CN215778210U

CN215778210U - Mammary gland ultrasonic detection equipment

Info

Publication number: CN215778210U
Application number: CN202121573079.9U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 朱子俨; 刘德杰; 朱磊
Original assignee: Shenzhen Mindray Bio Medical Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Mindray Bio Medical Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-07-12
Filing date: 2021-07-12
Publication date: 2022-02-11
Anticipated expiration: 2031-07-12

Abstract

A mammary gland ultrasonic testing equipment comprises a supporting device, a volume probe and a processing device. The volume probe comprises a probe shell, an acoustic window, a transducer and a driving mechanism, wherein the probe shell is provided with an installation cavity, and the acoustic window seals a detection port on the probe shell. The supporting device is provided with the stand column and the cantilever, the volume probe is connected with the cantilever, the cantilever can float in a plane, and the universal joint can rotate in multiple directions relative to the cantilever, so that the use flexibility of the volume probe is improved. The acoustic window has an acoustically transparent seal held in tension, the acoustically transparent seal being air and liquid impermeable. The sound-transmitting sealing body can completely isolate the motion of the transducer from human tissues (breasts), and the sound-transmitting sealing body which is always in a tensioning state can stably flatten the human tissues (breasts), so that the film sound window can not be folded, the breast tissues can not be abnormally deformed, the coupling liquid on the front side of the sound window and the human tissues/hairs can not be pulled, and the discomfort or pain of a patient can be avoided.

Description

Mammary gland ultrasonic detection equipment

Technical Field

The application relates to the field of mammary gland ultrasonic detection, in particular to mammary gland ultrasonic detection equipment.

Background

The mammary machine is a device for mammary examination and mammary gland lesion diagnosis. Generally, an ultrasonic probe is mounted on a cantilever of a breast machine, a transducer and other devices are mounted in a probe shell of the ultrasonic probe, and a detection port is arranged at the lower end of the probe shell. During detection, the transducer in the probe shell moves to a position close to a human body for detection, in order to protect the human body and the probe head, the acoustic window is arranged at the lower end of the probe shell and used for isolating the probe from the skin of the human body, and the acoustic window is also used for sealing devices such as the transducer and the like in the probe shell. However, the existing mammary machine has a plurality of defects and can be further improved.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The application provides a novel mammary gland ultrasonic testing equipment.

In view of the above, the present application provides, in one embodiment, a breast ultrasound examination apparatus, including a supporting device, a volume probe, and a processing device;

the supporting device is provided with a vertical column and a cantilever, the cantilever is connected to the vertical column, and the cantilever can float at least in a plane;

the volume probe is connected with the cantilever through a universal joint and can move relative to the cantilever, and the volume probe comprises a probe shell, an acoustic window, a transducer and a driving mechanism;

the probe shell is provided with a mounting cavity, and the mounting cavity is provided with a detection port arranged towards a mammary gland part;

the sound window is arranged on the probe shell, the sound window is provided with a sound-transmitting sealing body which seals the detection port and keeps a tension state, and the sound-transmitting sealing body is of an air-tight and liquid-tight structure;

the transducer is arranged in the installation cavity, one end of the transducer, facing the sound-transmitting sealing body, is a detection end, and the transducer is used for transmitting ultrasonic waves to the mammary gland part and receiving echoes of the ultrasonic waves to obtain ultrasonic echo signals;

the driving mechanism is in transmission connection with the transducer and is used for driving the detection end of the transducer to translate relative to the sound-transmitting sealing body so as to scan the mammary gland volume;

the processing device is in signal connection with the volume probe and is used for receiving and processing the ultrasonic echo signal sent back by the volume probe so as to obtain a mammary gland volume image.

In one embodiment, the acoustically transparent sealing body is a composite layer, the composite layer at least includes a first acoustically transparent layer and a second acoustically transparent layer, the first acoustically transparent layer and the second acoustically transparent layer are made of different acoustically transparent materials, and the first acoustically transparent layer and the second acoustically transparent layer are stacked.

In one embodiment, the composite further comprises a third acoustically transparent layer, the second acoustically transparent layer is located between the first acoustically transparent layer and the third acoustically transparent layer, the third acoustically transparent layer is made of a different material than the second acoustically transparent layer, and the first acoustically transparent layer and the third acoustically transparent layer are made of the same or different acoustically transparent materials.

In one embodiment, the second sound-transmitting layer is made of a polyimide-based sound-transmitting material.

In one embodiment, at least one of the first and third acoustically transparent layers comprises a polyethylene-based acoustically transparent material.

In one embodiment, the acoustically transparent seal includes a mesh substrate and a layer of polymeric material, at least one side of the mesh substrate being covered with the layer of polymeric material.

In one embodiment, the mesh substrate is a nylon-based porous cloth.

In one embodiment, the universal joint comprises a connector, a joint seat and a rotary joint, the volume probe is fixed with the connector, the joint seat is arranged on the cantilever, the rotary joint comprises a first rotary support and a second rotary support, the connector is rotatably connected with the first rotary support, and the rotation axes of the connector and the first rotary support are first rotation axes; the first rotating support and the second rotating support are rotatably connected, and the rotating axes of the first rotating support and the second rotating support are second rotating axes; the second rotating support is rotatably connected with the joint seat, and the rotating axis of the second rotating support and the rotating axis of the joint seat are a third rotating axis; the first rotating axis, the second rotating axis and the third rotating axis are vertical to each other in pairs; the joint seat is provided with a limiting structure for limiting the rotating range of the rotating joint and/or the connecting head relative to the joint seat.

In one embodiment, the universal joint comprises a ball head body, a joint seat matched with the spherical surface of the ball head body and an anti-rotation connecting component, the joint seat is connected with the cantilever, the joint seat is provided with a mounting cavity, the mounting cavity is provided with a spherical cavity wall, the ball head body is movably arranged in the spherical cavity wall, and the volume probe is connected with the ball head body; the anti-rotation connecting assembly comprises a snake bone body and a rotating body connected with the snake bone body, the snake bone body is provided with a plurality of snake bone joints, each snake bone joint comprises a base and a connecting rod protruding from the base, the base is provided with a first through hole, the connecting rod is provided with a second through hole, the connecting rod of one snake bone joint between two adjacent snake bone joints is embedded into the base of the other snake bone joint, the two snake bone joints are rotatably connected through a rotating shaft, and the rotating shaft can move in the first through hole of the base to drive the one snake bone joint to rotate relative to the other snake bone joint; the rotating body is rotatably arranged on the joint seat, and the joint seat is provided with a limiting structure for limiting the rotating range of the rotating body.

