JP3231385B2 - Balloon sheath for ultrasonic probe - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a balloon sheath for an ultrasonic probe, and more particularly to an ultrasonic probe which is inserted into a body cavity of a human or an animal and scans while irradiating a peripheral organ with an ultrasonic beam. The present invention relates to a sheath with a balloon used for an ultrasonic probe for performing a diagnosis.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ultrasonic probe has been used for diagnosing a deep part in a body cavity of a human or an animal using an ultrasonic wave. In this case, an ultrasonic probe is inserted into a balloon sheath having a balloon attached to the distal end, the probe inserted into the sheath is inserted into a body cavity, the ultrasonic transmission medium is filled in the balloon, and the ultrasonic transmission medium is filled. The ultrasonic beam is applied to the affected part through the ultrasonic beam. An example of such a balloon sheath is disclosed in, for example, US Pat. No. 4,817,616.
No. 6,086,045. In the sheath disclosed in this publication, an opening for transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic beam is provided at a distal end, and a balloon is attached so as to cover the opening for transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic beam. The outside of the ultrasonic probe is covered with this sheath, inserted into a body cavity using a forceps channel of an endoscope, and the balloon is filled with an ultrasonic transmission medium to transmit and receive an ultrasonic beam.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 59-228835 discloses a balloon forceps which is used by inserting it into a body cavity separately from an ultrasonic endoscope.

[0004]

The above-mentioned US Pat.
In the sheath with a balloon described in No. 16,
Since the opening for transmitting and receiving the ultrasonic beam is not provided over the entire circumferential direction of the sheath, it cannot be used for a mechanical radial scanning type ultrasonic probe.

When a mechanical radial scanning type ultrasonic probe is inserted into the balloon forceps described in JP-A-59-228835 and used, the ultrasonic probe and the balloon forceps are inserted into the body cavity. Then, the balloon is inflated at the fixed position, the balloon is brought into close contact with the affected part, and the ultrasonic beam is transmitted and received. However, in this case, there is a problem that the ultrasonic beam cannot be efficiently transmitted and received because the ultrasonic transducer attached to the distal end of the ultrasonic probe is not well positioned at the portion where the balloon is in close contact with the affected part. Even if the ultrasonic transducer is moved to a position where the balloon is in close contact with the affected area, and the ultrasonic transducer is transmitted and received there, the ultrasonic transducer cannot be fixed at that position. Diagnosis must be performed without shifting the position of the child, and the burden on the operator in operating the probe is large.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of such problems, it can also be used for mechanical radial scan type ultrasonic probe, a <br/> this filter balloon is in close contact with the affected area The ultrasonic probe is moved so that the ultrasonic vibrator is positioned at the position, and the ultrasonic probe is fixed at the position to provide a balloon sheath for the ultrasonic probe so that the diagnosis can be performed. Is intended to be smaller.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, a balloon sheath for an ultrasonic probe according to the present invention is provided with a sheath for inserting an ultrasonic probe insertion portion and a distal end of the sheath. A balloon, a conduit for feeding and sucking an ultrasonic transmission medium to the balloon, an elastic member provided between the insertion portion of the ultrasonic probe and the sheath, and adjusting a stress applied to the elastic member to adjust the stress applied to the elastic member. Deformation means for changing the amount of deformation, and water-tightly fixing the ultrasonic probe to the sheath so as to be movable to an arbitrary position in the insertion direction of the ultrasonic probe within the sheath, Is what you do.

As described above, in the balloon sheath for an ultrasonic probe according to the present invention, an elastic member is provided between the insertion portion of the ultrasonic probe and the sheath, and the stress applied to the elastic member is adjusted by the deforming means to deform the elastic member. By changing the amount, the ultrasonic probe is fixed to the sheath in a watertight manner so that the ultrasonic probe can be moved to an arbitrary position in the insertion direction of the ultrasonic probe within the sheath. In a state in which the balloon is inflated and brought into close contact with the affected part in the body cavity, the ultrasonic probe is moved while keeping the watertight so that the ultrasonic beam emitted from the ultrasonic transducer hits the contact part, It is possible to easily transmit and receive ultrasonic waves by fixing the ultrasonic probe at that position.

