JP5648149B2 - Ultrasonic microscope - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic microscope for observing the properties of a sample using ultrasonic waves.

  Conventionally, in the medical field, as an apparatus for diagnosing a living tissue, a product using an ultrasonic microscope has been developed, and a device capable of observing a living tissue with high resolution has been put into practical use. In an optical microscope, a difference in chemical properties in a living tissue is distinguished by, for example, staining, whereas in an ultrasonic microscope, a difference in physical properties can be distinguished without staining. That is, when using an ultrasonic microscope, there is an advantage that a living tissue diagnosis can be performed without staining.

  A conventional ultrasonic microscope has a scanning mechanism for performing XY scanning of ultrasonic waves, acquires a reflected wave signal from the sample while performing XY scanning of the ultrasonic wave, and based on the intensity of the reflected wave signal, An image signal is generated. For this reason, in an ultrasonic microscope, it is necessary to irradiate ultrasonic waves perpendicular to the sample surface. In addition, in order to acquire an ultrasonic image with high resolution, it is necessary to scan ultrasonic waves with high accuracy. Therefore, the conventional ultrasonic microscope has a problem that the ultrasonic scanning mechanism has a complicated structure and the inspection cannot be easily performed.

  On the other hand, an ultrasonic scanner using a bimorph actuator has been proposed as an apparatus that performs ultrasonic scanning with a relatively simple configuration (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this ultrasonic scanner, the ultrasonic transducer 51 is fixed to the free end of the bimorph actuator 50, and when the piezoelectric materials 53 a and 53 b bonded together via the base material 52 are driven so as to be in reverse phase, The ultrasonic transducer 51 is moved in an arc shape by the bending displacement (see FIG. 11). If this ultrasonic scanner is used, the apparatus can be miniaturized and vibration and noise can be suppressed.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-9610

  However, the ultrasonic scanner disclosed in Patent Document 1 is used in an apparatus for acquiring a tomographic image (such as a B-mode image) having a relatively low resolution, and for acquiring an ultrasonic image having a high resolution. It cannot be used for an acoustic microscope. Specifically, in the ultrasonic microscope, it is necessary to irradiate the ultrasonic wave perpendicularly to the sample. However, when the ultrasonic scanner of Patent Document 1 is used, the ultrasonic transducer 51 is caused by the bending displacement of the bimorph actuator 50. It moves in an arc shape. For this reason, the irradiation direction Z of ultrasonic waves (see FIG. 11) cannot be kept constant, and an accurate reflected wave signal corresponding to the surface structure of the sample cannot be obtained.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic microscope that can accurately perform ultrasonic scanning with a simple configuration.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is arranged such that a scanner main body capable of accommodating an ultrasonic transmission medium at a tip portion and a tip portion of the scanner main body so as to focus on a sample. A focal-type ultrasonic transducer that irradiates ultrasonic waves through the ultrasonic transmission medium, receives reflected waves from the sample and converts them into electrical signals, and is disposed inside the scanner body. A scanning means for moving an irradiation point along the surface of the sample, and an ultrasonic microscope for displaying an ultrasonic image of the sample based on a reflected wave signal of the ultrasonic wave received by the ultrasonic transducer. The scanning means includes a plurality of bending displacement type electrostrictive actuators that are formed in a plate shape and are arranged parallel to each other with a gap, and a support that supports the base ends of the electrostrictive actuators. Consists of With respect to the ultrasonic vibrator through the respective tips of the electrostrictive actuator is apart from fixed to each other, said scanning means, at the time of driving, the front end side of each of the electrostrictive actuator region and proximal The gist of the present invention is an ultrasonic microscope characterized in that the region is bent in the opposite direction and the position of the ultrasonic transducer is moved so that the ultrasonic irradiation direction at that time is parallel.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a bending displacement type electrostrictive actuator formed in a plate shape is used as the scanning means. When the scanning means is driven, the position of the ultrasonic transducer is such that the distal end region and the proximal end region of the electrostrictive actuator are bent in opposite directions, and the ultrasonic irradiation direction at that time is parallel. The ultrasonic scanning is performed by moving. With this configuration, the ultrasonic transducer can be driven so that the irradiation direction of ultrasonic waves during ultrasonic scanning always faces a fixed direction (specifically, the direction orthogonal to the sample surface). Furthermore, since the ultrasonic transducer is fixed to the tip of the plate-like electrostrictive actuator, a sufficient ultrasonic scanning range can be ensured. In this case, since the scanning means can be simplified, the scanner body can be reduced in weight and size, and a portable ultrasonic microscope can be realized. In addition, the scanner main body can be easily operated by hand, and the tip of the scanner main body can be directly applied to the affected area to quickly inspect the affected area.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, each of the electrostrictive actuators includes a plate-like base material having a first surface and a second surface, and a region on the tip side of the first surface with respect to the first surface. The gist of the present invention is a unimorph type actuator in which a piezoelectric material is provided on the second surface and a piezoelectric material is provided in a region closer to the base end side than the central portion on the second surface.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, the electrostrictive actuator can be configured such that the bending direction on the distal end side to which the ultrasonic transducer is connected and the bending direction on the proximal end side are opposite to each other. Further, since the electrostrictive actuator is a unimorph actuator, the scanning means can be configured with a simple configuration. In addition, it is preferable that the piezoelectric material provided on the first surface side of the plate-like substrate and the piezoelectric material provided on the second surface side are formed to have the same length and bending degree.

