CN110573086B

CN110573086B - Ultrasonic probe

Info

Publication number: CN110573086B
Application number: CN201880018260.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 郑洲; 唐明; 李双双; 陈志杰; 吴飞
Original assignee: Shenzhen Mindray Bio Medical Electronics Co Ltd; Shenzhen Mindray Scientific Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Mindray Bio Medical Electronics Co Ltd; Shenzhen Mindray Scientific Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-09-10
Filing date: 2018-09-10
Publication date: 2022-05-20
Anticipated expiration: 2038-09-10
Also published as: CN110573086A; WO2020051742A1

Abstract

An ultrasonic probe, wherein a sound head (210) deflects a set angle, so that a plane (202) where a scanning surface (201) corresponding to the sound head (210) is located intersects a plane (401) where a trigger (400) is located, and an included angle a formed by intersection is an acute angle. This angle can be set according to the specific application of the probe, for example, according to the inclination angle of the ribs of the human body. Because the sound head (210) and the trigger piece (400) are staggered by a certain angle, when an operator uses the probe to detect some obliquely extending target objects, such as human ribs, the scanning surface (201) of the sound head (210) can be aligned among the ribs, and the trigger piece (400) does not need to deflect, so that the operator can still keep a normal holding mode, and discomfort can not be caused to the operator.

Description

Ultrasonic probe

Technical Field

The application relates to a medical instrument, in particular to a probe structure of ultrasonic equipment.

Background

An ultrasonic probe is an essential component in an ultrasonic apparatus, and generally has a sound head that emits and receives ultrasonic waves and a trigger button that controls the operation state of the probe. When detecting, the operator holds the probe, contacts the front end of the sound head with the detected person, and the sound head sends out ultrasonic waves and receives reflected ultrasonic waves so as to form an image for the operator to refer to.

Typically, operators are accustomed to pressing the trigger button with the thumb. When a detected person lies down, the ribs of the detected person form a certain angle with the ground, at the moment, an operator scans by using the probe according to a usual holding posture, and because a trigger key of the probe and the sound head have a fixed relative position relation, at the moment, under the holding posture, as shown in figure 1, four opposite angles of the sound head 2 of the probe are easily blocked by the ribs 1 to influence an imaging effect, so that the operator has to rotate the probe, as shown in figure 2, to enable the sound head 2 to be positioned between the two ribs in parallel, thereby ensuring the imaging effect. However, this operation requires the operator to rotate the wrist, which brings inconvenience to the operator, and especially when the measurement is repeated many times, it is easy to cause fatigue of the operator, which affects the operation efficiency.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention mainly provides a novel ultrasonic probe, which is used for improving the use convenience of the probe.

In one embodiment, there is provided an ultrasound probe comprising: a housing; the sound head assembly comprises a sound head, one end of the sound head is exposed out of the shell and is used for being contacted with a detected person, the sound head is provided with a corresponding scanning surface, and the plane where the scanning surface is located is a first plane; the pressure sensor is connected with the sound head in a pressure-conducting manner and used for detecting the acting force of the detected person on the sound head; the trigger piece is arranged on the shell and used for controlling the working state of the sound head assembly, wherein the plane where the trigger piece is located is a second plane, the first plane is intersected with the second plane, and an included angle a formed by intersection is an acute angle or an obtuse angle.

In one embodiment, the value range of the included angle a is as follows: a is more than or equal to 30 degrees and less than or equal to 60 degrees.

In one embodiment, the value range of the included angle a is as follows: a is more than or equal to 40 degrees and less than or equal to 50 degrees.

In one embodiment, the included angle a is 45 °.

In one embodiment, the ultrasonic probe further comprises a sensor fixing frame, the pressure sensor is mounted on the sensor fixing frame, the sound head assembly comprises a sound head fixing seat, the sound head is mounted on the sound head fixing seat, and the sound head fixing seat is connected with the pressure sensor in a pressure conduction mode.

