JP2012176054A - Ultrasonic refracting apparatus and ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ultrasonic deflection attachment including an attachment in a general-purpose ultrasonic probe and easily performing positioning with respect to an object of the ultrasonic probe, and to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using the same.SOLUTION: An ultrasonic refracting apparatus includes an attachment 5 detachable to a surface which sends and receives an ultrasonic beam of a general-purpose ultrasonic probe 2, and a material 11 having different speed of sound in a part of the attachment 5 inserted with an inclination with respect to the ultrasonic beam. The positioning of the ultrasonic probe to the object is easily performed by using the attachment 5 for the positioning when the ultrasonic beam is passed in the attachment 5 and a part of the ultrasonic beam is refracted.

Description

The present invention relates to a medical ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and more particularly to a carotid artery measurement technique.

  Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses are used in a wide range as a means for depicting the shape of an organ and blood flow in a living body. A configuration of a general ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 10, an ultrasonic probe 112 is connected to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body 111, and transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves to the body (not shown) is performed by an array transducer provided in the ultrasonic probe 112. 113. The configuration of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus shown here performs scanning called electronic scanning, and has an array transducer 113 consisting of several tens to several hundreds of transducers in the probe for transmission and reception. By sequentially switching the vibrators, it is possible to display information in the body in two dimensions.

  Ultrasound diagnostic devices are used in a wide range of parts of the body. Recently, attention has been focused on techniques for obtaining information such as the degree of progression of arteriosclerosis by scanning the carotid artery and measuring the thickness of the vascular wall of the carotid artery. . This technique measures the total thickness of the blood vessel wall intima and media (intima media complex thickness), and is generally called IMT (Intima Media Thickness) measurement.

  The IMT value using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is obtained from the image data of the blood vessel wall obtained by bringing the ultrasonic probe into contact with the body surface of the neck near the carotid artery.

  In order to obtain an accurate value when measuring the IMT value, it is important to align the probe with the blood vessel. The exact position of the ultrasonic probe is such that the ultrasonic beam passes through the central part of the blood vessel diameter (so-called on the plane including the central axis of the blood vessel), and the scanning direction of the ultrasonic beam is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the blood vessel. It is required that the ultrasonic wave passes through the blood vessel wall surface at a certain position substantially perpendicularly, and the intensity of the reflected wave can be more clearly distinguished. In order to obtain an accurate IMT value, it is necessary for the operator to move the ultrasonic probe by hand, adjust the position, and adjust the position to the above position. By this alignment (adjustment), the ultrasonic beam passes through the vicinity of the center of the blood vessel (the position where the ultrasonic beam passes (passes through) the blood vessel has a length corresponding to the diameter of the blood vessel). As an ultrasonic image, an accurate IMT value can be obtained by extracting an image having a wide blood vessel diameter and clearly showing the blood vessel wall.

  However, it takes skill to smoothly operate and adjust the position of the ultrasonic probe so that an accurate IMT value can be obtained. For an unfamiliar operator, it is conceivable that the ultrasonic probe cannot be positioned at the correct position, and the ultrasonic beam does not hit the blood vessel accurately.

  There are two cases where the ultrasonic beam does not accurately hit the blood vessel. One is that the ultrasonic probe is positioned parallel to the blood vessel. It may be considered that it hits the end of the blood vessel, which is somewhat away from the central axis, rather than the center of the diameter (so-called passing on the plane including the central axis of the blood vessel).

  In this case, the distance between the reflected waves from the anterior wall of the blood vessel (the wall closer to the ultrasound probe) and the rear wall (the wall far from the ultrasound probe) is narrowed, so that the blood vessel diameter is rendered thin. In such a case, since the ultrasonic beam obliquely crosses the blood vessel wall, the IMT value is larger than the actual value.

  In another case, the ultrasonic probe is not parallel to the direction of blood vessel travel. In this case, only a portion near the vicinity where the ultrasonic beam intersects the central axis of the blood vessel is depicted. In general, in order to obtain the IMT value, it is necessary to obtain blood vessel information of a certain width (length) of the blood vessel in the long axis direction and calculate the average thereof. In this case as well, an accurate IMT value cannot be obtained.

