JP2885596B2 - Ultrasonic tissue diagnostic device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic tissue diagnostic apparatus for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from a subject in a matching material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an ultrasonic tissue diagnostic apparatus for diagnosing a living body as a subject using ultrasonic waves, for example, there is an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for displaying a tomographic image. In addition, the applicant of the present invention has proposed a bone evaluation apparatus for diagnosing a bone using X-ray measurement and ultrasonic measurement in Japanese Patent Application No. 4-127551.

When transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from a subject, if an air layer intervenes between the ultrasonic vibrator and the subject, the ultrasonic waves are attenuated and reflected, and effective measurement cannot be performed. It is known.

Therefore, in a conventional apparatus, a water tank is used as a measuring tank filled with water as a matching material, and a part of a living body is immersed in the tank to perform diagnosis by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves.

[0005]

Therefore, since the matching material is an important medium as described above, effective ultrasonic measurement cannot be performed unless a certain amount of the matching material is present in the measuring tank. is there.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has as its object to provide an ultrasonic tissue diagnostic apparatus capable of confirming the amount (water level) of a matching material in a measuring tank.

[0007]

[MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEMS] To achieve the above object
In the present invention, the subject is placed in a measuring tank in which the matching material is placed.
To transmit and receive ultrasonic waves,
In the ultrasonic tissue diagnostic apparatus performing the cutting, in the measurement tank
Ultrasonic wave transmitting and receiving means for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, and ultrasonic diagnosis
At a predetermined height higher than the predetermined ultrasonic transmission / reception area at the time
Set the ultrasonic wave transmitting and receiving means at the position, and transmit and receive ultrasonic waves
Control means for performing waves, and transmission and reception of the ultrasonic waves.
Based on the received signal, the matching material is moved to the predetermined height.
Determining means for determining whether or not it exists
Characterized by. Further, the present invention provides an ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving means.
The ultrasonic wave transmitted and received and the determination by the determination means are supersonic.
Before the wave diagnosis, perform the test with the sample
It is characterized by being performed.

[0008]

According to the above construction, the height is higher than the ultrasonic wave transmission / reception area.
By transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves at a predetermined height,
From the strength of the received signal, the amount of matching material required for ultrasonic diagnosis (water
Order) can be determined. In addition,
In the case of light, the above determination is made before the ultrasonic diagnosis
It is performed in a state where it is put in, so the matching material is
Sometimes it is possible to reliably determine whether the required amount is present.
Wear.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an ultrasonic tissue diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention. This apparatus diagnoses the properties of living tissue by ultrasonic measurement. The present invention can be applied to various apparatuses that transmit and receive ultrasonic waves in a matching material.

In FIG. 1, this device is roughly divided into a measuring device 10 and a control device 12.

The measuring device 10 has a pair of ultrasonic transducers 16 and 18 sandwiching a subject 14 to be diagnosed. These ultrasonic transducers 16 and 18 transmit and receive ultrasonic waves, are supported by the scanning unit 20, and are driven freely in the vertical and horizontal directions.

A transmission / reception unit 22 is connected to the ultrasonic vibrators 16 and 18, and supplies transmission drive signals and processes received signals.

The control unit 24 provided in the control device 12 includes:
For example, it is configured by a computer, and calculates an evaluation value indicating the quality of the bone based on the speed of the ultrasonic wave in the bone based on the output signal of the measuring device 10. In the calculation, a result value of the measurement by the X-ray measurement can be reflected. The control unit 24 also determines whether or not there is a matching material, as described later.

FIG. 2 shows a specific example of a configuration for diagnosing the calcaneus of a living body. 2A is a cross-sectional view of the water tank 26 as viewed from the front, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view as viewed from the side.

A water tank 26 as a measuring tank is filled with water 28 as a matching material, and a footrest 25 is disposed in the water tank 26. As shown in FIG.
A V-shaped cut is formed in the upper part of the footrest 25, and the foot 14 is placed on the part. Ultrasonic vibrators 16 and 18 are arranged with the foot 14 interposed therebetween. These ultrasonic vibrators 16 and 18 are supported by an arm 30 forming a part of the scanning unit 20 and can freely move in the vertical and horizontal directions. It is possible to move to. X shown in FIG. 2 is a scan area for calcaneus diagnosis.

