JP3402139B2 - 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 an ultrasonic probe which is inserted into a body cavity or the like for ultrasonic inspection.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ultrasonic probe is inserted into a body cavity and used for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves from the inner wall of the body cavity.
This ultrasonic probe is inserted directly into the body cavity,
Some are inserted into a body cavity through a predetermined guide means. Here, an endoscope is a typical means for guiding the insertion of the ultrasonic probe into the body cavity. Since the endoscope is provided with a treatment instrument insertion channel for inserting a treatment instrument such as forceps, it is possible to use this treatment instrument insertion channel as an insertion path of the ultrasonic probe.

Particularly, in an ultrasonic probe which is inserted using a treatment tool insertion channel of an endoscope as a guide, a single-plate ultrasonic transducer is used in order to reduce the diameter. And
In order to perform radial scanning or the like with this ultrasonic transducer, a driving means for the ultrasonic transducer is required. Since the driving means has a large diameter when provided at the tip of the insertion part, the ultrasonic observation device is provided with a driving means or an ultrasonic operation part connected to the ultrasonic observation device. A drive means is provided in the. And, the ultrasonic probe and the ultrasonic operation unit may be integrated, but for convenience of use,
Generally, the ultrasonic probe is detachably connected to the ultrasonic operation unit. Further, although an ultrasonic pulse is transmitted from the ultrasonic transducer and its reflected echo signal is received, the ultrasonic observation device is used for controlling the transmission of this ultrasonic pulse and for processing the received reflected echo signal. However, the ultrasonic operation unit also functions as a relay means for the transmitted / received signals.

Since the ultrasonic probe is inserted along a curved path in the body cavity, it is composed of a flexible cord, and an ultrasonic scanning portion having an ultrasonic transducer is provided at the tip of this flexible cord. At the same time, a connector portion for connecting to the ultrasonic operation portion is provided at the base end portion. Insert the ultrasonic probe into the body cavity, insert the ultrasonic scanning unit to the position where a predetermined ultrasonic examination should be performed, and transmit the ultrasonic pulse from the ultrasonic transducer to the inside of the body. A reflection echo is obtained from the portion, and the reflection echo is converted into an electric signal by an ultrasonic transducer and this signal is taken out. Then, an ultrasonic image is obtained by performing a predetermined process on the reflected echo signal.

When performing radial ultrasonic scanning, the ultrasonic operating unit is provided with a rotation driving means and a rotation angle detecting means. In order to transmit the rotation to the ultrasonic transducer by remote control, the ultrasonic probe needs to transmit the rotation to the ultrasonic transducer. Therefore, the flexible shaft is inserted into the flexible tube. . When the base end of this flexible shaft is rotated about its axis, the flexible shaft rotates about its axis within the tube. The flexible shaft is generally composed of a hollow shaft formed of a close contact coil or the like, and a coaxial cable connected to an ultrasonic transducer is inserted into the flexible shaft.

As the ultrasonic scanning section provided at the tip of the flexible cord, an ultrasonic transducer is provided in the tip cap connected to the tip of the tube. This ultrasonic transducer is mounted on a rotary member, and the tip of a flexible shaft is connected to the rotary member. The tip cap is made of a resin material having excellent acoustic characteristics, and at least the tip cap is filled with an ultrasonic wave transmission medium.

A connector portion detachably connected to the ultrasonic operation portion is provided at the proximal end portion of the flexible cord. The connector portion includes a ring-shaped fixing portion connected to a tube and an inside of the fixing portion. And a rotating part connected to the flexible shaft. The fixed part is fixedly held by the ultrasonic operating part, and the rotating part is connected to the rotation driving means of the ultrasonic operating part. In addition, a cable is inserted through the flexible shaft, but in order to electrically connect this cable to the ultrasonic operation part, electrodes are provided on the rotating part, and these electrodes are located on the ultrasonic operation part side. Will be connected to the electrode.