[0009]

FIG. 1 is a view showing the configuration of an embodiment of a balloon sheath for an ultrasonic probe according to the present invention. The balloon sheath 1 includes an insertion portion 1a and a connection portion 1b. The insertion portion 1a includes a flexible tube 2, and the insertion portion 3a of the ultrasonic probe 3 is inserted into the tube 2. In the balloon sheath 1, a portion between the outer periphery of the insertion portion 3a of the ultrasonic probe 3 and the inner wall of the sheath serves as a feed / suction path for the ultrasonic transmission medium. The ultrasonic transmission medium is sent and sucked into the balloon attached to the device.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the configuration of the distal end portion of the balloon sheath 1. A pipe member 4 is arranged at the tip of the tube 2. The tube 2 is adhered and fixed to the outer peripheral portion of the pipe member 4 after being tied with a thread 5, and a balloon 6 is adhered and fixed to the distal end side of the pipe member 4 after being tied with a thread 7. As shown in FIG. 1, an insertion portion 3a of an ultrasonic probe 3 is inserted into a tube 2 of a balloon sheath 1, and a distal end portion 3b of the insertion portion 3a is pressed against a distal end of the balloon 6, and the balloon 6 is inserted into the insertion portion 3a. It is fixed so as to extend in the insertion direction.

A vibrator unit 10 having an ultrasonic vibrator 9 is provided at the tip of the insertion portion 3a of the ultrasonic probe 3. The vibrator unit 10 is connected to a flexible shaft 11, is configured to be rotatable in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the insertion portion 3a, and can perform a mechanical radial operation. The proximal side of the flexible shaft 11 is connected to an ultrasonic probe connecting portion 3c connected to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus (not shown).

The proximal end of the tube 2 of the balloon sheath 1 is fixed to the outer periphery of the fixing member 12 of the connecting portion 1b of the balloon sheath by tying it with a thread. A screw 14 is provided at the proximal end of the fixing member 12, and a connecting body 15 is provided.
Is screwed into a screw hole 16 provided on the tip side of the. In addition,
At the proximal end of the fixing member 12, a tapered portion 1
3 are formed. Outer circumference of fixing member 12 and connecting body 1
An elastic member 17 is provided between the fixing member 12 and the inner periphery of the connecting member 5 to keep the fixing member 12 and the connecting body 15 watertight. Further, a luer base 18 is connected to the connecting body 15, and the ultrasonic transmission medium is sent and sucked through the base 18.

A screw 19 is provided on the outer periphery of the distal end of the connecting body 15 on the hand side.
8 and a stopper member 2 having a screw 20 on the outer peripheral portion.
1 and a ring 22 made of resin.

The inner peripheral portion of the connecting main body 15 is provided with a tapered portion 23 on the distal end side, and a case 26 having a concave portion inside is inserted on the proximal side. Elastic members 24 and 25 are inserted into the concave portions inside the case 26, and these elastic members 24 and 25 are connected to the connecting body 15 and the case 26.
In addition, the respective members are brought into contact with the probe protection member 27 to keep each member watertight. Probe protection member 2
Reference numeral 7 denotes a hand-side end connected to the connection portion 3c of the ultrasonic probe 3, and protects the insertion portion 3a of the ultrasonic probe 3 inside the connection body 15. An extruding member 29 having a tapered portion 28 on the inside is slidably fitted along the protection member 27 inside the case 26, and a rotating member 30 is attached to the proximal end of the extruding member 29.
Are connected. A screw hole 31 is provided on the inner periphery of the rotating member 30 on the distal end side.
And the screw 20 of the stopper member 21 are screwed together.

After the insertion portion 3a of the ultrasonic probe 3 is inserted into the balloon sheath 1, the rotating member 30 is rotated while holding the stopper member 21 provided on the outer periphery of the connecting body 15 of the balloon sheath 1 to rotate. A screw 19 provided on the proximal side of the connecting body 15 in a screw hole 31 provided inside the member 30 and a screw 20 provided on the proximal side of the stopper member 21
Is screwed into the screw hole 31, and the pushing member 29 connected to the rotating member 30 slides along the protection member 27 toward the distal end. According to the sliding of the pushing member 29,
The ring-shaped elastic members 24 and 25 are deformed to fix the protection member 27 of the ultrasonic probe 3, the case 26 provided on the balloon sheath 1 and the connecting body 15 in a watertight manner .

