GB2326944A - Hand held ultrasound probe unit - Google Patents

Description

HAND-HELD PROBE UNIT The present invention relates to the field of ultrasonic scanning of live animals, for the purpose of monitoring and/or measuring one or more characteristics of the animal.

More specifically, the invention relates to a hand-held probe unit for use in such ultrasonic scanning.

Prior to the present invention, where a live animal was to be scanned using an ultrasonic probe it was necessary for the animal to be first restrained, generally by a person and/or a mechanical means, and for the person carrying out the scanning to apply a small amount of lubricant to a portion of the animal's skin to be scanned and then to bring an ultrasonic probe into contact with said lubricated portion of the skin and scan that portion of the animal. Problems with this procedure are that it is time consuming, particularly where, for example, the animal is a sheep with a thick woolly coat which must be parted in order to reveal the portion of skin to be lubricated. Also, where the animal is being restrained by a person, rather than mechanical means, the procedure may require two people i.e. one to restrain the sheep and one to carry out the lubrication and scanning process. A further problem is that it may be difficult for the person operating the scanner to identify and scan the same portion of each animal, thus leading to inconsistencies with the scanning results obtained for different animals.

This is a significant problem where the results of the scanning process are being used to grade the animals e.g.

according to their fat content, since consistency of grading is of particular importance.

It is an aim of the present invention to avoid or minimise one or more of the foregoing disadvantages.

According to the present invention there is provided a handheld probe unit for use in scanning at least a portion of a live animal, the probe unit comprising a body mounting an ultrasonic scanning probe with a scanning head of the probe disposed in a sole portion of the probe unit, the probe unit having a nose portion at a leading end of the sole portion, forward of the probe scanning head, for parting the fleece or hair of an animal to be scanned, the body being provided with conduit means extending between a lubricant supply inlet means and a lubricant outlet means in the sole portion of the probe unit and forward of the probe scanning head, and said body having a hand grip portion whereby, in use, a user may hold the probe unit in contact with the animal's body and drive it thereover parting the fleece or hair, bringing the sole portion substantially into contact with the skin of the animal, applying lubricant to the skin via said conduit means, and drawing the probe scanning head over the lubricated skin.

An advantage of the present invention is that the user may part the animal's fleece or hair, apply the lubricant to the animal's skin, and scan the lubricated portion of the animal, in a single motion i.e. as the probe unit is driven along the animal's body, in contact therewith, by the user.

In use of the probe unit the lubricant inlet means is preferably connected to a lubricant supply and injection means (external to the probe unit) including a reservoir of lubricant, and the scanning probe is preferably connected to ultrasound imaging means (preferably also external to the probe unit) including ultrasound generating and receiving means and/or ultrasound imaging means and/or ultrasound image processing means.

Advantageously, the probe unit further includes a manually operable trigger means formed and arranged for triggering the injection of lubricant into the hollow channel of the housing via the lubricant inlet means, so as to cause lubricant to be expelled from the outlet means, onto the animal's skin. Said trigger means may, for example, be formed and arranged for opening a valve means provided in the lubricant inlet means of the probe unit, for example, by depression of the trigger means by a user.

The probe unit may additionally be provided with a positioning device for assisting a user in the positioning of the scanning head of the scanning probe on the animal's body, in use of the probe unit. The positioning device may comprise spacer means, conveniently in the form of at least one substantially rigid member extending outwardly from one side of the probe unit and comprising a generally arc-shaped or concave portion at its free end for engaging (loosely) with the spine or backbone of the animal, or alternatively with a rib of the animal. For example, the or each said substantially rigid member may be of a predetermined length such that, in use of the probe unit, the arc-shaped member(s) may be positioned over the backbone of the animal, whereby the scanning head mounted in the body of the probe unit is spaced a predetermined distance from the animal's backbone and travels forwardly, generally parallel to the backbone, during the scanning operation. This has the advantage that a desired portion of the animal may be located and scanned accurately and speedily, and where a number of animals are being scanned, the same portion of the body of each animal for scanning may be easily and speedily located using the spacer means. Alternatively, the or each said substantially rigid member may be of a predetermined length such that, in use of the probe unit, the arc-shaped member(s) may be positioned over a rib of the animal, whereby, during scanning, the scanning probe travels over the animal's side, moving generally parallel to the rib of the animal.

According to another aspect of the invention we provide ultrasound scanning apparatus comprising a hand-held probe unit as afore-described, lubricant supply and injection means for injecting lubricant into the conduit means of the handheld probe unit, and ultrasound imaging means for connection to the scanning probe in the probe unit. The ultrasound imaging means preferably includes ultrasound generating and receiving means and image display means, and may optionally further include image processing means.

The lubricant supply and injection means may comprise a pressurized bottle of lubricant and a conduit means for connecting said bottle of lubricant to the lubricant supply inlet means of the housing.

