JP3119702B2 - Ultrasonic probe for body cavity - 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 probe for use in a body cavity which has a rotating means for rotating an array type ultrasonic transducer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ultrasonic probe for a body cavity which rotates an ultrasonic transducer has been known, and the ultrasonic probe for a body cavity has a distal end swelling as shown in FIG. The body cavity tube 1 has a rotating shaft 2 and a lead wire inserted therein. And the rotating shaft 2
An ultrasonic vibrator 3 for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves is disposed at the distal end of the tube, and the tube 1 for body cavity is filled with an ultrasonic transmission medium 4 such as water or oil. In this conventional ultrasonic probe for body cavity, the rear end of the rotating shaft 2 is located outside the tube 1 for body cavity.

Next, the operation will be described.

[0004] When performing an ultrasonic diagnosis, an ultrasonic probe for a body cavity is inserted into a test portion from a mouth or the like of a subject, and the outer peripheral surface of the distal end of the tube 1 for a body cavity is brought into contact with the test portion. Then, in this state, the rotating shaft 2 is rotated in the A or B direction while emitting the ultrasonic beam from the ultrasonic transducer 3 to transmit the ultrasonic waves to the test portion, and from the portions having different acoustic impedances. The obtained reflected echo is displayed on a monitor to obtain a tomographic image.

[0005]

Since the conventional intracavity ultrasonic probe is constructed as described above, the operator contacts the outer peripheral surface of the distal end of the intracavity tube 1 to the portion to be inspected. In this state, the rotating shaft 2 must be rotated in the A or B direction while emitting an ultrasonic beam from the ultrasonic vibrator 3. In some cases, the outer peripheral surface of the distal end may be separated from the portion to be inspected, so that a desired tomographic image cannot be obtained. Also,
The operation of rotating the rotary shaft 2 in the A or B direction while emitting the ultrasonic beam from the ultrasonic transducer 3 in a state where the outer peripheral surface of the distal end of the body cavity tube 1 is in contact with the test portion is complicated. There was a problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and a desired tomographic image can be reliably obtained without a complicated manual operation for rotating a rotating shaft. It is intended to obtain an ultrasonic probe for use in a body cavity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an ultrasonic probe for use in a body cavity according to the present invention includes a long tube for a body cavity and a distal end of the tube for a body cavity.
The axis perpendicular to the center axis of the inner tube and passing through the center of the array
An array-type ultrasonic vibrator for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves rotatably disposed as a center, and the ultrasonic vibrator are provided.
A hollow rotor and a hollow stator facing it
In the hollow portion of the rotor and the stator,
The lead wire from the ultrasonic vibrator is inserted and the ultrasonic vibration
An ultrasonic motor for rotating the rotor and the stator;
The lead wire from the ultrasonic transducer and the ultrasonic wave
A motor is electrically connected, the ultrasonic vibrator and the
Terminal groups for connecting signal lines to ultrasonic motors are aligned
And a substrate provided on the substrate and connected to a test portion.
The upper part is a gentle convex member, and the ultrasonic
Data and the array type ultrasonic transducer
From an ultrasonic transmission material filled with an ultrasonic transmission medium
Which is rotated by the ultrasonic motor.
The ultrasonic wave is applied to the test portion by the array type ultrasonic vibrator.
And a tomographic image is obtained by reflection echoes obtained from portions having different acoustic impedances.

[0008]

Further, it is preferable to invert the rotation direction of the array type ultrasonic transducer by inverting the phase of the drive waveform of the ultrasonic motor.

Further, by switching the rotation direction and increasing the rotation speed of the ultrasonic motor, an image which can be recognized three-dimensionally can be obtained.

[0011]

With the above construction, the intracavity ultrasonic probe of the present invention inserts the intracavity tube to a desired position in the body cavity of the subject, and inserts the distal end portion of the intracavity tube. Closely contacting the test portion, rotating around the center of the array type ultrasonic transducer by mechanical turning means while emitting an ultrasonic beam from the array type ultrasonic transducer to the test portion,
A tomographic image is obtained from reflected echoes obtained from sites having different acoustic impedances.

