JP2006320497A - Ultrasonograph - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ultrasonograph to solve complicated and troublesome work of applying gel and a probe to the body surface. <P>SOLUTION: A gel pressure accumulator 5, which is the main body of a gel pressure-feeding mechanism which performs pressure-feeding of gel, is installed in an ultrasonograph main body 1, and the gel is pressed into a gel pressure accumulator main body 5C via a gel injection part 51. In addition, a closing valve 54 is energized and blocked with a compression spring 56 in an outflow part 52. The gel discharged from the gel pressure accumulator 5 flows to the side of a probe 7 through a tube 9 as indicated in Figures 1 and 2, and can be injected from a position slightly deviated away from an ultrasonic transmission surface of the probe 7. The probe 7 has a valve mechanism for opening and closing for the gel, which enables the gel to be injected whenever necessary. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus used for medical image diagnosis, for example, and more particularly to an improvement of the ultrasonic probe.

The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes a diagnostic apparatus main body and an ultrasonic probe that is electrically connected thereto. An electrical signal supplied from the diagnostic device body is applied to the probe, mechanical distortion generated by this electrical signal is radiated into the living body as an ultrasonic wave, and an ultrasonic reflected signal generated from the tissue boundary in the living body is emitted. Receive. The received reflected signal is subjected to signal processing in the diagnostic apparatus body, and tissue information in the living body is imaged and displayed on the diagnostic apparatus body. The ultrasonic probe is composed of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a lead wire that controls transmission / reception of electric signals, and an ultrasonic element that converts electric signals into ultrasonic waves and transmits / receives ultrasonic waves to / from a living body. (See Patent Document 1).
By the way, when diagnosing a subject with such an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, when an ultrasonic wave transmitted from a probe is emitted to the surface of a living body, if there is an air layer between the surface of the living body, the ultrasonic wave Therefore, the gel is directly applied to the surface of the probe or the body surface of the subject. In this case, the diagnosis doctor usually sticks the gel out of the gel tube and applies it to the surface of the probe or the body surface with the palm of the hand.
JP 2000-279409 A

  However, the conventional gel coating method by such a manual operation has a problem that the amount of gel prepared at the time of diagnosis is too much or too little. Moreover, it was common sense that the gel dries during the diagnosis, and the diagnosis is interrupted and the gel is added during the diagnosis. These operations involve complicated manual operations such as opening and closing the cap of the gel container and twisting out the gel. Moreover, since the cold gel is directly applied to the subject, the subject is uncomfortable.

In order to solve the above problems, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus provided by the present invention is provided with a gel injection port for injecting a gel to a probe, and includes a gel pumping mechanism for pumping the gel to the gel injection port. Therefore, operations such as gel supply and application are omitted.
In order to solve the above-described problems, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus provided by the present invention is provided with a gel injection port on the surface of the probe in contact with the subject, and the gel is supplied and applied accurately. Is called.
In order to solve the above problems, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus provided by the present invention thirdly provides a diagnostic apparatus main body that generates an electrical signal for ultrasonic waves, a probe that emits ultrasonic waves to a subject, and both In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a lead wire for connecting the probe, the probe is provided with a gel injection port for injecting the gel, and a gel accumulator for accumulating and storing the gel, and the gel from the gel accumulator A tube that leads to the gel injection port and a valve mechanism that is installed in the probe and opens and closes the gel injection path are provided. The valve mechanism can inject a required amount of gel when necessary.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus provided by the present invention provides a gel pressure feeding mechanism, a gel pressure accumulator for accumulating and accommodating the gel, and a gel guided from the gel pressure accumulator to the gel injection port. With a tube and a valve mechanism that opens and closes the gel injection path installed in the probe, the gel pressure accumulator is installed in the diagnostic device body, and the tube is inserted into the pipe together with the lead wire. The tube and lead wire are integrated.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus provided by the present invention fifthly is provided with a heater for heating a gel in a tube in order to solve the above problems, and can heat the tube and the gel.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus provided by the present invention is provided with a heater for heating the gel inside the gel pressure accumulator, and can heat the gel pressure accumulator.

