JP2006271605A - Ultrasonic probe - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ultrasonic probe which is excellent in operability and which is reliable by solving the problem that a conventional ultrasonic probe can be broken due to falling impact since it slips easily when a projecting acoustic coupling agent such as gel is stuck to a grip part. <P>SOLUTION: A housing 3 is formed of two or more kinds of hard part 3a and soft part 3b containing a plurality of materials where the difference of elastic modulus is not smaller than double at least. On the outer peripheral surface of the housing 3, at a part which at least the hand or finger of an operator touches, soft material is arranged. The soft part is deformed by the difference of hardness between the hard part and itself in the case of gripping a grip part to improve gripping force, so that the ultrasonic probe which is excellent in operability and which is reliable is realized. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe used for medical ultrasonic diagnosis and the like.

Conventionally, as a structure of an ultrasonic probe, what was described in the following patent document 1 is known. A configuration of a conventional ultrasonic probe will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A to 8B. 6A and 6B are two kinds of cross-sectional views showing an example of a conventional ultrasonic probe, and FIGS. 7A to 7C are a plan view, a front view, and a right side view, respectively, showing the appearance thereof. 8A and 8B are a perspective view and a three-dimensional exploded view thereof. The ultrasonic element unit 14 that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves has an acoustic lens 15 that focuses the ultrasonic waves on the living body contact surface, and the opposite side is connected to a cable 11 that transmits and receives signals to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. The ultrasonic element portion 14 and a part of the cable 11 are covered with a housing 13, and the cable 11 extending from the housing 13 is provided with a cable bush 12 for preventing disconnection due to bending of the cable 11. ing. The housing 13 is conventionally formed of a hard plastic material.
JP-A-8-10255

  However, in the above-described conventional ultrasonic probe housing, when the operator grasps the grip part and performs ultrasonic diagnosis, the operator's hand and fingers are easily slipped on the surface of the grip part. It is difficult to grip. In ultrasonic diagnosis, a gel-like acoustic coupling agent is applied between a living body and an acoustic lens in order to compensate for an air layer that does not transmit ultrasonic waves. By applying such an acoustic coupling agent, the protruding acoustic coupling agent adheres to the housing, and the grip portion of the housing is more slippery and difficult to grip. As a result, the ultrasonic probe slides down from the hand during operation, and the ultrasonic probe may break down due to a drop impact.

  The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide an ultrasonic probe that is excellent in operability and high in reliability because it is difficult to slip and is easy to grip.

In order to solve the above problem, an ultrasonic probe of the present invention includes an ultrasonic element unit that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves, a cable that is connected to the ultrasonic element unit and transmits and receives signals to and from an external device, and In the ultrasonic probe comprising a housing that covers the ultrasonic element part and the end of the cable and has a grip part,
The housing is formed of a plurality of materials having a difference in elastic modulus of at least twice, and at least a part of the outer surface of the housing that is touched by an operator's hand or finger is elastic. A material with a low rate is arranged.
This configuration provides a highly reliable ultrasonic probe with excellent operability because the difference in surface deformation varies depending on the hardness difference when touched and gripped, resulting in a difference in friction and improved gripping force. can do.

Similarly, the ultrasonic probe of the present invention includes an ultrasonic element part for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, an ultrasonic propagation medium, the ultrasonic element part and the ultrasonic propagation medium, and has an ultrasonic transmission property. In an ultrasonic probe including an acoustic window member having, a drive component that drives the ultrasonic element unit, a cable that transmits and receives signals to and from an external device, and a housing that has a grip unit,
The housing is formed of a plurality of materials having a difference in elastic modulus of at least twice, and at least a part of the outer surface of the housing that is touched by an operator's hand or finger is elastic. A material with a low rate is arranged.
This configuration provides a highly reliable ultrasonic probe with excellent operability because the difference in surface deformation varies depending on the hardness difference when touched and gripped, resulting in a difference in friction and improved gripping force. can do.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the grip portion of the housing is formed by two-color molding or double molding.
With this configuration, an ultrasonic probe having a relatively simple structure, excellent operability and high reliability can be provided.

Moreover, according to one aspect of the present invention, a material portion having a low elastic modulus among the plurality of materials is disposed on the inner surface of the housing.
With this configuration, it is possible to prevent internal structure vibration, noise noise, and heat generation from leaking to the outside due to the elasticity of the material part with a low elastic modulus, thus realizing an ultrasonic probe with excellent vibration, sound and heat resistance. it can.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the material having a low elastic modulus is formed of an elastomer.
With this configuration, an ultrasonic probe having excellent operability and high reliability can be provided at low cost.