[0008]

As described above, in the connector portion of the ultrasonic probe, the rotary portion is connected to the rotary driving means and is rotationally driven with respect to the ultrasonic operating portion, but the fixed portion is fixed. Retained. Here, if the rotating portion and the fixed portion and all the axes of these connecting portions on the ultrasonic operation portion side are exactly aligned with each other, the rotating portion can be smoothly rotated. If there is a deviation, the rotation of the rotating part may be uneven, or an unreasonable force may be applied to the rotating part. As a result, the rotating part may be damaged. In particular, in an ultrasonic probe that is inserted into a treatment instrument insertion channel of an endoscope that requires a reduced diameter, even if there is a slight misalignment of the axis, there is a higher possibility that the rotating portion will be damaged. .

Here, in the ultrasonic probe inserted through the treatment instrument insertion channel, when the transmission / reception surface of the ultrasonic transducer is made large to increase the power at low frequency, the ultrasonic scanning section inserts the treatment instrument. Can not be inserted into the channel. For this reason, since the connector must be inserted into the treatment instrument insertion channel from the connector side, the connector has an extremely small diameter. Therefore, in this type of ultrasonic probe, if there is a slight displacement between the rotating portion and the fixed portion, the rotating portion will be easily broken.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to reliably and smoothly transmit rotation to a rotating portion of a connector portion.
The purpose of this is to prevent undesired force from being applied to the rotating part and the like to prevent damage and the like.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a flexible cord in which a flexible shaft rotatably driven by a drive side means is inserted into a flexible tube. An ultrasonic scanning unit including a tip cap connected to the tube of the flexible cord and an ultrasonic transducer arranged in the tip cap and rotationally driven by the flexible shaft; and a base of the flexible cord. In an ultrasonic probe comprising an end portion having a fixed portion connected to the tube and a rotating portion connected to the flexible shaft, the fixed portion of the connector portion is connected to the tube, and the drive side is provided. A rotation restricting portion that engages with a fixing means provided in the means to restrict the rotation thereof, a flexible tube portion that is connected to the rotation restricting portion, and is connected to the flexible tube portion. And a rotating portion connected to the flexible shaft, a flexible rotation transmitting member connected to the rotating tubular portion, and a flexible rotation transmitting member. A rotation force transmitting portion, wherein the rotating cylinder portion and the rotation transmitting portion are arranged so as to rotate in sliding contact with the rotation restricting portion of the fixed portion and the inner surface of the hard pipe, respectively, and the rotation transmitting portion drives the drive. It is characterized in that it is detachably connected to the rotary drive shaft of the side means.

Here, the connector portion of the ultrasonic probe is
It can be detachably connected to the ultrasonic observation device or the ultrasonic operation unit. These ultrasonic observation device or ultrasonic operation unit is provided with a rotation drive unit and a rotation angle detection unit, and a fixing unit that engages with a rotation restriction unit of the fixed unit and holds the fixed unit in a non-rotating state, A rotation member connected to the rotation transmission unit of the rotation unit may be provided. further,
Instead of directly connecting to the ultrasonic observation device or the ultrasonic operation unit, the connection adapter can be used to connect to the ultrasonic observation device or the ultrasonic operation unit. In this case, the flexible cord and the connector portion can be made thinner than the inner diameter of the treatment instrument insertion channel of the endoscope, and the ultrasonic scanning portion can be made thicker than the treatment instrument insertion channel. A large ultrasonic transducer having a wide transmitting / receiving surface can be used. As the connection adapter, the connector part has a fixing means that engages with the rotation restricting part of the fixed part and holds the fixed part in a non-rotating state, and a rotating body connected to the rotation transmitting part of the rotating part. And The connection adapter is detachably connected to an ultrasonic operation unit provided with a rotation drive unit that is detachably connected to a rotation shaft and a rotation angle detection unit.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Here, the ultrasonic probe may be of a type that is directly inserted into the body cavity, but it may be of a type that is inserted into the body cavity via a treatment instrument insertion channel provided in the endoscope. In any type, the ultrasonic probe is connected to a mechanism that rotationally drives the ultrasonic transducer, but it can also be directly connected to the ultrasonic observation device, and can also be connected to the ultrasonic observation device via the ultrasonic operation unit. You can also connect. In the case of inserting the ultrasonic probe into the body cavity through the treatment instrument insertion channel, in order to enlarge the transmitting and receiving surface of the ultrasonic transducer, the ultrasonic scanning unit is enlarged and the ultrasonic probe is inserted from the distal end side of the treatment instrument insertion channel. Can be inserted a sonic probe,
In this case, it is configured to be connected to the ultrasonic operation unit via the connection adapter. In the embodiments described below, a large-sized ultrasonic scanning unit is used, and a configuration in which the ultrasonic probe is connected to the ultrasonic operation unit via a connection adapter is shown, but the ultrasonic probe of the present invention is The ultrasonic probe is not limited to this type, and may be configured as various ultrasonic probes described above.