Further, in the ultrasonic probe for body cavity according to the present invention, the tube for body cavity is inserted to a desired position in the body cavity of the subject, and the distal end portion of the tube for body cavity is brought into close contact with the part to be examined. Then, while radiating the ultrasonic beam from the array type ultrasonic transducer to the test portion via the ultrasonic transmission medium and the storage container, the ultrasonic motor is rotated around the center of the array type ultrasonic transducer by the ultrasonic motor. Then, a tomographic image is obtained from reflected echoes obtained from sites having different acoustic impedances.

Further, by switching the rotation direction of the ultrasonic motor and increasing the rotational speed, the array type ultrasonic transducer is inverted at a high speed, and at the same time, a multi-plane plane is multi-planed in real time. Thus, the three-dimensional recognition of the test portion becomes possible.

[0014]

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

As shown in FIG. 1, the ultrasonic probe for body cavity has a tube 5 for body cavity, and a tip of the tube 5 for body cavity has a length of about 20 mm and a height of about 10 mm. A distal end portion 6 having a width of about 15 mm is disposed, and a storage container 7 is disposed at the distal end portion 6 at a position where an upper portion projects outside the distal end portion 6.

The container 7 has a substrate 9 on which an ultrasonic motor 8 is mounted, as shown in FIG.
The ultrasonic motor 8 is electrically connected to the substrate 9, and has a fixed hollow stator 10 and a fixed stator 10.
And a hollow rotor 11 rotating above. Further, on the rotor 11, an array type ultrasonic transducer 1 is provided.
2 are disposed, and the ultrasonic vibrator 12 is
The lead 9 is electrically connected to the substrate 9 by a lead wire (not shown) passing through the hollow portion 10a and the hollow portion 10a of the rotor 11 (see FIG. 6). Further, a connector terminal 13 is provided at a lower portion of the substrate 9, and specifically, as shown in FIG.
The child groups are aligned and formed, and the connector terminal 13 is connected to a lead wire 14 for connecting to an external device through the intracavity tube 5 (see FIG. 1).

On the substrate 9, a hard film 15 having a gentle upper part made of an ultrasonic transmission material such as polyethylene which covers the ultrasonic motor 8 and the array type ultrasonic transducer 12 is provided. The bonding surface between the hard film 15 and the substrate 9 is sealed by a sealing material 16, and an ultrasonic transmission medium 17 such as water or oil is provided in a space formed by the hard film 15 and the substrate 9. Is filled.

With the above configuration, the ultrasonic probe in the body cavity according to the present invention uses the ultrasonic probe for the body cavity through the mouth or the like of the subject when performing ultrasonic diagnosis. And the upper portion of the gentle convex hard film 15 of the storage container 7 is brought into contact with the test portion. At this time, since the hard film 15 has a gentle convex shape, the adhesion between the upper portion of the hard film 15 and the test portion is good. Then, in a state where the upper portion of the hard film 15 and the portion to be inspected are in close contact with each other, the array is rotated by the ultrasonic motor 8 while emitting an ultrasonic beam from the ultrasonic transducer 12. For example, the array-type ultrasonic transducer 12 is a
If it is located in the direction along the axial direction of FIG. 4, first, it is rotated clockwise by 90 ° to emit an ultrasonic beam to the hatched portion in FIG. 4 to obtain a tomographic image. Then, the array type ultrasonic transducer 12 returns to the direction along the axial direction of the intracavity tube 5 and rotates counterclockwise by 90 ° to emit an ultrasonic beam to the hatched portion in FIG. Get an image. Thereby, 360 ° of the direction in which the upper outer peripheral surface of the storage container 7 contacts
Can be obtained. At this time, the array type ultrasonic transducer 12 is returned to the original position, so that the lead wire connecting the ultrasonic transducer 12 and the substrate 9 is not entangled.

If the rotation speed of the ultrasonic motor 8 is increased and reversed at a high speed, a multi-plane as shown in FIG. 3 is obtained in real time to obtain an image capable of three-dimensional recognition. Becomes possible.