According to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus provided by the present invention first, the gel can be injected from the probe onto the surface of the living body, and an operation such as twisting an appropriate amount of the gel out of the container becomes unnecessary.
Furthermore, according to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus provided by the present invention secondly, operations such as gel supply and application are performed accurately.
Further, according to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus provided by the third aspect of the present invention, the required amount of gel can be ejected when necessary by the valve mechanism, and the diagnostic work is facilitated.
According to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that the fourth aspect of the present invention provides, the tube and the lead wire are not complicated, the diagnostic work can be facilitated, and the apparatus can be further simplified.
According to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus provided by the fifth aspect of the present invention, the gel is not frozen or solidified even when the ambient temperature at the time of diagnosis is low, and the diagnosis is facilitated.
According to the sixth aspect of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, the gel is frozen or solidified even if the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus itself or the gel pressure accumulator is located at a position other than the diagnostic room where the heating is performed. Not easy to diagnose.

  The characteristic feature of the present invention is that, in the case of applying ultrasound gel on the surface of a living body in ultrasonic diagnosis to make the diagnosis accurate, the gel can be automatically ejected from the vicinity of the surface of the probe. Specifically, in order to apply an internal pressure to the gel, a gel-accommodating gel accumulator is used, and a tube for connecting the gel accumulator and the gel injection port in the probe is provided, and further in the gel pressure feeding path of the tube. It is characterized in that gel injection is automated by providing an on-off valve mechanism. Furthermore, the gel pressure accumulator is installed in the diagnostic apparatus main body, and the gel pressure feeding tube is inserted into the pipe together with the lead wire to simplify the configuration and improve the operability. Furthermore, the tube and the gel pressure accumulator are also characterized in that a heater for heating the gel is provided to heat the gel. Therefore, the best embodiment of the present invention is an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having all these features.

The configuration and operation of the embodiment shown in the drawings will be described below.
FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention. The components of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus can be broadly divided into a diagnostic apparatus main body 1, a lead wire 8 for supplying an electrical signal from the diagnostic apparatus main body 1 to the probe 7, and the subject's subject receiving the electrical signal. The probe 7 transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from the body surface, and the present invention is provided with a gel pumping mechanism for injecting gel from the probe 7 in the above configuration. The distal end of the lead wire 8 is connected to the probe 7, and the proximal end is connected to the connecting portion 1S.

  First, the diagnostic device main body 1 is provided with a generating mechanism for transmitting an electrical signal to the probe 7, and an upper portion displays diagnostic condition settings and images as diagnostic results. A display 2 is installed. The configuration of the diagnostic apparatus main body 1, particularly the configuration for generating an image from the electrical signal generation mechanism and the diagnostic result signal and displaying the result is not directly related to the gist of the present invention, and therefore will be described in detail. However, the conventional configuration can be adopted for the diagnostic apparatus main body 1.

  The diagnostic apparatus main body 1 is provided with an operation unit 3 that adjusts generation and stoppage of electrical signals, a display 2 that displays images of diagnosis results, and a signal processing unit 4. The operation unit 3 is provided with a switch for turning on and off the generation of an electrical signal and a switch group for displaying and adjusting the diagnosis result on the display 2. 8 is a lead wire that is connected to the connection portion 1S of the diagnostic apparatus main body 1 and sends an electric signal to the probe 7, and is inserted into the pipe 6.

  A gel pressure accumulator (commonly referred to as an accumulator) 5 serving as a main part of a gel pumping mechanism for pumping gel is installed at a lower portion of the diagnostic apparatus body 1. The configuration of the gel pressure accumulator 5 is shown in detail in FIG. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the bellows-type gel pressure accumulator 5, in which 5C represents a pressure accumulator body, and a lid case 5F is attached to the left opening by screw connection. The accumulator body 5C is provided with a gel press-fitting portion 51, for example, a gel is press-fitted from a syringe S. Further, a gel pressure inlet 5K is opened in the gel press-fitting portion 51, and a check valve 53 is urged from the inside. Reference numeral 55 denotes a biasing compression spring that closes the check valve 53 from the inside to the gel pressure inlet 5K.

  A bellows 5B is attached to the inner side of the accumulator body 5C on the axial center with the right side as the base end, and a sealing plate 5P is joined to the left free end opening side. The sealing plate 5P and the bellows 5B form a gel storage portion. In addition, an outlet 5D for allowing the gel to flow out is formed at the center of the sealing board 5P.