First, FIG. 1 shows the overall construction of an ultrasonic inspection apparatus. This ultrasonic inspection apparatus comprises an ultrasonic probe 1, an ultrasonic operation unit 2, an ultrasonic observation apparatus 3 and a monitor 4 thereof. The ultrasonic probe 1 is to be inserted into a body cavity through the endoscope 5, and specifically, is provided in the main body operation unit 5a of the endoscope 5 for inserting forceps and other treatment tools. It is inserted from the treatment instrument introducing portion 6a and guided into the body cavity from the main body operating portion 5a through the treatment instrument insertion channel 6 formed so as to penetrate the insertion portion 5b. Further, a universal cord 5c for connecting to a light source device, a processor or the like (not shown) is extended to the main body operating portion 5a. Here, the ultrasonic observation device 3 and its monitor 4
Is mounted on a rack 7, and the ultrasonic operation unit 2 is attached to the tip of a support arm 8 connected to the rack 7 so that the direction can be adjusted. Then, the cord 9 is pulled out from the ultrasonic operation unit 2, and the cord 9 is connected to the ultrasonic observation device 3.

The ultrasonic probe 1 has the structure shown in FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 2, the ultrasonic probe 1 is composed of an ultrasonic scanning unit 1a, a flexible cord 1b, and a connector unit 1c from the tip side. The outer diameter of the ultrasonic scanning portion 1a is the largest, and the flexible cord 1b and the connector portion 1c are thinner than that. The outer diameter dimensions of the flexible cord 1b and the connector portion 1c are the treatment instrument insertion channel. It is smaller than the inner diameter of 6.
As is clear from FIGS. 3 and 4, the ultrasonic scanning unit 1a has a tip cap 10, and the tip cap 1
0 is connected by being screwed into the connecting member 11.

An ultrasonic transducer 13 is provided in the tip cap 10.
Is attached to the rotary member 14, and the rotary member 14 is rotatably supported by a bearing 15 provided on the inner surface side of the tip cap 10, and the ultrasonic transducer 13 can perform radial scanning. Here, the tip cap 10 has a diameter larger than the inner diameter of the treatment instrument insertion channel 6, and the ultrasonic transducer 13 provided in the tip cap 10 is large in size.
It has a wide transmitting / receiving surface and can transmit ultrasonic pulses of low frequency and high power.

The flexible cord 1b is formed by inserting a flexible shaft 17 into a tube 16 having flexibility such as soft resin. Flexible shaft 1
Reference numeral 7 is composed of a contact coil or the like in which a metal wire is wound in a contact spiral shape, and is preferably composed of a double contact coil in order to perform rotation transmission more accurately and efficiently. The tip of the flexible tube 16 is fixed to the tip cap 10,
Further, the tip of the flexible shaft 17 is fixed to a rotary cylinder 18 which is connected to the rotary member 14. Further, the ultrasonic transducer 13 is provided with a pair of electrodes 19a and 19b, and the signal line 20 is provided to both electrodes 19a and 19b.
a, 20b are connected, and these signal lines 20a, 2b
0b becomes a coaxial cable 20 in the rotary cylinder 18, and the coaxial cable 20 is inserted into the flexible shaft 17 and extends to the connector portion 1c.

