JP7301114B2 - ULTRASOUND DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM AND METHOD OF OPERATION OF ULTRASOUND DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and an operating method of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and more particularly, to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus including an ultrasonic transducer unit and a balloon arranged inside a subject to be inflated and deflated. and a method of operating the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that obtains an ultrasonic image of the inside of a subject by driving a plurality of ultrasonic transducers inside the subject (for example, the body of a patient) and transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves is already known. ing. In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the plurality of ultrasonic transducers are composed of, for example, single-crystal transducers that are piezoelectric elements, and are normally used in a polarized state. An ultrasonic transducer composed of a single-crystal transducer can receive ultrasonic waves with high sensitivity, but depolarization may occur in which the degree of polarization decreases as the driving time increases. . When the depolarization phenomenon occurs, the reception sensitivity of the ultrasonic transducer is lowered, which may affect the image quality of the ultrasonic image.

In particular, when transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves by driving each ultrasonic transducer inside the subject, it is necessary to set the frequency of the ultrasonic waves to a high frequency band of 7 to 8 MHz, so the transducer is relatively thin. However, the thinner the vibrator, the more likely the depolarization phenomenon will occur.

Therefore, techniques for dealing with depolarization in ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses have been developed so far. For example, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus described in Patent Document 1 (referred to as a “piezoelectric sensor device” in Patent Document 1) includes a piezoelectric element having a piezoelectric body and a pair of electrodes sandwiching the piezoelectric body, and a piezoelectric element. and a polarization processing circuit that applies a polarization voltage to the piezoelectric element to perform the polarization processing. In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus described in Patent Literature 1 having such a configuration, for example, at the timing of power-on, the timing of inputting a request signal to perform the detection process (every reception timing), or the end of the detection process. Polarization processing is performed after a predetermined standby transition time has elapsed. As a result, even if a depolarization phenomenon occurs in the piezoelectric element, the piezoelectric element can be polarized again, and the receiving sensitivity of the piezoelectric element can be maintained.

To give another example, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus described in Patent Document 2 (in Patent Document 2, referred to as an “ultrasonic sensor”) includes a piezoelectric element and a drive circuit that drives the piezoelectric element. The circuit drives the piezoelectric element with a driving waveform having first to sixth steps. The first step is a step of maintaining the polarization of the piezoelectric element with the first potential V1. The second step is performed after the first step and is a step of causing the piezoelectric element to transmit ultrasonic waves. The third step is performed after the second step, and is a step of making the piezoelectric element stand by at the second potential V2. A fourth step is performed after the third step and is a step of raising the potential from the second potential V2 to the third potential V3. A fifth step is performed after the fourth step and is a step of maintaining the third potential V3 while the piezoelectric element receives the ultrasonic waves. The sixth step is performed after the fifth step and is a step of returning the third potential V3 to the first potential V1. In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus described in Patent Document 2 having such a configuration, the piezoelectric element is driven by the driving waveform having the above-described first to sixth steps, thereby maintaining the polarization of the piezoelectric element. It becomes possible to drive.

JP 2013-005137 A JP 2017-143353 A

As described above, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses described in each of Patent Documents 1 and 2 can maintain or restore the polarization of the piezoelectric element. However, in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the polarization process is performed at the power-on timing, the timing of each reception, or the timing after a predetermined standby transition time has elapsed after the end of the detection process, so the time required for the polarization process minutes, delaying the start of subsequent processing. For example, when the polarization process is performed at power-on timing or every reception timing, the detection process cannot be started until the polarization process is completed, and must wait. Further, when the polarization process is performed at the timing when the predetermined standby transition time has elapsed after the detection process is completed, the standby transition time is waited for and the polarization process is completed. process start is delayed. As a result, the time required for ultrasonic diagnosis becomes unnecessarily long.

In addition, in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus described in Patent Document 2, since the drive waveform contains a DC component (specifically, the first, third, and fifth steps), the pulse length is correspondingly long. , and the effect on the ultrasonic image may be greater than that of a general drive waveform. In addition, since the waveform for maintaining polarization is added to the driving waveform, the driving time of the piezoelectric element is lengthened, and the time required for ultrasonic diagnosis becomes unnecessarily long. When depolarization is suppressed by using the drive waveform as described above, there is a trade-off relationship between image quality and the risk of depolarization.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and aims to solve the following objects.
That is, the present invention solves the problems of the prior art described above, and is an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of maintaining favorable reception sensitivity of each ultrasonic transducer without affecting the time required for ultrasonic diagnosis. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for operating an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

To achieve the above object, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention includes an ultrasonic transducer unit that includes a plurality of ultrasonic transducers and transmits and receives ultrasonic waves inside a subject. , a balloon that is arranged inside the subject together with the ultrasonic transducer unit and can be expanded and contracted; and a polarizing voltage supply unit that supplies a polarizing voltage to the transducer, and the polarizing voltage supply unit supplies the polarizing voltage to the polarization target oscillator, triggered by the execution of the process of inflating or deflating the balloon. It is characterized by supplying

Further, in the above-described ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, in order to transmit ultrasonic waves from the ultrasonic transducer unit, a transmission circuit is provided for supplying a driving voltage to the transducer to be driven among the plurality of ultrasonic transducers. , the polarization voltage supply unit is composed of a transmission circuit, and when the transmission circuit supplies the polarization target oscillator with the voltage for polarization during a period other than the period during which the transmission circuit supplies the drive voltage to the drive target oscillator, , is more preferred.

Further, in the above-described ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, in order to transmit ultrasonic waves from the ultrasonic transducer unit, a transmission circuit is provided for supplying a driving voltage to the transducer to be driven among the plurality of ultrasonic transducers. , the polarizing voltage supply unit is composed of a polarizing circuit that is provided separately from the transmission circuit. It is more preferable to supply the polarizing voltage to

Further, in the above-described ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a push button operated by the user when inflating or deflating the balloon, and a detector for detecting that the operation for inflating or deflating the balloon is performed by the push button and, when the detector detects that the push button has been operated to inflate or deflate the balloon, the polarizing voltage supply unit supplies the polarizing voltage to the transducer to be polarized. is more preferred.

Further, in the above-described ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, an image generating unit for generating a tomographic image of the inside of the subject based on an electrical signal output by the driven transducer when the ultrasonic transducer unit receives ultrasonic waves. The image generation unit further has an image analysis unit that generates a tomographic image in which the balloon is reflected, analyzes the tomographic image, and identifies changes in the size of the balloon in the tomographic image. More preferably, the polarizing voltage supply unit supplies the polarizing voltage to the polarization target vibrator when the change is identified by the image analysis unit.

Further, in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus described above, the operation mode of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes a first mode and a second mode, and the polarization voltage supply unit is polarized only when the operation mode is the second mode. When the voltage for polarizing is supplied to the vibrator and the driving time of the vibrator to be driven after the operation mode becomes the first mode reaches the preset time, the operation mode is changed from the first mode to the second mode. is more preferable.

Further, in the above-described ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the polarizing voltage supply time during which the polarizing voltage is supplied to the transducer to be polarized while the operation mode is the second mode, and the operation mode is the first mode. It is more preferable that the operation mode shifts from the second mode to the first mode when the relationship between the drive time from the start of the operation satisfies a preset condition.

Further, in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus described above, during the period in which the operation mode is the second mode, during the period other than the period during which the driving voltage is supplied to the transducer to be driven, the balloon expands or contracts, and the polarization It is more preferable that the polarization voltage supply unit supplies the polarization voltage to the resonator to be polarized.

Moreover, in the above-described ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, it is more preferable that the balloon expands when water is supplied to the inside of the balloon and contracts when the water is drained from the inside of the balloon.
Further, in the above ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, it is more preferable that the balloon is arranged at a position covering the ultrasonic transducer unit.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, a method for operating an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention is a method for operating an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, wherein the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes a plurality of ultrasonic transducers, an ultrasonic transducer unit for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves inside a subject; a balloon arranged inside the subject together with the ultrasonic transducer unit and capable of expanding and contracting; a polarizing voltage supply unit for supplying a polarizing voltage to the polarization-targeted transducer in order to polarize the polarization-targeted transducer among the ultrasonic transducers of (1); Triggered by the execution, the step of supplying the polarization voltage to the resonator to be polarized is provided by the voltage supply unit for polarization.

According to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and the operating method of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to maintain good reception sensitivity of each ultrasonic transducer without affecting the time required for ultrasonic diagnosis.

1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the distal end portion of the insertion section of the ultrasonic endoscope and its surroundings; FIG. 3 is a view showing a cross section of the distal end portion of the insertion portion of the ultrasonic endoscope cut along the II cross section shown in FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a pipeline provided in the ultrasonic endoscope; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a suction button provided on the ultrasonic endoscope; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an air/water supply button provided on the ultrasonic endoscope; It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the processor apparatus for ultrasounds. It is a figure which shows the flow of the diagnostic processing using an ultrasonic diagnosing device. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the procedure of diagnostic steps during diagnostic processing; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the driving time of the ultrasonic transducer, the polarization voltage supply time, and the reception sensitivity of the ultrasonic transducer. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasound processor according to a second embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a tomographic image to be analyzed by an image analysis unit; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a luminance profile of a tomographic image to be analyzed by an image analysis unit; FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasound processor according to a third embodiment; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the waveform of the polarization voltage supplied in the third embodiment;

An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to one embodiment (this embodiment) of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.
Although this embodiment is a representative embodiment of the present invention, it is merely an example and does not limit the present invention.

Further, in this specification, a numerical range represented using "to" means a range including the numerical values described before and after "to" as lower and upper limits.

<<Overview of Ultrasound Diagnostic Equipment>>
An outline of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view showing the distal end portion of the insertion portion 22 of the ultrasonic endoscope 12 and its surroundings. In addition, in FIG. 2, for convenience of illustration, the later-described balloon 37 is illustrated by a dashed line. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross section of the distal end portion 40 of the insertion portion 22 of the ultrasonic endoscope 12 taken along the II cross section shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the ultrasonic endoscope 12, showing the air/water supply and suction channels provided in the ultrasonic endoscope 12. As shown in FIG. Note that in FIG. 4 , portions other than the pipes (including hollow portions) are hatched so that the pipes can be easily distinguished.