  As a method for solving the above problem and accurately positioning the ultrasonic probe, for example, a method as disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. FIG. 11 shows the configuration of the ultrasonic probe in Patent Document 1. In FIG.

  In Patent Document 1, a plurality of array transducers are used to facilitate alignment. For example, as shown in FIG. 11A, two array transducers 101 and 102 are combined in a T shape, and one alignment transducer 102 is arranged in the short axis direction of the blood vessel (direction perpendicular to the central axis). By drawing and aligning this short axis image with a predetermined position in the longitudinal direction of the blood vessel, the other array transducer 101 can be aligned with the central part of the blood vessel long axis (the central part of the blood vessel diameter). Yes.

  In Patent Document 1, as shown in FIGS. 11B and 11C, the three arrayed vibrators 101, 103, 104, 101 a, 103 a, and 104 a are orthogonal to the H shape or I shape. By combining, positioning is easy.

Special table 2001-521404

  However, the ultrasonic probe as in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 is required to observe 1) a cervical blood vessel and the like because 1) a clearance is required to provide another transducer at the end of the long axis side of the ultrasonic probe. In such a case, when looking up to the image near the edge, the array transducer for alignment becomes a hindrance because it takes up space. 2) It is unsuitable for applications other than IMT value measurement and has low versatility. 3) The manufacturing process is complicated and the cost is high, and the width of the ultrasonic probe is wide, so that the operability is bad. 4) The diagnostic device itself also requires a special configuration, so the quantity is also large. It has problems such as an increase.

  The present invention solves the above-described problem. In measuring an IMT value, a general-purpose ultrasonic probe can be easily applied to an accurate position with respect to a desired blood vessel site with an inexpensive configuration. It is an object of the present invention to provide an acoustic refraction apparatus and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using the same.

  In order to solve the above problems, an ultrasonic refracting apparatus of the present invention includes a fixing means for forming an ultrasonic probe that transmits and receives an ultrasonic beam, and a transmission and reception surface of the ultrasonic beam of the ultrasonic probe. The opposing member has two types of regions, a straight advanceable region where the ultrasonic beam goes straight and a refractable region where the ultrasonic beam is refracted.

  Further, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention includes an ultrasonic refracting device, an ultrasonic probe that transmits and receives an ultrasonic beam via the ultrasonic refracting device, and an ultrasonic image from a reception signal of the ultrasonic probe. A main body unit for generating and displaying.

  According to the ultrasonic refracting apparatus and the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, alignment by applying an ultrasonic beam to an accurate position of the center of a blood vessel can be easily performed using a general-purpose ultrasonic probe. In addition, the structure is simple, the cost is low, the width of the ultrasonic probe is not increased, the operability is good, and no special configuration is required for the ultrasonic probe and the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. it can.

Ultrasonic refraction apparatus of the present invention and ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus provided with the same 1 is a schematic diagram of an ultrasonic refracting apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention and an ultrasonic probe of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus including the same. Sectional drawing of the attachment which is the ultrasonic refraction apparatus of the 1st Embodiment of this invention (A) Front view of attachment which is ultrasonic refracting apparatus of 1st Embodiment of this invention, (b) The side view Enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of the portion of the attachment composed of material 9 and material 11 for explaining the refraction of the ultrasonic beam (A) The conceptual diagram of the ultrasonic image obtained when using the attachment which is the ultrasonic refraction apparatus of the 1st Embodiment of this invention, (b) The figure of the positional relationship of the ultrasonic beam and blood vessel corresponding to it (A) Left side view of an attachment which is an ultrasonic refracting device of the second embodiment of the present invention, (b) Front view thereof, (c) Right side view thereof (A) Front view of attachment which is an ultrasonic refracting apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention, (b) Positional relationship between an ultrasonic beam passing through the side surface and a blood vessel (A) Front view of attachment which is ultrasonic refracting apparatus of 4th Embodiment of this invention, (b) The side view Explanatory drawing of conventional ultrasonic diagnostic equipment (A) T-shaped configuration diagram of the probe in Patent Document 1 of the prior art, (b) H-shaped configuration diagram, (c) Key-shaped configuration diagram