In one embodiment, the sensor fixing frame comprises a base body and a limiting structure arranged on the base body, the limiting structure defines a mounting position for mounting the pressure sensor, and the mounting position is arranged on the surface of the base body in a deflection manner, so that the pressure sensor and the sound head connected with the pressure sensor are arranged in a deflection manner relative to the base body, and the scanning surface of the sound head can form the included angle a with the plane where the trigger part is located.

In one embodiment, a sensor limiting groove is formed in one side, facing the pressure sensor, of the sound head fixing seat, a sound head mounting groove is formed in one side, opposite to the sensor limiting groove, of the sound head fixing seat, and the sensor limiting groove and the sound head mounting groove are staggered to set an angle, so that the scanning surface of the sound head can form the included angle a with the plane where the trigger is located.

In one embodiment, there is provided an ultrasound probe comprising: a housing; the sound head assembly comprises a sound head, one end of the sound head is exposed out of the shell and is used for being contacted with a detected person, the sound head is provided with a corresponding scanning surface, and the plane where the scanning surface is located is a first plane; the trigger piece is arranged on the shell and used for controlling the working state of the sound head assembly, wherein the plane where the trigger piece is located is a second plane, the first plane is intersected with the second plane, and an included angle a formed by intersection is an acute angle or an obtuse angle.

In one embodiment, the range of the included angle a is as follows: a is more than or equal to 40 degrees and less than or equal to 50 degrees.

In one embodiment, the included angle a is 45 °.

In one embodiment, the ultrasonic probe further comprises a pressure sensor, the sound head is connected with the pressure sensor in a pressure-conducting manner, and the pressure sensor is used for detecting the acting force of the detected person on the sound head.

According to the ultrasonic probe of the above embodiment, compared with the conventional probe, the sound head of the probe deflects by a set angle, so that the first plane of the scanning surface corresponding to the sound head intersects with the second plane of the trigger, and an included angle a formed by the intersection is an acute angle or an obtuse angle. This angle can be set according to the specific application object of the probe, for example, according to the inclination angle of the ribs of the human body. When an operator uses the probe to detect some obliquely extending target objects, such as human ribs, the operator can still hold the probe by using the usual holding posture, but because the sound head and the trigger piece are staggered by a certain angle, the sound head can form a parallel state as shown in fig. 2 between the ribs, so that the detection accuracy can be ensured, and the operator does not need to rotate the wrist to adapt to the rotation of the sound head.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the positions of a sound head and ribs when a conventional ultrasonic probe is used to detect the ribs of a human body;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the sound head being adjusted to a position parallel to the ribs of a human body;

FIG. 3 is a view showing an outline configuration of an ultrasonic probe according to the present embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an internal partial structure of an ultrasound probe according to an embodiment;

FIGS. 5 and 6 show the relationship of the acoustic head shown in the embodiment with its corresponding scan surface from two perspectives;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an included angle between a plane where a scanning surface of the acoustic head is located and a plane where the trigger is located in the present embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of another deflection arrangement of the ultrasonic probe head and the pressure sensor in the present embodiment;

fig. 9 is a schematic view of the deflection arrangement of the sound head mounting groove and the pressure sensor limiting groove in the embodiment of fig. 8.

Detailed Description

The present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. Wherein like elements in different embodiments are numbered with like associated elements. In the following description, numerous details are set forth in order to provide a better understanding of the present application. However, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that some of the features may be omitted or replaced with other elements, materials, methods in different instances. In some instances, certain operations related to the present application have not been shown or described in detail in order to avoid obscuring the core of the present application from excessive description, and it is not necessary for those skilled in the art to describe these operations in detail, so that they may be fully understood from the description in the specification and the general knowledge in the art.

Furthermore, the features, operations, or characteristics described in the specification may be combined in any suitable manner to form various embodiments. Also, the various steps or actions in the method descriptions may be transposed or transposed in order, as will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the various sequences in the specification and drawings are for the purpose of describing certain embodiments only and are not intended to imply a required sequence unless otherwise indicated where such sequence must be followed.