The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is an ultrasonic endoscope system, and uses ultrasonic waves to observe the state of an observation target site inside the body of a patient, who is a subject (hereinafter also referred to as ultrasonic diagnosis). Used. Here, the site to be observed is a site that is difficult to inspect from the patient's body surface side (outside), such as the gallbladder or pancreas. By using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10, it is possible to ultrasonically diagnose the condition and the presence or absence of an abnormality in an observation target site through the gastrointestinal tract such as the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, small intestine, and large intestine, which are body cavities of a patient. It is possible.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 includes an ultrasonic endoscope 12, an ultrasonic processor device 14, an endoscope processor device 16, a light source device 18, a monitor 20, and an operator console. 100. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, as accessories of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10, a water supply tank 21a, a suction pump 21b, and an air supply pump 21c are provided. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4 , a conduit is formed in the ultrasonic endoscope 12 as a flow path for water and gas.

The ultrasonic endoscope 12 is an endoscope, and has an insertion section 22 inserted into a patient's body cavity and an operation section 24 operated by an operator (user) such as a doctor or an engineer. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an ultrasonic transducer unit 46 having a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 48 is attached to the distal end portion 40 of the insertion portion 22 .

The function of the ultrasonic endoscope 12 allows the operator to obtain an endoscopic image of the inner wall of the patient's body cavity and an ultrasonic image of the observation target region. An endoscopic image is an image obtained by photographing the inner wall of a patient's body cavity using an optical technique. An ultrasonic image is an image obtained by receiving reflected waves (echoes) of ultrasonic waves transmitted from the inside of a patient's body cavity toward an observation target site and imaging the received signals. Note that the ultrasonic endoscope 12 will be described in detail in a later section.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ultrasonic processor device 14 is connected to the ultrasonic endoscope 12 via a universal cord 26 and an ultrasonic connector 32a provided at its end. The ultrasound processor device 14 controls the ultrasound transducer unit 46 of the ultrasound endoscope 12 to cause the ultrasound transducer unit 46 to transmit ultrasound. Further, the ultrasonic processor 14 generates an ultrasonic image by imaging a received signal when the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 receives a reflected ultrasonic wave (echo). The ultrasound processor unit 14 will be described in detail in a later section.

As shown in FIG. 1, the endoscope processor device 16 is connected to the ultrasonic endoscope 12 via the universal cord 26 and an endoscope connector 32b provided at the end thereof. The endoscope processor device 16 acquires image data of a region adjacent to the observation target imaged by the ultrasonic endoscope 12 (more specifically, a solid-state imaging device 86, which will be described later), and performs predetermined processing on the acquired image data. Image processing is performed to generate an endoscopic image. Note that the adjacent site to be observed is a portion of the inner wall of the patient's body cavity that is adjacent to the site to be observed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the light source device 18 is connected to the ultrasonic endoscope 12 via a universal cord 26 and a light source connector 32c provided at the end thereof. The light source device 18 emits white light or specific wavelength light composed of the three primary colors of red, green, and blue light when imaging a site adjacent to the observation target using the ultrasonic endoscope 12 . The light emitted by the light source device 18 propagates through the ultrasonic endoscope 12 through a light guide (not shown) included in the universal cord 26, and passes through the ultrasonic endoscope 12 (detailedly, an illumination window 88, which will be described later). emitted from As a result, the adjacent site to be observed is illuminated by the light from the light source device 18 .

In this embodiment, the ultrasound processor 14 and the endoscope processor 16 are composed of two separate devices (computers). However, it is not limited to this, and both the ultrasound processor device 14 and the endoscope processor device 16 may be configured by one device.

The monitor 20 is connected to the ultrasound processor device 14 and the endoscope processor device 16, as shown in FIG. An endoscopic image generated by the processor unit 16 is displayed. Regarding the display of the ultrasound image and the endoscopic image, either one of the images may be switched and displayed on the monitor 20, or both images may be displayed simultaneously. Moreover, the configuration may be such that these display methods can be arbitrarily selected and changed.
In the present embodiment, an ultrasonic image and an endoscopic image are displayed on the single monitor 20, but a monitor for displaying the ultrasonic image and a monitor for displaying the endoscopic image are provided separately. good too. Further, a display form other than the monitor 20, for example, a form in which an ultrasonic image and an endoscopic image are displayed on a display of a personal terminal carried by an operator may be used.

The operator console 100 is an input device provided for the operator to input necessary information for ultrasonic diagnosis and for the operator to instruct the ultrasonic processor unit 14 to start ultrasonic diagnosis. be. The operator console 100 includes, for example, a keyboard, mouse, trackball, touch pad, and touch panel. When the operator console 100 is operated, the CPU 152 of the ultrasonic processor device 14 controls each part of the device (for example, a receiving circuit 142 and a transmitting circuit 144 which will be described later) according to the contents of the operation.

Specifically, before starting ultrasonic diagnosis, the operator obtains examination information (for example, examination order information including date and order number, and patient information including patient ID and patient name). Input using the console 100 . After completing the input of examination information, when the operator instructs the start of ultrasonic diagnosis through the console 100, the CPU 152 of the ultrasonic processor unit 14 executes ultrasonic diagnosis based on the inputted examination information. Each section of the ultrasonic processor unit 14 is controlled.

In addition, the operator can set various control parameters on the console 100 when performing ultrasonic diagnosis. Control parameters include, for example, the result of selection between live mode and freeze mode, the set value of display depth, and the result of selection of ultrasonic image generation mode.
Here, the "live mode" is a mode in which ultrasonic images (moving images) obtained at a predetermined frame rate are sequentially displayed (real-time display). The “freeze mode” is a mode in which one frame of ultrasound images (still images) acquired in the past is read out from the cine memory 150 (to be described later) and displayed.

There are a plurality of selectable ultrasonic image generation modes in the present embodiment, specifically B (Brightness) mode, CF (Color Flow) mode and PW (Pulse Wave) mode. The B mode is a mode for displaying a tomographic image by converting the amplitude of an ultrasonic echo into luminance. The CF mode is a mode in which the average blood flow velocity, flow fluctuation, flow signal intensity, flow power, etc. are mapped in various colors and displayed superimposed on the B-mode image. The PW mode is a mode for displaying the velocity of an ultrasonic echo source (for example, blood flow velocity) detected based on the transmission and reception of pulse waves.
The ultrasonic image generation mode described above is merely an example, and modes other than the three types of modes described above, such as A (Amplitude) mode and M (Motion) mode, may be further included.

After the power is turned on, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 configured as described above has an input step of inputting examination information, a diagnostic step of performing ultrasonic diagnosis, a standby step of waiting for preparation for ultrasonic diagnosis, etc. to implement. When the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is activated, first, an input step is performed. In the input step, the operator operates the console 100 to input the examination information described above. After inputting the examination information, when the operator instructs the start of ultrasonic diagnosis from the console 100, the diagnosis step is started. In addition, a standby step is performed from the end of the input of search information until the start of ultrasonic diagnosis is instructed.

After the input step is performed, the operation mode of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 (hereinafter simply referred to as operation mode) is set. In this embodiment, operation modes include a first mode and a second mode, and the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 operates according to either mode. A first mode is a mode in which ultrasonic diagnosis is performed in a normal procedure. The second mode is a mode in which, while performing ultrasonic diagnosis, polarization processing, which will be described later, is performed during a period other than the period during which ultrasonic diagnosis is performed (hereinafter referred to as a non-diagnostic period).

<<Configuration of Ultrasound Endoscope>>
Next, the configuration of the ultrasonic endoscope 12 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG. The ultrasonic endoscope 12 has an insertion section 22 and an operation section 24 . The insertion portion 22 includes a distal end portion 40, a curved portion 42, and a flexible portion 43 in order from the distal end side (free end side), as shown in FIG. The distal end portion 40 is provided with an ultrasonic observation section 36 and an endoscope observation section 38 as shown in FIG.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the distal end portion 40 is provided with a treatment instrument lead-out port 44 . The treatment tool lead-out port 44 serves as an outlet for a treatment tool (not shown) such as forceps, a puncture needle, or a high-frequency scalpel, and also serves as a suction port for sucking aspirated substances such as blood and bodily waste.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the balloon 37 is detachably attached to the distal end portion 40 at a position covering the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 . The balloon 37 is an expandable and contractible bag body, is placed in the patient's body cavity together with the ultrasonic transducer unit 46, and expands and contracts within the body cavity.
Note that the balloon 37 will be described in detail in a later section.

The bending portion 42 is a portion provided on the proximal end side (the side opposite to the side on which the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 is provided) of the distal end portion 40 in the insertion portion 22, and is bendable. The flexible portion 43 is a portion that connects the bending portion 42 and the operation portion 24 , has flexibility, and is provided in an elongated state.

Inside each of the insertion portion 22 and the operation portion 24, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of ducts for air/water supply and a plurality of ducts for suction are formed. Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , inside each of the insertion portion 22 and the operating portion 24 , a treatment instrument channel 45 is formed, one end of which communicates with the treatment instrument outlet 44 .

Next, among the constituent elements of the ultrasonic endoscope 12, the ultrasonic observation section 36, the endoscope observation section 38, the balloon 37, the air/water supply and suction conduits, and the operation section 24 will be described in detail. .

(Ultrasound observation unit)
The ultrasonic observation section 36 is a section provided for acquiring an ultrasonic image, and is arranged on the distal end side of the distal section 40 of the insertion section 22 . The ultrasonic observation unit 36 includes an ultrasonic transducer unit 46, a plurality of coaxial cables 56, and an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) 60, as shown in FIG.

The ultrasonic transducer unit 46 corresponds to an ultrasonic probe (probe), and transmits and receives ultrasonic waves in the patient's body cavity (inside the subject). Specifically, the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 transmits and receives ultrasonic waves by driving the driven transducer among the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 48 . The transducer to be driven is an ultrasonic transducer 48 that is actually driven (vibrates) to emit ultrasonic waves during ultrasonic diagnosis, and outputs a reception signal that is an electric signal when the reflected wave (echo) is received. be.
In this embodiment, the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 is integrated with the endoscope, and is to be inserted into the body cavity of the patient together with the endoscope, but it is not limited to this. do not have. For example, the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 may be separate from the endoscope and inserted into the patient's body cavity separately from the endoscope.

The ultrasonic transducer unit 46 according to the present embodiment is a convex probe in which a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 48 are arranged in an arc as shown in FIG. to send. However, the type (model) of the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 is not particularly limited, and other types may be used as long as they can transmit and receive ultrasonic waves, such as sector type, linear type, and radial type. There may be.

The ultrasonic transducer unit 46 is constructed by laminating a backing material layer 54, an ultrasonic transducer array 50, an acoustic matching layer 76, and an acoustic lens 78, as shown in FIG.

