in the direction opposite to the direction when the inner layer 88 is formed, winding the entire length required for the torque transmission shaft 18, Finally, the core material 89 can be processed by removing the core material 89, so that the front end side 86 has a structure one layer less than the rear end side 87.

Since the outer shape of the multi-layer spring constructed in this way is composed of one layer from the front end side 86 to the rear end side 87, it has a smooth characteristic in comparison with the method of connecting two springs, The obstructive factors can be reduced.

When the tip side 86 has a single-layer spring structure and the transmissivity is not sufficient, it is desirable to repeat the same steps to stack the layers.

The winding method of the wire 90 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of, for example, three strands 90 may be wound side by side. In this case, the processing time can be reduced.

By the above method, the torque transmission shaft 18 shown in FIG. 19 can be integrally formed.

Although the cardiac coronary artery 50 has been described as an affected area, generally, the closer to the affected area, the more complicated the distal end side is, for example, when the bile, which is the digestive tract, or a thin body cavity tube in the pancreas is inserted from the esophagus. It is assumed that the shape will be
High-accuracy ultrasonic diagnosis is possible at many adaptation sites.

According to the torque transmission shaft 18 described above, the inner layer 88 of the rear end 87 is not wound up to the front end 86, that is, the front end 86 has a smaller number of layers than the rear end 87. With the multi-layered spring structure described above, the rotational force generated by the drive unit 5 can be stably transmitted to the distal end side 3 of the ultrasonic probe 1 according to the shape of the adaptive portion, and a highly accurate ultrasonic tomographic image can be obtained. Become.

Next, FIG. 21 shows another configuration of the torque transmission shaft 18 used in the ultrasonic probe 1. Although the total number of layers is the same, the outer diameter of the distal end 86 is changed to the rear end. Side 87
It is configured to be thinner than the outer diameter of.

The torque transmission characteristic of the torque transmission shaft 18 having the multilayer spring structure increases depending on the diameter of the constituting shaft if the shape of the wires 90 and the number of layers are the same.

This is because the torque transmission shaft 18 having a multilayer spring structure has a characteristic similar to that of a cylindrical tube within a certain diameter region, that is, a characteristic in which the torque transmission force increases as the tube diameter increases.

Therefore, the torque transmission shaft 18 as shown in FIG.
The transmission force on the rear end side 87 is superior to that on the front end side 86, and as described above, it can be made to match the shape characteristics of the applicable affected part. As a processing method of the torque transmission shaft 18 as shown in FIG. 21, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the core member 89 has the rear end side 87 and the front end side 86.
On the other hand, as a thick structure, the element wire 90 can be wound around this in multiple layers.

According to the above configuration, the torque transmission shaft 1
8 is configured such that the outer diameter of the distal end side 86 is smaller than the outer diameter of the rear end side 87, so that the rotational force generated by the drive unit 5 can be stably adjusted according to the shape of the adaptation site, and the ultrasonic probe 1 distal end And it is possible to obtain a highly accurate ultrasonic tomographic image.

Although the coronary coronary artery 50 has been described as an applicable affected area, the closer to the affected area, the more complicated, for example, the case of inserting a thin body cavity in the digestive tract, bile, or pancreas from the esophagus. It is assumed that the shape will be obtained, and high-accuracy ultrasonic diagnosis can be performed at many applicable sites.

Next, FIG. 23 is an enlarged view of a preferred configuration of a part of the torque transmission shaft 18. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 23, 91
Is an outer layer, 92 is a gap, and 93 is a projection provided in the gap.

The torque transmission shaft 18 shown in FIG.
It is configured by the method shown in 0 (c) and having a gap 92.

As a method for arranging the projections 93 in the gaps 92, as shown in FIG.
This can be achieved by forming the protrusions 93 in one of the 0s at an arbitrary interval.

The operation of the above arrangement will be described below. As shown in the first embodiment, a propagation medium, for example, physiological saline is injected into the ultrasonic probe 1 from the propagation medium injection port 35 on the rear end side 4 to fill the inside of the front end side 3. At this time, the motor 40 of the drive unit 5 is rotated so that the torque transmission shaft 1
Rotate 8.

Then, by the rotation of the torque transmission shaft 18,
The propagating liquid injected into the gap between the ultrasonic probe 1 and the torque transmission shaft 18 generates a water flow in the rotational direction positively by the projection 93, and the water flow can move the propagation medium to the distal end 3. Becomes

As another configuration, as shown in FIG. 25A, a cut portion 94 is provided in the element wire 90, and FIG.
By configuring the torque transmission shaft 18 as shown in (b), the same effect as in FIG. 21 can be obtained.

According to the above configuration, one of the strands 90 constituting the outer layer 91 of the torque transmission shaft 18 is provided with the projection 93 or the cutout 94 and is rotated, so that the injected propagation medium can be formed. A water flow is generated and the propagation medium is
To be charged.

Next, FIG. 26 is a sectional view of a preferred configuration of an intermediate portion between the front end side 3 and the rear end side 4 of the ultrasonic probe 1. As shown in FIG.

In the figure, 15 is a catheter, 18 is a torque transmission shaft, 32 is a lumen provided in a plurality of catheters 15, 33 is a distal end side 3 inserted in the lumen 32.
, A signal line for electrically connecting the forward ultrasonic transducer 28 and the forward transmitter / receiver 8 to each other, 95 is a cylindrical intermediate bearing, and 96 is a minute lumen provided in the intermediate bearing 95. is there.

The intermediate bearing 95 is made of a material having a small friction coefficient, for example, a fluororesin, and one of the intermediate bearings 95 has a tip end side 3
The catheter 15 and the other end are fixed to the rear end side 4 catheter 15. The signal line 33 extends from the lumen 32 in the catheter 15 to the inner surface side of the catheter 15 near the intermediate bearing 95, and is connected to the lumen 32 in the catheter 15 on the opposite side by the lumen 96 provided in the intermediate bearing 95.

Further, the other lumen 96 is used as a passage tube for the propagation medium injected from the injection 35 of the propagation liquid on the rear end side 4 and can be supplied to the front end side 3.

The parts not shown in FIG. 26 have the same structure as those shown in the above embodiments.

The rotational stability of the torque transmission shaft 18 is
Although the quality of the obtained ultrasonic tomographic image is affected, one of the factors that deteriorate the stability of the torque transmission shaft 18 is that torque transmission during rotation in the space between the torque transmission shaft 18 and the catheter 15. There is a twist or vibration of the shaft 18.

In this case, by reducing the space portion,
Although it seems that there is no space for twisting, it is possible to prevent it, but stability is adversely affected by the friction caused by the contact between the outer surface of the torque transmission shaft 18 and the inner surface of the catheter 15.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 26, the intermediate bearing 95 located at the intermediate portion of the ultrasonic probe 1 suppresses the twisting and longitudinal vibration of the torque transmission shaft 18 inserted into the hollow portion, and drives the drive shaft. Rotating force generated in part 5 is applied to tip side 3
It is possible to stably transmit to.