Embodiments of an ultrasonic refraction apparatus and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using the same according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an ultrasonic probe of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having an attachment 5 which is an ultrasonic refraction apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the transmitting / receiving surface at the tip of the ultrasonic probe 2 that generates an ultrasonic beam is inserted so as to be in close contact with the attachment 5.

  FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the attachment 5 and the ultrasonic probe 2 which are the ultrasonic refraction apparatus of the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the ultrasonic probe 2 includes an array transducer 3 that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves.

  A predetermined ultrasonic beam is transmitted by applying an electrical signal to the array transducer 3. For example, when a living body is used as a subject, the array vibration is again partially reflected from a boundary where there is an acoustic difference between tissues of the living body. This is a method in which the reflected signal is received by the child 3 and processed by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus to be imaged. This is already known.

In the present embodiment, the ultrasonic probe 2 and the attachment 5 are provided with a convex portion 6 and a concave portion 7 as fixing means, respectively, and the ultrasonic probe 2 and the attachment 5 are provided with the convex portion 6 and the concave portion. 7 is fitted and fixed. A jelly (not shown) or the like is used to prevent reflection due to an acoustic mismatch caused by bubbles such as air between the surface (transmission / reception surface) of the ultrasonic probe 2 for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves and the attachment 5. An ultrasonic transmission medium is provided.

  Note that the attachment method of the attachment 5 and the ultrasonic probe 2 is not limited to the concave / convex fitting, and the concave / convex position is also limited to the end on the long axis side of the ultrasonic probe. Other methods may be used as long as they can be fixed.

  FIG. 4 shows a front view 4 (a) and a side view 4 (b) of the attachment 5 which is the ultrasonic refraction apparatus of the first embodiment of the present invention. The central part 8 where the attachment 5 and the ultrasonic beam transmitting / receiving surface of the ultrasonic probe 2 (not shown) are in contact with each other is a rectilinear region composed of a single sound velocity material 9 so that the ultrasonic beam goes straight. However, at least a part of the array transducer 3, that is, a portion 10 through which ultrasonic beams from several channels at the end of the array transducer 3 pass is a side view of a material 11 having a sound velocity different from that of the central portion. 4 (b), it is inserted obliquely, and has a structure in which a bendable region that refracts the ultrasonic beam (changes the traveling direction) is formed at the interface between the material 9 and the material 11.

  As a characteristic of the material 9 of the attachment 5, the acoustic impedance has a value close to the acoustic impedance (1.5 to 1.65 MRayls) of the living body as a subject so as to eliminate the multiple reflection of the ultrasonic wave, and the ultrasonic attenuation is It is required to be small and safe for living bodies. As such a material 9, a liquid such as silicone rubber, polyurethane, synthetic rubber, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polymethylpentene, or water, saline, 1,3 butanediol is used.

  However, the material 9 having a level that does not affect the image diagnosis is not necessarily limited to the acoustic impedance range of the living body. For example, if there is no influence if the reflectance of the ultrasonic wave at the boundary between the material 9 of the attachment 5 and the living body is 10% or less, the attenuation is 20 dB in the structure of the first embodiment of the present invention. The following will be suppressed. Assuming that the acoustic impedance of the jelly inserted between the region of the surface of the ultrasonic probe 2 for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves and the attachment 5 is 1.5 MRayls which is the same as that of a living body, the acoustic impedance of the material is 1.2-1.8 MRayls. The material 9 in the range may be used for the attachment 5.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the ultrasonic waves transmitted and received from the array transducer 3 are incident substantially perpendicularly to the material 9 of the attachment 5, so that the ultrasonic waves travel substantially straight even if the sound speed of the material is different from that of the living body.

