JP3149643B2 - Ultrasonic inspection equipment - 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 inspection apparatus provided with an ultrasonic probe which is guided into a body cavity by using a treatment tool insertion channel of an endoscope as a guide and performs ultrasonic scanning from the inner wall of the body cavity. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to insert an ultrasonic probe into a body cavity, a treatment instrument insertion channel for inserting a treatment instrument such as forceps provided in an endoscope is used as a guide means. Used from. This type of ultrasonic probe is provided with an ultrasonic vibrator at the distal end of a flexible portion having a thickness that can be inserted into the treatment instrument insertion channel, and connects the base end of the ultrasonic probe to a drive unit. Cable is pulled out from the ultrasonic observation apparatus and detachably connected to the ultrasonic observation apparatus. The ultrasonic observation device inputs a drive signal to the ultrasonic transducer, and the ultrasonic reflected echo signal received by the ultrasonic transducer is sent,
By performing predetermined signal processing, an ultrasonic image signal is created, and an ultrasonic image is displayed on a monitor device based on the ultrasonic image signal.

[0003] A typical ultrasonic scanning method is as follows.
While moving the ultrasonic transducer linearly, a linear scanning method in which an ultrasonic pulse is incident on the inner wall of the body cavity at predetermined intervals, and an ultrasonic pulse at a predetermined angle while the ultrasonic transducer is driven to rotate. There is a radial scanning method in which a pulse is incident toward the inner wall of a body cavity. In the case of performing the radial scanning, a rotation driving unit for driving the ultrasonic transducer to rotate and a unit for detecting the rotation angle are required. Since the ultrasonic probe is inserted into the treatment instrument insertion channel, there is a strong demand for reducing the diameter, and it is impossible to incorporate a rotation driving unit and a rotation angle detecting unit into the ultrasonic probe itself. For this,
In the soft part of the ultrasonic probe, a rotation transmitting member having one end connected to the ultrasonic vibrator is provided, and the other end of the rotation transmitting member is led out to the outside of the treatment instrument insertion channel, and connected to the drive unit. The drive unit incorporates a rotation drive unit such as a motor and a rotation angle detection unit such as an encoder,
By operating the rotation drive means, the rotation transmission member is driven to rotate, and the rotation angle of the rotation transmission member is detected by the rotation angle detection means. On the other hand, there is also a configuration in which the ultrasonic transducer is moved by a driving unit such as a motor even when performing linear scanning, and an encoder is also required in this case. Therefore, even in the case of linear scanning by motor driving, a driving unit is provided, and a driving unit and an encoder are built in this driving unit. Thus, these drive units must be fixed to some member. Conventionally, these drive units are fixed to the entrance of the treatment instrument insertion channel provided in the main body operation section of the endoscope. Was composed.

[0004]

During the examination by the endoscope and the ultrasonic examination, the surgeon must always hold the operation section of the endoscope body. This type of examination sometimes lasts for several hours, and it is extremely burdensome for the surgeon to keep holding the main body operation unit during that time. Therefore, in order to reduce this burden, it is necessary to reduce the weight of the main body operation unit. However, as described above, when the drive unit is attached to the entrance of the treatment instrument in the main body operation unit, the weight is naturally added directly, and if the drive unit protrudes from the entrance of the treatment instrument, it becomes stable. Sex is also impaired. In particular, in the drive unit of the radial scanning method, not only the above-described rotation driving means and rotation angle detection means, but also the cable on the rotation transmission member side must rotate together with the ultrasonic transducer, Since the connection side to the ultrasonic observation device needs to be fixed in the rotation direction, the weight of the drive unit itself is considerable, such as incorporating a member such as a rotary connector that connects the cable so that it can rotate relatively. , And considerably larger. When a heavy object called a drive unit is mounted in an unstable state on the main body operation unit in this manner, the operation performed by grasping the main body operation unit becomes extremely difficult, and the burden on the operator becomes extremely large. There are drawbacks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a drive unit in an ultrasonic probe which is not provided with an endoscope main body operation unit. An object of the present invention is to stably fix a part to a part so that the weight received by an operator can be reduced without impairing the smoothness of operation.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an ultrasonic probe inserted into a body cavity through a guide member such as a treatment tool insertion channel of an endoscope, and an ultrasonic probe. Ultrasonic observation in which the base end of an ultrasonic probe is detachably connected to send and receive signals to and from an ultrasonic transducer provided on the ultrasonic probe and create a signal related to an ultrasonic image displayed on a monitor And a connection between the ultrasonic probe and the ultrasonic observation device.
Connection mechanism connected to the ultrasonic observation device,
Electrical connection between the wave transducer and this ultrasonic observation device
And a base unit for the ultrasonic probe.
An end is detachably connected, and a driving hand of the ultrasonic vibrator is provided.
A drive unit with steps and these connector units
Angle-adjustable connection with the drive unit and desired
And a joint part that can be fixed in the above angle state .