In one embodiment, the cantilever comprises at least two sub-cantilevers, the two sub-cantilevers are rotatably connected with each other, and at least one of the sub-cantilevers is of a vertical lifting structure, so that the cantilever can change positions in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction.

The breast ultrasonic testing device according to the embodiment comprises a supporting device, a volume probe and a processing device. The volume probe comprises a probe shell, an acoustic window, a transducer and a driving mechanism, wherein the probe shell is provided with an installation cavity, and a detection port on the probe shell is sealed by the acoustic window. This strutting arrangement has stand and cantilever, and this cantilever can float in the plane, and volume probe is connected with the cantilever, not only can float in the plane along with the cantilever, can also carry out the rotation of a plurality of directions through universal joint relative cantilever moreover, improves volume probe's use flexibility. The acoustic window is provided with an acoustic transmission sealing body which keeps a tension state, the acoustic transmission sealing body is of an airtight and liquid-tight structure, and a driving mechanism drives a detection end of the transducer to move horizontally relative to the acoustic transmission sealing body so as to perform ultrasonic scanning. The sound-transmitting sealing body can completely isolate the motion of the transducer from human tissues (breasts), the sound-transmitting sealing body which is always in a tensioning state can stably flatten the human tissues (breasts), the film sound window can not be folded, the breast tissues can not be abnormally deformed, and the transducer can not pull the coupling liquid and the human tissues/hairs on the front side of the sound window when the back side of the sound-transmitting sealing body scans at any speed, so that the discomfort or the pain of a patient can be avoided.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an ultrasonic breast testing device according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a breast ultrasound examination apparatus according to another embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a breast ultrasound examination apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a volume probe according to an embodiment of the present application, in which an acoustic window is separated from a housing (a partial region is omitted to show an internal structure of the housing);

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of an embodiment of the volume probe according to the present application in an assembled state of an acoustic window and a housing (a partial region is omitted to show an internal structure of the housing);

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a volume probe according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a volume probe parallel to the direction of transducer movement in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an exploded view of a composite acoustically transparent seal according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of an acoustically transparent encapsulant structure having a mesh matrix according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a coupling medium arrangement according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 12 is an exploded view of a universal joint according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 13 is a schematic structural view of a first rotating bracket and a second rotating bracket of the embodiment of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the gimbal in the embodiment of FIG. 12 with the volume probe at different rotational angles;

FIG. 15 is a schematic view of a position-limiting structure in the embodiment of FIG. 12;

FIG. 16 is an exploded view of a universal joint according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the universal joint of the embodiment of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is an exploded view of the body of the embodiment of FIG. 16;

fig. 19 is a schematic view of an upper limit structure of the joint seat in the embodiment shown in fig. 16.

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).

The embodiment provides a mammary gland ultrasonic detection device which is applied to human body mammary gland examination and diagnosis. Referring to fig. 1-3, in one embodiment, the breast ultrasound examination apparatus includes a volume probe 1000, a support device 2000, a processing device 3000, and other related components.

The supporting device 2000 is used to support and suspend the volume probe 1000, and to maintain the volume probe 1000 at a certain height, so that the subject can lie under the volume probe 1000 in a prone position for examination. The support device 2000 may have a post 2100 and a cantilever 2200, the post 2100 serving as the primary support and the cantilever 2200 attached to the post 2100.

The volumetric probe 1000 is coupled to the cantilever 2200 by a gimbal joint that ensures that the volumetric probe 1000 can move relative to the cantilever 2200 in the xyz coordinate system. The universal joint can adopt various structures which can be applied to the mammary gland ultrasonic detection equipment. Meanwhile, in order to increase the detection range of the volume probe 1000, the cantilever 2200 can float at least in a plane, i.e., the volume probe 1000 can be driven to move and change at least among a plurality of positions in the plane, thereby facilitating the detection of the volume probe 1000.

The volume probe 1000 is the main ultrasound signal transmitting and receiving device, and referring to fig. 4-8, the volume probe 1000 includes a housing 100, a transducer 200, an acoustic window 300, a driving mechanism 400, and other related components.

The housing 100 has a mounting cavity with an opening disposed toward the breast site 5000. The housing 100 may be formed as a single piece or may be formed by joining a plurality of sub-components. The acoustic window 300 is provided at an opening of the case 100 to hermetically cover the opening. The opening is completely closed by the shielding portion, and the transducer 200 in the installation cavity is completely isolated from the object to be detected. The shielding part is made of sound-transmitting materials, namely, the shielding part has ultrasonic wave permeability so as to avoid influencing the transmission of ultrasonic signals.

The transducer 200 is disposed within the mounting cavity. The transducer 200 is configured to transmit an ultrasonic wave to the breast site 5000 and receive an echo of the ultrasonic wave to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal. The transducer 200 may take any available configuration. The end of the transducer 200 facing the acoustic window 300 is a detection end 210, and the detection end 210 faces a detection object during detection, and transmits and receives ultrasonic signals. The acoustic window 300 separates the detection end 210 from the breast part 5000 of the detection object, and prevents the detection end 210 from directly contacting the detection object.

The driving mechanism 400 is in driving connection with the transducer 200, i.e. can transmit motion, and the driving mechanism 400 drives the transducer 200 to move in the installation cavity so as to perform breast volume scanning. When the test is completed, the transducer 200 is generally driven by the driving mechanism 400 to translate within the housing 100 for scanning and resetting purposes. Of course, in some special examinations, the transducer 200 may be moved in other ways, not limited to translational movement, such as rotational movement.

The processing device 3000 is in signal connection with the volume probe 1000, and is configured to receive and process the ultrasound echo signal from the volume probe 1000 to obtain a breast volume image. The processing device 3000 may be a host with a processor or a controller, or may be a complete ultrasound apparatus (i.e., including a host and other types of probes).