  Further, the sound speeds of the materials 9 and 11 of the portion consisting only of the material 9 of the attachment 5 and the portion consisting of the material 9 and the material 11 need to be different, but whichever is faster, whichever is slower But the effect is the same.

  The material 11 shown in FIG. 4B is configured to be inclined with respect to the attachment material 9. This is because the ultrasonic beam is refracted by the difference in sound velocity between the material 9 and the material 11 by providing the material 11 with an angle with respect to the ultrasonic beam traveling straight (in the vertical direction in FIG. 4). It is for doing so.

  In addition, it is desirable that the acoustic impedance has a close value so that reflection is reduced at the boundary between the material 9 and the material 11, and the material 11 desirably has a small attenuation of the ultrasonic wave as in the material 9.

  In FIG. 5, the expanded schematic sectional drawing of the side surface of the attachment 5 comprised with the material 9 and the material 11 is shown. Hereinafter, it will be described that the ultrasonic beam is refracted according to Snell's law when transmitted to materials having different sound speeds.

  The material 9 is configured in a state where a material 11 having an arbitrary thickness is inclined. The material 9 is a single sound speed material, and a material 11 having a sound speed different from that of the material 9 is inserted into the material 9 at an angle A from the horizontal. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the material 11 is provided at least at the end of the array transducer 3. In FIG. 5, the ultrasonic beam 12 travels straight in a portion where the material 11 is not provided, and becomes an ultrasonic beam 14. However, by providing the material 9 between the materials 11, the ultrasonic beam 12 is separated from the material 11. The material 9 is refracted when traveling into the material 11 due to the difference in sound velocity.

  Further, when the ultrasonic beam travels from the material 11 to the material 9, it is similarly refracted by the difference in sound velocity and proceeds like the ultrasonic beam 16. In this way, by providing the material 11 in the attachment 5 so as to be inclined at an arbitrary angle, the ultrasonic beam that has passed through the material 11 is deviated from the beam 14 that travels straight, and the ultrasonic wave is at a position having an inter-beam distance 18. The beam 16 will travel.

  The traveling of the ultrasonic beam for reception proceeds in the opposite direction along the same path as the transmission. The relationship between the angle of refraction and the inter-beam distance 18 is, for example, a silicone rubber having a sound speed of a single sound speed material 9 of about 1000 m / s, and a polymethylpentene having a sound speed of a material 11 of different sound speeds of about 2000 m / s. If the angle A from the horizontal is inserted with an inclination of 15 degrees, the ultrasonic beam 13-15 traveling to the material 11 is about 16 from the ultrasonic beam 12 by Snell's law. Tilt (degree B).

Next, when entering the material 9 having a single sound velocity, the ultrasonic wave 15-16 shown in FIG. 5 is again refracted by Snell's law and travels straight through only the material 9 portion of the attachment 5. It will be parallel to the beam 12-13-14 and go straight.
The inter-beam distance 18 between the ultrasonic beam 12-13-14 in the region having only the material 9 of the attachment 5 and the ultrasonic beam 15-16 in the region in which the material 11 is provided in the material 9 of the attachment 5 is It depends on the thickness 17 of the material to be inserted.

  For example, when the inter-beam distance 18 is 1 mm, the thickness 17 of the material having different sound speeds is about 1.65 mm. The inter-beam distance 18 also depends on the insertion angle A of the material 11 having a different sound speed.

  As described above, with this structure, the ultrasonic beam is refracted in the portion where the material 11 having a different sound velocity is inserted into the material 9 (10: refractable region in FIG. 4), and the position of the beam is changed. . In addition, the ultrasonic beam travels straight in the portion of the attachment 5 where only the material 11 having a different sound speed is not inserted (8 in FIG. 4, the region where travel is straight).

  The attachment 5 is excellent in that it can be attached to a general-purpose ultrasonic probe even if it is not a dedicated ultrasonic probe because of its simple structure.

