JP6203537B2 - Flexible printed circuit board, ultrasonic probe, and ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a flexible printed circuit board, an ultrasonic probe, and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus provided in an ultrasonic probe.

  In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, an ultrasonic wave is irradiated to a subject from an ultrasonic probe connected to the apparatus main body, and an ultrasonic image created based on the obtained echo signal is displayed.

  The ultrasonic probe includes an ultrasonic vibrator made of a piezoelectric material, and a voltage is applied to the ultrasonic vibrator to vibrate to generate an ultrasonic wave. Further, an echo (echo) that is generated by the ultrasonic transducer and propagated through the subject and reflected by a living tissue is converted into an electric signal by the ultrasonic transducer. An ultrasonic image is created based on this electrical signal.

  A flexible printed circuit (FPC) is connected to the ultrasonic transducer for supplying voltage to the ultrasonic transducer and taking out an echo signal from the ultrasonic transducer. For example, in Patent Document 1, the flexible printed circuit board is provided so as to be drawn out in the longitudinal direction of the ultrasonic transducer.

  The flexible printed circuit board is formed with a plurality of conductor portions along the longitudinal direction thereof. The conductor portions are provided at a required interval in the width direction of the flexible printed board. This conductor portion is connected to the ultrasonic transducer.

JP 2010-278766 A

  However, when the flexible printed circuit board is provided so as to be drawn out in the longitudinal direction (elevation direction) of the ultrasonic transducer, the ultrasonic probe having a small interval between the adjacent ultrasonic transducers In, the interval between conductors adjacent to each other in the flexible printed circuit board is also reduced. If the distance between adjacent conductors is small, it becomes difficult to manufacture a flexible printed circuit board, and the cost increases. Therefore, the inventor of the present application has a direction (azimuth) that intersects the longitudinal direction of the ultrasonic transducer so that the interval between adjacent ultrasonic transducers is small or the interval between adjacent conductors does not have to be small. In the direction), we are considering pulling out the flexible printed circuit board.

  By the way, at the time of transmission / reception of ultrasonic waves, an operator may perform a turning operation of tilting the ultrasonic probe in the elevation direction. When this turning operation is performed, the greater the width of the ultrasonic probe in the elevation direction, the more easily the transmission / reception surface of the ultrasonic probe is separated from the surface of the subject. Therefore, it is preferable to make the width of the ultrasonic probe in the elevation direction as small as possible in order to make it difficult for the transmitting / receiving surface of the ultrasonic probe to separate from the surface of the subject when the turning operation is performed.

  However, when the flexible printed circuit board is pulled out in the azimuth direction, the width of the flexible printed circuit board decreases as the width of the ultrasonic probe in the elevation direction decreases. Thereby, in the flexible printed circuit board, the width of the conductor portions adjacent to each other is reduced. If the widths of the conductor portions adjacent to each other are reduced, it becomes difficult to manufacture the flexible printed board as described above, and the cost is increased.

  One aspect of the invention made to solve the above-described problem is that a plurality of conductor portions that are electrically connected to a plurality of ultrasonic transducers arranged in the azimuth direction are formed in a housing of an ultrasonic probe. A flexible printed circuit board provided in the casing so as to be drawn in the azimuth direction, and having a width equal to or smaller than a minimum width in the elevation direction of the internal space at the end of the casing on the contact surface side with the subject. A flexible printed circuit board comprising: a narrow portion having a narrow portion; and a wide portion formed on both sides of the narrow portion and having a width larger than the narrow portion.

