JP4046152B2 - Ophthalmic ultrasound probe - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe in the industrial technical field, and more particularly to an ophthalmic ultrasonic probe.
[0002]
[Prior art]
(Background of the Invention) Ultrasonic probes are widely used as ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving units in medical and other ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses. For example, for an ophthalmologic examination in which an ultrasonic wave is transmitted and received in the eye, an ultrasonic probe that protects the cornea and reduces pain is required.
[0003]
(Example of Prior Art) FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an ultrasonic probe for explaining one conventional example.
The ultrasonic probe includes a probe main body 1 and an outer case 2. The probe body 1 is cylindrical and includes a backing material 3, a piezoelectric element 4, and an acoustic matching layer 5. The backing material 3 is made of a rubber-based resin and has a concave surface. The piezoelectric element 4 has electrodes 6 (ab) on both main surfaces, and is fixed to the backing material 3 as a concave surface having a constant thickness for converging ultrasonic waves. The acoustic matching layer 5 is formed on the piezoelectric element 4 as two layers (5a, 5b), for example.
[0004]
The outer case 2 is made of resin and has a circular opening surface to be a cavity. In such a case, the front surface, which is the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving surface of the probe main body 1, and the opening surface of the outer case 2 are formed in the same plane. For example, by using a jig (not shown), the piezoelectric element 4 provided with the acoustic matching layer 5 is maintained on the opening surface of the outer case 2, and the resin as the backing material 3 is poured and solidified to be fixed. Alternatively, after the probe main body 1 is integrated, the opening surface is made to coincide with an adhesive (not shown) and joined to the inner periphery of the case.
[0005]
The electrode 6 (ab) of the piezoelectric element 4 is connected to a cable (not shown) and led out to the outside. In practice, a light emitting diode is provided on the back side of the probe body 1. An optical fiber is connected to the light emitting diode and is led out to the front surface of the piezoelectric element 4 as the same surface. Then, the front surface of the probe body 1 is brought into contact with the surface of the eyeball, and ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received while irradiating the light of the light-emitting diode, thereby obtaining a signal (information) from the eyeball.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
(Problem of the prior art) However, in the ultrasonic probe having the above-described configuration, it is difficult to make the piezoelectric element 4 and the opening end of the case 2 exactly the same surface. That is, a minute step 7 is generated between the probe body 1 and the outer case 2.
[0007]
Thus, for example, for contacting Then the outer periphery of the case 2 was able step 7 projects "FIG. 3 (a)", the front surface of the probe body 1 to the surface of the eyeball, the case 2 outer periphery which is just projected For example, it may irritate and damage the cornea. Further, when the probe main body 1 protrudes, “(b) in FIG. 5”, the outer periphery has an acute angle as a concave shape, which may damage the eyeball.
[0008]
(Object of the Invention) An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic probe which is superior in safety without damaging the surface of the eye.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the present invention, a piezoelectric element having a concave shape on the transmission / reception surface side having the same thickness made of a single plate is fixed on a backing material, and an acoustic matching layer following the concave shape is provided on the transmission / reception surface side of the piezoelectric element. An ophthalmic ultrasonic probe comprising: a probe main body comprising: an outer case formed by exposing and housing a front surface serving as an ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving surface of the probe main body; and a front surface of the probe main body. outer circumference on the entire surface by an obtuse angle to form a chemical resistance of the protective film, a configuration that protrudes the outer peripheral side surface including a front surface of said probe body from an opening surface of the outer case.
[0010]
[Action]
In the present invention, since the front surface of the probe body protrudes from the outer case, only the front surface of the probe body contacts the surface of the eye. An embodiment of the present invention will be described below.
[0011]
【Example】
FIG. 1 is a diagram of an ultrasonic probe for explaining an embodiment of the present invention. In addition, the same number is attached | subjected to the same part as a prior art example figure, and the description is abbreviate | omitted or abbreviate | omitted.
As described above, the ultrasonic probe includes the probe main body 1 including the backing material 3, the piezoelectric element 4, and the acoustic matching layer 5, and the outer case 2 having an opening surface and being a cavity. In this example, the backing material 3 is formed in advance, and the piezoelectric element 4 is fixed by an adhesive (not shown).