  For example, when a tomographic image of a carotid artery blood vessel is displayed by providing the attachment 5 having the above configuration on the general-purpose ultrasonic probe 2 and connecting it to the main body of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the material 9 of the attachment 5 is displayed. The only portion detects the position deviated from the blood vessel center at the end portion 10 of the attachment 5 where the ultrasonic beam is refracted when the blood vessel center is captured in a state where the ultrasonic beam advances straight (see FIG. 6). .

  In this way, by providing the material 11 having a sound speed different from that of the material 9 at a part of the end of the attachment 5 and changing the position of the ultrasonic beam in the region, the image of the region 10 in FIG. While observing, it is possible to easily align the vascular tomographic image of the region of only the material 9 of the attachment 5 with a desired central portion.

  FIG. 6A shows an ultrasonic image (displayed on a display unit connected to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body) obtained when the attachment 5 which is the ultrasonic refracting apparatus of the first embodiment of the present invention is used. FIG. 6B shows the positional relationship between the corresponding ultrasonic beam and blood vessel. In FIG. 6, the scanning direction of the ultrasonic beams 19 and 20 is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the blood vessel 21, and the ultrasonic beam 19 strikes the central portion of the blood vessel diameter (the ultrasonic probe is positioned accurately). And the positional relationship with the schematic diagram of the image obtained.

  In FIG. 6B, the ultrasonic beam 19 indicates an ultrasonic beam that passes through only the material 9 and advances straight, and the ultrasonic beam hits the center of the blood vessel 21. The ultrasonic beam 19 hits the front wall 22 of the blood vessel 21, the transmitted ultrasonic beam passes through the blood vessel 21, and the ultrasonic beam 19 hits the rear wall 23 of the blood vessel 21.

  The ultrasonic beam 20 indicates an ultrasonic beam that has been refracted because it has passed through the part 9 where the material 11 is inserted into the material 9 (refractive region). The beam hits a part that is displaced from the center of the blood vessel 21. The ultrasonic beam 20 hits the front wall 24 of the blood vessel 21, further passes through the blood vessel 21, and the ultrasonic beam 20 hits the rear wall 25 of the blood vessel 21.

  In FIG. 6A, the ultrasonic image 19a of the front wall and the ultrasonic image 23a of the rear wall obtained when the ultrasonic beam 19 of the portion composed only of the material 9 of the attachment 5 travels straight are conceptual images. As shown in FIG. 3, the width (L1 and L1a) between the two blood vessel walls is wider than the widths in the conceptual images 24a and 25a, and the ultrasonic beams 19 and 20 are parallel to the blood vessel 21. Are drawn in parallel. That is, the blood vessel wall image (front wall 22a and rear wall 23a) by the ultrasonic beam 19 and the blood vessel wall image (front wall 24a and rear wall 25a) by the ultrasonic beam 20 in FIG. It is drawn.

  Further, the conceptual images 24 a and 25 a of the blood vessel wall obtained by the refracted ultrasonic beam 20 in the portion made of the material 9 of the attachment 5 and the material 11 having a different sound velocity, hits the beam at a position deviated from the center of the blood vessel 21. Therefore, the width (L2 and L2a) of the blood vessel wall and its conceptual image (the front wall 24a and the rear wall 25a) is narrower than the width of the blood vessel wall of the straight wall 22a and the rear wall 23a, which is straight, compared to the conceptual image. The two blood vessel walls are depicted substantially in parallel.

  As described above, when there is an ultrasonic probe at an accurate position, the blood vessel wall images 22a and 23a captured by the portion made only of the material 9 of the attachment 5 and the portion of the material 11 having a different sound speed from the material 9 of the attachment 5 When comparing the blood vessel wall images 24a and 25a obtained in the above, the blood vessel wall images 22a and 23a captured only with the material 9 are displayed more widely on the display unit. become.