The numbering of the components as such, e.g., "first", "second", etc., is used herein only to distinguish the objects as described, and does not have any sequential or technical meaning. The term "connected" and "coupled" when used in this application, unless otherwise indicated, includes both direct and indirect connections (couplings).

In one embodiment, an ultrasonic probe is provided as part of an ultrasonic apparatus, primarily for emitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, so as to be able to image a test site of a subject for reference by an operator. The ultrasonic equipment can be an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and other related equipment.

Referring to fig. 3 and 4, the ultrasonic probe includes a housing 100, a sound head assembly 200, a pressure sensor 300, and a trigger 400. Of course, the ultrasonic probe also has other components such as a control unit.

In one embodiment, the ultrasound probe may not include the pressure sensor 300. For example, the ultrasonic probe may not detect or detect the force applied to the sound head by the detected person in other ways.

The housing 100 serves as a support structure for the entire ultrasound probe, and other components are based on the housing 100. The applicator assembly 200 generally includes an applicator 210. One end of the sound head 210 is exposed from the housing 100 for contact with a subject. In the present embodiment, the sound head 210 can adopt various structures, for example, a common sound head can include a backing, a wafer, and a lens, which will not be described in detail herein.

Referring to fig. 3 and 4, in the present application, a side a of the sound head 210 contacting with the subject is a front end of the probe, a side B opposite to the front end is a rear end, and a cable for connecting the probe generally extends from the rear end of the housing 100, where a side C in fig. 3 is a left side of the probe, and a side D is a right side of the probe. In other embodiments, the front, back, left and right directions may adopt other definitions, but the relative position relationship between the front, back, left and right directions is not changed. Each of the acoustic heads 210 has a corresponding scanning surface 201, and the scanning surface 201 is a scanning area of the acoustic head 210, and finally forms a planar image based on the scanning area. Referring to fig. 5 and 6, fig. 5 is a sectional view of a part of the acoustic head 210 cut in the front-rear direction in an embodiment, and fig. 6 is a view of the acoustic head 210 viewed from the front end of the acoustic head 210 in a front view in an embodiment, in which the scanning plane 201 is located at the center of the acoustic head 210 and is arranged in the front-rear direction of the probe. The correspondence between the sound head 210 and the scanning surface 201 is well known in the art, and the position relationship between the sound head 210 and the scanning surface 201 and how to determine the scanning surface 201 of the sound head 210 will not be described in detail herein.

The sound head 210 and the pressure sensor 300 are connected in a pressure-conductive manner, and the two may be fixedly connected, may abut against each other, or may realize pressure conduction through an intermediate structure. The pressure sensor 300 is used for detecting the acting force of the detected person on the sound head 210, so that the pre-pressure of the sound head 210 on the detected person is known reversely.

The trigger 400 is disposed on the casing 100 and is used for controlling the operating state of the sound head 210, and may generally adopt a key, a toggle switch, a touch switch, or the like. The trigger 400 is connected to the control unit of the probe.

Referring to fig. 7, in the present embodiment, a plane of the scanning plane is referred to as a first plane 202, a plane of the trigger 400 is referred to as a second plane 401, the first plane 202 intersects the second plane 401, and an included angle a formed by the intersection is an acute angle or an obtuse angle. Since the trigger member 400 may not be a planar shape, the second plane 401 in this embodiment means that when the probe is disposed with the trigger member 400 facing upward (fig. 7 shows the probe from the front end of the probe), as shown in fig. 7, the horizontal plane of the trigger member 400 is the second plane 401, and the second plane 401 may be the horizontal plane at any position in the height direction of the trigger member 401 in fig. 7, and since these horizontal planes are all parallel to each other, the included angles between the horizontal planes and the first plane 202 are the same. The angle a can be set according to the specific application object of the probe, for example, the angle a can be set according to the inclination angle of the ribs of the human body.