According to a third aspect, the invention comprises apparatus for use in analysing a live animal, the apparatus comprising the afore-described ultrasound scanning apparatus incorporating said hand-held probe unit, and constraining means formed and arranged for engaging the trunk of the animal in a substantially immobile position, whereby a user may hold the hand-held probe unit in contact with a substantially immobilised portion of the animal and drive it theralong so as to obtain an ultrasound image thereof.

The latter embodiment of the invention has the advantage of eliminating the need for the person carrying out the scanning operation, or any additional person(s), to hold or constrain the animal while the ultrasound scanning is carried out. This improves the efficiency, consistency and accuracy of the ultrasound scanning and/or grading process being carried out.

The image display means may be visually calibrated for grading an animal according to the depth of a fat layer present in the scanned ultrasound image of the animal obtained using the scanning apparatus.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig.l is a side view of a hand-held probe unit according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; Fig.2 is a block diagram illustrating schematically an ultrasound scanning apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention; Fig.3(a) is a plan view of a further embodiment a hand-held probe unit according to the invention; Fig.3(b) is a detail side view of a portion of the unit of Fig.3(a); Fig.4 is a side view of a grading apparatus for lambs or sheep, incorporating the hand-held probe unit of Fig.l or Fig.2; Fig.5 is a partial end view of the apparatus of Fig.4, showing a lamb supported within a conveyor belt arrangement of the apparatus; and Fig.6 is a schematic representation of an ultrasound image obtained by scanning a lamb, as viewed on a display screen according to a scanning apparatus of the invention.

Fig.l shows a hand-held probe unit 1 according to the invention. The unit 1 comprises a body 2 in which a scanning probe 4 is mounted. The scanning probe 4 has a scanning head 3 disposed in a sole portion 5 of the probe unit 1 so that the scanning head will be brought into contact with an animal's body when the sole portion 5 of the unit 1 is brought into contact with the animal's body. The body 2 is generally foot-shaped with a toe or 'nose" portion 6 at a leading end of the sole portion 5, forward of the scanning probe 4. An upstanding portion 13 of the body 2, above a trailing end of the sole portion 5, provides a hand-grip for a user. The sole portion 5 tapers forwardly to a narrow point at the forwardmost tip 11 of the nose portion 6 which is shaped so as to part the fleece of hair of an animal when the sole portion of the body 2 is driven along the body of an animal, in contact therewith, by a user. To optimise the fleece parting action the nose portion 6 is tapered in both the horizontal and vertical cross-sectional planes thereof, the tip 11 of the nose portion thus being elevated slightly above the level of the rest of the sole portion of the unit 1, as shown in Fig.l. A conduit 7 in the body 2 of the unit extends between an inlet 8 in an upper end 9 of the body 2, and an outlet 10 in the sole portion 5. A lubricating substance, conveniently in the form of a gel, may be applied directly to the animal's skin via the outlet 10 in the sole portion 5 by injecting it into the inlet 8 during use of the probe unit 1. The outlet 10 is located between the probe scanning head 3 and the nose portion 6 so that, as the probe unit 1 is driven forwardly along the animal's body (in the direction indicated by arrow F) the nose portion parts the fleece/hair, the gel is applied to the animal's skin, and the scanning probe scans the lubricated skin, all in one motion.

Injection of the lubricant may be controlled by a trigger 12 provided in the unit 1 and linked to a lubricant reservoir and injection means 14 external to the probe unit 1, as shown schematically in Fig.2. The fluid reservoir 14 is connected to the inlet 8 of the probe unit 1 by means of a conduit 15.

The reservoir is a pressurised container of lubricant the injection of which into the probe unit is controlled by a valve 16 (e.g. a spring loaded valve) in the inlet 8 of the probe unit body 2, opening/closing of the valve being controllable by the trigger 12 on the unit 1, the trigger 12 being mechanically linked to the valve in the inlet 8. The scanning probe 4 is electrically linked (via leads 17), in use, to an ultrasound imaging means (external to the probe unit 1) comprising ultrasound generating and receiving equipment 20 linked to an ultrasound image display unit 21 having a visual display screen 22, as indicated schematically in Fig.2.

Fig. 3(a) shows a further possible embodiment of a hand-held probe unit 1 according to the invention. Where the probe unit is being used for scanning sheep or lambs to obtain ultrasound data from which the sheep can be graded according to their fat content, it has been found that accurate and consistent fat gradings may be obtained by scanning that portion of the lamb's body which is where the lumbar vertebrae meet the ribs on the lamb's back, preferably where the first two lumbar vertebrae meet the last rib of the lamb.