[0007]

By attaching the drive unit to the ultrasonic observation apparatus, the burden on the operator holding the operation section of the endoscope can be considerably reduced. Here, if the drive unit is completely fixed to the ultrasonic observation apparatus, the smoothness of the operation of the ultrasonic probe is impaired depending on the positional relationship between the operator and the patient, the personality of the operator, and the like. As a result, excessive force acts on the ultrasonic probe. For this purpose, the angle between the drive unit and the connector unit connected to the ultrasonic observation device can be adjusted and fixed at a desired angle.
Since the ultrasonic probe is configured to be connected via a possible joint portion, the ultrasonic probe can be directed in an arbitrary direction and bent at an arbitrary angle, so that smooth operation is ensured.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 to 6 show a first embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a radial scanning type ultrasonic inspection apparatus is shown. FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of the ultrasonic inspection apparatus. In the figure, 1 is an ultrasonic probe, 2 is an ultrasonic observation device, and 3 is an endoscope. The ultrasonic probe 1 has a distal end body 11 having an ultrasonic vibrator 10 attached to the distal end, and a flexible portion 12, and a plug 13 is provided at a proximal end of the flexible portion 12. The flexible portion 12 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), a flexible shaft 15 made of multiple or multiple, or multiple multiple contact coil springs or the like constituting a rotation transmitting means is inserted into a sleeve 14 formed of a soft synthetic resin in a tubular shape. A signal cable 16 is inserted through the flexible shaft 15. A rotating body 17 is connected to the base end of the flexible shaft 15.
Is rotatable by a bearing 18. A predetermined length of the flexible portion 12 from the plug 13 is inserted into a metal flexible tube 19 for preventing the flexible portion 12 from breaking.

The ultrasonic probe 1 is connected to a treatment instrument insertion / introduction section 30 provided in a main body operation section 3a of the endoscope 3 through an insertion section 3
b, is inserted into the body cavity using the treatment instrument insertion channel 31 as a guide, and the ultrasonic vibrator 10 provided at the tip of the insertion channel projects from the tip of the insertion portion 3b. Thus, radial scanning can be performed. The plug 13 provided at the base end of the ultrasonic probe 1 is detachably connected to the ultrasonic observation device 2 including the signal processing unit 2a and the monitor 2b.

The plug 13 of the ultrasonic probe 1 is connected to the ultrasonic observation device 2 via a connection mechanism 40. The connection mechanism 40 includes a drive unit 41 and a connector unit 42 as shown in FIG.
The drive unit 41 is provided with a socket 43,
A rotating cylinder 44 is rotatably supported in the socket 43. The rotating cylinder 44 has a pair of pulleys 4.
5 and 46 are provided integrally, and one pulley 45 is provided.
Are engaged with a transmission belt 48 from a motor 47 as a rotation driving means. The other pulley 46 is engaged with a belt 50 provided on an input shaft of an encoder 49. With this configuration, when the plug 13 is connected to the socket 43 of the connection mechanism 40, the rotating body 16 is connected to the rotating cylinder 44, and when the motor 47 is driven to rotate, the pulley 45 rotates via the transmission belt 48. As a result, the rotating cylinder 44 rotates integrally therewith, and this rotation is transmitted to the flexible shaft 14 via the rotating body 16,
The flexible shaft 14 rotates around the axis, and the distal end body 11 to which the ultrasonic vibrator 10 is mounted further rotates. And the ultrasonic vibrator 10
Is detected by the encoder 49.

The signal cable 16 is composed of a signal line 16a and a ground line 16b, and the signal line 16a is connected to a contact pin 20 provided in the rotating body 17, and between the contact pin 20 and the rotating body 17. Are electrically insulated by the insulating member 21. The ground wire 16b is connected to the rotating body 17. On the other hand, a connection pin 51 is inserted into the rotary cylinder 44 via an insulating member 51a, and the connection pin 51 is detachably connected to the contact pin 20. Therefore, when the rotating body 17 is connected to the rotating barrel 44, the signal line 16a is electrically connected to the connecting pin 51 via the contact pin 20, and the ground wire 16b is electrically connected to the rotating barrel 44 via the rotating body 17. Will be connected.