As described above, in ultrasonic diagnosis of a living tissue, it is necessary to eliminate the intervening air layer between the ultrasonic transducer and the living body. Used. Therefore, it is necessary that the water 28 is always full at least in the range of the scanning region X.

Therefore, in the ultrasonic tissue diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention, an appropriate water level is determined by using the pair of ultrasonic transducers 16 and 18 and the scanning unit 20 arranged for tissue diagnosis. ing. Hereinafter, the determination of the water level will be described in detail.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment in which the water level is determined using the footrest 25. As described above, since the water 28 needs to be present at least to the level of the water level H, the ultrasonic vibrators 16 and 18 are controlled by the control unit 24 before the ultrasonic diagnosis. It is set to the reference position. The reference position is a position where the ultrasonic vibrators 16 and 18 face the footrest 25, and at least one of the ultrasonic vibrators is used to determine the water level.

That is, an ultrasonic wave is radiated from one ultrasonic vibrator 16 and a reflected wave reflected by the footrest 25 is received by the ultrasonic vibrator 16 and the level of the received signal at that time is set to a predetermined value. The presence or absence of the water 28 is determined by comparing with the threshold value.

More specifically, a judgment unit for judging the presence or absence of water 28 is provided in the control unit 24. The judgment unit compares the level of the received signal with a stored constant level, and determines the level of the received signal. Is higher than the predetermined level, it is determined that the water 28 is properly present. Here, if the level of the received signal falls below the certain level, the water 28
Is determined not to be at the proper water level, and the control unit 24
Gives a warning on the display. In addition, it is preferable to supply water into the water tank 26 from a water supply device (not shown) based on the warning. When the water 28 does not exist, since the ultrasonic wave is greatly attenuated in the air layer, the reflected wave is extremely weak, and the presence or absence of water can be easily determined.

After the proper water level is determined in this way, the original ultrasonic measurement is performed, and the quality of the bone is determined from the speed of the ultrasonic wave in the bone.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the reflected wave from the footrest 25 is used, but the transmitted wave can be used for determining the water level.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment in which a passage 25A is formed in the footrest 25. The passage 25A is formed at the above-described position of the constant height H. When an ultrasonic wave is radiated from one ultrasonic transducer at the reference position, the other ultrasonic transducer passes through the passage 25A. Ultrasonic waves are received. Therefore, as described above, the appropriate water level can be determined on the basis of the level of the received signal. Therefore, there is an advantage that the apparatus can be used as it is without changing the mechanism of the conventional apparatus. Of course, an ultrasonic vibrator for determining the water level may be separately provided at a predetermined height.

In an apparatus in which X-ray measurement is performed together with ultrasonic measurement, if the water 28 is not maintained at an appropriate water level, a problem of an increase in the amount of exposure related to X-ray measurement occurs. There is also an effect that such a problem can be prevented.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention,
There is an effect that the measurement of the ultrasonic wave can be performed accurately and reliably by determining the appropriate water level.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an ultrasonic tissue diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view seen from the front and a sectional view seen from the side of the measuring unit.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an embodiment in which a water level is determined using a reflected wave.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment in which a water level is determined using a transmitted wave.

[Explanation of symbols]

 16,18 Ultrasonic transducer 25 Footrest 26 Water tank 28 Water 25A Passageway

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) A61B 8/00-8/14

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ultrasonic tissue diagnostic apparatus for diagnosing a tissue of a subject by putting a subject into a measuring tank containing a matching material and transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, Ultrasonic transmitting and receiving means for transmitting and receiving the ultrasonic wave, and setting the ultrasonic transmitting and receiving means at a position at a predetermined height higher than a predetermined ultrasonic transmitting and receiving area at the time of ultrasonic diagnosis, and transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves An ultrasonic tissue, comprising: a control unit; and a determination unit that determines whether a matching material is present up to the predetermined height based on a reception signal obtained by transmitting and receiving the ultrasonic waves. Diagnostic device. 2. The ultrasonic tissue diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting and receiving of the ultrasonic wave by the ultrasonic transmitting and receiving unit and the determination by the determining unit are performed by a method in which the subject is placed in a measuring tank before the ultrasonic diagnosis. An ultrasonic tissue diagnostic apparatus characterized in that the ultrasonic tissue diagnostic apparatus is performed in a state where the ultrasonic tissue diagnostic apparatus is put in the apparatus.