FIG. 5 shows a flexible cord 1b and a connector portion 1c.
The connection part with and is expanded and shown. The base end portion of the flexible tube 16 is fitted and fixed to a regulation tube 21 that constitutes a rotation regulation portion made of a metal material. In addition, the flexible shaft 17
The base end portion of is connected to the rotating member 22, and the rotating member 22 is adapted to slide and rotate in the restriction cylinder 21. Control tube 2
1, a flexible tube portion 23 made of a flexible tube is continuously provided, and a hard pipe 24 is connected to the flexible tube portion 23. On the other hand, the rotating member 22 has a second flexible shaft 25 as a flexible rotation transmitting member.
Is connected to the second flexible shaft 2
A rotation transmission unit 26 is connected to the unit 5. The rotation transmission part 26 includes a first ring 26a and a second ring 26b.
And a third ring 26c, which are sequentially connected by means such as screwing. First and third ring 2
6a and 26c are made of insulating material, and the second ring 26b
Is formed of a conductive metal.

A seal member 27 is interposed between the rotary member 22 and the restriction cylinder 21, and the coaxial cable 20 extends from the rotary member 22 into the rotation transmission portion 26. The core wire 20c of the coaxial cable 20 is connected to the electrode pin 28 inserted through the third ring 26c made of an insulating member, and the shield wire 20d is connected to the second ring 26b.
It is connected to the. In addition, the first in the rotation transmission unit 26
The ring 26a is slidably rotated on the hard pipe 24.

Further, a rotation transmission pin 29 is planted in the second ring 26b, and the rotation transmission pin 29 is
As will be described later, it is for transmitting rotation to the rotating member 22, and is screwed into the peripheral body portion of the second ring 26b so as to project by a predetermined length. A spacer ring 30 is loosely fitted between the position of the rotation transmission pin 29 and the hard pipe 24, and the end surface of the spacer ring 30 abuts against the side portion of the rotation transmission pin 29 and the end surface of the regulation tube 21. It is possible. As a result, the flexible shaft 1
7, a rotary member 22 that is connected to the flexible shaft 17, a second flexible shaft 25, and a rotation transmission unit 26. The rotary unit includes a flexible tube 16 of the flexible cord 1b, a restriction tube 21, and a flexible tube section. It is held so as not to be separated from the fixed portion side composed of 23 and the hard pipe 24. The spacer ring 30 is made of an insulating material such as plastic, and thereby insulates the second ring 26b and the rotation transmitting pin 29, both of which are made of a metal material, from the restriction cylinder 21.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the ultrasonic operation unit 2 has a casing 31 made of an insulating member such as plastic, and a rotary shaft 32 is provided in the casing 31. The rotary shaft 32 is rotatably supported by the casing 31 by a bearing 33 and faces the opening 31 a provided in the casing 31.
Further, a pair of gears 34 and 35 are attached to the rotary shaft 32. One gear 34 has an electric motor 36
The drive gear 37 provided on the output shaft of the
The other gear 35 meshes with a driven gear 39 provided on the input shaft of the encoder 38. And this rotating shaft 32
The part protruding from the casing 31 has a large diameter, and the electrode member 40 is disposed inside the part having the large diameter. The electrode member 40 includes an inner cylinder 41 and an outer cylinder 42.
And the inner cylinder 41 and the outer cylinder 42 are formed of a conductive member, and the insulating cylinder 4 is provided between the inner cylinder 41 and the outer cylinder 42.
3 is interposed. Further, the outer cylinder 42 is the insulating ring 4.
4 is inserted into the rotary shaft 32.
It is inserted and fixed in. Therefore, in the coaxial cable 20, the core wire 20c is in the inner cylinder 41 and the shield wire 20d is in the outer cylinder 42 via the connection adapter 50 described later.
Will be electrically connected to each.

As described above, one end of the rotary shaft 32 faces the opening 31a of the casing 31, while the other end is connected to the rotary member 45a of the rotary connector 45 provided in the casing 31. A cable 9a in the cord 9 is connected to the fixed member 45b of the rotary connector 45. Further, the fixed-side member 45b of the rotary connector 45 is fitted to the rotation restricting member 46, thereby restricting the fixed-side member 45b from co-rotating and absorbing the shake. Then, the connecting cylinder portion 47 is provided around the opening 31a.
Are erected, and the connecting cylinder portion 47 surrounds the rotary shaft 32.