Referring to fig. 1 and 3, the processing apparatus 3000 may be integrated with the supporting apparatus 2000, so that the handling of the processing apparatus 3000 and the supporting apparatus 2000 may be facilitated and the entire apparatus may be more compact. Alternatively, as shown in fig. 2, the processing device 3000 may be separate from the supporting device 2000, the processing device 3000 may be connected to the volume probe 1000 in a wired or wireless manner to provide signal interaction, and the supporting device 2000 and the volume probe 1000 may be independently movable to improve flexibility. In addition, referring to fig. 3, in some embodiments, the supporting device 2000 may further be provided with casters 4000, so that the supporting device 2000 can move freely for transportation and use.

Generally, the shielding portion of the acoustic window 300 is made of a soft material, such as porous cloth. The porous cloth has voids that may cause patient discomfort or even pain when the transducer 200 is swept across the nipple, superficial lesion, or other sensitive area during scanning. Repeated experiments and analysis of the inventor show that the reason for the phenomenon is caused by one or more of the following combinations:

firstly, the porous cloth is soft and easy to deform. Before scanning, when the sound window 300 of the breast volume probe 1000 covers and presses the breast part 5000 downwards, the porous cloth cannot flatten the breast part 5000, and in the scanning process, when the transducer 200 scans the inner side of the porous cloth, secondary pressing causes pain.

And secondly, the porous cloth has holes and gaps. The transducer 200 is in direct contact with the human tissue as it passes through these localized regions. When the coupling medium 600 is infiltrated into both sides of the porous cloth and the holes or gaps, the transducer 200 and the human tissue are more fully contacted by the coupling medium 600. When the transducer 200 scans the inner side of the cloth during scanning, the porous cloth is squeezed to roll away the coupling medium 600 at the inner side of the cloth and in the holes/gaps of the cloth, and the human tissue is driven to displace by the action: the hairs on the tissue/skin are pulled by the coupling medium 600 from the front side of the porous cloth through the holes or slits to the inside of the porous cloth, and even the hairs are crushed between the transducer 200 and the porous cloth, so that the dragging feeling and the crushing feeling are generated, and the dragging feeling and the crushing feeling are proportional to the scanning speed, and the higher the speed of the transducer 200 is, the higher the pain occurrence probability is, and the more obvious the pain feeling is.

Thirdly, the soft material is easy to wrinkle when being pushed horizontally by external force, if the pressure of the mammary gland volume probe 1000 covering and extruding the mammary gland part 5000 downwards is too small, the porous cloth can not be completely flattened and the mammary gland part 5000 can be fixed, when the transducer 200 moves to the nipple areola, skin folds or superficial raised focuses can cause the porous cloth to be overlapped, and the couplant and the human tissue hairs are pulled to be folded together, so that pain of a patient is caused, and the acquired image is deformed. Also the probability of this occurrence is related to the scanning speed, the higher the transducer 200 speed the higher the probability of occurrence.

For either reason, the result is a reduced efficiency of breast examination, when the patient experiences pain and discomfort, the examination must be suspended, the operator needs to re-scan with less pressure or slower speed, but because the pressure is too low on the transducer 200 and the acoustic window 300, there is a bubble between the acoustic window 300 and the body tissue that affects the image quality. Or the patient can not bear the full breast milk examination, and the full breast milk examination can only be stopped; but patient pain affects image quality and limits the scan speed of the transducer 200 scan.

In one embodiment, referring to fig. 4-8, the covering portion is an acoustically transparent seal 320 that seals the test port and is held in tension, and the acoustically transparent seal 320 is air-impermeable and liquid-impermeable. Wherein the acoustically transparent seal 320 is a gas-and liquid-impermeable structure.

The acoustically transparent sealing body 320 can be pre-tensioned prior to operation of the probe and maintained in tension during operation. Maintaining the acoustically transparent seal 320 in a "tensioned state" means applying a force to the acoustically transparent seal 320 such that the acoustically transparent seal 320 is in a tensioned state. At this point, in some embodiments, in this tensioned state, it may be that the material forming the acoustically transparent seal 320 is under tension but the material itself is not tensile deformed; alternatively, in other embodiments, the material forming the acoustically transparent seal 320 may itself be subject to tensile deformation (e.g., elastic deformation) in this tensioned state, for example, the material forming the acoustically transparent seal 320 may itself be elongated.

When the mammary gland examination is performed, the sound-transmitting sealing body 320 is tightly pressed on the mammary gland part 5000 of the examined person, the transducer 200 is driven by the driving mechanism 400 to move, and the mammary gland part 5000 is scanned through the sound-transmitting sealing body 320. In the case of a mammary gland examination, the outer surface of the sound-transmitting sealing body 320 is in direct contact with the mammary gland part 5000 of the subject, and the transducer 200 scans the mammary gland part 5000 inside the sound-transmitting sealing body 320. In the examination process, the sound-transmitting sealing body 320 can be always kept in a tensioning state, the sound-transmitting sealing body 320 and the mammary gland part 5000 do not move relatively, and the sound-transmitting sealing body 320 can provide a large holding force for the mammary gland part 5000 due to the fact that the sound-transmitting sealing body 320 is kept in the tensioning state, so that the mammary gland part 5000 is kept fixed, and therefore the tissues of the mammary gland part 5000 are not prone to moving in the scanning process to affect the imaging quality.

The acoustically transparent seal 320 can be made of an acoustically transparent, gas impermeable, liquid impermeable material, i.e., a film that is permeable to ultrasound but impermeable to gases and liquids. In some embodiments, the acoustically transparent seal 320 can be made using, but is not limited to, PE (polyethylene), ABS (polypropylene), and PI (polyimide) type materials. Further, the PE class can be further subdivided into LDPE (low density polyethylene), HDPE (high density polyethylene), UPE (ultra high density polyethylene) and hybrid PE (e.g. 80% PE + 20% HDPE).