According to the above configuration, the intermediate bearing 95 having the torque transmitting shaft 18 inserted in the hollow portion, and the distal end 3 and the rear end 4 of the catheter 15 are connected and fixed to both ends of the hollow bearing 95. The torque transmission shaft 18 can stably transmit the rotational force generated by the drive unit 5 to the distal end portion 3, and high-accuracy ultrasonic diagnosis can be performed.

Next, FIG. 27 is a sectional view of another configuration of the distal end side 3 of the ultrasonic probe 1 in this embodiment.

In FIG. 27, 15 is a catheter and 32 is
Is a lumen formed in the catheter 15, 16 is a hollow shaft fixed to the distal end side of the catheter 15, 17
Is a bearing having a hollow structure inserted in the hollow portion of the shaft 16, 18 is a torque transmission shaft for transmitting the rotational force generated in the drive unit 6 of the main body 2 to the tip, and 19 is fixed on the tip side of the torque transmission shaft 18 for rotation. A shaft, 97 is a polymer piezoelectric film formed on the side surface on the tip side, 98 is a plurality of strip-shaped inner electrodes formed inside the polymer piezoelectric film 97, and 99 is a polymer piezoelectric film 9
7. A single-sided outer electrode formed on the outside, 100 is a disk electrode made of an insulating material connected to the rotating shaft 19,
Reference numeral 101 is a conductive electrode formed on a part of the side surface of the disc electrode 100, 30 is a protective film overlaid on the tip side 3, 102
Is a signal line connected to the outer surface electrode 99 and inserted into the lumen 32 and electrically connected to the main body 2, and 103 is an electrode 10.
1 is connected to the disk electrode 100 from inside the torque transmission shaft 18
It is a signal line inserted inside and electrically connected to the main body 2.

FIG. 28 shows a detailed configuration of the polymer piezoelectric film 97. The polymer piezoelectric film 97 is made of a polymer material having ferroelectricity, such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) or PVD.
A polymer piezoelectric film in which a copolymer of F, for example, P (VDF-TrFE) is polarized to have piezoelectricity, and the outer electrode 99 is formed on one surface thereof by, for example, sputtering or vapor deposition.

On the other hand, a strip-shaped inner electrode 9 is provided on the other surface.
8 is configured in plural. Generally, the piezoelectric polymer film 97 has excellent high frequency characteristics, which is useful in the ultrasonic probe 1 according to the present invention for diagnosing a microtubule structure.

Incidentally, the polarization treatment of the polymer piezoelectric film 97 may be performed by the inner electrode 98 and the outer electrode 99, or a one-sided electrode may be provided on the inner electrode 98 to perform the polarization treatment. It may be removed and a plurality of strip-shaped inner electrodes 98 may be formed.

As shown in FIG. 29, the ultrasonic transducer composed of the polymeric piezoelectric film 97 shown in FIG.
It is wound in a cylindrical shape around the longitudinal direction of and is placed on the tip side 3 of the ultrasonic probe 1.

FIG. 30 shows the disk electrode 100 in FIG.
In the enlarged view of FIG.
However, it enters into the disc electrode 100 from the contact portion between the rotary shaft 19 and the disc electrode 100, and is electrically connected to the back surface of the electrode 101.

The disk electrode 100 is arranged in the distal end side 3 so that the circumferential side surface is in contact with the inner electrode 98.

The operation of the above configuration will be described below. First, the torque transmission shaft 18 is rotated by the rotational force generated by the drive unit 5, and this rotation causes the rotation shaft 1 to rotate.
9 is rotated with respect to the bearing 17, and the tip side 3 of the rotary shaft 19
The disk electrode 100 fixed to the inner surface rotates while contacting the inner electrode 98.

The control unit 13 in the main unit 2 is provided with the position detector 4
From the output of 1, the timing at which the electrode 101 formed on the circumference of the disc electrode 100 just contacts one electrode of the inner electrode 98 is obtained, and the transmission electric signal is transmitted from the peripheral direction transmitting / receiving unit 6 to the signal lines 102 and 103. generate.

Polymer Piezoelectric Film 9 with Weak Coupling in the Lateral Direction
From the characteristics of No. 7, only the region sandwiched between the outer electrode 99 and the inner electrode 98 electrically connected to the peripheral direction transceiver unit 6 by the electrode 101 converts the transmitted electric signal into ultrasonic waves and enters the subject. The reflected signal is received with a time difference according to the positional relationship of the various reflectors that are propagated and located in the propagation direction.

The received reflected signal is formed into an image by the method described in the first embodiment, and is displayed on the monitor 11 as an ultrasonic tomographic image.

Here, since the disc electrode 100 rotates while being formed on the polymer piezoelectric film 97 and in contact with the inner electrode 98, the inner electrode 9 formed by, for example, sputtering or vapor deposition is formed.
8 is weak in strength and may peel off.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 31, the ring electrode 104 may be configured so that the disk electrode 100 does not directly contact the inner electrode 98.

In FIG. 31, the ring electrode 104 is composed of an insulating portion 105 made of, for example, a resin and a conductive portion 106 made of, for example, a metal formed at a position corresponding to the width and the interval of the inner electrode 98.

The conductive portion 106 is formed from the front surface to the back surface of the insulating portion 105.
The polymer piezoelectric film 97 is adhered so that the inner electrode 98 matches 6, and the disk electrode 100 is rotated inside the ring electrode 104 while making contact with the disk electrode 100.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the polymer piezoelectric film 97 having the disc electrode 100 connected to the rotating shaft 19 for transmitting the rotation of the torque transmitting shaft 18 and the plurality of strip-shaped inner electrodes 98 is provided. By this, the rotation of the disk electrode 100 causes the electrode 101 formed on the disk electrode 100 to sequentially contact the strip-shaped inner electrode 98, scan the ultrasonic waves in the circumferential direction, and move the propagation medium inside the ultrasonic probe 1. It is possible to obtain an ultrasonic tomographic image in the peripheral direction without injecting the ultrasonic wave into the image. Next, FIG. 32A is a perspective view showing another configuration of the disc electrode 107.

In FIG. 32, reference numeral 107 denotes a disk electrode having the same function as the disk electrode 100 in the first embodiment;
Is a plurality of electrodes formed at a pitch 109 on a part of the circumferential side surface of the disk electrode 107, 103 is a signal line electrically connected to the electrode 107, and other configurations not shown in FIG. , The same as in FIGS. 27 to 31.

The pitch 109 corresponds to the interval between the inner electrodes 98 of the ultrasonic transducer shown in FIG.

FIG. 32B shows the electrode 1 of the disc electrode 107.
08 is a block diagram showing the electrical connection between the signal line 103 and the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the piezoelectric polymer film 97 corresponding to the plurality of electrodes 108 in consideration of the position of the electrode 108 formed in the disc electrode 107. Delay element 110 for realizing a so-called phased array method for focusing the light beam at a desired position
Thus, the electrode 108 and the signal line 103 are connected.

Specifically, the delay amount of the delay element 110 connected to the electrode 108 located at the center of the plurality of electrodes 108 is set larger than those at the ends.