  According to the invention of the above aspect, since the flexible printed circuit board has the wide portions on both sides of the narrow portion, at least in the wide portion, the interval between adjacent conductor portions can be kept wide. On the other hand, the flexible printed circuit board has the narrow portion having a width equal to or smaller than the minimum width in the elevation direction of the internal space at the end portion of the housing on the contact surface side with the subject. The width in the elevation direction of the probe can be suppressed. Accordingly, it is possible to increase the interval between the conductor portions adjacent to each other while suppressing the width of the ultrasonic probe in the elevation direction.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of schematic structure of embodiment of the ultrasonic diagnosing device which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows the ultrasonic transducer | vibrator and flexible printed circuit board in the ultrasonic probe of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the ultrasonic probe of embodiment of this invention. It is a bottom view which shows the ultrasonic probe of embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the layer structure of a flexible printed circuit board. It is a top view which shows the flexible printed circuit board of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the turning operation | movement of the ultrasonic probe of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the state which the ultrasonic probe of embodiment of this invention contact | abutted on the body surface.

  Hereinafter, an example of embodiments of a flexible printed board, an ultrasonic probe, and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention will be described. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes an ultrasonic probe 2, a transmission / reception beam former 3, an echo data processing unit 4, a display control unit 5, a display unit 6, an operation unit 7, a control unit 8, and a storage unit 9.

  The transmission / reception beam former 3 supplies an electrical signal for transmitting an ultrasonic wave from the ultrasonic probe 2 under a predetermined scanning condition to the ultrasonic probe 2 based on a control signal from the control unit 8. The transmission / reception beamformer 3 performs signal processing such as A / D conversion and phasing addition processing on the echo signal received by the ultrasonic probe 2, and the echo data after the signal processing is sent to the echo data processing unit 4. Output to.

  The echo data processing unit 4 performs processing for creating an ultrasound image on the echo data output from the transmission / reception beamformer 3. For example, the echo data processing unit 4 performs B mode processing such as logarithmic compression processing and envelope detection processing to create B mode data.

  The display control unit 5 scan-converts the data input from the echo data processing unit 4 with a scan converter to create ultrasonic image data. For example, the display control unit 5 scans the B mode data to create B mode image data.

  Further, the display control unit 5 causes the display unit 6 to display an ultrasonic image based on the ultrasonic image data.

  The display unit 6 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, or the like. The operation unit 7 includes a keyboard and a pointing device (not shown) for an operator to input instructions and information.

  The control unit 8 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown). The control unit 8 reads the control program stored in the storage unit 9 and executes functions in each unit of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1.

  The storage unit 9 is an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a semiconductor memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) and a ROM (Read Only Memory).

  The ultrasonic probe 2 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the ultrasonic probe 2 includes a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 2a arranged in an array in the azimuth direction (X-axis direction). Ultrasound is transmitted to the subject and the echo signal is received.

  The ultrasonic transducer 2 a is provided on the flexible printed circuit board 50. The flexible printed circuit board 50 is drawn out in the azimuth direction. Thereby, as will be described later, the conductor portion 52 connected to the ultrasonic transducer 2a is drawn out in the azimuth direction.

  Incidentally, FIG. 2 is a diagram for explanation, and the number of the ultrasonic transducers 2a is not limited to the number shown in FIG. For example, the number of ultrasonic transducers 2a may be larger than the number shown in FIG.

  The flexible printed circuit board 50 and the ultrasonic transducer 2a are accommodated in a casing 2b (see FIGS. 3 and 4) of the ultrasonic probe 2. Although not particularly shown, an acoustic matching layer, a backing layer, and the like are provided in the housing 2b.

  The ultrasonic probe 2 is a micro convex probe, and as shown in FIG. 3, the contact surface (acoustic lens surface) 2c with the subject in the housing 2b is a convex curved surface. It has become. As shown in FIG. 2 described above, the flexible printed circuit board 50 is provided in a bent state in the casing 2b in accordance with the curved shape of the contact surface 2c.

