JP2009142546A - Ultrasonic probe and ultrasonic diagnostic system equipped with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ultrasonic probe having a vibrator unit performing scan mechanically which achieves a desired speed profile, especially sharp acceleration and deceleration, while avoiding enlargement of a scanning mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: A pair of electromagnet units 32 and 34 are arranged on positions corresponding to return ends of a vibrator unit 18. A pair of magnets 36 and 38 are arranged on the vibrator unit 18. With such a configuration, temporary repulsion force or attraction force is generated at the return ends to achieve sharp deceleration and acceleration profiles at the return ends. Members such as iron plates or the like can be arranged instead of the magnets 36 and 38. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasound probe and an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus including the ultrasound probe, and more particularly to scanning control when a transducer unit is mechanically scanned in a probe case.

  In a mechanical sector scanning ultrasonic probe in which a single transducer is mechanically driven, a three-dimensional echo data capturing ultrasonic probe in which a 1D array transducer is mechanically driven (Patent Document 1), etc. In the probe case, the transducer unit containing the ultrasonic transducer is mechanically scanned. For example, if the 1D array transducer is scanned in a direction perpendicular to the element arrangement direction, the scanning plane can be moved to form a three-dimensional echo data capturing space. In order to improve the acoustic propagation between the transducer unit and the surface of the living body, or to eliminate the intervention of the air layer, the probe case is filled with water, physiological saline or oil as an acoustic medium, It is enclosed. The ultrasonic probe as described above is connected to the main body of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus via a cable. In general, a mechanical scanning control unit that controls mechanical scanning of the ultrasonic probe is provided in the main body of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

JP-A-3-231649 JP-A-5-237111 JP-A-2-144046

  In order to generate sufficient acceleration / deceleration for the transducer unit at the time of turning back the mechanical scanning, it is necessary to provide a large driving source in the probe case that can generate sufficient driving force over inertia force. However, according to such a configuration, there is a possibility that the ultrasonic probe becomes large and heavy. Patent Documents 2 and 3 describe that the vibrator unit is driven using magnetic force, but this corresponds to the main drive source and exhibits an auxiliary action when the reciprocating scan is turned back. Not what you want.

  An object of the present invention is to cause a desired speed change at the time of folding while avoiding an increase in size or weight of the mechanical scanning mechanism itself.

  The present invention relates to a transducer unit that transmits / receives ultrasonic waves, a scanning mechanism for mechanically reciprocatingly scanning the transducer unit, and a folded end portion in a scanning path of the transducer unit. The present invention also relates to an ultrasonic probe characterized in that it includes auxiliary means for providing an auxiliary action.

  According to the above configuration, the transducer unit is reciprocally scanned along the scanning path by the scanning mechanism. At the folded end portion, an auxiliary action is exerted on the vibrator unit by the auxiliary means. Therefore, it becomes easy to obtain a desired velocity profile of the vibrator unit using such an auxiliary action. Although it may be possible to obtain a desired speed profile by increasing the size of the driving source in the scanning mechanism, such a large driving force is not required in the entire mechanical scanning process. There is a lack of rationality. According to the above configuration, a necessary auxiliary action source is provided at a necessary place, which is reasonable. Further, a combination of a plurality of driving methods can be used to take advantage of each. The auxiliary action is preferably based on magnetic force, but mechanical elastic action such as streaking, electroadhesion repulsion action, etc. can also be used.

  Preferably, the auxiliary means is provided at a position corresponding to a folded end portion in the scanning path of the transducer unit, and auxiliary drive means that exerts at least one of a braking action and a subsequent acceleration action on the vibrator unit. Including. It is desirable to provide auxiliary driving means at two positions corresponding to the two folded ends.

  Preferably, the auxiliary driving means generates at least one of a magnetic attractive force and a repulsive force. Desirably, both of them are exhibited. Preferably, the auxiliary means includes an electromagnet unit as the auxiliary driving means and a magnet provided in the vibrator unit, and the electromagnet mechanism exhibits both a braking action and an acceleration action.

  Desirably, a drive current is supplied to the electromagnet mechanism at the folded end, and the electromagnet mechanism is in the resting state during other periods. According to this configuration, power can be saved by supplying current only when necessary. When the magnetic action is used, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to increase the size of the mechanism unit for driving the rotating shaft.

  The present invention includes an apparatus main body and an ultrasonic probe attached to the apparatus main body, and the ultrasonic probe mechanically reciprocates and scans the transducer unit and the transducer unit. And a pair of electromagnet mechanisms that are provided at two positions corresponding to two folded end portions in the scanning path of the transducer unit and exert a magnetic action on the transducer unit. The apparatus main body includes a means for supplying a drive current to the pair of electromagnet mechanisms. The means for supplying the drive current is preferably provided in the apparatus main body, but can also be provided on the ultrasonic probe side.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to cause a desired speed change during folding while avoiding an increase in size or weight of the mechanical scanning mechanism itself.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of an ultrasonic probe according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view thereof. This ultrasonic probe is connected to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body (not shown) via a cable. The ultrasonic probe (probe) shown in FIG. 1 is used in contact with the body surface, but the present invention can be applied to other types of ultrasonic probes. For example, the present invention can be applied to an ultrasonic probe inserted into a body cavity.