A third aspect of the present invention provides the electrostrictive actuator according to the first aspect, wherein each of the electrostrictive actuators includes a plate-like base material having a first surface and a second surface. And a bimorph type in which a piezoelectric material having a different bending direction is provided in the region on the base end side, and a piezoelectric material having a different bending direction is provided in the region on the distal end side and the region on the proximal end side than the center portion on the second surface. It is the gist of the actuator.

  According to the third aspect of the invention, the electrostrictive actuator can be configured such that the bending direction on the distal end side to which the ultrasonic transducer is connected and the bending direction on the proximal end side are opposite to each other. In addition, since the electrostrictive actuator is a bimorph type actuator, the ultrasonic transducer can be reliably moved, and a sufficient ultrasonic scanning range can be secured.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the apparatus further includes visible light irradiation means for outputting visible light indicating the scanning position of the ultrasonic wave from a tip end portion of the scanner body. Is the gist.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the scanning position of the ultrasonic wave can be easily confirmed by the visible light output from the visible light irradiation means.

  As described above in detail, according to the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 4, it is possible to provide an ultrasonic microscope capable of accurately performing ultrasonic scanning with a simple configuration.

The schematic block diagram which shows the ultrasonic microscope of one Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the electrical constitution of an ultrasonic microscope. Explanatory drawing which shows the fixed position of a line marker. Explanatory drawing which shows the irradiation position of visible light and an ultrasonic wave. (A) shows the state before bending of an electrostrictive actuator, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the state after the bending. Explanatory drawing which shows the ultrasonic beam irradiated from a focus type | mold ultrasonic transducer | vibrator. (A) shows the state before the bending of the electrostrictive actuator in another embodiment, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the state after the bending. (A) shows the state before the bending of the electrostrictive actuator in another embodiment, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the state after the bending. The block diagram which shows the scanning means of another embodiment. (A) shows the state before the bending of the electrostrictive actuator in another embodiment, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the state after the bending. (A) shows the state before the bending of the conventional bimorph actuator, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the state after the bending.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an ultrasonic microscope 1, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the ultrasonic microscope 1.

  The ultrasonic microscope 1 according to the present embodiment includes a scanner main body 2 that has a pen shape as a whole and a control unit 3 (specifically, a personal computer) that controls the scanner main body 2. The scanner body 2 and the control unit 3 are connected via, for example, a USB cable 4.

  The scanner body 2 supports a housing 11, a focal ultrasonic transducer 12 that emits ultrasonic waves, a single electrostrictive actuator 13 (scanning unit) that drives the focal ultrasonic transducer 12, and the electrostrictive actuator 13. A possible support tool 14 (support body), a line marker 15 (visible light irradiation means) indicating an ultrasonic scanning position, and the like are provided.