[0194] These delay elements 110 are
Configure within 7. FIG. 31 shows the case of three electrodes 108, but in this case, the delay element 110 is connected only to the electrode 108 located at the center.

With the above-described configuration, the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the polymer piezoelectric film 97 is focused at a position corresponding to the delay element 110 by operating according to the method described in the fifth embodiment.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the polymer piezoelectric film 97 having the disc electrode 107 connected to the rotating shaft 19 and the plurality of strip-shaped inner electrodes 98 is provided.
The rotation of the disc electrode 107 causes the electrodes 108 formed on the disc electrode 107 to move to a pitch 1 corresponding to the distance between the inner electrodes 98.
Since it is composed of 09, the plurality of inner electrodes 98 that are adjacent to each other are sequentially driven, and while the ultrasonic waves are focused at the position corresponding to the delay element 110, the ultrasonic waves can be scanned in the circumferential direction, and the propagation medium can be formed. Without injecting into the ultrasonic probe 1, it is possible to obtain a high-resolution circumferential ultrasonic tomographic image due to the focusing effect.

(Second Embodiment) A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 33 is a sectional view of the distal end side 3 of an ultrasonic probe 1 which is a main part of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 14 shows another configuration.

In FIG. 33, 15 is a catheter, 32
Is a lumen formed in the catheter 15, 16 is a hollow shaft fixed to the distal end side of the catheter 15, 17
Is a bearing having a hollow structure inserted in the hollow portion of the shaft 16, 18 is a torque transmission shaft for transmitting the rotational force generated in the drive unit 6 of the main body 2 to the tip, and 19 is fixed on the tip side of the torque transmission shaft 18 for rotation. A shaft, 111 is a rotating electrode portion fixed to the tip side of the rotating shaft 19 and having a flat or concave surface shape and facing the circumferential direction, 112 is a polymer piezoelectric film formed on the side surface on the tip side, and 113 is A single-sided electrode formed on the outside of the piezoelectric polymer film 112, 30 is a protective film covered on the tip side 3, 102 is a signal line connected to the electrode 113 and inserted into the lumen 32, and 103 is the rotating electrode unit 1.
11 is a signal line connected to the rotary shaft 19 and the torque transmission shaft 18 and inserted in the hollow portion.

FIG. 34 is a perspective view of the rotating electrode unit 111. FIG. The surface 114 of the rotating electrode portion 111 is formed in a flat or concave shape, and the surface 114 portion or the rotating electrode portion 11 is formed.
The whole 1 is made of a conductive material and is connected to the signal line 103.

When the surface 114 has a concave shape, the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the polymer piezoelectric film 112 are focused in the subject at a position corresponding to the shape.

The material of the rotating electrode portion 111 may be a material having characteristics as a back load material of the polymer piezoelectric film 112.

FIG. 35 shows the structure of the piezoelectric polymer film 112. The polymer piezoelectric film 112 is made of a polymer material having ferroelectricity, such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) or PV.
A polymer piezoelectric film in which a DF copolymer, for example, P (VDF-TrFE) is polarized to have piezoelectricity, and the electrode 113 is formed on one surface thereof by, for example, sputtering or vapor deposition.

For the polarization treatment of the piezoelectric polymer film 112, an electrode on one surface is provided on the surface opposite to the electrode 113, and these two electrodes are used. In the structure shown in FIG. 35, this one-side electrode is removed after the polarization processing. It can be obtained.

The ultrasonic probe 1 is formed in a cylindrical shape so that the outer surface of the electrode 113 is positioned, and is disposed on the distal end 3 of the ultrasonic probe 1.

The operation of the above configuration will be described below. The torque transmitting shaft 18 and the rotating shaft 19 fixed to the torque transmitting shaft 18 are rotated with respect to the bearing 17 by the rotating force generated by the driving unit 5.

Then, the rotating electrode portion 111 connected and fixed to the rotating shaft 19 is rotated while the surface 114 is in contact with the polymer piezoelectric film 112.

During this rotating operation, a transmission electric signal is transmitted from the peripheral direction transmitting / receiving section 6 of the main body section 2 to the signal line 102 and the signal line 1.
03.

The electrode 113 and the polymer piezoelectric film 1 have weak coupling in the horizontal direction.
Only the region sandwiched by the surface 114 of the rotating electrode portion 111, which is the contact surface with 12, converts the transmitted electric signal into ultrasonic waves and transmits the ultrasonic waves into the subject. Reflected signals obtained at various time differences are received by the piezoelectric polymer film 112, and are image-constructed in the same manner as described in Example 1, and displayed on the monitor 11 as an ultrasonic tomographic image. Further, by making the shape of the surface 114 concave, it is possible to have a focusing effect, and a tomographic image with high resolution can be obtained.

In the structure of this embodiment in which the surface 114 of the rotating electrode portion 111 is brought into contact with the inside of the polymer piezoelectric film 112 to supply a transmission electric signal, the surface 114 and the polymer piezoelectric film 1
It is necessary to make the inner side of 12 closely contact, and it is effective to adapt to the region where the pressure on the outer side is higher than that in the distal end side 3, for example, inside the blood vessel.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the polymer piezoelectric film 112 having the rotating electrode portion 111 connected to the rotating shaft 19 for transmitting the rotation of the torque transmitting shaft 18 and the electrode 113 on the outside is provided. The polymer piezoelectric film 1 sandwiched between the surface 114 and the electrode 113 by the rotation of the rotating electrode portion 111
12 is excited, ultrasonic waves can be scanned in the circumferential direction, and a high-resolution circumferential ultrasonic tomographic image can be obtained without injecting a propagation medium into the ultrasonic probe 1.

(Embodiment 3) Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 36 is a perspective view of a polymer piezoelectric film 112 as a main part of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and other parts not shown are those shown in the second embodiment. Is the same as

In FIG. 36, reference numeral 112 denotes a polymer piezoelectric film,
Reference numeral 113 denotes a single-sided electrode formed on one surface of the polymer piezoelectric film 112, and 115 denotes a surface 114 of the rotary electrode portion 111.
Of a plurality of shapes, such as a quadrangle, which have a very small area relative to the size of the electrodes, are electrically insulated between adjacent electrodes, and have a large ratio of the total area of the electrode portion to the total area. It is a microelectrode.

The microelectrode 115 can be formed by sputtering or vapor deposition on the surface of the polymer piezoelectric film 112 from which the electrode for polarization has been removed, using a mask in which the shape of the electrode to be formed is processed.

The method of transmitting the ultrasonic wave in the circumferential direction and the method of transmitting and receiving the ultrasonic wave in the present embodiment are the same as those in the eighth embodiment, except that the surface 114 of the rotating electrode portion 111 and the polymer piezoelectric film are It is possible to reduce the contact resistance with the polymer piezoelectric film 112 and efficiently input electric energy to the polymer piezoelectric film 112.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the contact resistance can be reduced and the electrical resistance can be efficiently increased by providing the minute and plural minute electrodes 115 on the contact surface of the polymer piezoelectric film 112 with the rotating electrode portion 111. A signal can be input from the rotating electrode unit 111 to the polymer piezoelectric film 112, the overall sensitivity can be improved, and a highly accurate ultrasonic tomographic image can be acquired.