Further, the other end of the rotary cylinder 44 is connected to a fixed member 52, thereby forming a rotary connector. That is, the connection pin 51 provided in the rotary cylinder 44 is connected to the electrode 52b of the fixed member 52 via a fluid contact 52a of mercury or the like, and the rotary cylinder 44 itself is connected to the electrode 52d of the fixed member 52 via the fluid contact 52c. It is electrically connected. Therefore, even if the rotating body 44 rotates, the fixing member 52 is fixedly held, and both are electrically connected.

On the other hand, the connector unit 42 is provided with a connector portion 54 which is detachably connected to a connection portion of the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 to the signal processing portion 2a, and a cord 53 is connected to the connector portion 54. Have been. This code 5
3 includes a cable 16 from the ultrasonic transducer 10, a cable connected to the motor 47, and a cable connected to the encoder 49. In order to stably fix the connector unit 42 with the connector unit 54 connected to the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2, a clamp member 55 is attached to the connector unit 42. The clamp member 55 includes a clamp plate 55a, a shaft 55b, and a knob 55c. As shown in FIG.
Is inserted through an insertion hole 56 formed in the wall of the connector unit 42, and a clamp plate 55 a provided at the tip of the shaft 55 b is provided with a through hole 5 provided on the wall surface of the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2.
7 can be inserted. And this shaft 55
The knob 55c provided at the end of b has a diameter larger than that of the insertion hole 56. When the knob 55c is rotated to rotate the clamp plate 55a, the knob 55c cannot escape from the through-hole 57. The unit 42 is connected to the ultrasonic observation device 2. A spring 58 is interposed between the wall surface of the connector unit 42 and the knob 55c, and the clamp plate 55a is pressed against the inner surface of the wall of the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 by the spring 58, so that the connector unit 42 It is configured to be stably fixed to the ultrasonic observation device 2.

Drive unit 41 constituting connection mechanism 40
The connector unit 42 is connected to the connector unit 42 via a joint 60 so that the direction can be adjusted. To this end, a pair of brackets 41a and 41b are vertically provided at opposing positions at the lower end of the drive unit 41, and the connector unit 42 has a 90-degree angle with respect to the brackets 41a and 41b.
Brackets 42a and 42b are protruded at positions having a phase of °. As shown in FIG. 5, the brackets 41a and 41b and the brackets 42a and 42b form a shaft portion 6 which forms a support shaft 61 composed of two orthogonal axes formed in a cross shape.
1a and 61b. Thus, the drive unit 41 can be tilted in a direction away from the ultrasonic observation device 2 while the connector unit 42 is kept connected to the ultrasonic observation device 2. Drive unit 4 along
1 rotates. Further, when the drive unit 41 is tilted forward in the direction along the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2, the support shaft 61 together with the drive unit 41 rotates its shaft 61b about the brackets 42a and 42b. Furthermore, when these direction adjustments are combined, the ultrasonic probe 1 can also be directed obliquely forward with respect to the ultrasonic observation device 2. A through hole 64 is formed at the intersection of the support shaft 61, and the cord 53 is inserted into the through hole 64.

In order to fix the drive unit 41 in a state where the drive unit 41 is tilted in each direction with respect to the connector unit 42 and the direction of the drive unit 41 is adjusted, each shaft portion constituting the support shaft 61 is fixed. A ball plunger 62 comprising a steel ball 62a and a spring 62b for urging the steel ball 62a in a direction protruding from the end surface portion is provided on the end surfaces of the brackets 41a and 61b.
As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of concave portions 63 with which the ball plungers 62 are engaged are formed in the 42a.
Therefore, by engaging the ball plunger 62 with any of the concave portions 63, the ball plunger 62 can be fixed at the corresponding angular position.

With the above configuration, when performing an ultrasonic examination in a body cavity using the ultrasonic probe 1, the ultrasonic probe 1 is inserted into the treatment instrument insertion channel 31 of the endoscope 3 inserted into the body cavity. The sound wave probe 1 is inserted. Here, a drive unit for driving the ultrasonic vibrator 10 is not mounted on the treatment instrument introduction unit 30, and the connection mechanism 4 is connected to the ultrasonic observation device 2.
0, and the plug 13 provided at the base end of the ultrasonic probe 1 is connected to the drive unit 41 which constitutes the connection mechanism 40.
To the socket 43.