  The casing 11 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a diameter of about 3 cm. The front end side of the housing 11 is open, and a sample contact member 16 is detachably mounted so as to cover the opening. In the housing 11, the portion of the sample contact member 16 that is the tip is filled with the ultrasonic transmission medium W <b> 1 (specifically, water). The sample contact member 16 is formed using a material (specifically, glass or resin material) that efficiently transmits light and ultrasonic waves.

  The focal ultrasonic transducer 12 is disposed on the tip side in the housing 11. The ultrasonic waves irradiated by the ultrasonic transducer 12 are converged in a conical shape via the ultrasonic transmission medium W1 and focused near the outer surface of the sample contact member 16 (the surface of the sample 18). . That is, the ultrasonic microscope 1 is a portable microscope that inspects the outer surface of the sample contact member 16 of the scanner body 2 by contacting the sample 18 (for example, in vivo biological tissue). In the present embodiment, the ultrasonic wave irradiated by the ultrasonic transducer 12 has, for example, a center frequency of 80 MHz and a bandwidth of 50 to 105 MHz (−6 dB).

  The electrostrictive actuator 13 is a unimorph type actuator (bending displacement type actuator) formed into an elongated rectangular plate shape using a piezoelectric material, and has a size of 80 mm in length, 10 mm in width, and 0.6 mm in thickness. . The distal end of the electrostrictive actuator 13 is fixed to the central portion of the rear end surface of the ultrasonic transducer 12, and the proximal end of the electrostrictive actuator 13 is supported by the support tool 14. In the present embodiment, an insulating film for improving water resistance is formed on the surface of the electrostrictive actuator 13. The ultrasonic transducer 12 is disposed so as to face the longitudinal direction of the electrostrictive actuator 13 in a state where no distortion is generated. In this state, the electrostrictive actuator 13 is disposed so as to overlap the center line of the ultrasonic transducer 12.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, two line markers 15 are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the housing 11. Each line marker 15 is an irradiation unit that irradiates a visible laser beam in a line shape from the tip (sample contact member 16) of the scanner body 2, and is positioned at an angular interval of 90 degrees on the inner peripheral surface of the housing 11. Respectively. The ultrasonic transducer 12 is arranged so that the intersection of the line-shaped lasers irradiated from the line markers 15 and the ultrasonic irradiation point coincide (see FIG. 4).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the support tool 14 is housed on the base end side in the housing 11, and the support tool 14 is provided with a wiring board 19. On the wiring board 19, a scanning control circuit 20 for driving and controlling the electrostrictive actuator 13, a driving circuit 21 for lighting the line marker 15, a signal processing circuit 22 for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, and input / output of electric signals are performed. For this purpose, an I / F circuit 23 is provided (see FIG. 2).

  As the I / F circuit 23, a USB interface which is a standard interface such as a personal computer is used. As the I / F circuit 23, an IEEE 1394 interface may be employed in addition to the USB interface, and a serial interface or a parallel interface may be employed although the data transfer speed is reduced.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the scanning control circuit 20 is connected to the electrostrictive actuator 13 and outputs a voltage signal for displacing the electrostrictive actuator 13. The electrostrictive actuator 13 is bent by this voltage signal, and the ultrasonic transducer 12 is moved (see FIG. 5). As a result, the ultrasonic irradiation point is linearly scanned along the outer surface of the sample contact member 16 (the surface of the sample 18). The ultrasonic scanning range is, for example, a width of 2.4 mm.

  The drive circuit 21 is connected to the line marker 15, turns on the line marker 15 during ultrasonic scanning, and outputs a line-shaped laser from each line marker 15.

  The signal processing circuit 22 includes a transmission circuit 24, a transmission / reception wave separation circuit 25, a reception circuit 26, and an A / D conversion circuit 28.

  The transmission circuit 24 is a circuit that generates a pulse for driving the ultrasonic transducer 12, and includes a trigger circuit 24a and a pulse generation circuit 24b. In the transmission circuit 24, the trigger circuit 24a takes in the control signal output from the control unit 3 via the I / F circuit 23, and generates a trigger signal based on the control signal. The pulse generation circuit 24b generates an excitation pulse in response to the trigger signal. The excitation pulse is supplied to the ultrasonic transducer 12 via the transmission / reception wave separation circuit 25, and the ultrasonic wave is irradiated from the ultrasonic transducer 12.