Embodiment 4 Hereinafter, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 37 is a perspective view of a rotating electrode section 111 which is a main part of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. Other parts not shown are shown in the second and third embodiments. Is the same as

In FIG. 37, reference numeral 111 denotes a rotating electrode unit;
Reference numeral 03 is a signal line connected to the rotating electrode portion 111, 114 is a surface of the rotating electrode portion 111 which is a contact surface with the polymer piezoelectric film 112, and 116 is a plurality of extremely small micro holes provided on the surface 114. They are grouped together in the section 111.

Reference numeral 117 denotes a micro hollow tube connected to the micro holes 116 arranged in the rotating electrode portion 11;
Is a suction controller connected to the micro hollow tube 116 in the main body 2.

The circumferential scanning of transmitted ultrasonic waves and the method of transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves in this embodiment are the same as in Embodiment 11, but
During the rotational scanning of the rotary electrode unit 111, the suction control unit 118 weakly sucks through the fine hollow tube 117. The micropores 116 connected to the microhollow tube 117 by this suction attract the polymeric piezoelectric film 112 and enhance the adhesion between the surface 114 and the polymeric piezoelectric film 112.

As described above, according to this embodiment, a plurality of minute holes 116 are formed on the surface 114 of the rotating electrode portion 111.
Is provided, and the suction control unit 118 applies a weak force to the polymer piezoelectric film 1.
By attracting 12 the surface 114 and the polymeric piezoelectric film 1
12, the contact resistance can be reduced, the contact resistance can be reduced, and an electric signal can be efficiently input from the rotating electrode portion 111 to the polymer piezoelectric film 112, the overall sensitivity can be improved, and highly accurate ultrasonic waves can be obtained. A tomographic image can be acquired.

(Embodiment 5) A fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 38 is a sectional view of the distal end side 3 of an ultrasonic probe 1 which is a main part of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 38, reference numeral 15 denotes a catheter having a hollow structure made of a flexible polymer material; 32, a lumen provided in the catheter 15;
A shaft fixed to the tip side, 17 is a bearing fixed to the shaft 16, 18 is a flexible torque transmission shaft for transmitting the rotational force generated in the drive unit 5 to the tip side 3, 1
9 is a rotary shaft fixed to the torque transmission shaft 18 and inserted into the hollow portion of the bearing 17, 119 is a cap fixed to the tip side 3 of the bearing 17, 120 is a bevel gear A fixed to the rotary shaft 19,
Reference numeral 121 denotes a bevel gear B fitted to the bevel gear B, 122 denotes a rotating shaft A that is a central shaft of the bevel gear B, and 123 denotes two bearings A and 12 for the rotating shaft A122 provided inside the cap 25.
4 is a pulley A provided on the rotary shaft A, 125 is a rotary shaft B, 126 is a pulley B provided on the rotary shaft B, 127 is two bearings B and 128 for the rotary shaft B 126 provided inside the cap 25. Is a rotating electrode portion installed at the center of the rotating shaft B125, and 129 is the rotation of the pulley A124.
A driving belt for transmitting to 126, and 130 for the rotating electrode unit 12
8 is a brush made of a conductive material that comes into contact with the ring electrode 133, 131 is an ultrasonic transducer made of a polymeric piezoelectric material having the structure shown in FIG.
Is a protective film overlaid on the tip side 3.

The electrodes 113 of the ultrasonic transducer 1 are arranged outside the distal end 3.

The signal line 102 is connected to the electrode 113, and the signal line 103 is connected to the brush 130, and is connected to the main body 2 through the lumen 32.

FIG. 39 is a sectional view of the rotary electrode section 12 shown in FIG.
8 is a perspective view of FIG. In FIG. 39, the rotating electrode unit 128
Is made of an insulating material, and a conductive electrode 132 is formed on a part of the circumference.

Further, a ring-shaped ring electrode 13 is provided on the side surface.
3, the electrode 132 and the ring electrode 133 are connected in the rotating electrode unit 128.

The ring electrode 133 is the rotating electrode portion 12
8 is always in contact with the brush 130 when rotating, and the signal line 103
It has a so-called slip ring function of electrically connecting the signal line 103 and the electrode 132 without twisting.

In the present embodiment, the scanning in the circumferential direction by the rotating electrode unit 111 shown in the seventh to ninth embodiments is performed.
The rotation direction of is changed by 90 ° to enable forward scanning, and the internal structure of the main body 2 is the same as that described in the first embodiment.

FIG. 40 shows a perspective view of the tip side 3. Figure 40
According to the above, the cap 25 is formed in a shape that does not hinder the operation of the rotary electrode portion 128.

The operation of the above configuration will be described below. The torque transmission shaft 18, the rotation shaft 19, and the bevel gear A120 are rotated by the rotational force generated by the drive unit 5, and the bevel gear B121, the rotation shaft A122, and the pulley A124 are rotated by the rotation of the bevel gear A120.

The fitting portion between the bevel gear A120 and the bevel gear B121 may be made of a rubber material having a large frictional force.

Next, the rotation of the pulley A 124 is performed by rotating the rotary electrode unit 128 while bringing the pulley B 126, the rotary shaft B 125, and the electrode 132 into contact with the back surface of the ultrasonic transducer 131 by the drive belt 129.

During this operation, the main body 2 transmits and receives ultrasonic waves using the signal lines 102 and 103 by the method described in Embodiment 11, and outputs a reflected signal in the forward direction during one rotation of the rotating electrode section 128. By forming an ultrasonic tomographic image using the ultrasonic tomographic image, an ultrasonic tomographic image corresponding to the fan-shaped scanning region 134 shown in FIG. 40 can be displayed on the monitor 11.

FIG. 41 (a) shows another structure of the rotating electrode portion 128, in which a plurality of electrodes 132 are arranged in different directions with respect to the central axis on the circumferential planes having different angles, for example, FIG.
In (a), since it has a three-electrode configuration, it is configured every 120 °, and three ring electrodes 133 corresponding thereto are configured on one side surface or both sides.

By using the rotating electrode portion 128, the electrode 1
By performing transmission / reception by switching 32, it becomes possible to scan a plurality of fan-shaped scanning regions 134 having different angles with respect to the front direction as shown in FIG. 41 (b).

By forming the electrodes in different directions with respect to the center axis, transmission and reception can be performed sequentially, and the reception of the ultrasonic reflected signal transmitted from another electrode can be performed. Avoid false images.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the torque transmission shaft is formed while the electrode 132 of the rotary electrode unit 128 is in contact with the inside of the ultrasonic transducer 131 made of the polymer piezoelectric film 112 having the electrode 113 on the outside. The electrode 132 and the electrode 113 are rotated about a direction different from the rotation axis
By exciting the polymer piezoelectric film 112 sandwiched between the two to obtain a reflected signal, a high-resolution circumferential ultrasonic tomographic image can be obtained without injecting a propagation medium into the ultrasonic probe 1.