The connector portion 1c of the ultrasonic probe 1 is not directly connected to the ultrasonic operation portion 2 but is connected via the connection adapter 50. That is, the connection adapter 50 is
A connection mechanism to the connector portion 1c is provided on one side thereof, and a connection mechanism to the ultrasonic operation portion 2 is provided on the other side thereof.
As shown in FIG. 7, the connection adapter 50 has a fixed-side member including a housing 51 formed in a substantially cylindrical shape on the outermost peripheral side and a holding cylinder 52 screwed into the distal end side of the housing 51. The fixed member is fixedly held by the ultrasonic operation unit 2. For this reason, one end of the housing 51 is detachably connected to the connecting cylinder portion 47 provided in the casing 31 of the ultrasonic operation unit 2, and the protrusion of the connecting cylinder portion 47 is arranged so as not to rotate relatively in the connected state. An engagement groove 51a that engages with 47a is provided. Further, the holding cylinder 52 is formed with an insertion hole 52a having a hole diameter through which the connector portion 1c of the ultrasonic probe 1 can be inserted.

The holding cylinder 52 has a plurality of through holes 52b facing the insertion hole 52a from the outer peripheral surface on the end side thereof, and the fixing screw 53 is inserted through the through hole 52b so as to be retractable. A spring 55 that biases the fixing screw 53 in the protruding direction is mounted between the fixing screw 53 and the spring receiver 54. The fixing screw 53 is a locking portion 53a having a sharp tip, and the connector portion 1
A locking groove (not shown) extending in the axial direction is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the restriction cylinder 21 of c. When the connector portion 1c is inserted until the restriction cylinder 21 is positioned in the insertion hole 52a,
The locking cylinder 53a of the fixing screw 53 is engaged with the locking groove of the restriction cylinder 21, and the flexible cylinder 17 is rotated to perform the radial ultrasonic scanning by the ultrasonic transducer 13, and the restriction cylinder 21 and the restriction cylinder. Flexible tube 1 connected to 21
A holding portion that exhibits a function of preventing rotation of 6 is configured.

Housing 51 in connection adapter 50
A rotation-side member is provided inside the fixed-side member including the holding cylinder 52, and the rotation-side member is the rotation cylinder member 56.
And a hollow rotating body 57.
From the position of the fixing screw 53 in the holding cylinder 52,
It is provided at a position separated by a distance substantially corresponding to the length from the flexible tubular portion 23 to the hard pipe 24. A socket 58 into which the connector portion 1c of the ultrasonic probe 1 is inserted is fixedly attached to the hollow rotator 57. The hollow rotator 57 is connected to a holding ring 59, and the holding ring 59 is a cap nut. It is connected to the rotary cylinder member 56 at 60. The hollow rotator 57 is made of an insulating member, the first tubular electrode 61 is screwed inside, and the insulating member 62 is screwed inside the first tubular electrode 61. Further, the second cylindrical electrode 63 is mounted inside the insulating cylinder 62. Here, each of the first and second cylindrical electrodes 61 and 63 has a spring property that is split in the axial direction. further,
A drive pin 64 is provided on the peripheral body portion of the hollow rotating body 57, and the drive pin 64 can come into contact with the rotation transmission pin 29 when the connector portion 1c of the ultrasonic probe 1 is connected. Due to the engagement between the drive pin 64 and the rotation transmission pin 29, the rotational force from the rotation side member of the connection adapter 50 is transmitted to the rotation transmission portion 26 of the connector portion 1c. Then, the second flexible shaft 25 and the rotating member 22 are sequentially connected to the rotation transmitting portion 26, and the flexible shaft 1 is connected to the rotating member 22.
Since 7 is connected, when the rotation transmitting part 26 is rotated, the flexible shaft 17 is rotated around the axis.