In this state, when the motor 47 incorporated in the drive unit 41 is operated, the rotary cylinder 44 rotates,
This rotation is transmitted to the rotating body 17 on the ultrasonic probe 1 side, and further the flexible shaft 15 rotates around its axis, and is connected to the distal end of the flexible shaft 15 and the distal end body on which the ultrasonic transducer 10 is mounted. 11 will rotate. The rotation of the ultrasonic transducer 10 is detected by an encoder 49 that detects the rotation of the rotary cylinder 44. Therefore, based on the detection signal from the encoder 49, an ultrasonic pulse is incident from the ultrasonic transducer 10 at every predetermined angle. Then, a reflected echo signal from the in-vivo tomographic part is received by the ultrasonic vibrator 10, and the reflected echo signal is transmitted from the signal cable 16 to the signal processing unit provided in the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 from the cord 53 via the connector 54 2
a, and the angle signal of the ultrasonic transducer 10 from the encoder 49 together with the reflected echo signal is transmitted to the signal processing unit 2.
a, an ultrasonic image signal is generated from these signals, and the ultrasonic image is displayed on the monitor 2b.

Since the drive unit 41 is not attached to the endoscope 3 but is fixed to the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 side, the weight of the endoscope 3 can be reduced, and the endoscope 3 can be lightened. Since there is no member protruding from the endoscope, the operator can stably hold the main body operation section 3a of the endoscope 3, and even if this operation is continued for a long time, fatigue is reduced. By the way, the drive unit 4
When the ultrasonic probe 1 is completely fixed to the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2, depending on the positional relationship between the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 and the operator, the base end of the ultrasonic probe 1 connected to the drive unit 41 has a pulling force or the like. There is a problem that operability deteriorates due to excessive force acting. However, since the drive unit 41 is connected to the connector unit 42 fixed to the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 via the joint unit 60 so as to be adjustable in direction, for example, according to the position or movement of the operator By holding the flexible tube 19 by hand and tilting it in a desired direction, the direction can be adjusted so that an excessive force is not applied to the ultrasonic probe 1.

In the above-described embodiment, the joint portion is constituted by two orthogonal axes, but, for example, the drive unit and the connector unit may be connected by another mechanism such as a spherical joint. Further, as a mechanism for holding the drive unit at a predetermined angular position, other than the above-described ball plunger, a friction engagement mechanism and other various mechanisms can be used. Further, the guide means of the ultrasonic probe is not limited to an endoscope, and various members inserted into a body cavity can be used.

As shown in FIG. 7, not only in the radial scanning type ultrasonic inspection apparatus but also in the linear scanning type ultrasonic inspection apparatus, similarly to the above-described embodiment, the base end of the ultrasonic probe 70 is used. The drive unit 71 connected to the unit may be configured to be connected to the connector unit 72 connected to the ultrasonic observation device via an angle-adjustable joint unit. Here, in the case of linear scanning, since the rotation transmitting means is not necessary, the flexible portion 73 of the ultrasonic probe 70 is configured by incorporating a signal cable in a flexible sleeve. A slide member 74 is connected to the base end of the flexible portion 73. The slide member 74 is slidably provided along a guide 75 in a casing of the drive unit 71. A rack 74 a is formed on the slide member 74. The rack 74 a has a pinion 77 provided on an output shaft of a motor 76 and a detection gear 79 provided on an encoder 78.
And are engaged.

When the motor 76 is operated, the pinion 77
Is rotated, the slide member 74 moves, and the ultrasonic probe 70 is displaced in the axial direction. At this time, the detection gear 79 rotates, and the detection gear 79 rotates.
Is detected by the encoder 78, and a signal relating to the position of the ultrasonic transducer is obtained.

As described above, even in the linear scanning type ultrasonic inspection apparatus, the slide member 74, the motor 76, the encoder 78 and the like must be provided, and the drive unit 71 becomes considerably large and heavy. By configuring it as a connection mechanism provided in the ultrasonic observation apparatus, it is advantageous from the viewpoint of operability and the like.