(Embodiment 6) Hereinafter, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

This embodiment relates to another configuration of the rotary electrode unit 111. FIG. 42 shows a rotary electrode unit 111 which is a main part of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention.
It is a perspective view of.

In FIG. 42, reference numeral 111 denotes a rotating electrode unit;
Reference numeral 14 is a surface of the rotating electrode, 135 is a polymer piezoelectric film provided on the surface 114, and 136 is an electrode provided on the polymer piezoelectric film 135.

FIG. 43 is a conceptual diagram used to show an electrical connection method of a portion where the rotating electrode portion 111 is in contact with the polymer piezoelectric film 112.

In FIG. 43, reference numeral 112 denotes a polymer piezoelectric film;
113 is an electrode formed on the outer surface of the piezoelectric polymer film 112,
Reference numeral 137 is an arrow indicating the polarization direction of the polymer piezoelectric film 112, 1
Reference numeral 11 is a rotating electrode portion, and 135 is a surface 11 of the rotating electrode portion 111.
4, the polymeric piezoelectric film 136, the electrode 136 provided on the polymeric piezoelectric film 135, and the polymeric piezoelectric film 13 138.
An arrow 139 indicating the polarization direction of the element 5, 139 is a drive circuit, and 30 is a protective film.

Note that a microelectrode 115 shown in FIG. 35 may be provided on the surface of the polymer piezoelectric film 112 opposite to the electrode 113.

The electrode 113 and the surface 114 of the rotating electrode section 111 are electrically connected to each other.
Further, the electrode 136 is connected to the other end of the drive circuit 139.

Now, as a feature of the polymer piezoelectric film, lowering the frequency and reducing the area causes an increase in the electrical impedance.
Due to the mismatch with the impedance of the drive circuit 139, the efficient supply of electric energy is hindered, and the overall sensitivity is lowered, leading to the deterioration of the ultrasonic tomographic image.

The ultrasonic probe 1 is connected to the coronary artery 50, for example.
Since it is supposed to be applied to a thin tube in a body cavity like this, the area allowed for the rotating electrode portion 111 is small, and even if the assumed frequency is increased to 20 MHz within a practical level,
The above effects occur.

In the present embodiment, in order to reduce this effect, the polymer piezoelectric film in the excited portion is always made into two layers, and the electrical impedance can be equivalently reduced.

However, since the electrode 136 and the surface of the polymer piezoelectric film 112 in contact with the electrode 136 have the same potential, the polarization directions of the two polymer piezoelectric films 112 and 135 are indicated by arrows 137 and 137.
By reversing as shown by 138, even if a driving voltage of opposite polarity is applied to each of the polymeric piezoelectric films 112 and 135, a vibration form in the same direction is performed.

The acquisition and display of an ultrasonic tomographic image according to this configuration has been described in the seventh embodiment and will not be described.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the polymer piezoelectric film 135 is formed on the surface 114 of the rotating electrode portion 111, and the polarization direction 138 of the polymer piezoelectric film 135 is changed.
The polarization direction 137 of FIG.
By applying a drive voltage of the opposite polarity to 2, 135, an increase in electrical impedance due to a small area can be reduced, transmission / reception sensitivity can be increased, and a highly accurate ultrasonic tomographic image can be acquired.

(Embodiment 7) A seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 44 is a block connection diagram of the main body 2 which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 44, reference numeral 5 is a drive unit composed of a motor for generating a drive force and an angle detector, 6 is a peripheral direction transmitter / receiver unit connected to the drive unit 5, and 7 is a peripheral unit connected to the peripheral direction transmitter / receiver unit. Direction image forming unit, 8 is a front direction transmitting / receiving unit connected to the drive unit 5, 9 is a front direction image forming unit connected to the front direction transmitting / receiving unit, and 10 is a peripheral direction image forming unit 7 and the front side. An image memory unit connected to the direction image forming unit 9, 11 is a monitor for displaying an ultrasonic tomographic image connected to the image memory unit, 12 is an operator unit for inputting various control commands, and 13 is connected to the operator unit. Control unit, 1
4 is a distance calculation unit connected to the control unit, 140 is a pre-image memory unit connected to the image memory unit 10, 141 is a correlation comparing unit connected to the image memory unit 10 and the pre-image memory unit 140, and The output of the comparison unit 141 is the control unit 13
It is connected to the.

The ultrasonic probe 1 not shown in FIG. 44 may have any configuration as long as it can acquire and display a peripheral ultrasonic tomographic image as shown in the first embodiment, for example.

The operation of the above configuration will be described below. All or part of the ultrasonic tomographic image in the peripheral direction captured in the image memory unit 10 is transferred to the pre-image memory unit 140 and the correlation comparing unit 141 once every n rotations.

Here, n depends on the rotational speed of the scanning in the peripheral direction. For example, when the rotational speed is 30 rps, n = 1 to 30 (1/30 second to 1 second) or the like is desirable.

Next, the pre-image memory section 140 transfers the stored ultrasonic tomographic image to the correlation comparing section 141 in synchronization with the image transfer timing from the image memory section 10.

That is, in the correlation comparing section 141, the ultrasonic tomographic image transferred from the image memory section 10 and the ultrasonic tomographic image n frames before the ultrasonic tomographic image obtained at the time of acquiring the ultrasonic tomographic image are read from the pre-image memory section 140. Will be transferred.

Then, the correlation comparing section 141 performs a correlation operation from these two images, compares it with a preset threshold value, and outputs the result to the control section 13.

According to the calculation result, when the two images are not similar, the control unit 13 determines that the two images are similar even if the image still command is transmitted from the operator unit 12. Ignore this directive until.

The image stillness function has been described in the first embodiment, but the acquired image is made into a still image, and the distance calculation unit 1 uses this image.
The main purpose is to obtain a quantitative value in 4 and to be useful for diagnosis.

If the image at this time is distorted, erroneous information is given to the operator and an erroneous diagnosis is caused. There is not less sex.

According to the operation of this embodiment for obtaining the correlation between two ultrasonic tomographic images having a time difference, the image still function can be permitted only when the same operation is performed at the same site, and the Naturally, in the case of a part, even in the same part, different operations, for example, even when the rotational force generated by the driving unit 5 cannot be stably transmitted to the distal end 3, the image still function can be limited, and humans cannot judge. The rotation operation mode of the distal end 3 can be automatically determined, and the possibility of erroneous diagnosis can be reduced.

FIG. 45 is a conceptual diagram of a circumferential ultrasonic tomographic image. In FIG. 45, 142 is a rotation center, 143 is a blood vessel wall, 144 is a speckle pattern which is a structure inside the blood vessel wall, 145 is a region A, and 146 is a region B.

Here, the region of the image to be compared by the correlation comparing section 141 may be the entire region of the circumferential ultrasonic tomographic image shown in FIG. 45, but is limited to reduce the amount of calculation, for example, the region A145. But it is good.