The material and thickness of the acoustically transparent encapsulant 320 determine the ultrasonic transmissivity and strength of the acoustically transparent encapsulant 320. In some embodiments of the present invention, acoustically transparent seal 320 may be made of a polymeric material having good fatigue and creep resistance. Too small a thickness of the acoustically transparent sealing member 320 may cause creep or breakage due to insufficient strength, or may cause wrinkles by itself when the breast portion 5000 is pressed and fixed to affect the image quality, and too large a thickness may cause a decrease in the ultrasonic wave transmission performance, an artifact, or the like, thereby affecting the image quality. Thus, in some embodiments of the present invention, the thickness of the acoustically transparent seal 320 can be between 0.2mm ≦ a ≦ 0.5 mm.

The acoustically transparent sealing body 320 may be a single material or a single layer sealing body, and further, the inventors have found through repeated experiments and analyses that the acoustically transparent sealing body 320 made of a single material is likely to enhance the intensity of the artifact behind the tissue image. To overcome this problem, an embodiment of the present application provides a composite acoustically transparent seal 320, and the composite acoustically transparent seal 320 is combined by composite materials, so as to improve the acoustic efficiency of the acoustic window and reduce multiple artifacts.

In one embodiment, the acoustically transparent sealing body 320 is a composite layer including at least a first acoustically transparent layer and a second acoustically transparent layer, the first acoustically transparent layer and the second acoustically transparent layer are made of different acoustically transparent materials, and the first acoustically transparent layer and the second acoustically transparent layer are stacked. Wherein the first and second acoustically transparent layers can both be the side of the acoustically transparent seal 320 that faces the transducer 200 (i.e., the inner side) or the side that faces the user (i.e., the outer side).

In order to obtain a higher sound transmission efficiency, in one embodiment the composite layer further comprises a third sound-transmitting layer, the second sound-transmitting layer being located between the first sound-transmitting layer and the third sound-transmitting layer. The third sound-transmitting layer may be made of a material different from that of the second sound-transmitting layer, and the first sound-transmitting layer and the third sound-transmitting layer may be made of the same or different sound-transmitting materials. The third acoustically transparent layer may also serve as the side of acoustically transparent seal 320 that faces transducer 200 (i.e., the inner side) or the side that faces the user (i.e., the outer side).

Specifically, referring to fig. 9, a structure having three acoustically transparent layers is shown, including a first acoustically transparent layer 321, a second acoustically transparent layer 322, and a third acoustically transparent layer 323. The first sound-transmitting layer 321, the second sound-transmitting layer 322, and the third sound-transmitting layer 323 are stacked from top to bottom. Wherein the first sound-transmitting layer 321 is arranged towards the inside of the housing 100, i.e. where the transducer 200 is located, and the third sound-transmitting layer 323 is arranged towards the user.

In terms of material, the first, second, and third sound-transmitting

layers

321, 322, and 323 may be made of any one of PE (polyethylene), ABS (polypropylene), and PI (polyimide) materials. For example, in the structure shown in fig. 9, the first sound-transmitting layer 321 and the third sound-transmitting layer 323 are made of PE (polyethylene) based sound-transmitting material, and the second sound-transmitting layer 322 is made of PI (polyimide) based sound-transmitting material. Of course, the materials of the first, second and third sound-transmitting

layers

321, 322, 323 are not limited to the choices shown in fig. 9.

In terms of thickness, the thickness of the middle second sound-transmitting layer 322 may be greater than the thickness of the first sound-transmitting layer 321 and the third sound-transmitting layer 323 on both sides, for example the thickness of the second sound-transmitting layer 322 may be set between 0.1-0.3mm, such as 0.18 mm. The thickness of the first and third sound-transmitting

layers

321, 323 may be set between 0.005-0.03mm, such as 0.01 mm.

In the composite type sound-transmitting sealing body 320, the sound-transmitting layers can be tightly attached to each other, so that the existence of gaps is avoided, and the influence of gas in the gaps on the transmission of ultrasonic signals is prevented. In order to achieve close fit, in some embodiments, the sound-transmitting layers may be fixed by, but not limited to, electrostatic particle adsorption or adhesion with a small amount of ABS glue. Of course, in some other embodiments, there may be a gap between the sound-transmitting layers, and at this time, the gap may be filled with a coupling medium or other substances to eliminate air in the gap and improve image quality.

To address the problem that a single material acoustically transparent seal 320 tends to enhance artifact strength behind an image of tissue, another embodiment of the present application illustrates the structure of an acoustically transparent seal 320. In this embodiment, referring to fig. 10, the acoustically transparent sealing body 320 includes a mesh substrate 324 and a polymer material layer (not labeled, i.e. a layer outside the mesh substrate 324), at least one side of the mesh substrate 324 is covered with the polymer material layer, and the polymer material can be filled in each mesh of the mesh substrate 324, thereby forming an air-tight and liquid-tight structure.

The mesh substrate 324 may be, but is not limited to, a nylon-based porous cloth. The polymer material layer may cover the inside of the mesh substrate 324 (the side facing the transducer), the outside of the mesh substrate 324 (the side facing the user), or both the inside and outside of the mesh substrate 324.

Further, referring to fig. 11, in one embodiment, the detecting end 210 of the transducer 200 and the shielding portion of the acoustic window 300 may have a gap therebetween, and the gap is filled with a coupling medium 600 in order to eliminate air in the gap. Similarly, a coupling medium 600 may be disposed between the acoustic window 300 and the breast site 5000 to eliminate the influence of the gap.

Further, in one embodiment, the acoustic window 300 may include only the acoustically transparent seal 320, i.e., the acoustically transparent seal 320 is the acoustic window 300, and the acoustically transparent seal 320 is removably or permanently attached to the enclosure 100.

Of course, the acoustic window 300 can also be fixedly mounted on the housing 100 in a removable or non-removable manner. Referring to fig. 4-6, in other embodiments, the acoustic window 300 may further include an outer frame 310, the acoustically transparent seal 320 being tensioned and attached to the outer frame 310, the outer frame 310 being removably or permanently attached to the housing 100 to thereby attach the acoustic window 300 to the housing 100.