  In FIG. 1, the probe 10 has a case 12, and a cover 14 is attached to the lower end portion of the case 12. The inside of the cover 14 is an acoustic propagation medium chamber 16, which is filled and sealed with physiological saline or oil. Actually, the cover 14 has a rounded dome shape, and its internal space is partitioned by a threshold film 16A, and the acoustic propagation medium chamber 16 is interposed between the threshold film 16A and the inner surface 14B of the cover 14. Is formed. The outer surface 14A of the cover 14 is a living body contact surface. This cover 14 functions as an acoustic window.

  A vibrator unit 18 is disposed inside the cover 14. The vibrator unit 18 is a movable body, and a plurality of vibration elements are arranged along a transmission / reception surface 18A that is a tip surface of the vibrator unit 18, and they constitute an array vibrator. In the figure, an ultrasonic beam B formed by the array transducer is shown, and the ultrasonic beam B is electronically scanned to form a scanning plane, and the scanning plane is oscillated in a direction perpendicular to the scanning plane, that is, in the θ direction. Dynamic movement. As a result, a three-dimensional echo data capturing space is formed.

  A scanning mechanism 20 is provided to swing the vibrator unit 18. The scanning mechanism 20 has a drive motor 24 and a gear mechanism 26. The drive motor 24 is a main drive source in the present embodiment, and the rotational force generated there is converted into the swing motion of the vibrator unit 18 via the gear mechanism 26. The axis of rotation of the oscillating motion is the shaft 22.

  The probe 10 according to the present embodiment has auxiliary means 30. The auxiliary means 30 gives an auxiliary action to the vibrator unit 18 in addition to the driving force generated by the scanning mechanism described above. Specifically, the auxiliary means 30 includes two electromagnet units 32 and 34 and two magnets (permanent magnets) 36 and 38. As will be described later, a magnetic body such as an iron plate may be provided in place of the magnets 36 and 38. The two electromagnet units 32 and 34 are provided at positions corresponding to both ends of the swing movement path of the vibrator unit 18, that is, the mechanical scanning path, that is, positions corresponding to the folded end portions in the mechanical scanning (inside the cover 14. Corner). When the vibrator unit 18 swings toward one side, the magnet 36 and the electromagnet unit 32 are in close proximity to each other. Similarly, when the vibrator unit 18 swings toward the other side, the magnet 38 and the electromagnet unit 34 move. Proximity facing relationship. Therefore, by controlling the polarity of the magnetic force generated in the electromagnet units 32 and 34, and by giving an appropriate polarity to the magnets 36 and 38, a magnetic attraction action and a repulsion action are generated, and the folded end. It becomes possible to compensate for the driving force that tends to be insufficient in the section. This will be described in detail later. The magnets 36 and 38 are provided on both side surfaces (lower part) of the vibrator unit.

  Incidentally, the drive motor 24 is attached to the frame 23, and a motor shaft extending from the drive motor 24 is inserted through the center of the frame 23. A gear mechanism 26 having a bevel gear or the like is provided at the tip of the shaft. Is provided. If the drive motor 24 is rotated in the positive direction and the negative direction, the reciprocating motion of the vibrator unit 18 described above can be performed. At this time, in the present embodiment, an auxiliary action is exerted at the folded end portion of the reciprocating motion, so that acceleration / deceleration can be made desired.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. In addition to the scanning mechanism 20 and the electromagnet units 32 and 34 described above, the probe 10 is provided with the array transducer 40 described above and a detector 42 that detects a rotation angle. A detection signal from the detector 42 is sent to the scanning control unit 44. The scanning control unit 44 is provided in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body in the present embodiment. However, the entire scanning control unit 44 or the auxiliary control unit 46 included therein may be provided on the probe 10 side. The auxiliary control unit 46 is a unit that supplies a drive current to the electromagnet units 32 and 34, and supplies each drive current so that a preset speed profile is realized. The scanning control unit 44 also controls the scanning mechanism 20. A transmission / reception unit 48 is connected to the array transducer 40, a plurality of transmission signals are supplied from the transmission / reception unit 48 to the array transducer 40, and a plurality of reception signals from the array transducer 40 are input to the transmission / reception unit 48. Then, the phasing addition process is performed on the transmission / reception unit 48. The reception signal (beam data) after the phasing addition is sent to an image forming unit (not shown). Each component after the transmission / reception unit 48 is also provided in the apparatus main body.