On the other hand, at the tip end side portion of the rotary cylinder member 56, the connection adapter is engaged with the annular concave portion 32a formed on the inner surface of the enlarged diameter portion of the rotary shaft 32 in the ultrasonic operation portion 2. A C ring 65 for holding 50 so as not to deviate from the ultrasonic operation unit 2 is fitted. Also,
A spline is formed at a portion of the C ring 65 on the tip side of the fitting portion, and a connector member 67 is fixedly provided inside the rotary cylinder member 56. The connector member 67 has an outer tube 68 and an electrode rod 69 each made of a conductive member, and an insulating ring 70 is interposed between the outer tube 68 and the electrode rod 69. A wire 71 is provided between the first cylindrical electrode 61 and the second cylindrical electrode 6
The wiring 3 connects between the electrode 3 and the electrode rod 69. Further, the outer tube 68 and the electrode rod 69 are each formed with a split. Here, the fixed side member and the rotating side member may be configured to be coupled via a bearing, but configured to loosely fit the housing 51 and the rotating tubular member 56 with a slight gap. You can also do it.

With the above-described structure, the ultrasonic probe 1 has a treatment tool in which the endoscope 5 is provided with the distal end cap 10 having the ultrasonic transducer 13 in the ultrasonic scanning portion 1a at the distal end thereof. The ultrasonic transducer 13 can be formed to have a larger diameter than the inner diameter of the insertion channel 6, and a large ultrasonic transducer 13 having a low frequency and a large power can be used. However, if the ultrasonic scanning portion 1a is thickened, not only the flexible cord 1b but also the connector portion 1c becomes thinner than the inner diameter of the treatment instrument insertion channel 6. Therefore, the ultrasonic probe 1 is inserted into the treatment instrument insertion channel 6 from the distal end side of the insertion portion 5b in advance before the insertion portion 5b of the endoscope 5 is inserted into the body cavity, and the connector portion 1c thereof is inserted. It is led out from the treatment instrument introducing section 6a provided in the main body operating section 5a. Then, immediately after the connector portion 1c is led out from the treatment instrument introducing portion 6a, the connector portion 1c is immediately connected to the connection adapter 5
Connect to 0. As a result, the thin connector portion 1c is protected.

This connection can be performed by inserting the electrode pin 28, which constitutes the most distal end of the connector portion 1c, into the insertion hole 52a of the holding cylinder 52. As a result, the electrode pin 28 is electrically connected to the second cylindrical electrode 63 in the socket 58 of the connection adapter 50, and at the same time, the first cylindrical electrode 6 is formed.
1 is a second electrode constituting the other electrode in the connector portion 1c
It comes into contact with the ring 26b and is electrically connected to each other. Further, the rotation transmission pin 29 provided on the second ring 26b is joined to the drive pin 64 on the connection adapter 50 side, so that the rotational force can be transmitted from the connection adapter 50 side to the connector portion 1c side. On the other hand, the restricting cylinder 21 that constitutes the fixing portion of the connector portion 1c is engaged with the fixing screw 53 provided on the holding cylinder 52, and the fixing portion of the connector portion 1c is held in a non-rotating state. In addition, the regulation cylinder 21
A flexible tube portion 23 and a hard pipe 24 are continuously provided on the inside of the connection adapter 50. The flexible tube portion 23 and the hard pipe 24 are located inside the connection adapter 50 from the mounting portion of the fixing screw 53.
Located within 2a, it is held against rotation.

As described above, the ultrasonic probe 1 is connected to the ultrasonic operation unit 2 via the connection adapter 50,
When the electric motor in the ultrasonic operation unit 2 is driven to rotationally drive the rotary shaft 32, this rotation is transmitted through the rotary member composed of the rotary tubular member 56 and the hollow rotary body 57 of the connection adapter 50 to the connector of the ultrasonic probe 1. It is transmitted to the rotation transmission portion 26 in the portion 1c. The transmission of the rotation to the ultrasonic probe 1 side is performed by the engagement of the drive pin 64 and the rotation transmission pin 29. Then, when the rotation transmitting portion 26 rotates, the second flexible shaft 25 and the rotating member 22.
This rotational force is sequentially transmitted to the flexible shaft 17 via. On the other hand, since the tube 16 that is inserted through the flexible shaft 17 is connected to the restriction tube 21 that is engaged with the fixing screw 53 provided on the holding tube 52 of the connection adapter 50, the tube 16 is flexible. There is no occurrence of so-called co-rotation, which rotates following the shaft 17.