  According to the present invention, the housing of the ultrasonic probe is formed of a plurality of materials having a difference in elastic modulus of at least twice, and at least the hand or finger of the operator touches the outer peripheral surface of the housing. Among the plurality of materials, a material having a low elastic modulus is arranged in a part of the portion, so that a frictional difference occurs due to a difference in surface deformation due to a difference in hardness when touched and gripped. Therefore, the operability is excellent and the reliability can be improved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1A to 5D.
<First Embodiment>
1A to 3B are diagrams showing an electronic scanning ultrasonic probe according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 1A and 1B are two cross-sectional views thereof, FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C. FIG. 3A is a plan view, a front view, and a right side view showing an appearance, FIG. 3A is a perspective view, and FIG. 3B is a three-dimensional exploded view.

  The main structure of the electronic scanning ultrasonic probe according to the first embodiment is the same as that of the prior art described above. That is, the ultrasonic element unit 4 that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves has an acoustic lens 5 that focuses the ultrasonic waves on the living body contact surface, and the opposite side is connected to the cable 1 that transmits and receives signals to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. . The ultrasonic element portion 4 and a part of the cable 1 are covered with a housing 3, and the cable 1 extending from the housing 3 is provided with a cable bush 2 for preventing disconnection due to bending of the cable 1 or the like. ing.

The feature of the present invention lies in the structure of the housing 3, and the housing 3 is composed of two or more types of materials having a relatively large elastic modulus (hereinafter referred to as “hard” and “hard portion”) and materials having a small elastic modulus ( (Hereinafter referred to as “soft” and “soft part”).
In the present embodiment, the housing 3 includes a hard part 3a and a soft part 3b. In order to realize the hard part 3a and the soft part 3b, for example, hard plastic and elastomer can be used. In that case, the flexural modulus of these materials is shown below.
Hard plastic = 25 × 10 ³ kg / cm ²
Elastomer = 3 × 10 ³ kg / cm ²
The bending elastic modulus is a preferable example, and the present invention is intended to provide a difference in elastic modulus between different materials forming the housing, and the above numerical values are different, and other materials are important. If the difference in elastic modulus is twice or more, the minimum required function is satisfied. The soft portion 3b is not limited to an elastomer, and may be a soft plastic or a rubber material. By using the housing 3 formed of the hard and soft different materials, even when the acoustic coupling agent adheres to the grip portion of the housing 3, it is touched by the difference in elastic modulus between the hard portion 3a and the soft portion 3b. The difference in surface deformation due to the difference in hardness when gripped causes a frictional difference and improves the gripping force.

  Further, since the ultrasonic diagnosis is performed by hand feeling without looking at the ultrasonic probe, the hard portion 3a and the soft portion 3b provided on the grip portion of the housing 3 are different in the direction toward the acoustic lens 5. By configuring the operability, operability is improved. In normal ultrasound diagnosis, one operator holds an ultrasound probe with the right hand, operates the keys of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus with the left hand, and the line of sight looks at the CRT screen of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus. In order to obtain an orthogonal cross-sectional image from the current diagnostic image, the ultrasonic probe is often rotated frequently, and the grip portion is required to have directivity with the sense of a hand. An example of the appearance is a configuration as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. In order to maintain the gripping force on the side surface side, the hard portion 3a and the soft portion 3b are alternately configured, and the front side is not provided with the soft portion 3b so that it can be distinguished from the side surface side. With this configuration, an ultrasonic probe having both gripping force and operability can be realized.

Furthermore, by providing the soft part 3b inside the housing 3, the elasticity of the soft part 3b can prevent leakage of internal structure vibration, noise noise, and heat generation to the outside. Therefore, an ultrasonic probe excellent in vibration proofing, soundproofing, and heat resistance can be realized.
As an example of the molding method of the housing 3, there are two-color molding or double molding. In this method, the hard part 3a of the housing 3 is molded, and the soft part 3b is molded using the hard part 3a as an insert. In this case, the hard part 3a and the soft part 3b are welded or in close contact with each other, and no gap is generated between the hard part 3a and the soft part 3b. As a conventional method, there is a method in which the hard portion 3a and the soft portion 3b are molded as separate parts and fixed with an adhesive. However, in that case, a gap is formed between the hard part 3a and the soft part 3b, or bubbles are formed in the bonded part due to defective bonding work, and foreign matter or the like adheres to the bonded part, which is unsanitary. In the example of the present invention, since there is no gap on the welding surface or the close contact surface, no foreign matter or the like is interposed, and the device can be used hygienically as a medical device.