  Next, the control method of the scanning control unit 44 shown in FIG. 2, particularly the auxiliary control unit 46, will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 shows a velocity profile. The horizontal axis is the time axis, and the vertical axis is the velocity axis. This speed profile represents the actual magnitude of the drive current. Reference numeral 100 represents a conventional method that does not use the above-described auxiliary force. In the example shown here, a trapezoidal velocity profile is obtained. In such a speed profile, there has been a problem that the drive source has to be enlarged in order to further increase the deceleration and acceleration at the folded end, but in the present embodiment, the auxiliary means described above is used. Acceleration can be made steeper and deceleration can be made steeper. Specifically, for example, when the vibrator unit 18 moves in the right direction in FIG. 1, a driving current is applied to the electromagnet unit 32 so that a magnetic repulsive force is generated in the relationship between the electromagnet unit 32 and the magnet 36. , It is possible to obtain a velocity profile as indicated by reference numeral 102. That is, even if the force in the main drive source is generated further to the folded end side, it is possible to absorb the excessive force by the magnetic repulsive force and realize the steep deceleration and the steep acceleration. In that case, if the drive current is controlled so that an attractive force is generated in the electromagnet unit 34 in the relationship between the electromagnet unit 34 and the magnet 38 on the opposite side, a steeper speed profile as indicated by reference numeral 104 can be obtained. Is possible. That is, a steeper characteristic is obtained by operating two magnetic means with different polarities at each end of the reciprocating scanning. Even if the polarities are the same, the same operation as described above can be obtained by setting control in the direction of each current.

  In the above description, the case where the vibrator unit 18 swings in the right direction in FIG. 1 has been described. Of course, the same control is performed when the vibrator unit 18 moves in the left direction. However, in that case, the polarity of each electromagnet unit is reversed. This is indicated by reference numerals 110 and 114 in FIG. Reference numeral 104 indicates a case where only a magnetic repulsive force is used, and reference numeral 114 indicates a case where a magnetic attractive force is simultaneously applied in addition to the magnetic repulsive force. Further, as indicated by reference numeral 106 in FIG. 4, a desired S-curve can be drawn in the acceleration / deceleration period by variable control of the drive current value. For example, a soft curve can be obtained at the deceleration start point or the acceleration start point. You may do it.

  In the embodiment described above, the two magnets are arranged in the vibrator unit. However, the vibrator unit 18 may be configured to have a magnetic member such as an iron plate. In this case, only the magnetic attractive force is used in each electromagnet unit. In any case, it is possible to realize a rational scanning drive system by directly increasing the force of the main drive source called the drive motor, but by providing a partial auxiliary action in the mechanical scanning path. It is. In the period other than the two folded ends, the current supply to the electromagnet unit is stopped, so that there is an advantage that power saving can be achieved as a whole. If it is assumed that the same speed profile as before is obtained, there is an advantage that the drive motor and the mechanical scanning mechanism can be miniaturized by using the above-mentioned auxiliary means together, which contributes to the miniaturization of the entire probe. To do.

1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a preferred embodiment of an ultrasonic probe according to the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part structure of an ultrasonic diagnosing device. It is a figure which shows a speed profile. It is a figure which shows a part of speed profile.

Explanation of symbols

  10 Ultrasonic probe (probe), 12 case, 14 cover, 16 acoustic propagation medium chamber, 18 transducer unit, 20 scanning mechanism, 30 auxiliary means, 32, 34 electromagnet unit, 36, 38 magnet.

Claims (6)

A transducer unit for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves;
A scanning mechanism for mechanically reciprocatingly scanning the transducer unit;
Auxiliary means for exerting an auxiliary action on the transducer unit at the folded end in the scanning path of the transducer unit;
An ultrasonic probe comprising: The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1,
The auxiliary means includes auxiliary driving means that is provided at a position corresponding to the folded end portion in the scanning path of the vibrator unit and exerts at least one of a braking action and a subsequent acceleration action on the vibrator unit. Ultrasonic probe characterized by The ultrasonic probe according to claim 2,
The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary driving means generates at least one of a magnetic attractive force and a repulsive force. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 3,
The auxiliary means includes
An electromagnet unit as the auxiliary driving means;
A magnet provided in the vibrator unit;
Including
The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the electromagnet mechanism exhibits both a braking action and an acceleration action. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 4,
A driving current is supplied to the electromagnet mechanism at the folded end, and the electromagnet mechanism is placed in the rest state during other periods. Including an apparatus main body and an ultrasonic probe attached to the apparatus body,
The ultrasonic probe is
A transducer unit for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves;
A scanning mechanism for mechanically reciprocatingly scanning the transducer unit;
A pair of electromagnet mechanisms that are provided at two positions corresponding to the two folded ends in the scanning path of the transducer unit and exert a magnetic action on the transducer unit;
Including
The apparatus main body includes means for supplying a drive current to the pair of electromagnet mechanisms.
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

Images