[0012]
In this embodiment, the front surface including the outer peripheral side surface of the probe body 1 is projected from the opening end surface of the case 2. Specifically, the protrusion is about 0.5 mm. And the edge (ridgeline part) of the outer periphery made into the concave shape of the probe main body 1 is removed by chamfering, and it is set as the obtuse angle of a curved surface shape. In this example, the chemical resistant protective film 8 made of, for example, polyparaxylylene as the main material is formed on the entire surface including the front surface (ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving surface) of the probe body 1. Then, the probe main body 1 is joined to the inner periphery of the outer case 2 with an adhesive (not shown).
[0013]
With such a configuration, the probe main body 1 is projected in advance from the opening surface of the outer case 2, so that the surface of the opening end of the outer case 2 does not contact the eyeball. Further, the outer periphery of the probe main body 1 is made an obtuse angle by removing an edge. For this reason, it is possible to prevent a risk of damaging the eyeball surface and to perform a safe medical examination.
[0014]
Further, in this embodiment, since the protective film 8 is formed on the entire outer surface of the probe main body 1, the invasion of chemicals at the time of sterilization or the like is prevented, and the vibration characteristics of the piezoelectric element 4 are favorably maintained.
[0015]
[Other matters]
In the above embodiment, the probe body 1 is protruded from the end surface of the outer case 2 by about 0.5 mm, but the point is that the outer case 2 is not in contact with the eyeball when contacting the eyeball. What is necessary is just to protrude 1 mm or more.
[0016]
Further, in this example, the outer case 2 has a hollow with an opening surface. However, when the backing material 3 is accommodated in the outer case 2 by the adhesive as in the embodiment, for example, the outer case 2 A step portion for positioning may be formed on the inner periphery to support the outer periphery of the bottom surface of the probe body 1 (not shown).
[0017]
In the probe body 1, the piezoelectric element and the backing material 3 are fixed by an adhesive. However, as shown in the conventional example, the backing material 3 may be formed by pouring resin. However, when forming the protective film 8, it is more convenient to use the solid backing material 3 formed in advance. Further, although the piezoelectric element 4 has a circular shape, it can be applied even if it has an elliptical shape or a rectangular shape.
[0018]
In short, the basic concept of the present invention is that the front surface of the probe main body 1 is projected in advance from the opening surface of the outer case 2 so that the surface of the opening end of the outer case 2 does not contact the eyeball. Such a thing including a free change belongs to the technical scope of this invention.
[0019]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, a piezoelectric element having a concave shape on the transmission / reception surface side having the same thickness made of a single plate is fixed on a backing material, and an acoustic matching layer following the concave shape is provided on the transmission / reception surface side of the piezoelectric element. An ophthalmic ultrasonic probe comprising: a probe main body comprising: an outer case formed by exposing and housing a front surface serving as an ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving surface of the probe main body; and a front surface of the probe main body. Since the outer peripheral side surface including the front surface of the probe body protrudes from the opening surface of the outer case, the outer surface of the probe body is formed with an obtuse outer periphery and a chemical resistant protective film is formed on the entire surface. It is possible to provide an ultrasonic probe with superior safety that is not given.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an ultrasonic probe for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an ultrasonic probe for explaining a conventional example.
FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of an ultrasonic probe for explaining problems of a conventional example.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 probe body, 2 outer case, 3 backing material, 4 piezoelectric element, 5 acoustic matching layer, 6 electrodes, 7 steps, 8 protective film.

Claims (1)

A probe made of a single plate having the same thickness and having a concave surface on the wave transmitting / receiving surface is fixed on a backing material, and an acoustic matching layer following the concave surface is provided on the wave transmitting / receiving surface side of the piezoelectric element. An ophthalmic ultrasonic probe comprising a main body and an outer case formed by exposing and accommodating a front surface serving as an ultrasonic wave transmission / reception surface of the probe main body, wherein the outer periphery of the front surface of the probe main body is an obtuse angle An ophthalmic ultrasonic probe characterized in that a chemical-resistant protective film is formed on the entire surface, and an outer peripheral side surface including the front surface of the probe body protrudes from an opening surface of the outer case.

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