When it is desired to move the ultrasonic probe 3 within the balloon sheath 1 to change the position of the ultrasonic vibrator 9 provided at the distal end, the rotating members 30 are screwed with the screws 19 and 20 while pressing the stopper member 21. By turning in the loosening direction, the deformation of the ring-shaped elastic members 24 and 25 is reduced while the watertightness of the protective member 27, the case 26 and the connecting body 15 is maintained, and the fixing between the ultrasonic probe 3 and the balloon sheath 1 is loosened. To do. Next, the probe 3 is moved in a desired direction with respect to the balloon sheath 1, the rotating member 30 is turned to deform the ring-shaped elastic members 24 and 25 again, and the balloon sheath 1 and the probe 3 are fixed. Try to keep.

As described above, in this embodiment, the position of the probe 3 in the balloon sheath 1 can be easily changed by rotating the rotating member 30,
After moving the probe 3 to a desired position, it can be easily fixed.

The balloon sheath 1 is inserted into a body cavity as follows. For example, when the balloon sheath 1 is inserted into a body cavity using a forceps channel of an endoscope, the balloon 6 attached to the distal end of the balloon sheath 1 is made of a soft material, and thus the balloon 6 is cut during insertion. Sometimes difficult to insert. Then, the tip 3b of the ultrasonic probe 3 inserted into the balloon sheath 1 is pressed against the tip of the inner wall of the balloon 6, and the tip of the balloon 6 is extended, for example, by about 2 to 3 mm in the insertion direction. After being fixed to the balloon sheath 1 as described above, it is inserted into a body cavity. In this way, the distal end 3b of the probe insertion portion 3a is in close contact with the distal end of the balloon 6, so that when the balloon sheath 1 is inserted into the forceps channel of the endoscope, the balloon 6 moves to the distal end 3b of the probe. Since it is guided and moved, the balloon 6 does not break,
The balloon sheath 1 can be easily inserted into a body cavity.

After inserting the balloon sheath 1 into which the ultrasonic probe 3 has been inserted in the body cavity as described above, an ultrasonic transmission medium is injected to fill the balloon 6. For injection of the ultrasonic transmission medium, one lug (not shown) of a three-way cock is connected to a luer base 18 connected to the connection main body 15, and a suction device and an ultrasonic transmission medium injector are connected to the remaining two plugs. Do. First, the pipe on the suction side of the three-way cock is opened to operate the suction unit, and the air in the balloon sheath 1 is sucked. After sucking air for a certain period of time, the operation of the suction device is stopped by closing the pipe on the suction device side of the three-way cock, and the injector is operated by opening the pipe on the ultrasonic transmission medium injector side to transmit the ultrasonic wave. The medium is injected into the balloon case 1. The internal pressure is increased, and the ultrasonic transmission medium is pumped into the balloon 6 attached to the distal end of the balloon sheath 1 to expand the balloon 6.

It is desirable that the suction performed before injecting the ultrasonic transmission medium be performed until the inside of the balloon sheath 1 is evacuated. Some air will remain in the air. The remaining air is inflated with the distal end of the balloon 6 facing down so that the air comes to the proximal side of the balloon 6, and then the three-way cock is switched to the suction device side to activate the suction device. Next, the three-way cock is switched to the ultrasonic transmission medium injector side, and the operation of injecting the ultrasonic transmission medium into the balloon sheath 1 can be removed by repeating the operation several times.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a state in which the balloon sheath 1 of the present embodiment into which the ultrasonic probe 3 is inserted is inserted into a body cavity, and the balloon 6 is brought into close contact with an affected part in the body cavity. When the insertion portion 3a of the ultrasonic probe 3 is inserted into the body cavity together with the balloon sheath 1, the insertion portion 3a is at a position shown by a broken line in FIG. At this time, it is normal that the distal end of the balloon 6 does not easily adhere to the body cavity wall 33 (FIG. 3). When the distal end 3b of the probe 3 is at the position shown by the broken line in FIG.
2, the air is interposed between the body cavity wall 33 (the affected part 32) and the balloon 6, so that transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves cannot be performed. Here, even if the balloon sheath 1 is simply moved in the insertion direction or the balloon 6 is repeatedly inflated and deflated, it is very difficult to accurately transmit and receive ultrasonic waves to a position where the balloon 6 is in close contact with the affected part 32. It is. In the balloon sheath 1 of the present embodiment, the ultrasonic probe 3 is easily moved within the balloon sheath 1 by rotating the rotating member 30 on the hand side, and the position of the ultrasonic transducer 9 attached to the distal end is desired. The balloon 6 can be fixed to the affected part 32 after being moved to the position, so that the ultrasonic vibrator 9 is positioned and fixed at the closely attached position, so that the affected part 32 can be diagnosed efficiently. can do.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a balloon sheath for an ultrasonic probe developed prior to the present invention. The same components as those in the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. The connecting body 40 of the balloon sheath 1 has a screw hole 42 on the hand side, perpendicular to the central axis of the connecting body, and a screw 43 formed on a knob 44 in the screw hole 42.
Is screwed. The tip of the screw 43 penetrates the screw hole 42 and abuts on the protection member 27 connected to the connection portion 3c of the ultrasonic probe 3. The protection member 27 and the connection main body 40 are kept watertight by a ring-shaped elastic member 46.
Other structures are the same as those of the above-described embodiment.