  The ultrasonic transducer 12 according to the present embodiment is a transducer for transmitting and receiving waves, and converts the ultrasonic wave (reflected wave) reflected by the sample 18 into an electrical signal. The reflected wave signal is supplied to the receiving circuit 26 via the transmission / reception wave separating circuit 25. The receiving circuit 26 amplifies the reflected wave signal and outputs it. The reflected wave signal is supplied to the A / D conversion circuit 28 and then transferred to the control unit 3 via the I / F circuit 23. Then, in the control unit 3, the reflected wave signal of the sample 18 is extracted.

  The control unit 3 includes a CPU 31, an I / F circuit 32, a memory 33, a storage device 34, an input device 35, and a display device 36, which are connected to each other via a bus 37.

  The CPU 31 executes a control program using the memory 33 and controls the entire apparatus in an integrated manner. The control program includes a program for controlling linear scanning by the electrostrictive actuator 13, a program for generating and displaying an ultrasonic image of the sample 18, and the like.

  The I / F circuit 32 is an interface (specifically, a USB interface) for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the scanner body 2, and provides control signals (to the scanning control circuit 20 and the transmission circuit 24) to the scanner body 2. Control data) or transfer data from the scanner body 2 (data transferred from the A / D conversion circuit 28 via the I / F circuit 23).

  The display device 36 is a color display such as an LCD or CRT, and is used to display an ultrasonic image of the sample 18 and an input screen for various settings. The input device 35 is a keyboard, a mouse device, or the like, and is used to input a request or instruction from a user and parameters.

  The storage device 34 is a magnetic disk device or an optical disk device, and the storage device stores a control program and various data. The CPU 31 transfers programs and data from the storage device 34 to the memory 33 in accordance with instructions from the input device 35, and executes them sequentially. The program executed by the CPU 31 may be a program stored in a storage medium such as a memory card, a flexible disk, or an optical disk, or a program downloaded via a communication medium. At the time of execution, the program is installed in the storage device 34 and used. To do.

  FIG. 5 shows a specific example of the unimorph type electrostrictive actuator 13 used in the present embodiment. 5A shows the electrostrictive actuator 13 before bending, and FIG. 5B shows the electrostrictive actuator 13 after bending. As shown in FIG. 5, the electrostrictive actuator 13 includes a plate-like base material 43 having a first surface 41 and a second surface 42. In the first surface 41 of the plate-like base material 43, a piezoelectric material 44 is provided in a region on the front end side (lower side in FIG. 5) from the center portion, and on the second surface 42, the base end side (in FIG. 5). A piezoelectric material 44 is provided in the upper region. That is, in the electrostrictive actuator 13, the structures having the same displacement in the distal end region and the proximal end region are arranged in opposite phases.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, in the electrostrictive actuator 13, the bending direction on the distal end side to which the ultrasonic transducer 12 is connected is opposite to the bending direction on the proximal end side. By configuring the electrostrictive actuator 13 in this way, the direction of the tip of the electrostrictive actuator 13 is directed in the same direction before and after bending. In the case of FIG. 5B, an ultrasonic transducer is applied in a direction X (leftward in FIG. 5) orthogonal to the ultrasonic irradiation direction Z by applying a predetermined voltage to each electrode of the electrostrictive actuator 13. 12 is moved. Although not shown, the ultrasonic transducer 12 is moved to the right in FIG. 5 by applying a voltage opposite to that in FIG. 5B to each electrode of the electrostrictive actuator 13.

  Incidentally, when a simple bending electrostrictive actuator, that is, a conventional bimorph actuator 50 as shown in FIG. 11 is used, the angle of the tip end portion changes as the actuator 50 is bent. In this case, it is difficult to keep the ultrasonic irradiation direction Z constant during scanning. On the other hand, by using the electrostrictive actuator 13 shown in FIG. 5, the ultrasonic irradiation direction Z can be kept constant during scanning.

