JPH01146540A - Shock wave treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily discriminate the substance to be crushed in an object to be examined, by mounting a means for setting the region of interest on a region containing the converging point of a crushing shock wave, a means for collecting and controlling the detailed tomographic image data in the region of interest and a means for applying magnifying processing to the tomographic data to display the same on a display part. CONSTITUTION:When a renal calculus 39 is crushed and treated, the water tank 33 provided to a shock wave applicator 17 is placed on the surface 32S of an object 32 to be examined and an ultrasonic transducer 16 is driven to display the tomographic image of the object to be examined on the picture of a display part 27. The shock wave applicator 17 is finely adjusted to be set so that a converging point marker 26 coincides with a renal calculus image 39 and fixed. A system controller 22 sets a concern region to the definite region around the coordinates of the converging point. A pulse generating switch 29 is operated while the tomographic image displayed on the display part 27 is observed to transmit a shock wave to a converging point 41a. When the substance 39 to be crushed is extremely small or obscure, magnifying display is instructed from a display instruction part 31 to display said substance on the display part 27 in a magnified state.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Objective of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention provides a shock wave treatment device that uses the focused energy of shock waves to crush and treat objects to be crushed, such as cancer cells and stones, within a subject. Regarding.

(Prior Art) A conventional ultrasonic treatment device includes an ultrasonic transducer that forms a focal point of ultrasonic waves for crushing an object to be examined, and an ultrasonic transducer that collects tomographic image data of the object. It is normal to have When administering treatment, first the state of the affected area (object to be crushed) is displayed on the display section using a 4-degree ultrasonic transducer that collects tomographic image data, and then, while observing this displayed image, The treatment used was to crush important stones, etc., by sending ultrasonic waves to crush them. In this case, a marker indicating the focal point of the crushing ultrasonic wave is displayed together with the tomographic image on the display section, and the marker is aligned with the object to be crushed, and in this state, the ultrasonic pulse is applied to the area indicated by the marker. It was designed to be fired to crush stones, etc.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, it is difficult to locate the object to be crushed (affected area) on the display section, and furthermore, it is difficult to align the affected area with the focus area of the shock wave. .

Additionally, it is difficult to monitor during the irradiation of the shock wave, and it is also difficult to determine whether the object to be crushed has been crushed by the shock wave.

Moreover, if ultrasonic waves with energy powerful enough to crush objects are sent to areas other than the affected area, not only will the affected area not be able to be treated, but normal tissue may be destroyed. There was also the problem of not having one.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a shock wave treatment device that allows easy discrimination between normal tissue and diseased tissue (object to be crushed).

[Configuration of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The configuration of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems includes: a shock wave transducer that forms a focal point of a shock wave for crushing an object to be crushed; A shock wave therapy device comprising an ultrasound transducer that collects tomographic image data of the subject, and a display unit that displays the collected tomographic image,
means for setting a region of interest in a region including a focal point of the crushing shock wave; and controlling collection of detailed tomographic image data within the region of interest by increasing the scanning line density of ultrasound transmitted and received from the ultrasonic transducer. and means for enlarging the tomographic image data and controlling display on the display section.

(Function) The function of the present invention for achieving the above object is to set a region of interest in the region containing the object to be crushed, which is displayed on the display section.

Next, the ultrasonic scanning line density is increased for this region of interest to collect detailed tomographic image data. The collected tomographic image data is then enlarged and displayed on the display unit.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a shock wave therapy device according to an embodiment. In this example, an example in which ultrasonic waves are used as shock waves will be described.

In the figure, the shock wave treatment device includes a shock wave transducer 15 that forms a focal point of shock waves for crushing objects to be examined, which will be described in detail later;
a shock wave applicator 17 configured to include an ultrasonic transducer 16 that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves that form a sound field area different from the shock wave transmission area formed by the shock wave transducer 15; and a pulser 18 that sends pulse signals to the shock wave transducer 15.
Then, a pulse signal is sent to the ultrasonic transducer 16 via a controller 23 based on the control of a system controller 22, which will be described later, so that the ultrasonic transducer 16 performs multi-stage focused sector scanning and narrow-angle sector scanning. a transmitting/receiving circuit 19 which receives an echo signal from the ultrasonic transducer 16 based on each sector scan, and this transmitting/receiving circuit 1
A signal processing circuit 20 inputs the output signal of 9, performs amplitude detection on it, and sends it as a video signal to the signal conversion system 21.
and a system controller 2 mainly composed of a CPU that controls each part of this device based on predetermined parameters.
2, and the transmitting/receiving circuit 19.2 controlled by the system controller 22. Signal processing circuit 20. A controller 23 that controls the transmission/reception timing, amplitude, frequency, etc. of pulse signals in the pulser 18, and the system controller 2.
2, the transmitter/receiver circuit 19. a frame memory that performs signal conversion processing etc. on the output signal of the signal processing circuit 20;
A signal conversion system 21 having a line memory etc.;
Based on the output signal of the signal conversion system 21, a sector-shaped sound field area 25 is generated by the ultrasonic transducer 16. It includes a TV monitor, etc., which displays a kidney image, a kidney stone image, etc. of the subject, as well as a focal point marker 26 indicating the focal point of the crushing shock wave transmitted from the shock wave transducer 15, a region of interest marker 14, etc. A display unit 27, a subject signal detection element 28 that is formed so as to be able to come into contact with a part of the subject, such as a limb, and sends a subject signal indicating the subject's heartbeat or respiration to the system controller 22, and the pulse sensor. 18 to the shock wave transducer 15; two pulse generation switches equipped with a switch (not shown) for instructing the start of pulse transmission; and the shock wave transducer 15. Ultrasonic transducer 16 for
a position controller 30 that adjusts the relative positional relationship of the
The display instructing unit 31 includes two switches (not shown) for instructing enlargement/standard display of the area displayed by the region of interest marker 14 displayed on the display unit.