  Here, when the ultrasound probe including the attachment 5 is moved in parallel in the short axis direction, for example, the space between the blood vessel wall images 22a and 23a (L1a) gradually becomes narrower, and the space between the blood vessel wall images 24a and 25a ( L2a) is gradually widened, and when the ultrasonic beam shifts from the center of the blood vessel 21 and the distance from the center of the blood vessel 21 to the ultrasonic beam 19 becomes equal to the distance to the ultrasonic beam 20, the blood vessel wall images 22a and 23a ( L1a) and the blood vessel wall images 24a and 25a (L2a) are displayed as the same image.

When the ultrasonic probe further moves, the blood vessel walls in the display of the conceptual image of the blood vessel are opposite to each other, the region 8 in the central part of FIG. 4 is narrow, and the blood vessel in the region 10 in the end part FIG. If the width is displayed wide, it is clear that the ultrasonic probe has not been correctly applied to the position of the blood vessel, and the relationship between the blood vessel wall and the ultrasonic probe is clear. While confirming this image display, the ultrasonic probe is moved to a state where the blood vessel width in the region of the central portion 8 of the attachment 5 is the widest and the blood vessel width in the region of the end portion 10 is displayed narrowest. Thus, it can be adjusted to a desired position.

  In the present embodiment, the material 11 is inclined in a plane perpendicular to the long axis direction including the short axis direction of the ultrasonic probe, and the ultrasonic beam is shown in the positional relationship between the ultrasonic beam and the blood vessel in FIG. The material 11 is refracted in the direction from the beam 19 to the beam 20, but the material 11 may be inserted so as to be refracted in the depth direction of FIG.

  Further, the attachment 5 is made detachable from the general-purpose ultrasonic probe 2, so that the attachment 5 is removed from the ultrasonic probe when it is desired to be used for normal ultrasonic image diagnosis other than alignment. Can be easily switched for alignment using a general-purpose ultrasonic probe, and the structure is simple and the cost is low. Furthermore, the conventional T-shaped and H-shaped In contrast, since the increase in the dimensions of the ultrasonic probe on the long axis side and the short axis side is only the support during mating, the width of the ultrasonic probe is not significantly increased, so operability is improved. Good, a special configuration can be made unnecessary for the diagnostic apparatus.

  In addition, although the case where the sound speed of the material 9 of the attachment 5 is slower than that of the material 11 has been described, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the sound speed of the material 9 and the material 11 may be reversed. If the combination of the material 9 and the material 11 has a difference in sound speed, the same effect can be obtained.

  Further, the case where the shape of the material 11 provided in the material 9 of the attachment 5 has a uniform thickness has been described. However, the shape may be arbitrarily changed so that the position where the ultrasonic beam is refracted can be changed as desired. Similar effects can be obtained. Along with this, the refracted ultrasonic beam does not have to be parallel to the unrefracted ultrasonic beam of the material 9 alone.

  Thus, the ultrasonic refracting apparatus of the present invention and the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using the same are simple in structure and low in cost, and can use a general-purpose ultrasonic probe. Since the width does not need to be increased, the operability is good, a special configuration is not required for the diagnostic device, and the IMT value can be easily applied to the accurate position.

  Also, in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a determination unit that determines whether the position of the ultrasonic probe matches the target position, and a notification that notifies the operator that the target position is matched by the output of the determination unit By measuring the distance between the blood vessel walls (L1a, L2a) with the movement of the ultrasound probe, for example, if the distance is L1a, the determination unit determines when the maximum value is reached. By outputting a signal indicating that the target position is met and notifying the operator by the notifying means based on the signal, it is possible to more easily and accurately match the target position.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 7 shows a left side view 7 (a), a front view 7 (b), and a right side view 7 (c) of the attachment 5a which is the ultrasonic refraction apparatus of the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 7, the difference from the configuration of the first embodiment is that the material 11a with different sound speeds inserted obliquely into the material 9a of the attachment 5a is located at the left and right ends corresponding to the major axis direction of the ultrasonic probe. It is inserted in a part. Also in the second embodiment, in the region where the material 11a having a different sound velocity is provided, the ultrasonic beam is refracted at the boundary between the material 9a and the material 11a, and the ultrasonic beam of only the material 9a advances straight. A place different from the place can be obtained as an image.