  Further, there is a slight vertical displacement (positional deviation in the irradiation direction) before and after the bending of the electrostrictive actuator 13, but the ultrasonic wave irradiated from the focal ultrasonic transducer 12 is shown in FIG. Focus as shown. That is, the focal region R1 where the ultrasonic beam width becomes narrower has a certain width in the irradiation direction Z of the ultrasonic wave So. Accordingly, in the present embodiment, the ultrasonic transducer 12 having the focal region R1 wider than the displacement of the electrostrictive actuator 13 is used. By using this ultrasonic transducer 12, even if the focal ultrasonic transducer 12 is displaced in the Z direction due to the bending of the electrostrictive actuator 13, the surface of the sample 18 is focused on the ultrasonic wave So. Yes.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

  (1) In the ultrasonic microscope 1 of the present embodiment, a bending displacement type electrostrictive actuator 13 formed in a plate shape is used as an ultrasonic scanning unit. At the time of driving, the region on the distal end side and the region on the proximal end side of the electrostrictive actuator 13 are bent in opposite directions, and the position of the ultrasonic transducer 12 is set so that the ultrasonic irradiation direction Z at that time is parallel. By moving, ultrasonic scanning is performed. If comprised in this way, the ultrasonic transducer | vibrator 12 can be driven so that the irradiation direction Z of an ultrasonic wave may always face the fixed direction (direction orthogonal to the sample 18 surface). Furthermore, since the ultrasonic transducer 12 is fixed to the tip of the electrostrictive actuator 13, a sufficient ultrasonic scanning range can be ensured. Further, since a unimorph type actuator is used as the electrostrictive actuator 13, the scanning means can be simplified. For this reason, the scanner main body 2 can be reduced in weight and size, and the portable ultrasonic microscope 1 can be realized. Further, since the scanner main body 2 has a pen-like shape as a whole, it can be easily operated by holding the scanner main body 2 by hand, and the tip of the scanner main body 2 can be directly applied to the affected area to quickly inspect the affected area. Can be done.

  (2) The ultrasonic microscope 1 according to the present embodiment includes the line marker 15, and the line marker 15 outputs visible light indicating the ultrasonic scanning position from the tip of the scanner body 2. Since the scanning position of the ultrasonic wave can be easily confirmed by the visible light, the ultrasonic wave can be rapidly scanned at a desired site in the sample 18.

  (3) In the ultrasonic microscope 1 of the present embodiment, the sample contact member 16 is detachably attached to the distal end portion of the scanner body 2, so that the sample contact member 16 is replaced every time a different sample 18 is inspected. be able to. In this case, by replacing the sample contact member 16 with a new one or the sample contact member 16 after sterilization washing, the scanner body 2 can be kept clean, which is practically preferable.

  (4) In the present embodiment, a scanning control circuit 20 for driving and controlling the electrostrictive actuator 13, a driving circuit 21 for lighting the line marker 15, and ultrasonic waves are applied to the wiring board 19 housed in the scanner body 2. Since the signal processing circuit 22 and the like for transmitting and receiving are provided, this is a preferable configuration for realizing the portable ultrasonic microscope 1.

  In addition, you may change embodiment of this invention as follows.

  In the above embodiment, the ultrasonic transducer 12 is moved by one electrostrictive actuator 13, but the present invention is not limited to this, and ultrasonic waves are generated by two or more electrostrictive actuators 13. You may comprise so that the vibrator | oscillator 12 may be moved. FIG. 7 shows a specific example of scanning means for moving the ultrasonic transducer 12 by two electrostrictive actuators 13. In FIG. 7, two electrostrictive actuators 13 having the same shape and size are used to move the ultrasonic transducer 12, and the electrostrictive actuators 13 are arranged in parallel with a gap. When ultrasonic waves are scanned, the electrostrictive actuators 13 are simultaneously bent in the same direction. The tips of the electrostrictive actuators 13 may be close to each other, but may be separated as shown in FIG. If the ultrasonic scanning unit is configured in this manner, the ultrasonic transducer 12 can be reliably moved while the direction of the ultrasonic transducer 12 is kept constant.