  The casing 2b is formed with a protruding portion 2d at the end on the abutting surface 2c side. As shown in FIG. 4, the protrusions 2d are formed at the four corners of the housing 2b. In the portion where the protruding portion 2d is formed, the width W1 in the elevation direction (Z-axis direction) of the internal space 2e of the housing 2b is larger than the width W2 of the portion where the protruding portion 2d is not formed. It is getting bigger. As a result, a wide portion 56 (to be described later) of the flexible printed board 50 can be accommodated in the internal space 2e of the portion where the protruding portion 2d is formed. The internal space 2e where the protruding portion 2d is formed is an example of an embodiment of an internal space portion that can accommodate a wide portion in the present invention.

  Incidentally, in FIG. 4, only the bottom surface (the contact surface 2c) of the ultrasonic probe 2 is shown, and the depth is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the flexible printed board 50 includes a first insulator 51, a conductor portion 52, and a second insulator 53 that are laminated. The conductor portion 52 is also formed in a through hole 54 formed in the first insulator 51. The conductor portion 52 is electrically connected to the ultrasonic transducer 2a by a conductor portion 52H in the through hole 54.

  Although only one layer of the conductor 52 is shown in FIG. 5, the conductor formed on the flexible printed board 50 may be a plurality of layers. For example, a total of two conductor layers may be formed on the flexible printed circuit board 50, one each for the signal conductor and the ground conductor. The layer structure of the flexible printed board 50 is not limited to the illustrated one.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the flexible printed board 50 includes a narrow portion 55 and a wide portion 56. The width of the narrow portion 55 is the same as the length of the ultrasonic transducer 2a (length in the elevation direction), and is smaller than the width W2 of the internal space 2e. Accordingly, the narrow portion 55 has a width equal to or smaller than the minimum width in the elevation direction of the internal space at the end of the housing 2b on the contact surface 2c side.

  The wide portion 56 is formed on both sides of the narrow portion 55 in the longitudinal direction of the flexible printed circuit board 50. The width of the wide portion 56 is larger than that of the narrow portion 55 and larger than the length of the ultrasonic transducer 2a. In addition, the width of the wide portion 56 is smaller than the width W1. Since the flexible printed circuit board 50 has the wide portion 56, at least the wide portion 56 can keep the gap between the conductor portions 52 adjacent to each other in the width direction of the flexible printed circuit board 50.

  The flexible printed circuit board 50 is provided in the ultrasonic probe 2 so that the narrow portion 55 is positioned at a part of the array width W3 of the ultrasonic transducer 2a.

  Incidentally, in FIG. 6, an alternate long and short dash line denoted by reference numeral 2a 'indicates the position of the ultrasonic transducer 2a. A black circle indicated by reference numeral 52H ′ indicates a connection portion between the conductor portion 52 and the ultrasonic transducer 2a.

  A plurality of the conductor portions 52 are provided in the width direction along the longitudinal direction of the flexible printed circuit board 50. Of the plurality of conductor portions 52, the portion of the conductor portion 52 indicated by symbol A is formed in a straight line. On the other hand, the portion of the conductor portion 52 indicated by the symbol B is directed toward the connecting portion 52H ′ with the ultrasonic transducer 2a in the direction from the wide portion 56 to the narrow portion 55. 50 has a portion N extending from the end in the width direction to the center (the center in the width direction of the flexible printed circuit board 50).

  Here, across the narrow portion 55, one wide portion 56 is defined as a wide portion 56a, and the other wide portion 56 is defined as a wide portion 56b. As the conductor portion 52, there are a conductor portion drawn from the connection portion 52H ′ to the one wide portion 56a side, and a conductor portion drawn from the connection portion 52H ′ to the other wide portion 56b side. .

  The adjacent conductor portions 52 drawn out to the one wide portion 56a side are not connected to the adjacent ultrasonic transducers 2a, and the ultrasonic waves are sandwiched between at least one ultrasonic transducer 2a. It is connected to the vibrator 2a. Similarly, adjacent conductor portions 52 drawn out to the other wide portion 56 are also connected to the ultrasonic transducer 2a so as to sandwich at least one ultrasonic transducer 2a therebetween. Accordingly, the distance X1 in the width direction of the flexible printed circuit board 50 between the conductor portions 52 adjacent to each other on the one wide portion 56a side and the conductor portions 52 adjacent to each other on the other wide portion 56b side is determined as the ultrasonic vibration adjacent to each other. It is wider than the interval X2 of the child 2a.