On the other hand, after repeated experiments and analyses, the inventor finally finds that, in the moving process of the transducer 200, the shielding portion of the acoustic window 300 will cause abrasion to the end face 211 of the detecting end 210 of the transducer 200, and especially, the faster the transducer 200 moves, the greater the abrasion effect is, further, the transducer 200 is greatly damaged, and the quality of the ultrasonic image is directly affected. Also, in order to remove air and improve image quality, as shown in fig. 8, in some embodiments, a coupling medium 600 is filled between the transducer 200 and the acoustic window 300, and between the acoustic window 300 and human tissue, and the coupling medium 600 may further increase the loss during the friction process between the transducer 200 and the acoustic window 300. In addition, the whole breast automatic scanning device belongs to a new technology, and various abnormalities such as excessive pressure, unqualified installation of the acoustic window 300 and the like can exist in the learning and using process of a technician or an ultrasonic doctor, and the service life or the performance quality of the transducer 200 can be influenced.

In view of this problem, referring to fig. 4-8, in an embodiment of the present application, a protective layer 500 is further provided, and the protective layer 500 is fixedly connected to the transducer 200, wherein at least a partial area of the end surface 211 of the detecting end 210 is covered by the protective layer 500, and at least the partial area is protected from abrasion. The covered area can be selected according to the needs, for example, in some products, the middle of the end surface 211 of the detecting end 210 has a higher wear probability, and at least the part can be covered with the protective layer 500, and for example, a side area (for example, a left side area or a right side area) of the end surface 211 of the detecting end 210 has a higher wear probability, and at least the side area can be covered with the protective layer 500. Of course, the protective layer 500 is made of an acoustically transparent material to avoid affecting the transmission of the ultrasonic signal.

The transducer 200 and the protective layer 500 do not move relatively, and the protective layer 500 can completely isolate at least one part of the end face 211 on the transducer 200 from the acoustic window 300 without direct contact friction with the acoustic window 300, so that the loss is reduced, and the service life of the transducer 200 is prolonged.

The coverage area of the protection layer 500 can be flexibly set according to the requirement, in one embodiment, the end surface 211 of the detection end 210 is provided with the lens 212, and the lens 212 is easily worn during the movement of the transducer 200, so that in one embodiment, at least the lens 212 on the end surface 211 of the detection end 210 is covered by the protection layer 500, that is, the protection layer 500 at least covers a part or the whole of the lens 212.

In one embodiment, the end surface 211 of the detecting end 210 is provided with a sensor 213, wherein the sensor 213 is located at a side of the lens 212, and in order to protect the sensor 213 and reduce abrasion thereof, the protective layer 500 may cover the lens 212 and also cover the sensor 213, i.e. the protective layer 500 covers part or all of the sensor 213. In one embodiment, the sensors 213 are arranged in pairs on either side of the lens 212, with 3 or another number of sensors 213 on each side.

The type of sensor 213 may vary depending on the signals and data that are desired to be obtained. The sensor 213 shown in this embodiment can be selected from any sensor type that can be used on the transducer 200 of a breast volume probe. For example, in one embodiment, the sensors 213 include, but are not limited to, pressure sensors for pressure signal acquisition and/or inertial navigation sensors for inertial navigation.

Of course, in order to better protect the sensing end 210 of the transducer 200, in one embodiment, the protective layer 500 may cover the entire end face 211 of the sensing end 210. Even more, referring to fig. 7 and 8, in some embodiments, the protection layer 500 may further cover one or more side surfaces of the detection end 210 adjacent to the end surface 211, so as to protect the side surfaces, provide overall protection for the detection end 210, and improve the protection effect. In addition, the contact area between the protection layer 500 and the detection terminal 210 can be increased by the one or the side surface, and especially, when a fixing method related to the contact area, such as adhesion or welding, is adopted, the fixing stability of the two can be further improved.

The protection layer 500 can be fixed to the detection end 210 without relative movement by fixing the protection layer 500 to the detection end 210 in a partial area, for example, fixing the protection layer 500 to the detection end 210 from two sides, the middle or optionally several points of the protection layer 500. Of course, the whole area of the protection layer 500 may be fixed to the detection end 210, for example, the whole area is adhered to the end surface 211 of the detection end 210, or even the side surface, so that the end surface 211 of the detection end 210 is tightly adhered to the protection layer 500, thereby improving the fixing stability.

When a partial region of the protection layer 500 is fixed to the detection end 210, a gap may exist between the protection layer 500 and the end surface 211 of the detection end 210, and in one embodiment, in order to exhaust air in the gap and improve the quality of the ultrasound image, a coupling medium 600 may be filled between the end surface 211 of the detection end 210 and the protection layer 500 to exhaust air.

In the fixing manner, the protection layer 500 may be implemented by various detachable or non-detachable manners, such as but not limited to, bonding, welding, riveting, clamping, and the like. For example, the protection layer 500 is directly adhered to the surface of the detection end 210, or fixed on the detection end 210 by welding (including various welding processes applicable to the ultrasonic probe) or riveting, or fastened and fastened with the detection end 210 by means of a fastener or the like.

Among other things, in view of the protective layer 500 being easily worn, in some embodiments, the protective layer 500 may be designed to be detachably fixed to the transducer 200 to facilitate replacement of the protective layer 500, in which case the protective layer 500 may be designed to be replaced at one time or periodically. For example, in some embodiments, the fastening may be achieved by adhesive means that can be torn off or by releasable snap-fit means.

Of course, in some embodiments, the protective layer 500 may be permanently fixed to the detection end 210 in a non-detachable manner, which is generally preferred.

In terms of materials, protective layer 500 may be formed from any feasible acoustically transparent material, such as an acoustically transparent material that is more abrasion resistant, if it is desired to improve abrasion resistance and reduce the number of disassembly steps. In some embodiments, the protective layer 500 is made of PE (polyethylene), ABS (polypropylene) and PI (polyimide) materials. Further, the PE class can be further subdivided into LDPE (low density polyethylene), HDPE (high density polyethylene), UPE (ultra high density polyethylene) and hybrid PE (e.g. 80% PE + 20% HDPE).

In terms of thickness, the protective layer 500 may be fixed on the detection end 210 at any feasible thickness, but the excessively thin protective layer 500 is easily worn through, and the excessively thick protective layer 500 may cause an effect of ultrasonic transmission, in one embodiment of the present application, the thickness a of the protective layer 500 ranges from: 0.01 mm. ltoreq. a.ltoreq.0.05 mm, for example, 0.025 mm.