  The configuration of the housing 3 of the electronic scanning ultrasonic probe described above is adopted even in the mechanical scanning ultrasonic probe shown in FIGS. 4A to 5D or another type of ultrasonic probe. And the same effect can be obtained.

<Second Embodiment>
4A to 5D show a mechanical scanning ultrasonic probe according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 4A and 4B are two cross-sectional views, FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C. FIG. 5D is a plan view, a front view, a right side view, and a perspective view, respectively, showing the external appearance.
The mechanical scanning ultrasonic probe according to the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 4A to 5D is different from the electronic scanning ultrasonic probe in the scanning method of ultrasonic signals. The electronic scanning type emits ultrasonic waves by continuously moving ultrasonic signals obtained by electronically controlling a plurality of arranged piezoelectric elements. On the other hand, in the mechanical scanning type, 1 to 3 ultrasonic element units 4 are mechanically rotated or oscillated by the drive component unit 8 to continuously emit ultrasonic waves. Therefore, although the internal structure is different, the same effect as that of the electronic scanning ultrasonic probe can be obtained if the shape of the grip portion is the above-described shape.

  By using the ultrasonic probe having the grip portion as described above, an ultrasonic probe having excellent operability and reliability can be obtained.

  Since the ultrasonic probe of the present invention has the above-described configuration, it has excellent operability and high reliability. Therefore, it is useful not only for medical treatment but also for ultrasonic measurement in general industries.

Sectional drawing of one of the electronic scanning ultrasonic probe of the 1st Embodiment of this invention Another sectional view of the electronic scanning ultrasonic probe according to the first embodiment of the present invention The top view which shows the external appearance of the electronic scanning type ultrasonic probe of the 1st Embodiment of this invention The front view which shows the external appearance of the electronic scanning type ultrasonic probe of the 1st Embodiment of this invention The right view which shows the external appearance of the electronic scanning type ultrasonic probe of the 1st Embodiment of this invention 1 is a perspective view of an electronic scanning ultrasonic probe according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 3D exploded view of the electronic scanning ultrasonic probe of the first embodiment of the present invention Sectional drawing of one of the mechanical scanning type ultrasonic probe of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention Another sectional view of the mechanical scanning ultrasonic probe according to the second embodiment of the present invention The top view which shows the external appearance of the mechanical scanning type ultrasonic probe of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention The front view which shows the external appearance of the mechanical scanning type ultrasonic probe of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention The right view which shows the external appearance of the mechanical scanning type ultrasonic probe of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention The perspective view of the mechanical scanning type ultrasonic probe of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention Sectional view of a conventional electronic scanning ultrasonic probe Another cross-sectional view of a conventional electronic scanning ultrasonic probe A plan view showing the appearance of a conventional electronic scanning ultrasonic probe Front view showing the appearance of a conventional electronic scanning ultrasonic probe Right side view showing the appearance of a conventional electronic scanning ultrasonic probe A perspective view of a conventional electronic scanning ultrasonic probe Three-dimensional exploded view of a conventional electronic scanning ultrasonic probe

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cable 2 Cable bush 3 Housing 3a Hard part 3b Soft part 4 Ultrasonic element part 5 Acoustic lens 6 Acoustic window material 7 Ultrasonic propagation medium 8 Drive structure part

Claims (5)

An ultrasonic element unit that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves, a cable that is connected to the ultrasonic element unit and transmits and receives signals to and from an external device, covers the ultrasonic element unit and an end of the cable, and has a grip unit In an ultrasound probe with a housing,
The housing is formed of a plurality of materials having a difference in elastic modulus of at least twice, and at least a part of the outer surface of the housing that is touched by an operator's hand or finger is elastic. An ultrasonic probe characterized by a material with a low rate. An ultrasonic element section that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves, an ultrasonic propagation medium, an acoustic window material that includes the ultrasonic element section and the ultrasonic propagation medium and has ultrasonic transmission, and drives the ultrasonic element section In an ultrasonic probe comprising a housing having a drive component, a cable for transmitting and receiving signals between external devices, and a grip part,
The housing is formed of a plurality of materials having a difference in elastic modulus of at least twice, and at least a part of the outer surface of the housing that is touched by an operator's hand or finger is elastic. An ultrasonic probe characterized by a material with a low rate.   The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the grip portion of the housing is formed by two-color molding or double molding.   The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a material portion having a low elastic modulus among the plurality of materials is disposed on an inner surface of the housing.   The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the material having a low elastic modulus is made of an elastomer.

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