Since the array type ultrasonic vibrator 12 is configured to be rotated by the ultrasonic motor 8 which does not generate magnetism, the present invention is applicable to the intracavity of the present invention even during diagnosis by MRI or the like which makes use of nuclear magnetic resonance. A tomographic image can be obtained by the ultrasonic probe for use.

Further, in the apparatus of this embodiment, the ultrasonic motor is configured to rotate the array type ultrasonic vibrator, so that the ultrasonic motor has a strong driving torque, so that the ultrasonic motor can be miniaturized and the generated electric power can be reduced. Since the target noise is much smaller than that of the electric motor, noise and the like can be reduced, which is effective for ultrasonic diagnosis.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The tube for the body cavity is inserted to a desired position in the body cavity of the subject, the distal end portion of the tube for the body cavity is brought into close contact with the portion to be tested, and the array-type ultrasonic vibrator is passed through the ultrasonic transmission medium and the storage container. While emitting an ultrasonic beam to the part to be inspected, the ultrasonic motor rotates around the center of the ultrasonic transducer of the array type to obtain a tomographic image from reflected echoes obtained from parts with different acoustic impedances. With this configuration, the operation of rotating the rotating shaft is omitted, and the distal end outer peripheral surface of the intraluminal tube is prevented from separating from the test portion, so that a desired tomographic image can be obtained. In addition, since the array type ultrasonic vibrator is configured to be rotated by the ultrasonic motor, the ultrasonic motor has a strong driving torque, so that the ultrasonic motor can be miniaturized, and the generated electric noise is very small as compared with the electric motor. Therefore, noise and the like can be reduced, which is effective for ultrasonic diagnosis.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an ultrasonic probe for a body cavity according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure inside a storage container of the ultrasonic probe for a body cavity according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a first scanning range of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a second scanning range according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an ultrasonic motor according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a conventional ultrasonic probe for a body cavity.

[Explanation of symbols]

 5 Body cavity tube 7 Storage container 8 Ultrasonic motor 12 Array type ultrasonic transducer 17 Ultrasonic transmission medium

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-59-22534 (JP, A) JP-A-61-128948 (JP, A) JP-A-63-262144 (JP, A) 148246 (JP, A) JP-A-2-305564 (JP, A) JP-A-3-3308 (JP, U) US Patent 4,543,960 (US, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB Name) A61B 8/00-8/15

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An elongated intraluminal tube, a tip of the intraluminal tube, and a central axis of the intraluminal tube.
An array-type ultrasonic vibrator for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, which is arranged rotatably about an axis passing through the center of the array at right angles to the array, a hollow rotor provided with the ultrasonic vibrators, and a pair thereof.
Facing the hollow stator, the rotor and the
Lead wire from the ultrasonic transducer to the hollow part of the stator
Is inserted, and an ultrasonic wave for rotating the ultrasonic vibrator.
A motor and the stator mounted thereon, and a lead from the ultrasonic vibrator.
The wire and the ultrasonic motor are electrically connected, and the ultrasonic
Signal lines are electrically connected to the wave oscillator and the ultrasonic motor
And a substrate on which a group of terminals for performing the alignment is formed, and an upper portion provided on the substrate and in contact with the test portion has a gentle upper portion.
Such a convex member, a container made of ultrasonic transmission material ultrasound transmission medium is filled in with accommodating the ultrasonic motor and the array type ultrasonic transducer, the greater radiating ultrasonic waves to the object part by the array type ultrasonic transducer is rotated by a wave motor, than for the body cavity, characterized in that to obtain a tomographic image by the reflection echo obtained from different sites of the acoustic impedance Sonic probe. 2. By reversing the phase of the drive waveforms of the ultrasonic motor, probe ultrasonic body cavity according to claim 1, wherein inverting the rotation direction of the array type ultrasonic transducer Tentacles. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the rotation direction of the ultrasonic motor is sequentially reversed.
To sequentially form a multi-plane consisting of multiple fault planes
3. An ultrasonic probe for use in a body cavity according to claim 2, wherein an image capable of three-dimensional recognition is obtained.