Further, there is also known an ultrasonic inspection apparatus of a type capable of performing both linear scanning and radial scanning, and includes a drive unit 80 shown in FIG. That is, the insertion portion 81 of the ultrasonic probe, in which the flexible shaft is inserted through the sleeve, can be detachably connected to an axially slidable rotary shaft 82 provided in the casing of the drive unit 80. Here, a spline is provided on the outer surface of the rotating shaft 82, and a gear 83a is provided on the rotating shaft 82.
Are fitted. The gear 83 has a drive gear 85 connected to a rotating shaft of a radial drive motor 84.
And an output gear 87 connected to the encoder 86
Are engaged with the gear 83b. A rack member 88 is fixedly provided on the rotating shaft 82. A detection gear 92 of an encoder 91 meshes with a rack of the rack member 88 together with a pinion 90 provided on a linear drive motor 89. I have.

When the drive unit 80 is configured as described above, the drive unit 80 must incorporate at least two motors 84 and 89 and encoders 86 and 91, so that the drive unit 80 is further increased in size and weight. In the connection mechanism attached to the ultrasonic observation apparatus, the operability such as reduction of the burden on the operator and securing of the stability of the drive unit is significantly improved by coupling via a joint part that can adjust the angle. .

[0025]

As described above, the present invention provides an ultrasonic
As a connection mechanism between the probe and the ultrasonic observation device,
A drive unit including a vibrator drive unit, and an ultrasonic vibration
Connector unit for electrically connecting the probe to the ultrasonic observation equipment
And a drive unit and a connector unit.
Angle can be adjusted and fixed at desired angle position
The configuration is such that the drive unit is connected via a simple joint, so that it is not necessary to mount the drive unit on a part that the operator grips, such as the main body operation part of the endoscope, and the burden on the operator is significantly reduced. The operator operates the drive unit
The desired angle state above, and that angle state
Thus, various effects such as extremely stable fixing can be achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an ultrasonic inspection apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an ultrasonic probe.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a connection mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a configuration explanatory view showing a fixing mechanism of the connector unit.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a joint unit.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of an engagement portion of a ball plunger in a joint portion.

FIG. 7 is a configuration explanatory view of a connection mechanism showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a drive unit according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1,70 Ultrasonic probe 2 Ultrasonic observation device 3 Endoscope 10 Ultrasonic transducer 11 Tip main body 12,73 Flexible part 14 Sleeve 15 Flexible shaft 16 Signal cable 17 Rotating body 31 Treatment tool insertion channel 40 Connection mechanism 41, 71, 80 Drive unit 42, 72 Connector unit 47, 76, 84, 89 Motor 49, 78, 86, 91 Encoder 54 Connector unit 55 Clamp member 60 Joint unit 61 Support shaft 62 Ball plunger 63 Recess

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A61B 8/12

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ultrasonic probe inserted into a body cavity through a guide member such as a treatment tool insertion channel of an endoscope,
The base end of this ultrasonic probe is detachably connected,
Performs transmission and reception of signals between the ultrasonic vibrator disposed in the ultrasonic probe, in that an ultrasound observation apparatus that produces a signal to ultrasonic image displayed on the monitor, and these ultrasonic probe ultrasonic Connection mechanism with acoustic observation equipment
The said is connected to the ultrasound observation apparatus, and the ultrasonic vibrator
A cable for electrical connection with the ultrasonic observation device
Nectar unit and the base end of the ultrasonic probe are detachably connected,
A drive unit provided with a drive unit for the ultrasonic transducer, and an angle adjustment between the connector unit and the drive unit.
A joint that can be adjusted and fixed at a desired angle.
An ultrasonic inspection apparatus characterized by comprising an int part . 2. The connector unit according to claim 1, wherein
On one side of the cutting unit or drive unit, with spring and steel
Ball plunger consisting of a ball and the other side formed
And the plurality of concave portions arranged in an arc shape.
The ultrasonic inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The drive unit according to claim 2, wherein the joint unit includes the drive unit.
Angle of the connector unit with respect to the connector unit can be adjusted in four directions
In order to make this possible, a support shaft consisting of two orthogonal axes is provided.
One of the support shafts is connected to the connector unit, and the other
That the other shaft is connected to the drive unit.
The ultrasonic inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 4. A cord drawn from the drive unit.
Is provided at the intersection of two orthogonal axes constituting the support shaft.
The feature is that it is configured to be pulled out so as to be inserted into the through hole
The ultrasonic inspection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein 5. The connection mechanism is attached to the ultrasonic observation device.
Claims characterized in that it is configured to be detachably connected.
2. The ultrasonic inspection apparatus according to 1.