Because the sound head 210 and the trigger 400 are staggered by a certain angle, when an operator uses the probe to detect some obliquely extending target objects, such as human ribs, the scanning surface 201 of the sound head 210 can be aligned between the ribs, and the operator can still keep a normal holding mode without causing discomfort to the operator. During actual detection, the operator holds the probe in a normal posture, and compared with the conventional probe, the sound head 210 of the probe shown in the embodiment deflects, so that the scanning surface 201 of the sound head 210 can be parallel to the ribs, and the influence of the ribs on the scanning result is avoided. Even if the deflection angle of the sound head 210 is not consistent with the inclination angle of the rib, the scanning surface 201 of the sound head 210 can be adjusted to a required position only by finely adjusting the angle of the probe, so that the operation is convenient, the working intensity of an operator is greatly reduced, and the operation is more convenient.

In one embodiment, the range of the included angle a formed by the intersection of the plane of the trigger 400 and the plane of the scanning surface 201 is: a is more than or equal to 30 degrees and less than or equal to 60 degrees. In a more specific embodiment, the included angle a has a value range of: a is more than or equal to 40 degrees and less than or equal to 50 degrees. More specifically, in one embodiment, the included angle a may be selected to be 45 °.

Further, referring to fig. 4, in one embodiment, a sensor holder 500 is further included, and the pressure sensor 300 is mounted on the sensor holder 500. The sensor holder 500 may be fixedly installed on the housing 100, or may be installed on other components and then installed on the housing 100 through other components. The sound head assembly 200 includes a sound head holder 220, and the sound head 210 is mounted on the sound head holder 220, typically in a fixed connection. The sound head holder 220 is connected to the pressure sensor 300 for transmitting pressure.

Referring to fig. 4, in an embodiment, the sensor fixing frame 500 includes a base 510 and a limiting structure 520 disposed on the base 510. The limiting structure 520 may be a bump or other structure. The housing 510 can be mounted to the housing 100 in a conventional manner. The limiting structure 520 defines a mounting position for mounting the pressure sensor 300, and the mounting position is disposed on the surface of the base 510 in a deflecting manner, so that the pressure sensor 300 and the sound head 210 connected to the pressure sensor 300 are disposed in a deflecting manner with respect to the base 510, so as to ensure that the scanning surface 201 of the sound head 210 can form the above-mentioned included angle a with the second plane where the trigger 400 is located. In this way, the mounting structures of the sound head 210 and the sound head fixing seat 220 do not need to be changed, and only the matching structure between the pressure sensor 300 and the sensor fixing frame 500 is changed, so that the change of the existing probe structure can be reduced, and the cost is reduced.

In another embodiment, referring to fig. 8 and 9, a sensor limiting groove 221 is formed on a side of the sound head fixing seat 220 facing the pressure sensor 300, a sound head mounting groove 222 is formed on a side of the sound head fixing seat 220 opposite to the sensor limiting groove 221, and the sensor limiting groove 221 and the sound head mounting groove 222 are staggered by a set angle to ensure that an included angle a can be formed between the scanning surface 201 of the sound head 210 and the second plane where the trigger 400 is located. In one embodiment, the sound head mounting groove 222 can be surrounded by a plurality of (e.g., four) stoppers 225, and the sound head 210 is fixedly mounted in the sound head mounting groove 222.

Referring to fig. 9, fig. 9 shows the relative position relationship between the sensor-limiting groove 221 and the sound-head mounting groove 222 in the form of a wire frame, which is staggered, that is, the center line 223 of the sensor-limiting groove 221 forms an included angle b with the center line 224 of the sound-head mounting groove 222, and the included angle b is an acute angle or an obtuse angle. The included angle b may be the same as or different from the included angle a, and the degree is selected according to the structure of the sound head 210 and the sound head holder 220, but the final purpose is to ensure that the scanning surface 201 of the sound head 210 can form the included angle a with the second plane where the trigger 400 is located.