On the other hand, the lid case 5F has an outflow portion 52 for allowing the gel to flow out. The outflow portion 52 is provided with an outflow port 5R in which a closing valve 54 is urged and closed by a compression spring 56. The outflow port 5R and the outflow port 5D of the above-described sealing board 5P are connected by a connecting pipe 57. The connecting pipe 57 is flexible and allows reciprocation of the sealing board 5P by expansion and contraction of the bellows 5B.
Further, a compression spring 5S is press-fitted between the lid case 5F and the sealing board 5P inside the gel pressure accumulator 5.

  When the gel is press-fitted into the gel pressure accumulator 5 configured as described above, the syringe S containing the gel is pushed into the gel pressure inlet 5K in the gel press-fitting part 51 on the right side. Then, the check valve 53 is pushed in and the gel is caused to flow from the syringe S into the bellows 5B. When the syringe S is pulled out, the check valve 53 is restored and the bellows 5B is sealed. This operation is repeated to fill the bellows 5B with gel. As a result, the sealing disc 5P compresses the compression spring 5S and is displaced to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line, and pressure is applied to the inner gel. A large amount of gel may be pressed at once with a large piston pump larger than the syringe S.

In this way, the gel is press-fitted and filled into the bellows 5B, but the closing valve 54 is set not to open at the maximum pressure. In this setting, the sum of the elasticity of the compression spring 56 and the internal pressure of the gel pressure-feeding tube 9 connected to the outside of the outlet 5D is set larger than the gel pressure in the bellows 5B.
Therefore, as will be described later, when the internal pressure of the tube 9 is reduced, the elastic force of the compression spring 56 alone cannot counter the gel internal pressure, and the closing valve 54 opens the outlet 5D.

In addition, two electric heaters 5H are installed inside the gel pressure accumulator 5 on the lid case 5F side of the sealing board 5P. The electric heater 5H generates heat by operating the switch S1 in the diagnostic apparatus main body 1, and warms the gel in the gel pressure accumulator 5. The outflow and flow of the gel become smooth by heating.
The gel flowing out from the gel pressure accumulator 5 flows to the probe 7 side through the tube 9 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, but this tube 9 is used for transmitting and receiving electric signals as shown in FIG. The lead wire 8 and the pipe 6 are juxtaposed.

Next, the configuration of the probe 7 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the lead wire 8 and the gel pressure-feeding tube 9 are guided to the probe 7 side through a pipe 6 in which the lead wire 8 and the gel feeding tube 9 are juxtaposed together. Receive and transmit ultrasonic waves from 7S. The gel is configured to be ejected to the ultrasonic element 7S of the probe 7. Hereinafter, in particular, the gel injection structure will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 1, a gel injection port 10 is provided on the ultrasonic wave transmitting surface of the probe 7 at a slightly displaced position. The injection port 10 has a structure in which a plurality of fine nozzles are provided.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure in which the injection structure of the gel is provided in the probe 7. In particular, the tube 9 for pumping the gel is introduced together with the lead wire 8 and disposed in the probe 7. It is a feature. The tube 9 extends along the inner wall of the outer casing 7K of the probe 7 and is led to the support 7D of the ultrasonic element 7S. The tip is connected to a gel flow path 9L penetrating through the support 7D. The flow path 9L is connected to the flow path 9S provided in the support 7D and the ultrasonic element 7S, and a valve mechanism for opening and closing the flow path is provided between the flow path 9L and the flow path 9S.

  When the configuration of the valve mechanism is shown in an enlarged manner as shown in FIG. 4, a valve chamber 7R is formed in the support 7D between the flow path 9L and the flow path 9S, and the push rod 11 is formed in the valve chamber 7R. A reciprocating valve body 13 is provided. The illustrated state is a state in which the valve body 13 closes between the flow paths 9L and 9S by the compression spring 14. Reference numeral 12 denotes a seal ring provided in the outer casing 7K, which prevents the gel from flowing out along the push rod 11. When the push rod 11 is pushed to the left by the hand, the valve element 13 causes both flow paths 9L and 9S to communicate.