A rotary cylinder 18 is connected to the tip of the flexible shaft 17, and the rotary cylinder 18 is integrated with the rotary member 14 having the ultrasonic vibrator 13 mounted thereon. 13 is driven to rotate. In addition, when the flexible shaft 17 is rotated at the base end side, if it is in a steady rotation state regardless of the initial rotation, the rotation is accurately transmitted to the tip end side, so that uneven rotation or the like does not occur. By detecting the rotation angle by the encoder 38 on the proximal end side, the rotation angle of the ultrasonic transducer 13 is accurately and reliably detected. Therefore, by transmitting ultrasonic pulses from the ultrasonic transducer 13 based on the signal from the encoder 38, radial scanning by the ultrasonic transducer 13 is performed.

Here, the transmission of the rotation from the ultrasonic operation unit 2 is performed through the rotary shaft 32 to which the electric motor 36 and the encoder 38 are connected, the rotary cylinder member 56 and the hollow rotary body 57 in the connection adapter 50. The rotation transmitting portion 26 is rotated by the engagement of the drive pin 64 and the rotation transmitting pin 29.
When the rotation is transmitted to 6, there is a high possibility that the rotation axis will not maintain the straightness of the rotation axis due to a force acting in the direction in which the rotation axis swings. The rotation transmitting portion 26 is not only thin, but also sequentially connects the first to third rings 26a to 26c, so that these connecting portions are extremely fragile. As a result, if the shake of the rotation axis of the rotation transmission part 26 is allowed and the shake is not absorbed, the rotation transmission part 26 is more likely to be broken.

In the connector portion 1c, the restricting cylinder 21 is fixedly held by the retaining cylinder 52 of the connection adapter 50, and the rotating member 22 slides and rotates in the restricting cylinder 21. No runout of the rotation axis is allowed. However, since the rotation member 22 located inside the regulation cylinder 21 is connected to the rotation transmission portion 26 via the second flexible shaft 25, when the rotation transmission portion 26 is shaken, It is absorbed by the second flexible shaft 25. Further, the rotation transmitting portion 26 slides and rotates in the hard pipe 24 constituting the fixed portion side,
The rigid pipe 24 is connected to the regulation cylinder 21 via the flexible cylinder 23.
Since the flexible tubular portion 23 has flexibility in the bending direction, even if the rotation transmitting portion 26 is shaken by the rotation axis core or the like and is transmitted to the hard pipe 24, it is possible. Flexible tube 2
The deflection of the rotary shaft core is absorbed by 3 and the regulating cylinder 21
Will not be transmitted to. As a result, it is possible to prevent the connector portion 1c from being damaged. Moreover, since the second flexible shaft 25 can transmit rotation very efficiently, the rotation can be transmitted extremely smoothly from the ultrasonic operation unit 2 to the ultrasonic probe 1 via the connection adapter 50. It will be.