As a calculation region, a speckle pattern 144 inside the blood vessel wall is desirable, and a region B146 inside the blood vessel wall 143 shows a tomographic image in blood and has no structure, so it becomes a dark image. This is an undesirable area.

Therefore, the correlation comparison unit 141 is set in advance so that the comparison region becomes the region A145, or is set by the control unit 13.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the main body 2
Pre-image memory unit 1 connected to image memory unit 10
40, a correlation comparison unit 141 connected to the pre-image memory unit 140 and the image memory unit 10, and the correlation comparison unit 141.
The control unit 13 can control the freeze command from the operator unit 12 in accordance with the result of (3), and the possibility of erroneous diagnosis by the operator can be reduced.

(Embodiment 8) An eighth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 46 is a perspective view of the rear end 4 of the ultrasonic probe 1 of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention.

The present embodiment relates to another configuration of the connecting portion between the ultrasonic probe 1 and the main body 2 in the configuration as shown in the first embodiment and the like.

In FIG. 46, 18 is the torque transmission shaft and 3
8 is a probe side connector, 36 is a probe side mounting part,
5 is an oil seal material, 46 is a signal contact portion, 39 is a main body side connector, 147 is a groove provided at the tip of the probe side connector 38, 148 is a spring, 149 is a sphere,
150 is a spring retainer.

FIG. 47 is a detailed perspective view of the main body side connector 39 in FIG. In FIG. 47, 151 is a hole provided in the main body side connector 39, and 152 is a hollow portion of the main body side connector 39 into which the probe side connector 38 is inserted.

Further, the ball 149 and the spring 148 have holes 1
It is inserted in 51 and is pressed by the spring presser 150.

FIG. 48 is a view of the tip of the probe-side connector 38. The groove 147 provided on the circumference has a sphere 149 in the middle.
It has a dent 153 corresponding to the shape.

The operation of the above configuration will be described below. First, when the rear end side 4 of the ultrasonic probe 1 is connected to the main body part 2, the probe side mounting part 36 and the main body side mounting part 37 (not shown) are connected together, and the torque transmission shaft 18 is connected by the probe. The side connector 38 is connected to the hollow portion 152 of the main body side connector 39, the ball 149 and the recess 15
Complete by inserting and aligning the positions of 3.

The rotational force generated by the drive unit 5 causes the main body side connector 39 to rotate, and the sphere 149 and the dent 153 cause the probe side connector 38 and the torque transmission shaft 18 to rotate.
Is rotated and transmitted to the tip side 3 to enable two-dimensional scanning of ultrasonic waves.

Here, when the torque corresponding to the pressing force of the spring 148 or more is required to rotate the torque transmission shaft 18, the sphere 149 rotates from the dent 153 along the removal groove 147.

Therefore, the rotation of the main body side connector 39 is not transmitted to the torque transmission shaft 18. For example, when the force required for rotation is required to be more than the stress according to the spring 148, when the tip side 3 has some problem, the torque transmission shaft 18 is continuously rotated in such a state. The thing is
The force associated with rotation is accumulated in the torque transmission shaft 18, which causes a serious problem.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the groove 147 and the dent 153 are provided in the probe side connector 38, and the spring 148, the ball 149 and the spring retainer 150 are provided in the main body side connector 39. When the torque is transmitted to the torque transmission shaft 18 and the torque transmission shaft 18 cannot be rotated due to some problem on the tip side 3, the main body side connector 39 is connected to the probe side connector 38. It is rotated against, and it is possible to prevent the transmission of rotational force and prevent serious problems from occurring.
A secure connection method can be configured.

(Embodiment 9) A ninth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 49 is a perspective view of an ultrasonic transducer according to the ninth embodiment. The present embodiment relates to another configuration of the ultrasonic transducer 21 for the peripheral direction and the ultrasonic transducer 28 for the front direction in the configuration as shown in the first embodiment and the like.

In FIG. 49, 53 is a back load member, 15
5 is an electrode A, 54 is a piezoelectric element, 156 is an electrode B, 154
Is a polymer piezoelectric film, 157 is an electrode C, 158 is an electrode A15.
Reference numeral 159 denotes a signal line connected to the electrode B156, and reference numeral 160 denotes a signal line connected to the electrode C.

Here, the electrode C157 and the polymeric piezoelectric film 15
The ultrasonic transducer is composed of a layer structure including the electrode 4, the electrode B 156, the piezoelectric element 54, the electrode A 155, and the back load material 53.

Further, as shown in FIG. 50, the polarization direction indicated by the arrow of the polymer piezoelectric film 154 is polarized in the opposite direction in a shape symmetric with respect to the central axis, and the electrode C157 is divided according to the polarization shape. .

When the ultrasonic probe 1 is adapted to the coronary artery 50, the outer diameter must be set to, for example, 6F or less as described above. And ultrasonic transducer 2 for forward direction
8 is inevitably smaller.

This causes a reduction in sensitivity due to a reduction in the effective area of the ultrasonic transducers 21 and 28, and leads to deterioration of an ultrasonic tomographic image.

In particular, the polymer piezoelectric material has excellent receiving characteristics and high-frequency characteristics as compared with the inorganic piezoelectric material, but causes an increase in electric impedance with respect to low frequencies and small area, and transmission characteristics are poor. Not good.

The operation of the above configuration will now be described. First, at the time of ultrasonic wave transmission, a drive electric signal is supplied to the piezoelectric element 54 using the signal lines 158 and 159.

Here, the piezoelectric element 54 is made of a material having excellent transmission characteristics, such as a piezoelectric ceramic or a piezoelectric material.

The polymer piezoelectric film 15 on the surface of the piezoelectric element 54
Reference numeral 4 serves as an acoustic matching layer, and the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the piezoelectric element 54 can be efficiently propagated in the propagation medium.

At the time of receiving a wave, a converted electric signal with respect to the stress change of the polymeric piezoelectric film 154 having excellent receiving characteristics is obtained by using the signal lines 156 and 160, and is converted in the polarization direction of the polymeric piezoelectric film 154. The corresponding signals are respectively received.

Each output whose polarization direction is opposite has an electrically opposite characteristic with respect to a change in stress. Electric noise is canceled by obtaining these two reception signals by a so-called differential amplification type reception system. However, it is possible to compensate for the sensitivity degradation due to the small area.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the electrode C
157, the piezoelectric polymer film 154, the electrode B156, the piezoelectric element 54 composed of piezoelectric ceramics, the electrode A155,
By constructing an ultrasonic transducer with the layered structure of the back load material 53, and further dividing the polarization direction indicated by the arrow of the polymer piezoelectric film 154 into several shapes symmetrical with respect to the central axis and performing polarization processing in the opposite direction. It becomes possible to construct an ultrasonic transducer excellent in S / N characteristics by compensating for sensitivity deterioration due to a small area.

[0299]

As described above, according to the present invention, the propagation medium is formed by forming a polymer piezoelectric film on the tip side of the ultrasonic probe and rotating the disk while making contact with the inside of the polymer piezoelectric film at the disk electrode or rotating electrode. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus can acquire and display a high-accuracy ultrasonic tomographic image without filling the ultrasonic probe inside the ultrasonic probe.