In order to assist the user in correctly locating and scanning this portion of the lamb, the hand-held probe unit may have two spacer rods 24,26 integrally attached, or mechanically or adhesively fixed, thereto and having arched or cupped free end portions 25,27 (one of which is shown in detail in Fig.3(b)) designed to sit on the spine or backbone S of the animal and slide therealong during scanning of the desired portion of the lamb's back, thus ensuring that the scanning head of the probe unit follows a continuous, generally linear scanning path along the lamb's back, generally parallel to the lamb's backbone, and at a predetermined lateral distance therefrom which is the same for each sheep being scanned.

Alternatively the spacer rods may be used to follow the path of a chosen rib of the lamb, so that the scanning head of the probe unit travels over one of the lamb's sides during the scanning process. Where scanning is carried out in this manner, the length of the spacer rods 24,26 and/or the configuration of the arched end portions 25,27 thereof may be specifically designed for this purpose.

The body 2 of the unit 1 may conveniently be formed in a metal material. The body (or at least the nose portion thereof) can then be sprayed or otherwise coated in a lowfriction material plastics material so as to reduce frictional resistance when the nose portion is driven through the animal's fleece/hair. Alternatively, the body 2 could be moulded from a plastics material, preferably having lowfriction characteristics. The spacer rods 24,26 may be made from a rigid plastics material and may be permanently or removably fixed to the body 2 of the unit 1. The size of the acute angle of the tapered nose portion, in the horizontal plane thereof, is approximately 15 to 30 degrees (see Fig.3(a)).

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate an apparatus for use in analysing a live animal. This apparatus is described and claimed in British Patent Application No. 9625576.5 the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Fig.4 shows a mobile unit 31 for use in the grading of sheep or lambs 32, specifically for grading them according to their "back-fat". The mobile unit 31 comprises lamb constraining means in the form of a conveyor belt arrangement 33 for engaging at least one lamb 32 within an engaging reach 33a thereof so as to substantially immobilise the trunk of the lamb while a portion of the lamb is scanned by the scanning head of a scanning probe 34, operated by a human operator (not shown). The conveyor belt arrangement 33 is mounted on elongate supporting elements 35,36 which, in turn, are mounted on a platform 37. The platform is supported on four wheels (only two shown) 38,39. A seat 41 is provided on the platform 37 for the (optional) use of the operator. Two ramps 47,48 are provided at receiving 49 and exit 50 ends respectively of the conveyor belt arrangement 33. The ramps extend between the ground G and the receiving and exit ends 49,50 and each comprise a base 51 and two relatively high sides 52.

The ultrasonic scanning probe 34 is part of an ultrasound imaging system provided in the mobile unit 31. The system also includes a generating and receiving unit 40 for sending and receiving electrical signals to and from the scanning probe 34. As shown schematically in Fig.4, the generating and receiving unit 40 is also connected to a personal computer 45 including a microprocessor. The microprocessor is also connected to a Visual Display Unit (VDU) 46 of the personal computer 45.

Fig.5 shows a partial end view of the apparatus, at the receiving end 49 of the conveyor belt arrangement 33, (the respective ramp 47 being omitted for clarity) and showing the belt arrangement with and without a lamb 32 engaged therein, respectively. As illustrated in Figs.l and 2, the conveyor belt system 33 comprises two endless belts 53,54 disposed in a generally wedge-shaped arrangement, the two belts being supported on the elongate supports 35,35 on the platform 37 and by generally vertical side walls 57,58 mounted on the supports 35,36 respectively. The engaging reach 33a of the arrangement extends substantially horizontally in the direction of travel (indicated by arrows shown in Fig. 1) of the belts 53,54.

The endless belts 53,54 are driven by drive means in the form of drive wheels or rollers (not shown) powered by an electric motor (not shown). The speed of the motor can be controlled by the operator by means of a control unit which is itself linked to the microprocessor of the computer 45, thus enabling the operator to control the speed of the motor, and hence the conveyor belts 53,54, using the computer 45.

Alternatively, the motor may be switched on and off (thus controlling the rate at which lambs are carried through the system) by means of a foot pedal for the operator, linked to the electric motor.

The afore-described hand-held probe unit may be used in conjunction with the apparatus of Figs.4 and 5, in place of the basic scanning probe 34 indicated schematically in Fig.4.

Thus, in use of the apparatus, the motor is switched on so as to drive the endless belts 53,54. Lambs 32 are fed up the first ramp 47, preferably one at a time, towards the receiving end 49 of the conveyor belt arrangement 33. The upper end of the this ramp 47 is arranged so as to be more or less level with upper surfaces of the two supporting elements 35,36 mounted on the platform 37 so that a lamb 32, reaching the receiving end 49 of the conveyor belt arrangement 33, walks forward so as to be received between the two belts 53,54, while finding its legs and feet 62 fall through a gap 55 between the belts, as illustrated in Fig. 3. The trunk 64 of the lamb is gripped and supported by the belts 53,54 so that the lamb is carried along in the belts towards the operator who is disposed adjacent the conveyor belt arrangement, ready to scan a desired portion of the lamb's back with the hand-held probe unit 1. The lamb is immobilised in the belt arrangement 33, unable to gain any leverage with its feet, and thus it is relatively easy for the operator to scan the desired portion of the lamb.