A second flexible shaft 25 is used as a flexible rotation transmitting member for absorbing the vibration of the rotary shaft core in the connector portion 1c and transmitting it from the rotation transmitting portion 26 to the rotating member 22. Instead of this, a flexible tube may be used. However, in the case where a flexible tube is provided, in order to accurately transmit the rotation, the rotation transmitting portion 2
It is preferable to make the distance between 6 and the rotating member 22 as short as possible.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention, the fixing portion constituting the connector portion has the rotation regulating portion for regulating the rotation thereof, the flexible cylinder portion connected to the rotation regulating portion, and the flexible portion. The rotating portion is composed of a hard pipe connected to the tubular portion, and the rotating portion is connected to the flexible shaft, the rotating tubular portion is connected to the rotating tubular portion, and the flexible rotation transmitting member is connected to the rotating tubular portion. Since the rotational force transmitting portion is connected to the rotating portion, when the rotating portion is rotationally driven by the drive side means, even if the rotating shaft core loses linearity such as swinging, the connector portion The rotating part can be smoothly rotated, and the rotating part is not damaged or the like.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view showing an ultrasonic probe and a connection adapter.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a tip portion of an ultrasonic probe.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a portion on the proximal end side of the ultrasonic probe.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an ultrasonic operation unit.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a connection adapter.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a connection portion in a state where a connection adapter and an ultrasonic probe are connected to the ultrasonic operation unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ultrasonic probe 1a Ultrasonic scanning part 1b Flexible cord 1c Connector part 2 Ultrasonic operating part 5 Endoscope 6 Treatment instrument insertion channel 10 End cap 13 Ultrasonic transducer 16 Flexible tube 17 Flexible shaft 21 Restriction cylinder 22 Rotating Member 23 Flexible Cylinder 24 Hard Pipe 25 Second Flexible Shaft 29 Rotation Transmission Pin 32 Rotating Shaft 36 Electric Motor 38 Encoder 40 Electrode Member 41 Inner Cylinder 42 Outer Cylinder 50 Connection Adapter 51 Housing 52 Holding Cylinder 53 Fixing Screw 56 rotating cylinder member 57 hollow rotating body 58 socket 61 first cylindrical electrode 63 second cylindrical electrode 64 drive pin 67 connector member

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Masatoshi Yoshihara, 1-324, Uetake-cho, Omiya-shi, Saitama, Fuji Photo Koki Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-7-275243 (JP, A) (58) ) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A61B 8/00-8/15

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A flexible cord in which a flexible shaft rotatably driven by a driving means is inserted into a flexible tube, a tip cap connected to the tube of the flexible cord, and the tip cap. Placed inside,
An ultrasonic scanning unit including an ultrasonic transducer rotatably driven by the flexible shaft, a fixed unit connected to the tube at a base end of the flexible cord, and a rotating unit connected to the flexible shaft. In the ultrasonic probe consisting of a connector part, the fixing part of the connector part is connected to the tube, and engages with the fixing means provided on the drive side means, and a rotation restricting part for restricting the rotation thereof, A flexible cylinder connected to the rotation restricting portion, and a hard pipe connected to the flexible cylinder, and the rotating portion includes a rotating cylinder connected to the flexible shaft,
It is composed of a flexible rotation transmitting member connected to the rotating cylinder portion and a rotational force transmitting portion connected to the flexible rotation transmitting member, and the rotating cylinder portion and the rotation transmitting portion are respectively provided in the fixed portion. An ultrasonic probe characterized in that the rotation restricting portion and the inner surface of the hard pipe are slidably contacted and rotated, and the rotation transmitting portion is detachably connected to a rotation drive shaft of the drive side means. 2. The connector portion of the ultrasonic probe is detachably connected to an ultrasonic observation device provided with a rotation drive means and a rotation angle detection means, and the ultrasonic operation portion has the A fixing means that engages with the rotation restricting portion of the fixed portion and holds the fixed portion in a non-rotating state, and a rotating member that is connected to the rotation transmitting portion of the rotating portion and is rotationally driven by the rotation driving means. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic probe is provided. 3. A connector portion of the ultrasonic probe is detachably connected to an ultrasonic operating portion provided with a rotation driving means and a rotation angle detecting means, and the ultrasonic operating portion includes: A fixing means that engages with the rotation restricting portion of the fixed portion and holds the fixed portion in a non-rotating state, and a rotating shaft that is connected to the rotation transmitting portion of the rotating portion and is rotationally driven by the rotation driving means. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic probe is provided. 4. The flexible cord and the connector portion are thinner than the inner diameter of a treatment instrument insertion channel of an endoscope, and the ultrasonic scanning portion has an outer diameter larger than the treatment instrument insertion channel. The portion is attachable to and detachable from a connection adapter having a fixing means that engages with the rotation restricting portion of the fixed portion and holds the fixed portion in a non-rotating state, and a rotating body connected to the rotation transmitting portion of the rotating portion. The connection adapter is configured to be detachably connected to an ultrasonic operation unit provided with a rotation drive unit detachably connected to the rotating body and a rotation angle detection unit thereof. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein: 5. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the flexible rotation transmitting member comprises a contact coil.