Further, referring to fig. 11, in an embodiment, a gap may be formed between the protection layer 500 of the detection terminal 210 and the shielding portion of the acoustic window 300, and the gap is filled with a coupling medium 600 to eliminate air in the gap.

On the other hand, the related wires on the volume probe 1000 are all arranged along the inside or outside of the universal joint, and when the universal joint rotates, the wires also rotate, so that the service life of the wires is influenced, and the faults of torsional breakage or other structural damages of the wires often occur. These mechanisms only hope that the doctor can see the twisting degree of the exposed wire at the outside or see whether some structures are failed or not by eyes when checking the patient, and then actively stop to continue rotating the universal joint, thereby preventing the wire from being twisted off or causing other failures. Obviously, the method is distracting for doctors, depends on subjective judgment of people, has instability and unreliability, and cannot completely avoid risks; if the operator does not judge the result correctly, a machine failure or the like may occur.

In order to solve the problem, the embodiment of the application also provides the universal joint with the limiting structure. Referring to fig. 12-15, the universal joint includes a connector 2310, a joint seat 2320 and a rotary joint, the volume probe 1000 is fixed to the connector 2310, the joint seat 2320 is disposed on the cantilever 2200, and the rotary joint includes a first rotary bracket 2331 and a second rotary bracket 2332. The connecting head 2310 is rotatably connected to the first rotating bracket 2331, and the rotation axis of the connecting head and the first rotating bracket is a first rotation axis (Z axis). The first rotation bracket 2331 is rotatably connected to the second rotation bracket 2332, and both rotation axes are the second rotation axis (X-axis). The second rotating frame 2332 is rotatably connected to the joint seat 2320, and the rotation axis of the second rotating frame 2332 is a third rotation axis (Y axis). The first rotation axis, the second rotation axis and the third rotation axis are vertical to each other. The joint seat 2320 has a limiting structure thereon for limiting a rotation range of the rotating joint and/or the connecting head 2310 relative to the joint seat 2320.

Specifically, with continued reference to fig. 12-15, in one embodiment, the second rotating bracket 2332 and the first rotating bracket 2331 are disposed in the joint seat 2320, the connecting head 2310 includes a rod 2311, and the rod 2311 is disposed in the joint seat 2320 and supported on the joint seat 2320 and can move relative to the joint seat 2320. The first rotating bracket 2331 is a ring-shaped bracket, and the rod portion 2311 of the connector 2310 can be rotatably arranged on the ring-shaped bracket of the first rotating bracket 2331 along the Z-axis; the first rotation bracket 2331 is rotatably disposed on the second rotation bracket 2332 along the X-axis; the second rotation bracket 2332 is rotatable about the Y-axis relative to a stop structure that forms a rotational stop for the second rotation bracket 2332.

Wherein, second rotation support 2332 is rotatable relatively limit structure 2341, and limit structure 2341 forms to rotate spacing second rotation support 2332, mainly includes two kinds of condition: the first and second rotation brackets 2332 are rotatable relative to the limiting structure 2341, and the corresponding limiting structure 2341 limits the rotation of the second rotation bracket 2332; the sub-components in the second and second rotation brackets 2332 are rotatable relative to the limiting structure 2341, and the corresponding limiting structure 2341 limits the rotation of the sub-components.

With the above design and improvement, the connector 2310 can float freely in space (i.e. can rotate around X, Y and the Z axis) and can limit the rotation range (i.e. can not rotate around the Y axis infinitely). Therefore, not only can the twisting off of the wires inside and outside the connector 2310 be avoided, but also the collision between the large-volume part (such as a probe box) fixedly connected with the connector 2310 and other parts when the connector 2310 rotates infinitely can be avoided.

With continued reference to fig. 12-15, in one embodiment, the shaft 2311 of the connector 2310 is rotatably mounted in the annular bracket along the Z-axis, such that the connector 2310 can rotate along the Z-axis. Wherein, the annular support can be a circular ring support.

With continued reference to fig. 12-15, in one embodiment, the second rotation bracket 2332 includes a ring-shaped member, and the first rotation bracket 2331 is rotatably disposed on the ring-shaped member of the second rotation bracket 2332 along the X-axis. Wherein, the annular part can be a circular ring part.

In one embodiment, with continued reference to fig. 12-15, the second rotating frame 2332 includes a ring-shaped member and a pair of mounting rods 2332a disposed on the ring-shaped member, one end of the mounting rod 2332a is fixedly connected to the ring-shaped member, and the other end of the mounting rod 2332a is protruded with a mounting shaft. A pair of through holes are provided on the ring-shaped bracket of the corresponding first rotating bracket 2331. The first rotation bracket 2331 is rotatably disposed on the mounting shaft of the second rotation bracket 2332 along the X-axis through the through hole, so that the first rotation bracket 2331 can rotate along the X-axis, and the connector 2310 can rotate along the X-axis. The second rotation bracket 2332 is rotatable relative to the limiting structure 2341, and the limiting structure 2341 limits the rotation of the second rotation bracket 2332, so as to limit the rotation of the connector 2310 within a certain angle range. In one embodiment, referring to fig. 15, at least one of the mounting rods 2332a may be provided with a stop 2333, and the limiting structure 2341 limits the rotation of the stop 2333, so as to limit the rotation of the connector 2310 within a certain angle.

In another embodiment, the second rotating frame 2332 comprises a ring-shaped member and a pair of mounting shafts disposed inside the ring-shaped member, wherein both the mounting shafts are vertically disposed on the inner wall of the ring-shaped member along the X-axis direction and are fixedly connected with the inner wall of the ring-shaped member. A pair of through holes are provided on the ring-shaped bracket of the corresponding first rotating bracket 2331. The first rotation bracket 2331 is rotatably disposed on the mounting shaft of the second rotation bracket 2332 along the X-axis through the through hole, so that the first rotation bracket 2331 can rotate along the X-axis, and the connector 2310 can rotate along the X-axis. The second rotation bracket 2332 is rotatable relative to the limiting structure 2341, and the limiting structure 2341 limits the rotation of the second rotation bracket 2332, so as to limit the rotation of the connector 2310 within a certain angle range.