The position of the ultrasonic transducer 9 provided at the distal end of the insertion portion of the ultrasonic probe 3 in the balloon sheath 1 is adjusted by loosening the knob 44 to adjust the relative position between the insertion portion of the ultrasonic probe 3 and the connecting body 40. After that, it can be changed by tightening the knob 44.

In this development example, by adjusting the knob 44, the position of the ultrasonic transducer 9 in the balloon sheath 1 can be adjusted, and the same effect as in the above-described embodiment can be obtained. Since the number of components of the connection portion 1b of the balloon sheath can be reduced, the balloon sheath can be manufactured at low cost.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a modification of the embodiment of the present invention. The tube 50 of the balloon sheath 1 is fitted into a tapered portion 52 provided on an outer peripheral portion of a fixing member 51 constituting the connection portion 1b of the balloon sheath. A screw 53 is provided on the outer periphery of the fixing member 51, and a fixing tube 54 having a tapered portion 55 and a screw hole 56 provided therein is fitted into the outer periphery of the fixing member 51, and the screw hole 56 and the screw 53 are screwed together. Let it. The proximal end of the tube 50 is fastened by the tapered portions 52 and 55 and is fixed to the connection portion 1b of the balloon sheath 1 in a watertight manner.

With this configuration, the balloon sheath can be replaced simply by replacing the tube 50, so that an inexpensive balloon sheath can be provided.

In the above-described embodiment, a mechanical radial scanning type ultrasonic probe has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this search method, but a mechanical linear scanning type probe, a radial scanning type The balloon sheath of the present invention can also be applied to a probe that performs spiral scanning in combination with scanning. Also,
In the above-described embodiment, the tube of the ultrasonic transmission medium and the insertion path of the ultrasonic probe are shared by the tube of the balloon sheath. And the insertion path of the ultrasonic probe may be separately provided.

[0028]

As described above, in the balloon sheath for an ultrasonic probe of the present invention, an elastic member is provided between the insertion portion of the ultrasonic probe and the sheath, and the stress applied to the elastic member is changed by the deforming means. By adjusting, the ultrasonic probe was fixed to the sheath in a watertight manner so as to be movable to an arbitrary position in the insertion direction of the ultrasonic probe within the sheath. Move the ultrasonic probe while keeping it watertight so that the ultrasonic transducer is located at the position where it is in close contact with the affected area, and fix the ultrasonic probe at that position to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves accurately to the affected area. Easy to do. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the burden of the operation of the operator, and it is possible to perform the ultrasonic diagnosis accurately and efficiently.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a distal end portion of the balloon sheath shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a state where a distal end portion of the balloon sheath shown in FIG. 1 is inserted into a body cavity.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a balloon sheath for an ultrasonic probe developed prior to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a modification of the embodiment of the present invention.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A61B 8/00-8/15

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A sheath inserted through an insertion portion of the ultrasonic probe; a balloon provided at a distal end of the sheath; a conduit for feeding and sucking an ultrasonic transmission medium to the balloon; An elastic member provided between the portion and the sheath; adjusting the stress applied to the elastic member to change the amount of deformation, so that the elastic member can be moved to any position in the insertion direction of the ultrasonic probe within the sheath. A deforming means for fixing the ultrasonic probe to the sheath in a watertight manner, comprising: a balloon sheath for an ultrasonic probe.