In the above manner, the pressure sensor 300 and the sensor fixing frame 500 do not need to be changed, and only the matching structure of the sound head 210 and the sound head fixing seat 220 needs to be improved, so that the change of the existing probe structure can be reduced, and the cost is reduced.

The above are only examples of structures for realizing that the plane where the trigger 400 is located intersects with the plane where the scanning surface 201 is located at an included angle a, and in other embodiments, other deformation structures or other manners may still be adopted to achieve this purpose.

The present invention has been described in terms of specific examples, which are provided to aid understanding of the invention and are not intended to be limiting. Variations of the above-described embodiments may be made by those skilled in the art, consistent with the principles of the invention.

Claims

1. An ultrasound probe, comprising:

a housing;

the sound head assembly comprises a sound head, one end of the sound head is exposed out of the shell and is used for being contacted with a detected person, the sound head is provided with a corresponding scanning surface, and the plane where the scanning surface is located is a first plane;

the pressure sensor is connected with the sound head in a pressure conduction manner and is used for detecting the acting force of the detected person on the sound head;

the trigger piece is arranged on the shell and used for controlling the working state of the sound head assembly, wherein the plane where the trigger piece is located is a second plane, the second plane is a horizontal plane passing through the trigger piece when the trigger piece is arranged in a mode that the front face of the trigger piece faces upwards, the first plane is intersected with the second plane, and an included angle a formed by intersection is an acute angle or an obtuse angle.

2. The ultrasound probe of claim 1, wherein the included angle a ranges from: a is more than or equal to 30 degrees and less than or equal to 60 degrees.

3. The ultrasound probe of claim 1, wherein the included angle a ranges from: a is more than or equal to 40 degrees and less than or equal to 50 degrees.

4. The ultrasound probe of claim 1, wherein the included angle a is 45 °.

5. The ultrasonic probe of any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a transducer holder, wherein the pressure transducer is mounted on the transducer holder, wherein the applicator assembly comprises an applicator mount, wherein the applicator is mounted on the applicator mount, and wherein the applicator mount is connected to the pressure transducer in a manner capable of conducting pressure.

6. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 5, wherein the sensor fixing frame comprises a base body and a limiting structure arranged on the base body, the limiting structure defines a mounting position for mounting the pressure sensor, and the mounting position is arranged on the surface of the base body in a deflecting manner, so that the pressure sensor and the sound head connected with the pressure sensor are arranged in a deflecting manner relative to the base body, so as to ensure that the scanning surface of the sound head can form the included angle a with the plane where the trigger is located.

7. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 5, wherein a sensor limiting groove is formed on one side of the sound head fixing seat facing the pressure sensor, a sound head mounting groove is formed on one side of the sound head fixing seat opposite to the sensor limiting groove, and the sensor limiting groove and the sound head mounting groove are staggered by a set angle to ensure that the scanning surface of the sound head and the plane where the trigger is located can form the included angle a.

8. An ultrasound probe, comprising:

a housing;

the trigger piece is arranged on the shell and used for controlling the working state of the sound head assembly, wherein the plane where the trigger piece is located is a second plane, the first plane is intersected with the second plane, and an included angle a formed by intersection is an acute angle or an obtuse angle.

9. The ultrasound probe of claim 8, wherein the included angle a ranges from: a is more than or equal to 30 degrees and less than or equal to 60 degrees.

10. The ultrasound probe of claim 8, wherein the included angle a ranges from: a is more than or equal to 40 degrees and less than or equal to 50 degrees.

11. The ultrasound probe of claim 8, wherein the included angle a is 45 °.

12. The ultrasound probe of claim 8, further comprising a pressure sensor, wherein the sonotrode is connected to the pressure sensor in a pressure-conductive manner, and the pressure sensor is used for detecting the force applied to the sonotrode by the detected person.