For this reason, images corresponding to the ultrasound images (concept images) 24a and 25a in FIG. 6A are also displayed on the left side of the ultrasound images 22a and 23a. If the material 11a is at the target position on the left and right while observing the ultrasonic image (tomographic image) of the region of the material 11a provided at a part of both ends, the interval width of the left and right ultrasonic images is the same. Therefore, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

  That is, when a tomographic image of the carotid artery blood vessel is displayed with this configuration, when the blood vessel is captured only by the portion of the material 9a where the ultrasonic beam goes straight, the portion where the ultrasonic beam composed of the material 9a and the material 11a is refracted. Then, images of the front wall and the rear wall that are used as alignment indices are drawn at both ends. By adjusting the width between the front wall and the rear wall at both ends to be equal, it is possible to align the ultrasonic beam so that it is parallel to the blood vessel.

  In FIG. 7, different materials 11 a are inserted so as to be refracted in opposite inclinations at both ends, but materials 11 a having different sound speeds are inserted so that the ultrasonic beam is refracted at the same inclination at both ends. Even if it is inserted so as to be refracted in the reverse inclination, it is not limited to the insertion form of the material 11a as long as it is effective in alignment.

Note that two materials 11 having different sound speeds may be inserted at one end of the attachment so that the ultrasonic beam is refracted in different directions, or two materials 11 having different inclinations may be inserted at both ends.
In addition, when adjusting the width between the front wall and the rear wall at both ends to be equal, a function for notifying that they are equal is added to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus body to further improve operability. be able to.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 8 shows a front view 8 (a) and a side view 8 (b) of an attachment 5b which is an ultrasonic refraction apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 8, the difference from the configurations of the first and second embodiments is that the material 11b having a different sound velocity inserted into the attachment 5b has a V-shape with the center in the minor axis direction of the ultrasonic probe as the axis of symmetry. It is inserted. Also in this embodiment, the region where the material 11b is provided in a V-shape is the place where the ultrasonic beam is bent and the portion of the beam composed only of the material 9b where the material 11b is not provided travels straight. Since different locations can be obtained as images, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained, and alignment can be easily performed as in the second embodiment.

  Further, with this configuration, the ultrasonic beam generated from the ultrasonic probe can be divided into two as the ultrasonic beams 29 and 30. The width of the refracted ultrasonic beams 29 and 30 should be equal to the straight ultrasonic beam 31 in the portion composed only of the material 9b where the material 11b of the attachment 5b is not provided. Thus, when the blood vessel center is captured at a portion where the ultrasonic beam composed only of the material 9b of the attachment 5b advances straight, the front wall 35 obtained by the ultrasonic beam 29 and the front wall 37 obtained by the ultrasonic beam 30 are obtained. The images of the rear wall 36 obtained by the ultrasonic beam 29 and the image of the rear wall 38 obtained by the ultrasonic beam 30 are displayed so as to overlap each other, assuming that the blood vessel is substantially circular.

  Therefore, if the two images do not overlap, the ultrasonic beam is not hitting the desired position, so it is easy to recognize and adjust that the position should be adjusted by moving the ultrasonic probe. Thus, it can be easily adjusted to an accurate position with respect to a desired blood vessel site.

  In the present embodiment, the configuration in which the material 11 is inserted into the material 9 in a V shape has been described. However, other configurations other than the V shape may be used depending on the relationship between the speed of sound of the material 9 and the material 11. The effect is obtained.

(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 9 shows a front view 9 (a) and a side view 9 (b) of an attachment 5c which is an ultrasonic refraction apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 9, the difference from the configurations of the first, second, and third embodiments is a material 11c different from the sound velocity of the material 9c provided in the lower half of a part of both ends of the attachment 5c. Also in this embodiment, since the ultrasonic beam can be obtained as an image by bending the ultrasonic beam at a location different from the image in which the ultrasonic beam in the central portion where only the material 9c is provided can be obtained. The same effect as the embodiment can be obtained.