  This communication reduces the pressure in the tube 9. Since the internal pressure of the bellows 5B of the gel accumulator 5 becomes equal to or higher than the internal pressure on the left side of the stop valve 54 in FIG. 2 due to the decrease in the internal pressure, the gel pushes the close valve 54 and the gel is pumped to the tube 9. . This pumping is due to the elasticity of the compression spring 5S. Thus, the gel in the gel accumulator 5 is ejected from the ejection port 10 through the tube 9 and the flow paths 9L and 9S by operating the push rod 11.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, an electric heater 7 </ b> H is installed on a part of the tube 9 on the gel pressure feeding path, particularly in the probe 7, so that the gel is heated. This is to prevent the gel from being smoothly ejected due to the low ambient temperature during the winter season and the like, and the gel tends to solidify or harden, resulting in a decrease in fluidity. The operation of the electric heater 7H is performed by operating the switch S2 in the diagnostic apparatus body 1.

  With the configuration described in detail above, in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, the gel is always filled in the gel pressure accumulator 5 and is accumulated and stored by the strong elasticity of the compression spring 5S, and the outside of the pressure accumulation chamber is the valve mechanism. When the pressure is reduced through the above operation, the outlet to the outside is opened and flows out, and this is emitted to the ultrasonic wave transmission surface of the probe.

  The characteristics of the present invention are as described in detail above, but the present invention is not limited to the above and illustrated examples, and includes various modifications. First, the gel pressure accumulation mechanism is a combination of a bellows and a compression spring in the embodiment, but there is also a method using a prada. Alternatively, there is a system that uses a rubber packaging bag. Further, a method of injecting the gel at a position close to the probe may be a method of injecting the gel into the gap portion between the ultrasonic element and the outer casing other than the case of the illustrated example provided in the ultrasonic element itself. . Furthermore, it is also possible to install an injection nozzle close to the outer periphery of the outer casing. Further, various valve mechanisms such as a butterfly valve, a needle valve, and a flow rate control valve can be employed as the valve opening / closing mechanism interposed between the gel flow paths. Furthermore, the gel pressure accumulator does not necessarily have to be installed in the diagnostic apparatus main body, and can be a hand-held type or a so-called portable type. The present invention encompasses all these variations. Further, although the electric heater is formed only in the probe, the electric heater may be extended over the entire length of the tube in the pipe. In this case, the gel can be smoothly injected even in the winter or when the surroundings are cool.

1 is a diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus provided by the present invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the structure of the gel pressure accumulator which is the principal part of the ultrasonic diagnosing device which this invention provides. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the probe in the ultrasonic diagnosing device which this invention provides. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which expands and shows the structure of the principal part of the probe in the ultrasound diagnosing device which this invention provides.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Diagnostic apparatus main body 1S Connection part 2 Indicator 3 Operation part 4 Signal processing part 5 Gel accumulator 5B Bellows 5C Accumulator main body 5D, 5R Outflow port 5F Lid case 5H, 7H Electric heater 5K Gel pressure inlet 5P Sealing board 5S, 55 , 56, 14 Compression spring 51 Gel press-fit portion 52 Outflow portion 53 Check valve 54 Stop valve 57 Connection tube 6 Pipe 7 Probe 7D Support 7K Outer casing 7R Valve chamber 7S Ultrasonic element 8 Lead wire 9 Tube 9L, 9S Flow path 10 Injection port 11 Push rod 12 Seal ring 13 Valve element S Syringe S1, S2 Switch

Claims (6)

  In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus including a probe that radiates ultrasonic waves to a subject, a gel ejection port that ejects a gel to the probe is provided, and a gel pumping mechanism that pumps the gel to the gel ejection port is provided. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by that.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a gel injection port is provided on a surface of the probe that contacts the subject.   In an ultrasound diagnostic device equipped with a diagnostic device body that generates electrical signals for ultrasound, a probe that emits ultrasound to the subject, and a lead wire that connects both, a probe is injected with a gel A gel accumulator for accumulating and accommodating the gel, a tube for guiding the gel from the gel accumulator to the gel ejection port, and a valve installed on the probe for opening and closing the gel ejection path An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising a mechanism.   The gel pumping mechanism is composed of a gel pressure accumulator for accumulating and storing the gel, a tube for guiding the gel from the gel pressure accumulator to the gel injection port, and a valve mechanism installed in the probe for opening and closing the gel injection path. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gel pressure accumulator is installed in a diagnostic apparatus main body, and a tube is inserted into a pipe together with a lead wire.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a heater for heating the gel is provided on the tube.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a heater for heating the gel is provided inside the gel pressure accumulator.

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