The two embodiments described above belong to the first case described above: since the components of the second rotation frame 2332 are fixedly connected together, when the second rotation frame 2332 rotates along the Y-axis, the whole second rotation frame 2332 can rotate relative to the limiting structure 2341, and the corresponding limiting structure 2341 limits the rotation of the whole second rotation frame 2332, so as to limit the rotation of the connector 2310 within a certain angle range.

In one embodiment, with continued reference to fig. 12-15, the joint block 2320 further includes a locking member 2340, the locking member 2340 is disposed in the second rotating frame 2332 and above the rod portion 2311 of the connecting head 2310, and the locking member 2340 can move toward the rod portion 2311 of the connecting head 2310 along the Y-axis direction and contact with the connecting portion of the connecting head 2310 to lock the connecting head 2310 to be stationary.

In one embodiment, the second rotation bracket 2332 includes a pair of circular arc-shaped members disposed around the locking member 2340; the first rotation bracket 2331 is rotatably provided on a pair of circular arc-shaped members of the second rotation bracket 2332 along the X-axis.

In one embodiment, with continued reference to fig. 12-15, a limiting structure 2341 may be provided on the locking element 2340. In one embodiment, the limiting structure 2341 is fixedly disposed relative to the joint seat 2320, such as the limiting structure 2341 is fixedly connected to the joint seat 2320; in addition, there are other ways, which may be determined according to the actual situation of the design and are not limited herein. In an embodiment, with continued reference to fig. 12-15, the joint seat 2320 further includes a sleeve bottom cover, the sleeve bottom cover is provided with a spherical supporting inner wall, and the rod portion 2311 of the connecting head 2310 is spherical and supported on the spherical supporting inner wall for preventing the connecting portion of the connecting head 2310 from falling off from the sleeve.

According to the above embodiments: the universal joint is designed such that the connector 2310 has freedom of rotation (i.e., free floating in space) about X, Y and the Z-axis, respectively, while the limiting structure 2341 limits the rotation range of the connector about the Y-axis. Therefore, when the device is used in a mammary machine, the twisting off of the inner and outer wires of the connector 2310 can be avoided, and the collision between a large-volume part (such as a probe box) fixedly connected with the connector 2310 and other parts when the connector 2310 rotates infinitely can be avoided.

In addition, another universal joint is provided in another embodiment of the present application, please refer to fig. 16-19, which includes a ball body 2370, a joint seat 2320 spherically fitted with the ball body 2370, and an anti-rotation connecting component. The joint seat 2320 is connected with the cantilever 2200, the joint seat 2320 is provided with a mounting cavity, the mounting cavity is provided with a spherical cavity wall, and the ball head 2370 is movably arranged in the spherical cavity wall. The volume probe 1000 is connected to the ball 2370. The anti-rotation connection assembly includes a snake bone 2351 and a rotating body 2352 connected with the snake bone 2351. The snake bone 2351 has several snake bone segments 2353, and the snake bone segments 2353 include a base 2354 and a connector 2355 projecting from the base 2354. The base 2354 is provided with a first through hole 2359, and the connecting rod 2355 is provided with a second through hole 2358. The connecting rod 2355 of one snake bone section 2353 between two adjacent snake bone sections 2353 is embedded into the base 2354 of the other snake bone section 2353 and is rotatably connected by the rotating shaft 2360. The shaft 2360 can move within the first through hole 2359 of the base 2354, which can cause one snake bone segment 2353 to twist relative to another snake bone segment 2353. The rotating body 2352 is rotatably disposed on the joint seat 2320, and the joint seat 2320 is provided with a limiting structure 2341 for limiting a rotating range of the rotating body 2352.

Specifically, in one embodiment, referring to FIGS. 16-19, the anti-rotation connection assembly can be a serpentine body 2351 that can bend and resist twisting. The snake bone 2351 capable of bending and not twisting comprises a plurality of snake bone sections 2353 which are formed by staggered and hinged connection. The uppermost snake bone joint 2353 is connected to the rotating body 2352, and the lowermost snake bone joint 2353 is connected to the connector 2310. Each serpentine segment 2353 may have the same structure, but the uppermost and lowermost serpentine segments 2353 may also be adapted in structure according to the connection with the corresponding connection member. Each snake bone segment 2353 comprises a connecting rod 2355 and a base 2354, the base 2354 comprises a support surface 2356 and two side walls 2357, the two side walls 2357 are connected with the support surface 2356 and are oppositely arranged, and a gap is formed between the two side walls. The connector bar 2355 is disposed on a support surface 2356 of the base 2354 and extends away from the side wall 2357. The support surface 2356 and the two side walls 2357 enclose to form an accommodating space, and the connecting rod 2355 of the adjacent snake bone joint 2353 can extend into the accommodating space of the base 2354.

The connecting rod 2355 is provided with a first through hole 2359, two second through holes 2358 are correspondingly arranged on two opposite side walls 2357 of the base 2354, the connecting rod 2355 of one snake bone section 2353 between two adjacent snake bone sections 2353 is embedded into the base 2354 of the other snake bone section 2353 (for example, referring to fig. 17, the connecting rod 2355 of the lower snake bone section 2353 is embedded into the base 2354 of the upper snake bone section 2353), the first through hole 2359 on the connecting rod 2355 is aligned with the second through hole 2358 on the side wall of the base, and a rotating shaft 2360 is adopted to penetrate through the through holes of the base 2354 and the connecting rod 2355, so that the two adjacent snake bone sections 2353 are mutually hinged together, and the two adjacent snake bone sections 2353 can rotate around the rotating shaft 2360.

Referring to fig. 16-19, in an embodiment, a limiting tooth 2321a is disposed on the ball head 2321, a limiting groove 2352a is disposed on the joint seat 2320 (specifically, the top cover 2352 of the joint seat 2320), and the limiting tooth 2321a is assembled in the limiting groove 2352a of the top cover 2352 and moves along the track of the limiting groove 2352 a. The track of limiting groove 2352a limits the rotation of rotating body 2352, and further limits the connector 2310 to rotate within a certain range, so that the connector cannot rotate infinitely, the internal and external wires of the rotating part can be prevented from being twisted off, and the reliability of the mammary machine is further improved. This structural arrangement also limits the relative rotation of the rotor 2352 and the top cover 2352 by the orbital movement of the spacing teeth 2321a along the spacing groove 2352 a.