Further, by providing a pre-image memory section connected to the image memory section of the main body section and a correlation comparison section connected to the image memory section and the pre-image memory section, an image corresponding to the calculation result of the correlation comparison section is provided. You can limit the static function,
It is possible to realize an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with few false diagnoses.

Further, by providing a groove and a dent in the probe-side connector and providing a ball pressed with a constant stress in the body-side connector, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with high safety can be realized.

Further, an ultrasonic vibrator is constituted by a layer structure of a piezoelectric element, an electrode, and a back load material composed of an electrode, a polymer piezoelectric film, an electrode, a piezoelectric ceramic, etc., and a plurality of regions symmetric with respect to the central axis. The polarization direction of the polymer piezoelectric film is reversed so that the divided region is symmetrical with respect to the center axis, and differential reception is performed, thereby compensating for sensitivity degradation due to small area. , An ultrasonic transducer having excellent S / N characteristics, and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of acquiring and displaying a high-accuracy ultrasonic tomographic image can be realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block connection diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view and a cross-sectional view of an ultrasonic probe that is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a rear end side of an ultrasonic probe which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an ultrasonic probe adaptive state, which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an ultrasonic transducer, which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a relationship between a vibrator holder and an eccentric shaft, which are essential parts of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing components of an eccentric shaft which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the ultrasonic probe tip side, which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing components of an eccentric shaft which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing a scanning form of a transducer holder, which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram showing a scanning form of a transducer holder which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of another configuration on the tip side of the ultrasonic probe, which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an ultrasonic probe tip side, which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a block connection diagram of a main body which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of a position sensor which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 16 is an output waveform diagram of a position detection unit which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a block connection diagram of a main body which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 18 is an output waveform diagram of essential parts of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a torque transmission shaft which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing a transmission shaft machining method of a torque transmission shaft, which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a torque transmission shaft which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view showing a transmission shaft machining method of a torque transmission shaft, which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a partial perspective view of a torque transmission shaft which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a perspective view showing a shape of a wire forming a torque transmission shaft which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a perspective view showing another configuration of a wire shape and another configuration of a torque transmission shaft, which are main parts of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view of an ultrasonic probe which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a sectional view of an ultrasonic probe tip side, which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the embodiment.

FIG. 28 is a perspective view of a polymer piezoelectric film which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 29 is a perspective view showing formation of a polymer piezoelectric film on the side surface of the ultrasonic probe, which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the example.

FIG. 30 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a disc electrode which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the embodiment.

FIG. 31 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a ring electrode which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the embodiment.

FIG. 32 is a view showing a configuration of a disk electrode which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the embodiment and an electrical connection method between the electrode and the delay element.

FIG. 33 is a sectional view of an ultrasonic probe distal end side, which is a main part of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 34 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a rotating electrode unit which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 35 is a configuration diagram of a polymer piezoelectric film which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 36 is a configuration diagram of a polymer piezoelectric film which is a main part of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 37 is a perspective view and a block connection diagram of a rotating electrode unit which is a main part of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 38 is a sectional view of an ultrasonic probe tip side which is a main part of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 39 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a rotating electrode unit which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the embodiment.

FIG. 40 is a perspective view of an ultrasonic probe tip side, which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the embodiment.

FIG. 41 is a view showing another configuration of the rotary electrode unit, which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment, and the ultrasonic probe tip side.

FIG. 42 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a rotary electrode unit which is a main part of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 43 is a conceptual diagram used for explaining an electrical connection which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the embodiment.

FIG. 44 is a block connection diagram of a main body which is a main part of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 45 is a conceptual diagram of an ultrasonic tomographic image of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 46 is a perspective view of a rear end side of an ultrasonic probe, which is a main part of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 47 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a main body side connector which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the embodiment.

FIG. 48 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a probe-side connector which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the embodiment.

FIG. 49 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an ultrasonic transducer which is a main part of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 50 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration of a polymer piezoelectric film which is a main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the same example.

FIG. 51 is a sectional view of a conventional ultrasonic probe.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ultrasonic probe 2 Main body part 3 Front end side 4 Rear end side 5 Driving part 6 Circumferential direction transmitting / receiving part 7 Surrounding direction image forming part 8 Front direction transmitting / receiving part 9 Front direction image forming part 10 Image memory part 11 Monitor 12 Operator section 13 Control section 14 Distance calculation section 15 Catheter 16 Shaft 17 Bearing 18 Torque transmission axis 19 Rotation axis 20 Rotor 21 Circumferential direction ultrasonic transducer 22 Mirror 23 Eccentric axis 24 Transducer holder 25 Cap 26 Acoustic window 27 Beam 28 Ultrasonic transducer for forward direction 29 Pivot shaft 30 Protective film 31 Void portion 32 Lumen 33 Signal line 34 Signal line 35 Propagation medium injection port 36 Probe side mounting portion 37 Body side mounting portion 38 Probe side connector 39 Body side connector 40 Motor 41 Position detector 42 First pulley 43 Second rotating shaft 44 2 pulley 45 drive belt 46 signal contact part 47 oil seal material 48 heart 49 aorta 50 coronary artery 51 stenosis part 52 guide catheter 53 back load material 54 piezoelectric element 55 electrode 56 electrode 57 acoustic matching layer 58 signal line 59 groove 60 rotation Bearing 61 Pin 62 Rotating bearing 63 Clearance 64 Contact 65 Spring 66 Position detection sensor 67 Signal line 68 Coating material 69 Position detection unit 70 Receiver 71 Threshold value generation unit 72 Comparison unit 73 Position detection signal generation unit 74 Polymer piezoelectric Material 75 Electrode 76 Position detection unit 77 Timing signal generation unit 78 Transmission / reception unit 79 Detection unit 80 Pulse generator 81 Counter unit 82 Reference value generation unit 83 Comparison unit 84 Reference gate generation unit 85 Latch unit 86 Front end 87 Rear end 88 Inside Layer 89 heartwood 90 strands 91 Layer 92 Gap 93 Protrusion 94 Notch 95 Intermediate bearing 96 Microlumen 97 Polymer piezoelectric film 98 Inner electrode 99 Outer electrode 100 Disc electrode 101 Electrode 102 Signal line 103 Signal line 104 Ring electrode 105 Insulating part 106 Conductive part 107 Disc electrode 108 Electrode 109 Pitch 110 Delay Element 111 Rotating Electrode Part 112 Polymer Piezoelectric Film 113 Electrode 114 Surface 115 Micro Electrode 116 Micro Hole 117 Micro Hollow Tube 118 Suction Control Section 119 Cap 120 Bevel Gear A 121 Bevel Gear B 122 Rotation Axis A 123 Bearing A 124 Pulley A 125 Rotating shaft B 126 Pulley B 127 Bearing B 128 Rotating electrode part 129 Driving belt 130 Brush 131 Ultrasonic transducer 132 Electrode 133 Ring electrode 134 Scanning area 135 Polymer piezoelectric film 136 Electrode 137 Arrow indicating polarization direction 138 Arrow indicating polarization direction 139 Drive circuit 140 Pre-image memory unit 141 Correlation comparison unit 142 Rotation center 143 Blood vessel wall 144 Speckle pattern 145 Region A 146 Region B 147 Groove 148 Spring 149 Ball 150 Spring holder 151 Hole 152 Hollow part 153 Hexon 154 Polymer piezoelectric film 155 Electrode A 156 Electrode B 157 Electrode C 158 Signal line 159 Signal line 160 Signal line 161 Ultrasonic probe 162 Front end 163 Rear end 164 Catheter 165 Torque transmission shaft 166 Mirror 167 Reflection Surface 168 Bearing member 169 Ultrasonic transducer 170 Signal line 171 Acoustic window 172 Guide wire 173 Propagation space 174 Drainage port 175 Y-type branch 176 Connection part 177 Propagation medium injection port

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Toshiharu Sato 3-10-1 Higashisanda, Tama-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Matsushita Giken Co., Ltd.