The ultrasonic transducer array 50 is composed of a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 48 (ultrasonic transducers) arranged in a one-dimensional array. More specifically, the ultrasonic transducer array 50 includes N (for example, N=128) ultrasonic transducers 48 arranged in a convex curve along the axial direction of the distal end portion 40 (longitudinal direction of the insertion portion 22). It is configured by being arranged at equal intervals. The ultrasonic transducer array 50 may be a two-dimensional array of a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 48 .

Each of the N ultrasonic transducers 48 is configured by arranging electrodes on both sides of a single crystal transducer, which is a piezoelectric element. As a single crystal oscillator, crystal, lithium niobate, lead magnesium niobate (PMN), lead zinc niobate (PZN), lead indium niobate (PIN), lead titanate (PT), lithium tantalate, langasite , zinc oxide, lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate (PMN-PT), and lead zinc niobate-lead titanate (PZN-PT).
The electrodes consist of individual electrodes (not shown) individually provided for each of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 48 and a ground electrode (not shown) common to the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 48 . The electrodes are also electrically connected to the ultrasound processor unit 14 via the coaxial cable 56 and the FPC 60 .

It should be noted that the ultrasonic transducer 48 according to this embodiment needs to be driven (vibrated) at a relatively high frequency of 7 MHz to 8 MHz for the purpose of obtaining an ultrasonic image of the body cavity of the patient. Therefore, the thickness of the piezoelectric element forming the ultrasonic transducer 48 is designed to be relatively thin, for example, 75 to 125 μm, preferably 90 to 125 μm.

Each ultrasonic transducer 48 is supplied with a pulsed driving voltage as an input signal from the ultrasonic processor 14 through the coaxial cable 56 . When this drive voltage is applied to the electrodes of the ultrasonic transducer 48 , the piezoelectric element expands and contracts to drive (vibrate) the ultrasonic transducer 48 . As a result, a pulsed ultrasonic wave is output from the ultrasonic transducer 48 . At this time, the amplitude of the ultrasonic waves output from the ultrasonic transducer 48 has a magnitude corresponding to the intensity (output intensity) when the ultrasonic transducer 48 outputs the ultrasonic waves. Here, the output intensity is defined as the magnitude of the sound pressure of the ultrasonic waves output from the ultrasonic transducer 48 .

When each ultrasonic transducer 48 receives a reflected ultrasonic wave (echo), it vibrates (drives) accordingly, and the piezoelectric element of each ultrasonic transducer 48 generates an electric signal. This electrical signal is output from each ultrasonic transducer 48 toward the ultrasonic processor unit 14 as an ultrasonic reception signal. At this time, the magnitude (voltage value) of the electric signal output from the ultrasonic transducer 48 corresponds to the reception sensitivity when the ultrasonic transducer 48 receives ultrasonic waves. Here, the reception sensitivity is defined as the ratio of the amplitude of the electric signal output by the ultrasonic transducer 48 after receiving the ultrasonic wave to the amplitude of the ultrasonic wave transmitted by the ultrasonic transducer 48 .

In this embodiment, by sequentially driving the N ultrasonic transducers 48 with an electronic switch such as a multiplexer 140, the scanning range along the curved surface on which the ultrasonic transducer array 50 is arranged, for example, from the center of curvature of the curved surface Ultrasonic waves are scanned in a range of about several tens of millimeters. More specifically, for example, when a B-mode image (tomographic image) is to be obtained as an ultrasonic image, channel selection by the multiplexer 140 selects m consecutively arranged ultrasonic transducers 48 (for example, , m=2/N) to be driven. As a result, each of the m driven transducers is driven, and an ultrasonic wave is output from each driven transducer through the opening. The output m ultrasonic waves are immediately synthesized, and the synthesized wave (ultrasonic beam) is transmitted toward the observation target site. After that, each of the m drive target transducers receives the ultrasonic waves (echoes) reflected by the observation target site, and outputs an electric signal (reception signal) corresponding to the reception sensitivity at that time.

The above series of steps (that is, supply of drive voltage, transmission/reception of ultrasonic waves, and output of electric signals) is performed by switching the aperture channel in the multiplexer 140 to change the position of the transducer to be driven one by one (one ultrasonic wave This is repeated while shifting each transducer 48 ). For example, in acquiring a B-mode image for one frame, the above series of steps (hereinafter referred to as a pass for convenience) is performed on one end of the N ultrasonic transducers 48 . , toward the ultrasonic transducer 48 on the other end side, N times in total, and each pass forms each image piece constituting a B-mode image. Here, an image piece is obtained by dividing a substantially fan-shaped B-mode image into N equal parts along an arc that is the outer edge of the B-mode image.

The backing material layer 54 supports the ultrasonic transducer array 50 from the back side (the side opposite to the acoustic matching layer 76). In addition, the backing material layer 54 absorbs ultrasonic waves transmitted to the back side of the ultrasonic transducer array 50 from among ultrasonic waves emitted from the ultrasonic transducers 48 or ultrasonic waves (echoes) reflected at the site to be observed. has the function of attenuating The backing material is made of rigid material such as hard rubber, and an appropriate amount of ultrasonic attenuation material (ferrite, ceramics, etc.) is added.

The acoustic matching layer 76 is provided for achieving acoustic impedance matching between the patient's human body and the transducer to be driven. The acoustic matching layer 76 is arranged outside the ultrasonic transducer array 50 (that is, the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 48 ) and, strictly speaking, is superimposed on the ultrasonic transducer array 50 . By providing the acoustic matching layer 76, it is possible to increase the transmittance of ultrasonic waves. As the material of the acoustic matching layer 76, various organic materials having an acoustic impedance value closer to that of the patient's body than the piezoelectric element of the ultrasonic transducer 48 can be used. Specific examples of materials for the acoustic matching layer 76 include epoxy resin, silicon rubber, polyimide, and polyethylene.

The acoustic lens 78 superimposed on the acoustic matching layer 76 is for converging the ultrasonic waves emitted from the transducer to be driven toward the site to be observed. The acoustic lens 78 is made of, for example, silicon-based resin (millable type silicon rubber (HTV rubber), liquid silicon rubber (RTV rubber), etc.), butadiene-based resin, polyurethane-based resin, or the like. , alumina or silica are mixed.

Part of the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the transducer to be driven is reflected at the boundary position of the acoustic lens 78 due to the difference in acoustic impedance. Therefore, the ultrasonic transducer 48 receives the ultrasonic waves reflected at the boundary position of the acoustic lens 78 and outputs the received signal. As a result, the boundary of the acoustic lens 78 is reflected in the ultrasonic image (specifically, the tomographic image) (see FIG. 12, for example).

The FPC 60 is electrically connected to electrodes provided on each ultrasonic transducer 48 . Each of the plurality of coaxial cables 56 is wired to the FPC 60 at one end thereof. When the ultrasonic endoscope 12 is connected to the ultrasonic processor device 14 via the ultrasonic connector 32a, each coaxial cable 56 is connected to the ultrasonic processor device at the other end (opposite to the FPC 60 side). 14 is electrically connected.

Furthermore, the ultrasonic endoscope 12 includes an endoscope-side memory 58 (see FIG. 7). The endoscope-side memory 58 stores the driving time during which the transducer to be driven is driven during ultrasonic diagnosis. More precisely, the endoscope-side memory 58 stores the driving time (strictly speaking, the driving time) of the driven transducer after the operation mode of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 becomes the first mode. be done.
In the present embodiment, the time from when the operator issues an instruction to start ultrasonic diagnosis until the end of ultrasonic diagnosis (more specifically, the time during which ultrasonic diagnosis is performed in live mode) is defined as the driving time. We will handle it. However, the driving time is not limited to this, and the driving time may be the time during which the driving voltage is actually supplied to the driven vibrator.

When the ultrasonic endoscope 12 is connected to the ultrasonic processor device 14 , the CPU 152 of the ultrasonic processor device 14 accesses the endoscope memory 58 and drives the drive stored in the endoscope memory 58 . It is possible to read the time. In addition, the CPU 152 of the ultrasound processor 14 rewrites (that is, clears) the driving time stored in the endoscope-side memory 58 to the initial value, or increases the driving time as the ultrasonic diagnosis is performed. If so, it is updated to a new drive time.

(Endoscope observation section)
The endoscopic observation section 38 is a portion provided for acquiring an endoscopic image, and is arranged on the distal end portion 40 of the insertion section 22 closer to the proximal side than the ultrasonic observation section 36 . As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the endoscope observation section 38 includes an observation window 82, an objective lens 84, a solid-state imaging device 86, an illumination window 88, a cleaning nozzle 90, a wiring cable 92, and the like.

The observation window 82 is attached to the distal end portion 40 of the insertion section 22 so as to be inclined with respect to the axial direction (longitudinal axis direction of the insertion section 22). The light incident through the observation window 82 and reflected by the portion adjacent to the observation object is imaged on the imaging surface of the solid-state imaging device 86 by the objective lens 84 .

The solid-state imaging device 86 photoelectrically converts the reflected light from the observation target adjacent region that has passed through the observation window 82 and the objective lens 84 and is imaged on the imaging plane, and outputs an imaging signal. As the solid-state imaging device 86, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), or the like can be used. A captured image signal output by the solid-state imaging device 86 is transmitted to the endoscope processor device 16 via the universal cord 26 via a wiring cable 92 extending from the insertion section 22 to the operation section 24 .

The illumination windows 88 are provided on both sides of the observation window 82 as shown in FIG. An output end of a light guide (not shown) is connected to the illumination window 88 . The light guide extends from the insertion portion 22 to the operation portion 24 and its incident end is connected to the light source device 18 connected via the universal cord 26 . Illumination light emitted by the light source device 18 travels through the light guide and is irradiated from the illumination window 88 toward the site adjacent to the observation target.

The cleaning nozzle 90 is a jet hole formed in the distal end portion 40 of the insertion portion 22 for cleaning the surfaces of the observation window 82 and the illumination window 88 . and is jetted toward the illumination window 88 . In addition, in the present embodiment, the cleaning liquid ejected from the cleaning nozzle 90 is water, particularly degassed water. However, the cleaning liquid is not particularly limited, and may be another liquid such as ordinary water (non-deaerated water).

(balloon)
The balloon 37 is made of an expandable and contractible tubular rubber material, and is arranged at a position covering the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 on the outer peripheral surface of the distal end portion 40 of the insertion portion 22 . More specifically, an elastic fastening ring 39 is formed at the open end of the balloon 37 . An annular fitting groove 41 is formed in the outer surface of the distal end portion 40 so as to match the position of the fastening ring 39 . The diameter of the fastening ring 39 is slightly shorter than the diameter of the fitting groove 41 . When the fixing ring 39 is fitted into the fitting groove 41 , the balloon 37 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the distal end portion 40 .