  In this case, the ultrasonic beam in the region of the material 11c provided at a part of both ends is refracted once, unlike the above embodiment, so that the ultrasonic beam in the region provided only with the material 9c is used. Although it proceeds in the living body at a certain angle, it is possible to align the blood vessels. Furthermore, as described above, the number of times that the ultrasonic beam travels to a different material is reduced compared to the first, second, and third embodiments, so that the reflection of the ultrasonic beam due to the difference in acoustic impedance of the material is reduced. There are also advantages.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the material 11c is provided in the lower portion of the material 9c has been described. However, the same effect can be obtained even when the material 9c is positioned below and the material 11c is positioned above. It is done. In this embodiment, the V-shaped material 11c is provided in the lower half of the material 9c. In addition, the trapezoidal material 11 whose upper surface is inclined and whose bottom surface is horizontal is arranged in the minor axis direction. The same effect can be obtained even with an inclined configuration. In the present embodiment, the material 11c is inserted at both ends. However, the material 11c may be inserted only at one end.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having the ultrasonic beam refracting attachment according to the present invention can use a general-purpose probe, has a simple structure and low cost, and has a small probe width and good operability. It is useful for measuring the IMT value, which is the vascular wall of the carotid artery.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body 2 Ultrasonic probe 3 Array vibrator 5, 5a, 5b, 5c Ultrasonic refraction apparatus 6 Convex part 7 Concave part 8 Center part of attachment 9, 9a, 9b, 9c Material 1
10 Attachment end portions 11, 11a, 11b, 11c Material 2
12, 13, 14, 15, 16 Ultrasonic beam 17 Thickness of material 2 18 Distance between beams of rectilinear ultrasonic beam and refracted ultrasonic beam 19, 20 Ultrasonic beam 21 Blood vessel 22 Blood vessel front wall 22a Ultra blood vessel front wall Sound image
23 Blood vessel rear wall 23a Ultrasound image of blood vessel front wall 24 Blood vessel front wall 24a Ultrasound image of blood vessel front wall 25 Blood vessel rear wall 25a Ultrasound image of blood vessel front wall 29, 30, 31 Ultrasound beam 35 Ultrasound beam 29 side The blood vessel front wall 36 The blood vessel rear wall on the ultrasonic beam 29 side 37 The blood vessel front wall on the ultrasonic beam 30 side 38 The blood vessel rear wall on the ultrasonic beam 30 side

Claims (7)

A fixing means for fixing to an ultrasonic probe that transmits and receives an ultrasonic beam; and an opposing member that opposes the transmitting and receiving surface of the ultrasonic beam of the ultrasonic probe. 2. An ultrasonic refracting apparatus comprising two types of regions, a linearly movable region for linearly moving an acoustic beam and a refractable region for refracting an ultrasonic beam. The at least one refractable region of the ultrasonic refracting apparatus refracts the ultrasonic beam by providing a material having a sound velocity different from the sound velocity of the region where the ultrasonic beam can travel straight. Item 2. The ultrasonic refraction apparatus according to Item 1. The ultrasonic refracting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ultrasonic refracting apparatus is provided with a material having different sound speeds at one end or both ends in the major axis direction of the ultrasonic probe. 4. The ultrasonic refracting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the material having different sound speeds is inclined with respect to a transmission / reception direction of the ultrasonic beam of the ultrasonic probe. The ultrasonic refracting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the shapes of the materials having different sound velocities are configured in a plate shape, a V shape, or a mountain shape. The ultrasonic refraction apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5;
An ultrasonic probe that transmits and receives an ultrasonic beam via the ultrasonic refractor;
A main body for generating and displaying an ultrasonic image from a reception signal of the ultrasonic probe;
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: A determination unit that determines whether the position of the ultrasonic probe matches a target position from the ultrasonic image data;
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising notification means for notifying an operator that the target position is matched by an output of the determination unit.