  According to the flexible printed circuit board 50 of the present example, the interval between the conductor parts 52 adjacent to each other can be kept wide, while the flexible printed circuit board 50 has the narrow part 55, so that the ultrasonic wave The width of the probe 2 in the elevation direction can be suppressed.

  When the width of the ultrasonic probe 2 in the elevation direction is suppressed, as shown in FIG. 7, when the turning operation of tilting the ultrasonic probe 2 in the elevation direction (the direction of the arrow in FIG. 7) is performed. The contact surface 2c can be made difficult to separate from the body surface of the subject.

  Here, as described above, the width W1 of the portion where the protruding portion 2d is formed is larger than the width W2 of the portion where the protruding portion 2d is not formed (see FIG. 4). However, since the ultrasonic probe 2 is a micro convex probe, and the protrusion 2d is provided at the end in the azimuth direction, the protrusion 2d does not get in the way during the turning operation. Specifically, referring to FIG. 8, since the contact surface 2c is a convex curved surface, a portion where the protrusion 2d is not formed is brought into contact with the body surface BS of the subject. Since the protrusion 2d does not contact the body surface BS, the protrusion 2d does not get in the way during the turning operation.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated by the said embodiment, of course, this invention can be variously implemented in the range which does not change the main point. For example, the protrusion 2d does not necessarily have to be formed. In this case, the wide portion 56 of the flexible printed circuit board 50 may be formed with a slit (not shown) in the longitudinal direction so as to be accommodated in the housing 2b.

  Further, the narrow portion 55 does not need to have the same width as the length of the ultrasonic transducer 2a. For example, the width of the narrow portion 55 may be smaller than the length of the ultrasonic transducer 2a.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 2 Ultrasonic probe 2a Ultrasonic transducer 2b Case 2c Contact surface 2d Protrusion 2e Internal space 50 Flexible printed circuit board 52 Conductor part 55 Narrow part 56 Wide part

Claims (8)

A flexible printed circuit board that is formed in the casing so as to be drawn out in the azimuth direction by forming a plurality of conductor portions that are electrically connected to the plurality of ultrasonic transducers arranged in the azimuth direction in the casing of the ultrasonic probe. A narrow portion having a width equal to or less than a minimum width in the elevation direction of the internal space at the end of the housing on the contact surface side with the subject, and the width formed on both sides of the narrow portion have a wide portion which is formed in width greater than the narrow portion, the narrow portion, the be provided in the ultrasonic probe so as to be located to a part of the sequence widths of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers A flexible printed circuit board.   Each of the conductor portions is formed along the longitudinal direction of the flexible printed circuit board, and is provided at a predetermined interval in the width direction of the flexible printed circuit board. The interval between the adjacent conductor portions is the adjacent ultrasonic wave. The flexible printed circuit board according to claim 1, wherein the flexible printed circuit board is larger than an interval between the vibrators. At least some of the plurality of conductor portions are arranged in the width direction end of the flexible printed circuit board toward the connection portion with the ultrasonic transducer in the direction from the wide portion to the narrow portion. the flexible printed circuit board according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a portion toward the center from the part side. An ultrasonic probe comprising the flexible printed circuit board according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . The housing of the ultrasonic probe has an internal space portion that can accommodate the wide portion at both ends in the azimuth direction, which are end portions on the contact surface side with the subject. 4. The ultrasonic probe according to 4 . The space portion, said an end portion of the contact surface side of the subject in the housing, according to claim 5, characterized in that it is formed by protrusions provided at both ends in the azimuth direction Ultrasonic probe. The ultrasonic probe according to any one of claims 4-6, characterized in that a convex probe. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising the ultrasonic probe according to any one of claims 4 to 7 .