The balloon 37 is inflated by injecting an ultrasonic transmission medium therein. Further, when the balloon 37 is inflated with the distal end portion 40 of the insertion portion 22 inserted into the patient's body cavity, the balloon 37 abuts against the body cavity inner wall (for example, the vicinity of the observation target adjacent site). As a result, air is removed from between the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 and the inner wall of the body cavity, making it possible to prevent attenuation of ultrasonic waves and their reflected waves (echoes) in the air.

In this embodiment, the ultrasonic transmission medium is a liquid medium, specifically water (strictly, degassed water). However, the ultrasonic transmission medium is not particularly limited, and any liquid medium capable of transmitting ultrasonic waves can be used without limitation.

Degassed water, which is an ultrasonic transmission medium, is injected into the balloon 37 through a water supply port 47 formed near the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 at the distal end portion 40 of the insertion portion 22 . This inflates the balloon 37 . On the other hand, when the insertion portion 22 is withdrawn from the patient's body cavity, the degassed water in the balloon 37 is sucked from the water supply port 47 to drain the degassed water from the inside of the balloon 37 and the balloon 37 is deflated. .

Inflation and deflation of the balloon 37 may be repeated while the ultrasonic endoscope 12 is inserted into the patient's body. For example, when ultrasonic diagnosis is performed by changing the observation target site, the amount of insertion of the ultrasonic endoscope 12 may be changed while the ultrasonic endoscope 12 is inserted into the body cavity. By operating the operating portion 24 of the mirror 12, the site with which the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 contacts (that is, the adjacent site to be observed) is changed. In this case, the inflated balloon 37 is deflated once, the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 is brought into contact with a new adjacent site to be observed, and then the balloon 37 is inflated again.

Also, part of the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the transducer to be driven is reflected by the balloon 37 due to the difference in acoustic impedance. Therefore, the transducer to be driven receives the ultrasonic wave reflected by the balloon 37 and outputs the received signal. As a result, the balloon 37 is reflected in the ultrasonic image (specifically, the tomographic image) (see FIG. 12, for example).

(Conduit for air/water supply and suction)
Before explaining the pipelines for air/water supply and suction, the equipment for air/water supply and suction included in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10, specifically, the water supply tank 21a, the suction pump 21b, and the air supply pump 21c will be described. do.

The water supply tank 21a is a tank that stores degassed water. The degassed water is used not only as a cleaning liquid ejected from the cleaning nozzle 90 but also as an ultrasonic transmission medium injected into the balloon 37 . However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the cleaning liquid and the ultrasonic transmission medium may be separately prepared and stored in separate tanks.

The suction pump 21b sucks the aspirate (including the degassed water supplied for washing) inside the body cavity through the treatment instrument outlet 44 . The air supply pump 21c supplies air to a predetermined air supply destination. The air supply destination of the air sent by the air supply pump 21c can be switched, and for example, the air can be supplied through the washing nozzle 90 into the body cavity of the patient. It is also possible to supply air from the air supply pump 21c into the water supply tank 21a. In this case, the inside of the water supply tank 21a is pressurized, and the degassed water in the water supply tank 21a can be supplied into the balloon 37 using the pressurized tank internal pressure.
The suction pump 21b and the air supply pump 21c always operate while the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is activated.

Next, the conduits provided inside each of the insertion section 22 and the operation section 24 will be described with reference to FIG. Inside the insertion portion 22 and the operation portion 24, as shown in FIG.

The treatment instrument channel 45 communicates between the treatment instrument insertion port 30 and the treatment instrument outlet port 44 provided in the operation section 24 . A suction pipe line 64 branches off from the treatment instrument channel 45 . The suction line 64 is connected to a suction button 28b provided on the operation section 24. As shown in FIG. One end of the air/water supply conduit 62 communicates with the washing nozzle 90 , and the other end branches into an air supply conduit 65 and a water supply conduit 66 . The air supply conduit 65 and the water supply conduit 66 are connected to an air supply/water supply button 28 a provided on the operation section 24 .

One end of the balloon conduit 63 is connected to the water supply port 47 and communicates with the inside of the balloon 37 , and the other end branches into a balloon water supply conduit 67 and a balloon drain conduit 68 . The balloon water supply line 67 is connected to the air/water supply button 28a, and the balloon water discharge line 68 is connected to the suction button 28b.

As shown in FIG. 4, the air/water supply button 28a has an air supply conduit 65, a water supply conduit 66, and a balloon water supply conduit 67, as well as an air supply source conduit 69 leading to the air supply pump 21c. One end is connected to one end of a water source conduit 70 leading to the water tank 21a. The other end of the air supply source conduit 69 is branched by a branch conduit 71 within the light source connector 32c. The branch pipeline 71 is connected to the inlet of the water supply tank 21a. Further, the other end of the water source pipe 70 passes through the branch pipe 71 and is inserted into the water tank 21a. When the internal pressure of the water supply tank 21a rises due to air supply from the air supply pump 21c through the branch pipe 71, the water (degassed water) in the water supply tank 21a is supplied to the water supply source pipe 70. .

The suction button 28b is connected to the suction channel 64 and the balloon drainage channel 68 as well as one end of a suction source channel 72 leading to the suction pump 21b.

(operation unit)
The operation part 24 is a part operated by the operator at the start of ultrasonic diagnosis, during diagnosis, at the end of diagnosis, etc., and one end of a universal cord 26 is connected to one end of the operation part 24 . The operation unit 24 has an air/water supply button 28a, a suction button 28b, a pair of angle knobs 29, and a treatment instrument insertion port (forceps port) 30, as shown in FIG.

When each of the pair of angle knobs 29 is rotated, the bending portion 42 is remotely operated to bend and deform. By this deformation operation, the distal end portion 40 of the insertion portion 22 provided with the ultrasonic observation portion 36 and the endoscope observation portion 38 can be directed in a desired direction. The treatment instrument insertion port 30 is a hole formed for inserting a treatment instrument (not shown) such as forceps, and communicates with the treatment instrument outlet 44 via a treatment instrument channel 45 . The treatment instrument inserted into the treatment instrument insertion port 30 is introduced into the body cavity from the treatment instrument outlet port 44 after passing through the treatment instrument channel 45 .

The air/water supply button 28a and the suction button 28b are two-stage switching push buttons, and are operated to switch opening and closing of the channels provided inside the insertion section 22 and the operation section 24, respectively. In particular, in this embodiment, the balloon 37 can be inflated or deflated by operating the air/water supply button 28a and the suction button 28b. In other words, the air/water button 28a and the suction button 28b are push buttons operated by the operator when the balloon 37 is inflated or deflated.

Detailed configurations of the air/water supply button 28a and the suction button 28b will be described below with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the suction button 28b. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the air/water button 28a. Since the structure of the air/water supply button 28a is similar to the structure of the suction button 28b, among the components of the air/water supply button 28a shown in FIG. , the same reference numerals as those of the suction button 28b.

The air/water supply button 28a blocks the water supply channel 70 and communicates the air supply source channel 69 with the exhaust hole 110 of the operation cap 112 when the operation cap 112 provided at the top thereof is not operated. be. In this state, when the exhaust hole 110 formed in the operation cap 112 is blocked by the operator's finger or the like (see FIG. 6), the air supply source conduit 69 and the air supply conduit 65 communicate with each other. As a result, the air is sent to the air supply conduit 65 and jetted from the cleaning nozzle 90 .

Further, when the operation cap 112 is half-pressed (single-step operation), the air/water supply button 28a shuts off the air/water supply channel 69 and communicates the water/water source channel 70 only with the water/water channel 66. Let As a result, the deaerated water sent from the water source pipe 70 flows through the water pipe 66 and is jetted from the cleaning nozzle 90 . Further, when the operation cap 112 is fully pressed (two-stage operation), the air/water supply button 28a is operated to switch the water supply channel 70 to the balloon water supply pipe while the air supply source channel 69 is kept blocked. Communicate only with path 67 . As a result, the degassed water sent from the water source conduit 70 flows through the balloon water conduit 67 and is sent into the balloon 37 .

The suction button 28b communicates the suction source line 72 with the atmosphere when the operation cap 112 provided on the top thereof is not operated. Further, the suction button 28b allows the suction source channel 72 to communicate only with the suction channel 64 when the operation cap 112 is half-pressed (single step operation). As a result, the negative pressure suction force of the suction channel 64 and the treatment instrument channel 45 is increased, and the aspirated material is suctioned from the treatment instrument outlet 44 . Further, the suction button 28b allows the suction source channel 72 to communicate only with the balloon drainage channel 68 when the operation cap 112 is fully pressed (two-step operation). As a result, the negative pressure suction forces of the balloon drain line 68 and the balloon line 63 are increased, and the water inside the balloon 37 is drained.

As shown in FIG. 5, the suction button 28b is configured such that a piston 116 is slidably accommodated within a cylinder 114 and the piston 116 is positioned by a cylinder cap 118 provided on the cylinder 114. As shown in FIG. Connected to cylinder 114 are suction line 64 , balloon drain line 68 , and suction source line 72 . A cylinder pipe 120 extending in the axial direction is formed in the cylinder 114 . One end of the cylinder channel 120 is an open end, and the other end of the cylinder channel 120 is provided with a suction connection port 73 communicating with the suction channel 64 . Furthermore, a suction source connection port 74 leading to the suction source channel 72 and a drainage connection port 75 leading to the balloon drainage channel 68 are opened from the other end to the one end in the cylinder channel 120 . .

The piston 116 is composed of a shaft tip portion 122 protruding from an open end, which is one end of the cylinder pipe 120 , and a shaft body portion 124 that is always accommodated within the cylinder pipe 120 . An operation cap 112 that receives a pressing operation is fixed to the top of the shaft tip portion 122 . The shaft body portion 124 is provided with a rear end face opening 126 formed in the shaft rear end face, a side face opening 128 formed in the side face, and an internal conduit 130 communicating the rear end face opening 126 and the side face opening 128. ing. The side opening 128 is formed at a position substantially facing the suction source connection port 74 when the operation cap 112 is half-pressed. An annular circumferential groove 132 is formed in a side surface of the shaft body portion 124 at a portion closer to the shaft tip portion 122 than the side opening 128 . The circumferential groove 132 is formed at a position substantially facing the drain connection port 75 and the suction source connection port 74 when the operation cap 112 is fully pushed.