In this embodiment, the connecting head 2310 can swing within a certain taper angle range relative to the joint seat 2320, and can also rotate around the axis shown in fig. 19 relative to the joint seat 2320. The swing range of the connector 2310 is determined by the bending performance of the anti-rotation connecting component. When the anti-rotation connection assembly is a bendable anti-rotation connection assembly that cannot be twisted, the range of rotation of the connector 2310 about the axis X is determined by the range of the top 2352 limiting the rotating body 2352. When the anti-rotation connection assembly is bendable and can be twisted at a certain angle, the range of rotation of the connector 2310 about the axis X is determined by both the range of the top cover 2352 limiting the rotor 2352 and the range of the anti-rotation connection assembly.

In some embodiments, the rotation angle of the connecting head 2310 relative to the joint seat 2320 may be less than 360 ° to further control the degree of torsion of the inner and outer wires. In some embodiments, the rotation angle of the connection head 2310 relative to the joint seat 2320 may be greater than 360 °, thereby improving the rotation flexibility of the rotation member while reducing the possibility of wire twisting. For example, when the rotating device is applied to an ultrasonic mammary machine, the rotating range of more than 360 degrees helps doctors to more flexibly use the probe to scan a patient.

Further, in some embodiments, referring to fig. 1 and 2, the suspension arm 2200 includes at least two sub-suspension arms 2210, the two sub-suspension arms 2210 are rotatably connected to each other, and the rotation axes are vertically arranged, so as to achieve the floating of the suspension arm 2200 in a plane. In order to increase the flexibility of use of the volume probe 1000, at least one of the sub-booms 2210 of the boom 2200 is designed as a vertical lift structure, for example as a vertical lift mechanism or a parallelogram mechanism, so that the boom 2200 can be shifted in position both horizontally and vertically. Of course, damping structures are provided on joints (such as lifting joints, rotational joints, etc.) of the sub-suspension arm 2210, so that the volume probe 1000 can be arbitrarily stopped at a desired position, and the movement of the volume probe 1000 by a doctor is more convenient.

The present invention has been described in terms of specific examples, which are provided to aid understanding of the utility model and are not intended to be limiting. For a person skilled in the art to which the utility model pertains, several simple deductions, modifications or substitutions may be made according to the idea of the utility model.

Claims

1. The mammary gland ultrasonic detection equipment is characterized by comprising a supporting device, a volume probe and a processing device;

2. The breast ultrasound testing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the acoustically transparent sealing body is a composite layer, the composite layer comprises at least a first acoustically transparent layer and a second acoustically transparent layer, the first acoustically transparent layer and the second acoustically transparent layer are made of different acoustically transparent materials, and the first acoustically transparent layer and the second acoustically transparent layer are stacked.

3. The breast ultrasound examination apparatus of claim 2 wherein the composite layer further comprises a third acoustically transparent layer, the second acoustically transparent layer being positioned between the first acoustically transparent layer and the third acoustically transparent layer, the third acoustically transparent layer being of a different material than the second acoustically transparent layer, the first acoustically transparent layer and the third acoustically transparent layer being made of the same or different acoustically transparent material.

4. The breast ultrasound examination device of claim 3 wherein the second acoustically transparent layer is made of a polyimide-based acoustically transparent material.

5. The breast ultrasound examination device of claim 4 wherein at least one of the first and third acoustically transparent layers is a polyethylene-based acoustically transparent material.

6. The breast ultrasound testing device of claim 1 wherein said acoustically transparent enclosure comprises a mesh substrate and a layer of polymeric material, at least one side of said mesh substrate being covered with said layer of polymeric material.

7. The breast ultrasound examination device of claim 6 wherein the mesh substrate is a nylon-based porous cloth.

8. The breast ultrasound examination apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the universal joint comprises a connector, a joint seat and a rotary joint, the volume probe is fixed with the connector, the joint seat is provided on the cantilever, the rotary joint comprises a first rotary bracket and a second rotary bracket, the connector is rotatably connected with the first rotary bracket, and the rotation axes of the connector and the first rotary bracket are a first rotation axis; the first rotating support and the second rotating support are rotatably connected, and the rotating axes of the first rotating support and the second rotating support are second rotating axes; the second rotating support is rotatably connected with the joint seat, and the rotating axis of the second rotating support and the rotating axis of the joint seat are a third rotating axis; the first rotating axis, the second rotating axis and the third rotating axis are vertical to each other in pairs; the joint seat is provided with a limiting structure for limiting the rotating range of the rotating joint and/or the connecting head relative to the joint seat.

9. The ultrasonic breast detection device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the universal joint comprises a ball head body, a joint seat and an anti-rotation connecting component, the joint seat is in spherical fit with the ball head body, the joint seat is connected with the cantilever, the joint seat is provided with a mounting cavity, the mounting cavity is provided with a spherical cavity wall, the ball head body is movably arranged in the spherical cavity wall, and the volume probe is connected with the ball head body; the anti-rotation connecting assembly comprises a snake bone body and a rotating body connected with the snake bone body, the snake bone body is provided with a plurality of snake bone joints, each snake bone joint comprises a base and a connecting rod protruding from the base, the base is provided with a first through hole, the connecting rod is provided with a second through hole, the connecting rod of one snake bone joint between two adjacent snake bone joints is embedded into the base of the other snake bone joint, the two snake bone joints are rotatably connected through a rotating shaft, and the rotating shaft can move in the first through hole of the base to drive the one snake bone joint to rotate relative to the other snake bone joint; the rotating body is rotatably arranged on the joint seat, and the joint seat is provided with a limiting structure for limiting the rotating range of the rotating body.

10. The breast ultrasound examination apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein the boom comprises at least two sub-booms, the two sub-booms are rotatably connected to each other, and at least one of the sub-booms is a vertical lifting structure, so that the boom can change positions in both horizontal and vertical directions.