As described in GB9625576.5, the ultrasound scanning data obtained using the scanning probe can be displayed on a VDU 46. In the preferred embodiment described therein, a "frozen" digital image is obtained (using a frame grabber) which is then subjected to digital image processing and analysis (by the computer 15) in order to determine a grading for the animal according to its fat content i.e. the depth of the fat layer seen in the scanned image.

In a simpler embodiment, the apparatus incorporating the hand-held probe unit 1 may be used simply to obtain a live ultrasound image of a scanned portion of the animal without performing any computerised analysis of the image. The output from the scanning probe may simply be displayed as a live ultrasound image on a screen 22 of an ultrasound image display unit 21, as shown in Fig.2. Grading of the animal may be achieved by means of a marking system applied to the screen 22 on which the live image is displayed, in order to calibrate the screen. This is illustrated by Fig.6. The marking system consists of a number of parallel horizontal lines applied to the screen (e.g. painted or printed onto the outer surface of the screen) at predetermined spacing widths from each other, so as to define grading bands corresponding to different depths of the fat layer in the lamb. Since the ultrasound image obtained using the scanning probe is generally in a layered format, the fat, muscle and tissue layers (70,72,74) of the animal appearing as adjacent, generally horizontal layers on the screen, an operator may immediately see which grading band the animal falls into by observing which band a lower edge of the fat layer extends into (or alternatively how many bands the fat layer extends over. Fig.6 which shows a four band grading scheme (Bands 1,2,3, & 4) defined by lines A,B,C and D on the image display screen 22, in which the depth 6 of the fat layer 70 in the scanned image is such that a lower edge thereof lies between grading lines B and C on the screen, thus indicating that the animal should be graded as "Band 4". This technique offers some advantages since it increases the rate at which animals e.g. sheep may be scanned and graded, the hand-held probe unit ensuring that consistent and accurate ultrasound images are obtained by the user.

In an alternative embodiment of the apparatus, the ramps 47,48 may be replaced by extensions to the conveyor belt arrangement at the receiving and exit ends 49,50 thereof, so that each animal is received directly into the moving conveyor, from the ground at the receiving end 49 of the system. This may be advantageous where the animals to be scanned are reluctant to walk up a ramp e.g. it is very difficult to get pigs to walk up a ramp.

Claims (7)

CLAXMS

1. A hand-held probe unit for use in scanning at least a portion of a live animal, the probe unit comprising a body mounting an ultrasonic scanning probe with a scanning head of the probe disposed in a sole portion of the probe unit, the probe unit having a nose portion at a leading end of the sole portion, forward of the probe scanning head, for parting the fleece or hair of an animal to be scanned, the body being provided with conduit means extending between a lubricant supply inlet means and a lubricant outlet means in the sole portion of the probe unit and forward of the probe scanning head, and said body having a hand grip portion whereby, in use, a user may hold the probe unit in contact with the animal's body and drive it thereover parting the fleece or hair, bringing the sole portion substantially into contact with the skin of the animal, applying lubricant to the skin via said conduit means, and drawing the probe scanning head over the lubricated skin.

2. A hand-held probe unit according to claim 1, further including a manually operable trigger means formed and arranged for triggering the injection of lubricant into the hollow channel of the housing via the lubricant inlet means, so as to cause lubricant to be expelled from the outlet means onto the animal's skin.

3. A hand-held probe unit according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the hand-held probe unit is provided with a positioning device for assisting a user in positioning the scanning head of the scanning probe on the animal's body, in use of the probe unit.

4. Ultrasound scanning apparatus for use in analysing a live animal, the apparatus comprising: a hand-held probe unit according to any of claims 1 to 3; lubricant supply and injection means for injecting lubricant into the conduit means of the hand-held probe unit; and ultrasound imaging means for connection to the scanning probe in said hand-held unit.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, further including constraining means formed and arranged for engaging the trunk of the animal, whereby a user may hold the hand-held probe unit in contact with a substantially immobilised portion of the animal and drive it therealong so as to obtain an ultrasound image thereof.

6. Apparatus according to claim 4 or claim 5, further including image display means for displaying the ultrasound image of said portion of the animal, and wherein said image display means is visually calibrated for grading an animal according to the depth of a fat layer present in said displayed ultrasound image.

7. A hand-held probe unit substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated by Fig.l of the accompanying drawings.