The piston 116 slides between a position when the operating cap 112 is not pressed (hereinafter referred to as a non-pressing position) and a position when the operating cap 112 is fully pressed (hereinafter referred to as a fully pressed position). do. When the piston 116 is at the non-pressing position, the communication between the suction source connection port 74 and the suction connection port 73 is blocked and the communication between the suction source connection port 74 and the drain connection port 75 is blocked. be. Further, when the piston 116 reaches the full-press position, the circumferential groove 132 brings the suction source connection port 74 into communication with the suction source connection port 74 only through the drain connection port 75, which is a balloon drainage state. In the balloon drain state, the suction source conduit 72 communicates with the balloon drain conduit 68 and the balloon conduit 63 by communicating the drain connection port 75 with the suction source connection port 74 . Then, the negative pressure suction force increases in the range from the suction source pipe line 72 to the balloon pipe line 63, the degassed water is discharged from the balloon 37, and the balloon 37 contracts. Degassed water discharged from the balloon 37 is discharged outside the ultrasonic endoscope 12 . Further, when the operating cap 112 is half-pressed, the piston 116 moves to a half-pressed position between the non-pressed position and the fully-pressed position. At this time, the piston 116 is in a suction state in which only the suction connection port 73 is communicated with the suction source connection port 74 by the internal conduit 130 .

Also, the piston 116 is biased toward the operation cap 112 by two coil springs 134 a and 134 b provided inside the cylinder cap 118 . Thereby, the piston 116 is maintained in the non-pressing position when the operating cap 112 is not operated. Further, when the piston 116 is moved from the non-pressed position to the half-pressed position, and when the piston 116 is further moved to the fully-pressed position, the operation cap 112 is pressed against the urging forces of the coil springs 134a and 134b. Here, the piston 116 is biased by only one of the two coil springs 134a and 134b while it is in the range from the non-pressed position to the half-pressed position, and is biased while it is in the range from the half-pressed position to the fully-pressed position. is biased by both of the two coil springs 134a and 134b. Therefore, the biasing force applied to piston 116 changes during movement of piston 116 from the non-pressed position to the fully-pressed position, specifically, when piston 116 reaches the half-pressed position. This makes it possible to temporarily stop the operation cap 112 when the piston 116 reaches the half-pressed position.

A detector 139a is arranged at the end (rear end) of the suction connection port 73 in the cylinder duct 120 as shown in FIG. This detector 139a detects that an operation for contracting the balloon 37 (that is, a full-press operation) has been performed with the suction button 28b. More specifically, the detector 139a comes into contact with the piston 116 when the piston 116 reaches the fully depressed position, and outputs a detection signal to the CPU 152 of the ultrasonic processor 14 at that time.

As shown in FIG. 6, the air/water supply button 28a includes a cylinder 114, a piston 116 housed in the cylinder 114, an operation cap 112 attached to the tip of the piston 116, and a cylinder cap 118 attached to the cylinder 114. and Cylinder 114 is formed in the shape of a cylinder with a bottom and has cylinder conduit 120 . The cylinder pipe 120 has a connection port 121a with the air supply pipe 65, a connection port 121b with the air supply source pipe 69, a connection port 121c with the water supply pipe 66, a connection port 121d with the water supply source pipe 70, and a connection port 121e with the balloon water supply conduit 67 is provided.
An operation cap 112 of the air/water supply button 28 a is formed with an exhaust hole 110 , and the exhaust hole 110 communicates with a through hole 136 of the piston 116 .

As with the suction button 28b, the piston 116 of the air/water supply button 28a is moved by operating the operation cap 112 and displaces to the non-pressed position, the half-pressed position, and the fully-pressed position. When the piston 116 is at the non-pressing position, the air from the air pump 21c is discharged from the exhaust hole 110 of the operation cap 112. As shown in FIG. At this time, if the exhaust hole 110 is blocked by a finger or the like as shown in FIG. As a result, the check valve 138 attached to the end of the piston 116 opposite to the operation cap 112 opens, and the air inside the piston 116 is sent to the air supply conduit 65 .

When the operation cap 112 is half-pressed, the piston 116 moves to the half-press position. As a result, the water supply pipeline 66 and the water supply source pipeline 70 are connected to each other, nozzle water is supplied, and degassed water is jetted from the cleaning nozzle 90 . At this time, the air-supply line 65 and the air-supply source line 69 are blocked. Further, when the operating cap 112 is fully pushed, the piston 116 moves to the fully pushed position. As a result, the balloon water supply pipeline 67 and the water supply source pipeline 70 are connected to each other, and the degassed water stored in the water supply tank 21a flows into the water supply source pipeline 70, the balloon water supply pipeline 67, and the balloon pipe. Water is injected into the balloon 37 from the water supply port 47 via the channel 63 . Also at this time, the air supply line 65 and the air supply line 69 are blocked.

As with the suction button 28b, a detector 139b is also arranged at the end of the air/water supply button 28a on the side of the suction connection port 73 in the cylinder conduit 120, as shown in FIG. This detector 139b detects that an operation for inflating the balloon 37 (that is, a full-press operation) has been performed with the air/water supply button 28a. Specifically, the detector 139b comes into contact with the piston 116 when the piston 116 reaches the fully depressed position, and outputs a detection signal to the CPU 152 of the ultrasonic processor 14 at that time.

<<Configuration of Ultrasonic Processor Device>>
The ultrasonic processor device 14 causes the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves, and generates an ultrasonic image based on the reception signals output by the drive target element when receiving the ultrasonic waves. The ultrasound processor device 14 also displays the generated ultrasound image on the monitor 20 .

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the ultrasonic processor 14 (strictly speaking, the polarization processing unit 155 described later) performs polarization processing to to polarize the oscillator to be polarized by supplying a voltage for polarization. By performing the polarization process, the ultrasonic transducer 48 that has been depolarized by repeated ultrasonic diagnosis can be repolarized, thereby restoring the ultrasonic reception sensitivity of the ultrasonic transducer 48 to a favorable level. becomes possible.

As shown in FIG. 7, the ultrasound processor 14 includes a multiplexer 140, a receiving circuit 142, a transmitting circuit 144, an A/D converter 146, an ASIC 148, a cine memory 150, a memory controller 151, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 152, and a DSC. (Digital Scan Converter) 154 and a polarization processor 155 .

The receiving circuit 142 and the transmitting circuit 144 are electrically connected to the ultrasonic transducer array 50 of the ultrasonic endoscope 12 via the multiplexer 140 . The multiplexer 140 selects up to m drive target transducers from the N ultrasonic transducers 48 and opens their channels.

The transmission circuit 144 is a circuit that supplies a driving voltage for transmitting ultrasonic waves to the transducers to be driven selected by the multiplexer 140 in order to transmit ultrasonic waves from the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 . The drive voltage is a pulsed voltage signal and is applied to the electrodes of the vibrator to be driven via the universal cord 26 and coaxial cable 56 .

The receiving circuit 142 is a circuit that receives an electric signal output from the transducer to be driven that has received the ultrasonic wave (echo), that is, a received signal. Further, the receiving circuit 142 amplifies the received signal received from the ultrasonic transducer 48 according to the control signal sent from the CPU 152 and transfers the amplified signal to the A/D converter 146 . The A/D converter 146 is connected to the receiving circuit 142 , converts the received signal received from the receiving circuit 142 from an analog signal to a digital signal, and outputs the converted digital signal to the ASIC 148 .

The ASIC 148 is connected to the A/D converter 146, and as shown in FIG. there is
In this embodiment, hardware circuits such as the ASIC 148 perform the functions described above (specifically, the phase matching unit 160, the B mode image generation unit 162, the PW mode image generation unit 164, and the CF mode image generation unit 166). ), but is not limited to this. The above functions may be realized by cooperation between a central processing unit (CPU) and software (computer program) for executing various data processing.

The phase matching unit 160 performs a process of applying a delay time to the received signal (received data) digitized by the A/D converter 146 and performing phasing addition (adding after matching the phase of the received data). do. A sound ray signal in which the focus of the ultrasonic echo is narrowed is generated by the phasing and addition processing.

The B-mode image generator 162, the PW-mode image generator 164, and the CF-mode image generator 166 generate electrical signals (strictly speaking, An ultrasound image is generated based on an audio signal generated by phasing and adding received data.

The B-mode image generation unit 162 is an image generation unit that generates a B-mode image, which is a tomographic image of the inside (inside the body cavity) of the patient. The B-mode image generation unit 162 corrects the attenuation caused by the propagation distance according to the depth of the reflection position of the ultrasonic waves by STC (Sensitivity Time Gain Control) for the sequentially generated sound ray signals. The B-mode image generation unit 162 also performs envelope detection processing and log (logarithmic) compression processing on the corrected sound ray signal to generate a B-mode image (image signal).

The PW mode image generation unit 164 is an image generation unit that generates an image that displays blood flow velocity in a predetermined direction. The PW mode image generation unit 164 extracts frequency components by performing a fast Fourier transform on a plurality of sound ray signals in the same direction among the sound ray signals sequentially generated by the phase matching unit 160 . After that, the PW mode image generator 164 calculates the blood flow velocity from the extracted frequency components and generates a PW mode image (image signal) displaying the calculated blood flow velocity.

The CF mode image generation unit 166 is an image generation unit that generates an image that displays blood flow information in a predetermined direction. The CF-mode image generating unit 166 generates an image signal indicating information about blood flow by obtaining the autocorrelation of a plurality of sound ray signals in the same direction among the sound ray signals sequentially generated by the phase matching unit 160. . Thereafter, the CF-mode image generator 166 incorporates the image signal into the B-mode image signal to generate a CF-mode image (image signal) as a color image on which information about blood flow is superimposed.

The DSC 154 is connected to the ASIC 148, and converts the image signal generated by the B-mode image generator 162, PW-mode image generator 164, or CF-mode image generator 166 into an image signal conforming to a normal television signal scanning method. (raster conversion), and the image signal is output to the monitor 20 after being subjected to various necessary image processing such as gradation processing.

The memory controller 151 is connected to the ASIC 148 and stores image signals generated by the B-mode image generator 162 , PW-mode image generator 164 or CF-mode image generator 166 in the cine memory 150 . The cine memory 150 has a capacity for accumulating image signals for one frame or several frames. The image signal generated by the ASIC 148 is output to the DSC 154 and also stored in the cine memory 150 by the memory controller 151 . In the freeze mode, the memory controller 151 reads the image signal stored in the cine memory 150 and outputs it to the DSC 154 . As a result, an ultrasonic image (still image) based on the image signal read from the cine-memory 150 is displayed on the monitor 20 in the freeze mode.