  In the electrostrictive actuator 13 according to the above-described embodiment, the piezoelectric material 44 is provided in the first surface 41 (the left surface in FIG. 5) of the plate-like base material 43 in the region closer to the tip than the center portion, and the second surface Although the piezoelectric material 44 is provided in the region closer to the base end side than the central portion in 42 (the right side surface in FIG. 5), the present invention is not limited to this. In the electrostrictive actuator 13 of FIG. 5, the left and right surfaces of the plate-like base material 43 are the first surface 41 and the second surface 42, respectively, and the first surface 41 on the right side is closer to the tip side than the center portion. The piezoelectric material 44 may be provided, and the piezoelectric material 44 may be provided in a region closer to the base end side than the central portion on the second surface 42 on the left side.

  In the above embodiment, the ultrasonic transducer 12 is fixed to the distal end of the electrostrictive actuator 13 and the base end side of the electrostrictive actuator 13 is fixed to the support 14. However, the configuration shown in FIG. It may be adopted. Specifically, two electrostrictive actuators 13 are used, and one end of each electrostrictive actuator 13 is connected by a connecting member 46. Then, the other end (base end) of one electrostrictive actuator 13 is fixed to the support 14, and the ultrasonic transducer 12 is fixed to the other end (tip) of the other electrostrictive actuator 13. If comprised in this way, the displacement of an up-down direction can be canceled before and after bending of the electrostrictive actuator 13, and the shift | offset | difference of the focus of an ultrasonic wave can be prevented reliably.

  In the ultrasonic microscope 1 of the above embodiment, the ultrasonic wave is linearly scanned one-dimensionally. However, the present invention is not limited to this and may be configured to scan two-dimensionally. Specifically, as in the scanning unit shown in FIG. 9, the driving portion by the electrostrictive actuator 13 has a two-stage structure, and the bending direction of the first electrostrictive actuator 13 and the second electrostrictive actuator 13 are bent. Provided so that the direction is orthogonal. In the scanning means shown in FIG. 9, one electrostrictive actuator 13 is provided in each of the first and second stages, but a plurality of electrostrictive actuators 13 may be provided in each stage. . In this way, the ultrasonic transducer 12 can be moved two-dimensionally by the combination of the bending of the first-stage electrostrictive actuator 13 and the second-stage electrostrictive actuator 13.

  In the above embodiment, the unimorph type electrostrictive actuator 13 is used, but other electrostrictive actuators such as a bimorph type electrostrictive actuator may be used. FIG. 10 shows a specific example of the bimorph type electrostrictive actuator 13A. As shown in FIG. 10, the electrostrictive actuator 13A includes a plate-like base material 43 having a first surface 41 and a second surface 42, and two piezoelectric materials 44a are provided on each of the first surface 41 and the second surface 42. 44b are pasted. Specifically, on the first surface 41 of the plate-like base material 43, piezoelectric materials 44a and 44b having different bending directions are provided in a region closer to the base end than a center portion and a region closer to the front end. In addition, on the second surface 42 of the plate-like base material 43, piezoelectric materials 44b and 44a having different bending directions are provided in the proximal side region and the distal side region with respect to the central portion. In the electrostrictive actuator 13A, a voltage is applied to each electrode of the electrostrictive actuator 13A so that the diagonal piezoelectric material 44a and the diagonal piezoelectric material 44b have opposite-phase bending directions. Even when the electrostrictive actuator 13A is used, the position of the ultrasonic transducer 12 can be moved so that the ultrasonic wave irradiation directions are parallel. Further, if the bimorph type electrostrictive actuator 13A is used, the ultrasonic transducer 12 can be moved more reliably than the unimorph type electrostrictive actuator 13, and a sufficient ultrasonic scanning range can be secured. Can do.

  In the above embodiment, the line marker 15 is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the housing 11, but the line marker 15 may be fixed to the ultrasonic transducer 12 side.

  Next, in addition to the technical ideas described in the claims, the technical ideas grasped by the embodiments described above are listed below.