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising an ultrasonic probe and a main body, wherein the ultrasonic probe has a catheter having a plurality of minute lumens in a flexible hollow small-diameter tube structure. A shaft having a hollow structure fixed to the distal end side, a bearing having a hollow structure formed of a fluorine-based resin having a small coefficient of friction fixed to the shaft, and a first rotary shaft having the shaft and the bearing inserted therein; A rotating electrode rotatable around the first rotation axis and having at least a part provided with a conductive electrode, and a PVDF or PVD provided with an outer electrode on the outside and electrically connected to the rotating electrode.
A polymer piezoelectric film using an F copolymer, a protective film overlaid on the polymer piezoelectric film, a first signal line electrically connected to the outer electrode through a lumen of the catheter, and torque. A second signal line passing through the inside of the transmission shaft and electrically connected to an electrode unit on the disk electrode, and a probe-side connector connected to a rear end of the torque transmission shaft; A body-side connector provided to be fitted with a probe-side connector provided in the ultrasonic probe, and a second rotating shaft connected to the body-side connector,
A motor for rotating the second rotation shaft, a position detector for detecting a rotation state of the motor, a transmission / reception unit for a peripheral direction connected to the second signal line via a signal contact unit; A surrounding image forming unit connected to the transmitting / receiving unit, an image memory unit connected to the surrounding image forming unit, a monitor connected to the image memory unit, and an operation unit for inputting a command, An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a control unit connected to the operation unit and configured to generate at least an electrical timing signal of the main unit, and data necessary for image still control and / or image configuration. 2. The rotating electrode is a disk electrode made of an insulating material fixed to the tip end side of the rotating shaft and having a conductive positive electrode on a part of the circumferential surface, and the polymer piezoelectric film has a one-sided outer shape. 2. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of strip-shaped inner electrodes having an outer electrode and having a longitudinal axis extending in the catheter axial direction, wherein the inner electrode is formed on the tip side of the ultrasonic probe so as to contact the disc electrode. Ultrasound diagnostic device. 3. The ultrasonic wave according to claim 2, wherein a circular ring electrode made of an insulating material having a plurality of conductive electrodes corresponding to the interval between the inner electrodes is provided between the inner electrode and the disk electrode. Diagnostic device. 4. A characteristic in which a plurality of electrodes are provided on the circumference of the disk electrode at intervals according to the pitch of the inner electrodes, and the electrode located at the center connected to each electrode arranged in the disk electrode has a larger delay amount. 4. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a plurality of delay elements, and a signal line disposed in a torque transmission shaft connected to outputs of the delay elements. 5. The rotating electrode is a rotating electrode portion fixed to the tip side of a rotating shaft and having a flat or concave surface facing the circumferential direction and the surface or the whole of which is made of a conductive material. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic probe has a one-sided outer electrode on the outer side and is formed on the ultrasonic probe tip side so that the inner side contacts the rotating electrode section. 6. A plurality of micro-electrodes formed inside a polymer piezoelectric film and formed in a shape which is electrically insulated from adjacent electrodes by a very small area and has a large ratio of the total area of the electrode portion to the whole area. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising: 7. A plurality of minute holes provided on the surface of the rotating electrode portion, a minute hollow tube connected to the minute holes and arranged in the hollow portion of the rotating shaft and the torque transmission shaft, and a minute hollow tube in the main body portion. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a suction control unit connected to and controlled by the control unit. 8. A structure in which the shape of the rotating electrode portion is a disk shape, a mechanism for changing the rotation direction by 90 ° is provided on the distal end side of the ultrasonic probe, and the polymer piezoelectric film is disposed in a front portion on the distal end side of the ultrasonic probe, and 6. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a ring electrode provided on a side surface of the electrode unit, and a brush connected to a signal line disposed in the catheter lumen and electrically connected to the ring electrode. 9. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the microelectrode according to claim 6 is provided inside the polymer piezoelectric film. 10. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a plurality of electrodes arranged on the disk electrode such that the respective ultrasonic wave transmitting directions are different and arranged at different angles with respect to the center of the rotating electrode portion. apparatus. 11. A polymer having a polymer piezoelectric film of PVDF or PVDF copolymer having a one-sided electrode on the outer surface of a rotating electrode portion, and a polarization direction formed on the side of the tip side of the ultrasonic probe. It is configured to be in the opposite direction to the polarization direction of the piezoelectric film, and is electrically connected so that the surface potential of the rotating electrode part and the outer electrode of the polymer piezoelectric film formed on the side surface of the ultrasonic probe tip side become the same potential. 7. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 5, wherein 12. A method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of: contacting the inside of the polymer piezoelectric film disposed on the front side of the tip end of the ultrasonic probe with the polymer piezoelectric film formed on the surface of the rotating electrode portion; The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein an outer electrode of the polymer piezoelectric film formed forward of the front end of the ultrasonic probe is electrically connected so as to have an equal potential. 13. A pre-image memory unit connected to the image memory unit, a correlation comparison unit connected to the pre-image memory unit and the image memory unit and having an output connected to a control unit, and a pre-image memory unit connected to the control unit. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising a distance calculating unit, wherein the control unit has a function of ignoring an image still command from the operation unit based on a result of the correlation comparing unit. 14. A connector according to claim 1, wherein a hole is provided in the body-side connector, a ball and a spring are inserted into the hole and fixed by a spring retainer, and the probe-side connector is provided with a recess and a groove for fitting into the ball. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of the above. 15. A multi-layer structure in which at least one of a peripheral direction ultrasonic vibrator and a forward direction ultrasonic vibrator has an electrode, a polymer piezoelectric film, an electrode, a piezoelectric element, an electrode, and a back load material sequentially laminated, The electrode on the surface of the polymer piezoelectric film is divided into a plurality of pieces in a shape symmetrical with respect to the center axis, and the polarization direction of the polymer piezoelectric film becomes symmetrical with respect to the center axis corresponding to the plurality of divided electrodes. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the signal is inverted and transmitted by the piezoelectric element and received by the polymer piezoelectric film to perform differential reception.