The polarization processing unit 155 performs polarization processing, and is composed of a polarization circuit 156 and a circuit switcher 158 as shown in FIG. The polarizing circuit 156 constitutes a polarizing voltage supply unit, and supplies a polarizing voltage to the polarization target vibrator in order to polarize the polarization target vibrator. The polarization voltage is a voltage for polarizing the oscillator to be polarized (strictly speaking, the piezoelectric element of the oscillator to be polarized). It is polarized (that is, the polarizers are aligned in one direction).

The polarization circuit 156 is electrically connected to each of the ultrasonic transducers 48 via the universal cord 26 and coaxial cable 56 . Further, in this embodiment, the polarization circuit 156 is provided separately from the transmission circuit 144, and during a period (non-diagnostic period) other than the period during which the transmission circuit 144 supplies the drive voltage to the drive target vibrator. , supplies a polarization voltage to the oscillator to be polarized. The polarization voltage is supplied from the polarization circuit 156 through the multiplexer 140 to the polarization target vibrator. The maximum number of is m.

The polarization voltage may be a DC voltage or an AC voltage. Further, when the polarizing voltage is an AC voltage, its waveform may be a continuous waveform or a pulse waveform. Further, when the waveform of the polarizing voltage is a pulse waveform, it may be a unipolar pulse or a bipolar pulse.

As shown in FIG. 7, the circuit switcher 158 is connected to both the transmission circuit 144 and the polarization circuit 156 in front of the multiplexer 140. Of the transmission circuit 144 and the polarization circuit 156, the circuit switcher 158 is connected to the multiplexer 140. It is a switch that switches the circuit that Circuit switch 158 normally connects only transmission circuit 144 to multiplexer 140 . In this state, a driving voltage for transmitting ultrasonic waves is supplied to the transducer to be driven.
On the other hand, when the polarization process is performed, the circuit switcher 158 switches the circuit to be connected to the multiplexer 140 from the transmission circuit 144 to the polarization circuit 156 . In this state, a polarization voltage is supplied to the polarization target vibrator.

The CPU 152 functions as a control section that controls each section of the ultrasonic processor device 14, and is connected to the receiving circuit 142, the transmitting circuit 144, the A/D converter 146, the ASIC 148, the polarizing circuit 156, and the circuit switcher 158. , to control these devices. More specifically, the CPU 152 is connected to the operator console 100 and controls each section of the ultrasonic processor device 14 according to examination information and control parameters input from the operator console 100 during ultrasonic diagnosis. As a result, an ultrasonic image corresponding to the ultrasonic image generation mode specified by the operator can be obtained, and in particular, the ultrasonic image can be obtained at any time at a constant frame rate in the live mode.

Further, when the ultrasonic endoscope 12 is connected to the ultrasonic processor device 14 via the ultrasonic connector 32a, the CPU 152 automatically controls the ultrasonic endoscope 12 by a method such as PnP (Plug and Play). recognize. After that, the CPU 152 accesses the endoscope-side memory 58 of the ultrasonic endoscope 12 and reads the driving time stored in the endoscope-side memory 58 . Furthermore, the CPU 152 accesses the endoscope side memory 58 at the end of the ultrasonic diagnosis, and adds the driving time stored in the endoscope side memory 58 by the time required for the ultrasonic diagnosis performed immediately before. updated to the specified value.

In this embodiment, the driving time is stored on the ultrasonic endoscope 12 side, but this is not a limitation, and the driving time is stored on the ultrasonic endoscope 14 side. It may be stored separately for each mirror 12 .

Furthermore, the CPU 152 causes the polarization processing section 155 to perform the polarization processing using the non-diagnosis period during the period in which the operation mode is the second mode. That is, in the present embodiment, the polarization process is performed during a period during which ultrasonic diagnosis is not performed (in other words, during a period other than the period during which the drive voltage is supplied to the transducer to be driven). . More specifically, in this embodiment, while the balloon 37 is being inflated or deflated, the polarizing circuit 156 supplies the polarizing voltage to the transducer to be polarized.

The magnitude of the polarization voltage (potential) and its supply time are set to appropriate values by the CPU 152 according to the specifications of the oscillator to be polarized (more specifically, the thickness and material of the piezoelectric element, etc.). . After that, the CPU 152 controls the polarization processor 155 based on the set values. More specifically, the CPU 152 refers to a condition table (not shown) stored in the ultrasonic processor 16 when performing the polarization process. In the condition table, the conditions for performing the polarization process (for example, the potential of the voltage for polarization, etc.) set for each ultrasonic endoscope 12 are defined in advance. Then, the CPU 152 performs the polarization processing according to the conditions corresponding to the ultrasonic endoscope 12 among the implementation conditions for the polarization processing described in the condition table.

<<About the operation example of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus>>
Next, as an operation example of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10, the flow of a series of processing (hereinafter also referred to as diagnostic processing) relating to ultrasonic diagnosis will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the flow of diagnostic processing using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the procedure of diagnostic steps during diagnostic processing.

When the ultrasound endoscope 12 is connected to the ultrasound processor device 14, the endoscope processor device 16, and the light source device 18, each part of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 10 is powered on, which is used as a trigger for diagnosis. Processing is started. In the diagnosis process, as shown in FIG. 8, an input step is first performed (S001). In the input step, the operator inputs examination information, control parameters, and the like through the console 100 . When the input step is completed, a standby step is performed until an instruction to start diagnosis is given (S002). In the standby step, the CPU 152 of the ultrasound processor device 14 reads the drive time from the endoscope-side memory 58 of the ultrasound endoscope 12 (S003).

After that, the CPU 152 determines whether or not the read drive time is equal to or longer than the specified time (S004). The prescribed time is a time set in advance and recorded on the ultrasonic processor device 14 side. Note that the prescribed time may be different for each ultrasonic endoscope 12 or may be a common value among the ultrasonic endoscopes 12 . Also, the configuration may be such that the operator can change the specified time through the console 100 .

When determining that the read drive time is less than the specified time (No in S004), the CPU 152 sets the operation mode to the first mode (S005). In this embodiment, it is assumed that the operation mode is set to the first mode at the initial setting stage.

When the operation mode is set to the first mode, subsequent steps (specifically, steps S006, S007, and S008) are performed in a normal procedure. More specifically, when the operator gives a diagnosis start instruction (Yes in S006), the CPU 152 controls each part of the ultrasound processor 14 to perform a diagnosis step (S007). The diagnostic steps proceed along the flow shown in FIG. Specifically, when the designated ultrasonic image generation mode is the B mode (Yes in S031), the CPU 152 controls each part of the ultrasonic processor device 14 to generate a B mode image (S032). , if the designated ultrasonic image generation mode is the CF mode (Yes in S033), each part of the ultrasonic processor unit 14 is controlled so as to generate a CF mode image (S034), and the designated ultrasonic wave If the image generation mode is the PW mode (Yes in S035), each part of the ultrasound processor device 14 is controlled to generate a PW mode image (S036).

The generation of ultrasonic images in each mode is repeated until the diagnosis end condition is satisfied (S037). The condition for terminating the diagnosis includes, for example, that the operator gives an instruction to terminate the diagnosis through the console 100 .

When the diagnosis end condition is satisfied (Yes in S037), the CPU 152 adds the time required for the ultrasonic diagnosis that has been performed up to that time to the driving time read from the endoscope side memory 58 in step 003, and The drive time stored in the side memory 58 is updated to the drive time after addition (S038). The diagnosis step ends when the series of steps in the diagnosis step (that is, the steps from step S031 to step S038) are completed. After that, when the power of each part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is turned off (Yes in S008), the diagnostic process is completed. On the other hand, when the power of each part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is maintained in the ON state (No in S008), the process returns to the input step S001. It should be noted that the diagnosis process is also terminated when the power is turned off without an instruction to start the diagnosis (No in S006).

Returning to step S004 of the diagnosis processing, when it is determined that the driving time read from the endoscope memory 58 is longer than or equal to the specified time (Yes in S004), the CPU 152 changes the operation mode from the first mode to the second mode. mode (S009). Ultrasonic diagnosis is performed while the operation mode is the second mode, while polarization processing is performed during the non-diagnosis period. That is, in this embodiment, the polarization circuit 156 supplies the polarization voltage to the polarization target vibrator only when the operation mode is the second mode. The reason for adopting such a configuration will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the drive time and the polarization voltage supply time of the ultrasonic transducer 48 and the reception sensitivity of the ultrasonic transducer 48. As shown in FIG. The symbol S in the figure represents the period during which the diagnosis step is performed, the symbol Q in the figure represents the period during which the standby step is performed, and the symbol R in the figure represents the period during which the polarization process is performed. ing.

The ultrasonic transducer 48 is polarized to a predetermined level at the initial time (for example, at the time of shipment from the factory), and transmits and receives ultrasonic waves with a transmission/reception sensitivity (hereinafter referred to as initial sensitivity Pi) according to the degree of polarization. Is possible. On the other hand, when the ultrasonic transducer 48 is driven for transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves, as shown in FIG. 10, depolarization progresses as the driving time increases, and reception sensitivity also decreases accordingly. Such a tendency is remarkable when the ultrasonic vibrator 48 is a single crystal vibrator. more pronounced.
Let Ta be the drive time (strictly speaking, the total drive time) of the ultrasonic transducer 48. Ta is the time required for each ultrasonic diagnosis (ta1, ta2, . . . , tan in FIG. 10). Although it is expressed as a total time, when the drive time Ta exceeds a specified time, the reception sensitivity of the ultrasonic transducer 48 falls below the lower limit sensitivity Pl as shown in FIG. The lower limit sensitivity Pl corresponds to the lower limit level of reception sensitivity that should be satisfied in order to maintain the image quality of the ultrasonic image. In other words, the specified time is set as a time corresponding to the lower limit sensitivity Pl.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the drive time Ta becomes equal to or longer than the specified time (that is, when the reception sensitivity of the ultrasonic transducer 48 becomes equal to or lower than the lower limit sensitivity Pl), the operation mode is changed from the first mode to the second mode. mode, and the polarization process is appropriately performed in the second mode. This makes it possible to repolarize the depolarized ultrasonic transducer 48 and restore the reception sensitivity of the ultrasonic transducer 48 .