  (1) In any one of claims 1 to 4, a support body capable of supporting the bending displacement type electrostrictive actuator is provided, and a base end of the one bending displacement type electrostrictive actuator is used as the support body. The ultrasonic microscope according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic microscope is supported, and a tip of the electrostrictive actuator is fixed to a central portion of a rear end surface of the ultrasonic transducer.

  (2) A structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a support body capable of supporting a plurality of the bending displacement type electrostrictive actuators, and supporting the base ends of the plurality of bending displacement type electrostrictive actuators. The ultrasonic microscope according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic microscope is supported by a body, the electrostrictive actuators are arranged in parallel to each other, and the ultrasonic vibrator is fixed to a tip of each electrostrictive actuator.

  (3) The ultrasonic microscope according to the technical idea (2), wherein the scanning unit simultaneously bends each of the bending displacement type electrostrictive actuators in the same direction during the scanning of the ultrasonic waves.

  (4) In the technical idea (2), an ultrasonic microscope characterized in that both ends of the ultrasonic transducer are fixed to the distal ends of the pair of bending displacement type electrostrictive actuators.

  (5) The ultrasonic microscope according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the scanner body has a pen shape as a whole.

  (6) The ultrasonic wave according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein signal processing means for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the ultrasonic transducer is housed on the proximal end side of the scanner body. microscope.

  (7) The ultrasonic microscope according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the tip of the scanner body is configured to be detachable.

  (8) The ultrasonic microscope according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sample is an in vivo living tissue, and the tip surface of the scanner body is directly brought into contact with the living tissue.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ultrasonic microscope 2 ... Scanner main body 12 ... Focus type ultrasonic transducer 13 ... Electrostrictive actuator which comprises scanning means 14 ... Supporting tool as a support 15 ... Line marker 41 as visible light irradiation means 41 ... 1st surface 42 ... 2nd surface 43 ... Plate-shaped base material 44, 44a, 44b ... Piezoelectric material W1 ... Ultrasonic transmission medium Z ... Irradiation direction

Claims (4)

A scanner body capable of accommodating an ultrasonic transmission medium at the tip;
A focus type that is disposed at the tip of the scanner body, irradiates ultrasonic waves through the ultrasonic transmission medium so as to focus on the sample, and receives reflected waves from the sample and converts them into electrical signals. An ultrasonic transducer,
Scanning means disposed inside the scanner body and moving an ultrasonic irradiation point along the surface of the sample, and based on the reflected ultrasonic wave signal received by the ultrasonic transducer, the sample An ultrasonic microscope for displaying an ultrasonic image of
The scanning unit includes a plurality of bending displacement type electrostrictive actuators that are formed in a plate shape and are arranged in parallel to each other with a gap, and a support that supports the base ends of the electrostrictive actuators. And
For each of the common ultrasonic transducers, the tips of the electrostrictive actuators are fixed apart from each other,
The scanning means bends the region on the distal end side and the region on the proximal end side in each electrostrictive actuator in the opposite directions during driving, and the ultrasonic waves are arranged so that the ultrasonic irradiation directions at that time are parallel to each other. An ultrasonic microscope characterized by moving the position of a vibrator. Each of the electrostrictive actuators includes a plate-like base material having a first surface and a second surface, and a piezoelectric material is provided in a region closer to a tip side than a center portion on the first surface, and a center portion on the second surface The ultrasonic microscope according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic microscope is a unimorph type actuator in which a piezoelectric material is provided in a region closer to the base end. Each of the electrostrictive actuators includes a plate-like base material having a first surface and a second surface, and piezoelectric materials having different bending directions in a region closer to a distal end side and a proximal end side than the center portion on the first surface. 2. The bimorph actuator according to claim 1, wherein the actuator is a bimorph actuator provided with a piezoelectric material having a different bending direction in a region closer to a distal end side and a proximal end side than a central portion on the second surface. Ultrasonic microscope.   4. The ultrasonic microscope according to claim 1, further comprising visible light irradiation means for outputting visible light indicating a scanning position of the ultrasonic waves from a tip portion of the scanner body. 5.

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