Returning to the description of the diagnosis process, if the balloon 37 expands or contracts during a period (non-diagnostic period) other than the period during which the drive voltage is supplied to the driven vibrator while the operation mode is the second mode ( S010), the CPU 152 causes the polarization processing unit 155 to perform the polarization processing during inflation or deflation of the balloon 37 (S011). As described above, in this embodiment, the balloon 37 is inflated or deflated during the non-diagnostic period during the period in which the operation mode is the second mode, and the polarization circuit 156 supplies the polarization voltage to the polarization target vibrator. is supposed to

More specifically, steps S010 and S011 will be described in more detail. Before the ultrasonic diagnosis is performed, the operator operates the operation unit 24 to supply air and water while the ultrasonic endoscope 12 is inserted into the patient's body cavity. The balloon 37 is inflated or deflated by fully pressing the button 28a or the suction button 28b. When the air/water supply button 28a or the suction button 28b is fully pressed, detectors 139a and 139b mounted therein detect the full-press operation and output a detection signal to the CPU 152. FIG. When the detection signal is received, the CPU 152 controls the polarization processing section 155 using this as a trigger to cause the polarization processing section 155 to perform the polarization processing. In the polarization process, the polarization circuit 156 supplies a polarization voltage to the resonator to be polarized for a certain period of time. In one polarization process, all of the N ultrasonic transducers 48 are to be polarized. More specifically, in the first half of the polarization process, a polarization voltage is supplied to half (m) of the N ultrasonic transducers 48, and in the second half, the remaining half (m) of the ultrasonic transducers are vibrated. A polarizing voltage is supplied to the element 48 .

Further, in this embodiment, the polarization process is performed each time the balloon 37 is repeatedly inflated or deflated while the operation mode is the second mode. For example, when the balloon 37 is inflated during ultrasonic diagnosis, the polarization process is performed at that time, and when the balloon 37 is deflated after the ultrasonic diagnosis is completed, the polarization process is performed again at that time. After that, when the balloon 37 is inflated or deflated in the same procedure as the above procedure when performing a new ultrasonic diagnosis, the polarization process is performed again.

After the polarization process is performed, the CPU 152 updates the polarization voltage supply time (hereinafter referred to as the polarization voltage supply time Tr) during which the polarization voltage is supplied to the polarization target vibrator, and the operation mode is set to the first mode. It is determined whether or not the relationship of the drive time Ta (the sum of ta1, ta2, ta3 and ta4 in FIG. 10) from the current time to the present time satisfies a preset condition (S012). The polarization voltage supply time Tr is the cumulative implementation time of the polarization process after the operation mode is switched to the second mode. That is, the polarization voltage supply time Tr is the total time of the polarization process (tr1, tr2, and tr3 in FIG. 10) repeatedly performed during the period when the operation mode is the second mode.

Specifically describing step S012, the CPU 152 determines whether the relationship between the polarization voltage supply time Tr and the drive time Ta satisfies the following equation (1).
Ta≦αTr (1)
Here, the coefficient α in the above equation (1) is a value greater than 1 and is stored in the ultrasound processor 14 in advance. Note that the coefficient α is determined according to the specifications of the ultrasonic endoscope 12 (specifically, the type of piezoelectric element forming the ultrasonic transducer 48), and is stored for each ultrasonic endoscope 12. there is However, it is not limited to this, and the coefficient α may be a value common among the ultrasonic endoscopes 12 . Further, the configuration may be such that the operator can change the coefficient α through the console 100 .

After completing the polarization process, the CPU 12 reads out the coefficient α, specifies the polarization voltage supply time Tr and the drive time Ta at that time, and determines whether the above relational expression (1) holds. . When the CPU 152 determines that the above relational expression (1) does not hold (No in S012), the diagnostic step is performed after an instruction to start diagnosis is received (S007). On the other hand, when determining that the above relational expression (1) holds (Yes in S012), the CPU 152 returns the operation mode from the second mode to the first mode as shown in FIG. 8 (S005). That is, in the present embodiment, when the time obtained by multiplying the polarization voltage supply time Tr by α becomes equal to or longer than the drive time Ta, the operation mode shifts from the second mode to the first mode. This is because the depolarized ultrasonic transducer 48 is considered to be sufficiently polarized when the above relational expression (1) is established. This will be specifically described below with reference to FIG.

The drive time Ta is increased by the required time (ta1 and ta2 in FIG. 10) of each diagnosis each time the ultrasonic diagnosis is performed after the operation mode becomes the first mode. As the drive time Ta increases, the polarization level and reception sensitivity of each ultrasonic transducer 48 decrease in accordance with the amount of increase. On the other hand, when the operation mode shifts to the second mode, polarization processing is performed during the non-diagnostic period, strictly speaking, the period during which the balloon 37 is inflated or deflated. As a result, as shown in FIG. 10, during the period in which the operation mode is the second mode, the polarization level and reception sensitivity of each ultrasonic transducer 48 change during the polarization process implementation time (tr1, tr2, tr1, tr2 in FIG. 10). tr3) is recovered. In addition, even after the operation mode is switched from the first mode to the second mode, when there is an instruction to start diagnosis, ultrasonic diagnosis is performed, and accordingly, the required time for each diagnosis (ta3, ta4 in FIG. 10) The driving time Ta increases by the amount of . In other words, while the operation mode is the second mode, a period during which the ultrasonic transducer 48 is depolarized and a period during which the ultrasonic transducer 48 is repolarized coexist.

In other words, while the operation mode is the second mode, as shown in FIG. 10, polarization processing and ultrasonic diagnosis accompanied by depolarization are performed. It is implemented using a period without As a result, the polarization voltage supply time Tr (=tr1+tr2+tr3) gradually increases, and eventually satisfies the above relational expression (1) with the driving time Ta. At this point, as is clear from FIG. 10, each ultrasonic transducer 48 is polarized until the reception sensitivity reaches the level of the initial sensitivity Pi. In this state, it is no longer necessary to perform the polarization process. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the operation mode is returned from the second mode to the first mode (transition) when the above relational expression (1) is satisfied. to do).

When shifting the operation mode from the second mode to the first mode, the CPU 152 accesses the endoscope side memory 58, clears the drive time Ta stored in the endoscope side memory 58, and sets it to the initial value (zero). (S013). Note that this step S013 may be performed after the operation mode is changed from the second mode to the first mode.

<<Regarding effectiveness of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention>>
A feature of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention is that a polarization voltage is supplied to the transducer to be polarized while the balloon 37 is inflated or deflated.

That is, in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, polarization processing is performed using the expansion time or deflation time of the balloon 37 in the pre-stage of ultrasonic diagnosis. As a result, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention avoids the situation where the start of subsequent processing is delayed due to the implementation of the polarization process, as in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus described in Patent Document 1. In addition, in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, the time required for ultrasonic diagnosis becomes long due to the DC component for polarization being included in the drive waveform as in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus described in Patent Document 2. is avoided.
As described above, according to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, the reception sensitivity of the ultrasonic transducer 48 is maintained well without affecting the time required for ultrasonic diagnosis (more specifically, the reception sensitivity is improved by polarization processing). recovery) is possible.

<<Second Embodiment>>
In the above-described embodiment, in order to detect inflation and deflation of the balloon 37, detectors 139a and 139b are provided for the air/water supply button 28a and the suction button 28b, respectively. When the detectors 139a and 139b detect that the air/water supply button 28a or the suction button 28b is fully pressed, the CPU 152 uses this as a trigger to control the polarization circuit 156, and the polarization circuit 156 is activated. A polarization voltage is supplied to the oscillator to be polarized. However, the method is not limited to this, and other methods of detecting inflation and deflation of the balloon 37 are conceivable.

An embodiment employing a second method of detecting inflation and deflation of the balloon 37 (hereinafter referred to as a second embodiment) will be described below with reference to FIGS. 11 to 13. FIG. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasound processor 14x according to the second embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a tomographic image to be analyzed by the image analysis unit 168, which will be described later. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a luminance profile of a tomographic image to be analyzed by the image analysis unit 168. As shown in FIG. Note that the horizontal axis of FIG. 13 indicates the display depth (depth) of each portion of the tomographic image in units of mm, and the vertical axis indicates the brightness of each portion of the tomographic image.
Below, the second embodiment will be described with respect to the differences from the above-described embodiment. In addition, regarding the second embodiment, the same reference numerals as in the above-described embodiment are given to the elements common to the above-described embodiment in FIG. 11, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the ultrasonic endoscope 12x of the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, detectors 139a and 139b are not provided on the air/water supply button 28a and the suction button 28b. On the other hand, the ASIC 148 included in the ultrasound processor 14x of the second embodiment includes a phase matching unit 160, a B-mode image generation unit 162, a PW-mode image generation unit 164, and an image analysis unit in addition to the PW-mode image generation unit 164. 168 are further configured. The image analysis unit 168 is connected to the above-described image generation unit (specifically, the B-mode image generation unit 162), and analyzes a B-mode image, which is a tomographic image generated by the B-mode image generation unit 162. In the second embodiment, expansion and contraction of the balloon 37 are detected through image analysis by the image analysis unit 168 .

More specifically, in the second embodiment, when the operator fully presses the air/water supply button 28a or the suction button 28b for ultrasonic diagnosis while the operation mode is the second mode, the balloon 37 Expand or contract. In conjunction with this, the CPU 152 controls the transmission circuit 144 to cause the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves. As a result, the transducers to be driven of the ultrasonic transducer unit 46 receive ultrasonic waves and output reception signals. The receiving circuit 142, the A/D converter 146, and the ASIC 148 (strictly speaking, the phase matching unit 160 and the B-mode image generating unit 162) cooperate to obtain a tomographic image based on the received signal output from the transducer to be driven. A B-mode image is generated which is an image.

The B-mode image will be explained with reference to FIG. 12. In the B-mode image, the acoustic lens 78 and the balloon 37 are reflected in addition to the observation target portion (the portion marked with the symbol G in FIG. 12). there is That is, the B-mode image generator 162 generates a B-mode image (cross-sectional image) in which the acoustic lens 78 and the balloon 37 are reflected.

A B-mode image (strictly speaking, an image signal) generated by the B-mode image generation unit 162 is sent to the image analysis unit 168 for image analysis. Specifically, the image analysis unit 168 extracts a brightness profile in one direction (for example, the direction indicated by line AA in FIG. 12) that intersects the ultrasound scanning range in the B-mode image. Here, the luminance profile of the B-mode image includes a luminance peak corresponding to the position of the acoustic lens 78 (the peak denoted by symbol P1 in FIG. 13) and a luminance peak corresponding to the position of the balloon 37 (P1 in FIG. 13). , P2) and a brightness peak band corresponding to the position of the observed site G (the peak band indicated by P3 in FIG. 13) appear.

Also, the B-mode image is repeatedly generated by the B-mode image generation unit 162 at a constant speed a plurality of times, and the image analysis unit 168 performs the above image analysis each time the B-mode image is generated. Then, the image analysis unit 168 identifies changes in the size of the balloon 37 in the B-mode image from the analysis results of each B-mode image. Specifically, in the B-mode image shown in FIG. 12, for example, when the balloon 37 expands from the solid line position to the broken line position in FIG. 12, the brightness profile shown in FIG. The luminance peak P2 shifts from the luminance peak P2 indicated by the solid line to the luminance peak P2 indicated by the broken line in FIG. The image analysis unit 168 identifies the change in the size of the balloon 37 (that is, the expansion of the balloon 37) from the displacement of this luminance peak P2. Also, in the B-mode image shown in FIG. 12, for example, when the balloon 37 contracts from the dashed line position in FIG. Identify changes in size of 37 (ie deflation of balloon 37).

When the image analysis unit 168 identifies a change in balloon size, the CPU 152 causes the polarization processing unit 155 to perform polarization processing, and the polarization circuit 156 supplies a polarization voltage to the polarization target oscillator. become.
As described above, in the second embodiment, expansion and contraction of the balloon 37 are detected through analysis of the B-mode image. In other words, in the second embodiment, since the change in size of the balloon 37 is actually specified, it is possible to detect expansion and contraction of the balloon 37 more accurately (in other words, erroneous detection can be avoided). .
Note that the second embodiment is the same as the above-described embodiment except that the method of detecting inflation and deflation of the balloon 37 is different, and exhibits the same effects as the above-described embodiment.

<<Third Embodiment>>
In the above-described embodiment, the polarization voltage supply section is configured by the polarization circuit 156 provided separately from the transmission circuit 144, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an embodiment (hereinafter referred to as a third embodiment) in which the transmission circuit 144 is also used as a polarization voltage supply unit is also conceivable.

The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the third embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15. FIG. FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasonic processor 14y according to the third embodiment. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the waveform of the polarization voltage supplied in the third embodiment.
Below, the third embodiment will be described with respect to the differences from the above-described embodiments. In addition, regarding the third embodiment, the same reference numerals as in the above-described embodiment are given to the elements common to the above-described embodiment in FIG. 14, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The ultrasonic processor device 14y of the third embodiment does not have a device corresponding to the polarization processor 155, as shown in FIG. On the other hand, in the third embodiment, the transmission circuit 144 constitutes the polarization voltage supply unit, and during the non-diagnostic period (more specifically, when the balloon 37 is inflated or deflated) in the second operation mode. During this time, a voltage for polarization is supplied to the oscillator to be polarized. That is, in the third embodiment, the CPU 152 controls the transmission circuit 144 to output the drive voltage to the transmission circuit 144 during ultrasonic diagnosis, and to output the polarization voltage to the transmission circuit 144 during the non-diagnosis period.

In the third embodiment, the polarization voltage supplied by the transmission circuit 144 is a pulsed voltage similar to the drive voltage, more specifically a unipolar pulsed voltage. In the third embodiment, the CPU 152 controls the transmission circuit 144 such that the polarization voltage, which is a unipolar pulse, is intermittently supplied multiple times from the transmission circuit 144 as shown in FIG. 15 for the purpose of efficient polarization. 144. Here, the pulse wave interval (w in FIG. 15) corresponds to a plurality of clock signals input to the transmission circuit 144. Specifically, a plurality of intermittently arranged polarization voltage waveforms are The interval is such that a pseudo DC waveform is formed. The above interval is preferably as short as possible in order to bring the polarization voltage waveform closer to a DC waveform, and is particularly preferably set to an interval corresponding to the minimum number of clocks.

As described above, in the third embodiment, since the transmission circuit 144 constitutes the polarization voltage supply section, it is possible to polarize the ultrasonic transducer 48 using the existing transmission circuit 144 . This eliminates the need to separately provide the polarization circuit 156, which simplifies the hardware configuration of the ultrasonic processor 14y. From this point of view, the third embodiment is preferable.
On the other hand, if the transmission circuit 144 and the polarization circuit 156 are provided separately, there is an advantage that the polarization processing time can be shortened.

Although the third embodiment is different from the above-described embodiments in that the transmission circuit 144 constitutes a polarization voltage supply section, it is otherwise common to the above-described embodiments. It exhibits the same effect as the embodiment.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 ultrasonic diagnostic device 12 ultrasonic endoscope 12x ultrasonic endoscope 14 ultrasonic processor device 14x ultrasonic processor device 14y ultrasonic processor device 16 endoscope processor device 18 light source device 20 monitor 21a water supply tank 21b Suction pump 21c Air supply pump 22 Insertion section 24 Operation section 26 Universal cord 28a Air/water supply button 28b Suction button 30 Treatment instrument insertion port 32a Ultrasound connector 32b Endoscope connector 32c Light source connector 36 Ultrasound observation section 37 Balloon 38 Endoscope observation part 39 Fixing ring 40 Tip part 41 Fitting groove 42 Bending part 43 Flexible part 44 Treatment instrument lead-out port 45 Treatment instrument channel 46 Ultrasonic transducer unit 47 Water supply port 48 Ultrasonic transducer 50 Ultrasonic vibration Child array 54 Backing material layer 56 Coaxial cable 58 Endoscope side memory 60 FPC
62 Air supply/water supply conduit 63 Balloon conduit 64 Suction conduit 65 Air supply conduit 66 Water supply conduit 67 Balloon water supply conduit 68 Balloon drainage conduit 69 Air supply source conduit 70 Water supply conduit 71 Branch conduit 72 Suction source Pipe 73 Suction connection port 74 Suction source connection port 75 Drainage connection port 76 Acoustic matching layer 78 Acoustic lens 82 Observation window 84 Objective lens 86 Solid-state imaging device 88 Illumination window 90 Cleaning nozzle 92 Wiring cable 100 Operation console 110 Exhaust hole 112 Operation cap 114 Cylinder 116 Piston 118 Cylinder cap 120 Cylinder pipes 121a, 121b, 121c, 121d, 121e Connection port 122 Shaft tip 124 Shaft main body 126 Rear end face opening 128 Side opening 130 Internal pipe 132 Circumferential grooves 134a, 134b Coil spring 136 Penetration Hole 138 Check valve 139a Detector 139b Detector 140 Multiplexer 142 Reception circuit 144 Transmission circuit 146 A/D converter 148 ASIC
150 Cine memory 151 Memory controller 152 CPU
154 DSC
155 polarization processing unit 156 polarization circuit 158 circuit switcher 160 phase matching unit 162 B-mode image generation unit 164 PW mode image generation unit 166 CF-mode image generation unit 168 image analysis unit G site to be observed

Claims (9)

an ultrasonic transducer unit that includes a plurality of ultrasonic transducers and transmits and receives ultrasonic waves inside a subject;
a transmission circuit that supplies a driving voltage to a driven transducer among the plurality of ultrasonic transducers in order to transmit ultrasonic waves from the ultrasonic transducer unit;
an image generating unit that generates a tomographic image of the interior of the subject based on the electrical signal output by the driven transducer when the ultrasonic transducer unit receives an ultrasonic wave;
an image analysis unit that analyzes the tomographic image;
a balloon arranged inside the subject together with the ultrasonic transducer unit and capable of expanding and contracting;
In order to polarize the polarization target transducer among the plurality of ultrasonic transducers, a polarizing voltage is supplied to the polarization target transducer, triggered by the execution of the process of inflating or deflating the balloon. a voltage supply;
The image generation unit generates the tomographic image in which the balloon is reflected,
The image analysis unit analyzes the tomographic image to identify changes in the size of the balloon in the tomographic image,
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the polarizing voltage supply unit supplies the polarizing voltage to the polarization target transducer when a change in size of the balloon is specified by the image analysis unit. The polarization voltage supply unit is configured by the transmission circuit, and during a period other than the period in which the transmission circuit supplies the drive voltage to the drive target vibrator, the polarization target vibrator receives the The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, which supplies a polarization voltage. The polarization voltage supply unit is configured by a polarization circuit that is provided separately from the transmission circuit. 2. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said polarization voltage is supplied to said polarization target transducer. The operating modes of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus include a first mode and a second mode,
The polarization voltage supply unit supplies the polarization voltage to the polarization target vibrator only when the operation mode is the second mode,
3. The operation mode is shifted from the first mode to the second mode when the driving time of the driven vibrator after the operation mode becomes the first mode reaches a preset time. 4. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to 2 or 3. The polarizing voltage supply time during which the polarizing voltage is supplied to the polarization target vibrator during the period when the operation mode is the second mode, and the polarizing voltage supply time after the operation mode is the first mode. 5. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said operation mode shifts from said second mode to said first mode when a drive time relationship satisfies a preset condition. During the period when the operation mode is the second mode, during a period other than the period during which the drive voltage is supplied to the transducer to be driven, the balloon expands or contracts, and the polarization voltage supply section 6. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 4, wherein supplies said polarization voltage to said polarization target transducer. The balloon according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the balloon expands when water is fed into the balloon and contracts when water is drained from the balloon. sound wave diagnostic equipment. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein said balloon is arranged at a position covering said ultrasonic transducer unit. A method of operating an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, comprising:
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is
an ultrasonic transducer unit that includes a plurality of ultrasonic transducers and transmits and receives ultrasonic waves inside a subject;
a transmission circuit that supplies a driving voltage to a driven transducer among the plurality of ultrasonic transducers in order to transmit ultrasonic waves from the ultrasonic transducer unit;
an image generating unit that generates a tomographic image of the interior of the subject based on the electrical signal output by the driven transducer when the ultrasonic transducer unit receives an ultrasonic wave;
an image analysis unit that analyzes the tomographic image;
a balloon arranged inside the subject together with the ultrasonic transducer unit and capable of expanding and contracting;
In order to polarize the polarization target transducer among the plurality of ultrasonic transducers, a polarizing voltage is supplied to the polarization target transducer, triggered by the execution of the process of inflating or deflating the balloon. a voltage supply;
a step in which the image generating unit generates the tomographic image in which the balloon is reflected;
a step in which the image analysis unit analyzes the tomographic image to identify a change in the size of the balloon in the tomographic image;
and the step of supplying the polarizing voltage to the polarization target vibrator by the polarizing voltage supply unit when a change in the size of the balloon is specified by the image analysis unit. A method of operating an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

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