Incidentally, in this embodiment, the system controller 22 has, in addition to the above-mentioned functions, a function of a means 22a for setting a region of interest in an area including a convergence point of the crushing shock wave, and a function of a means 22a for setting an area of interest in an area including a convergence point of the crushing shock wave. A function as a means 22b for increasing the scanning line density of sound waves to control collection of detailed tomographic image data within the region of interest, and a function as a means 22C for enlarging the tomographic image data and controlling display on the display unit. It is equipped with

Next, the shock wave applicator 17 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

First, in FIG. 2, the shock wave applicator 17 moves a convergence point 41 of a crushing shock wave (for example, an ultrasonic pulse with strong energy) to crush an object to be crushed, such as a kidney stone, into the subject 32.
a, a water tank 33 provided on the ultrasonic wave transmission surface 15a side of the shock wave transducer 15, and an ultrasonic wave from the shock wave transmission surface 15a of the shock wave transducer 15 to the focal point 4.1a. The focal point 41 is located within the impulse wave transmission region 41 and with the ultrasonic wave transmission/reception surface 16a in contact with the subject surface 32S.
The ultrasonic transducer 16 forms a sound field region VC42 including the object 32a and collects tomographic image data of the subject 32.

The shock wave I/transducer 15 includes a concave vibrator having a constant curvature and a backing material (not shown) uniformly attached to the back surface of the concave vibrator. An ultrasonic transducer 16 is attached to the center of the shock wave transducer 15 so as to be movable in the direction of arrow B via a transducer support drive section 36.

This transducer support drive section 36 is equipped with a mechanism that can move and stop as desired in the direction of arrow B based on the control signal from the position controller 30 described above, and a drive source for the mechanism.

Incidentally, on the ultrasonic wave transmission surface 15a side of the shock wave transducer 15, as described above, the water tank 33 filled with water as a shock wave transmission liquid is provided.

The illustrated water tank 33 has a substantially cylindrical shape or a truncated cone shape with a bottom that is approximately equal to the outer diameter of the shock wave transducer 15 . A bellows 33a is formed on the side surface of the bellows 33a, which can expand and contract in the direction of the arrow El]B or within a predetermined angle with that direction, and the bottom part 37 is a thin film having an acoustic impedance approximately equal to that of water. Details of this eel aquarium 33 are shown in FIG.

As shown in the figure, a notch 37a is formed in the center of the bottom 37, and is formed to correspond to the side surface shape of the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving surface 16a of the ultrasonic transducer 16. 37a and the side surface of the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving surface 16a of the ultrasonic transducer 1/16 are fixed by welding or bonding. Further, due to this configuration, the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving surface 16a comes into direct contact with the subject surface 323 together with the thin film. In this embodiment, the bellows 33a is formed so that it can maintain its posture when no force is applied from the outside. This can be done, for example, by appropriately setting the material of the bellows 33a or the auxiliary tool.

Incidentally, FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the shock wave applicator 17 shown in FIG. 2.

Operation of the shock wave therapy device configured as described above.

Regarding the effect, kidney stone 3 in the kidney shown at 38 in Figure 2
The following explanation assumes that No. 9 is subjected to crushing treatment.

First, the water tank 33 provided in the shock wave applicator 17
is placed on the surface 323 of the subject 32, and in this state the transmitter/receiver circuit 19. The signal processing circuit 20 and signal conversion system 21 are controlled to drive the ultrasonic transducer 16, and as shown in FIG.
) A tomographic image of the subject is displayed on the screen of the display unit 27 shown in FIG.

In this case, the system controller 22 is displayed on the display section 27.
The focal point markers 26 corresponding to the shock waves of the shock wave transducer 15 are displayed at fixed positions based on the signals transmitted and received from the shock wave transducer 15 to the signal conversion system 21, and the tomographic image of the subject 32 displayed in real time is based on the shock waves. As the applicator 17 moves, its display area changes.

Then, at the stage when the kidney stone image 39 is depicted in the tomographic image, the shock wave applicator 17 is roughly adjusted so that the focal point marker 26 coincides with the kidney stone image 39. The shock wave applicator 17 is fixed.

The system controller 22 as a means 22a for setting a region of interest in a region including the focal point of the crushing shock wave,
Upon completion of the setting, a region of interest is set in a fixed area centered on this coordinate point based on the coordinates of the focal point obtained from the geometric calculation.

At the same time, in this embodiment, the region of interest marker 14 corresponding to the region of interest is displayed centered on the focal point marker 26 displayed on the display section 27.

Seeing the tomographic image displayed on the display section 27, the operator operates the pulse generation switch 29 to
A shock wave will be transmitted towards a. However, if the object 39 to be crushed is very small or unclear, it may not be clear as it is. That is, there are cases where it is not clear whether or not the focusing point marker 26 correctly matches the object 39 to be crushed. Therefore, in such a case, the display instruction section 31 instructs enlarged display.

By the way, the system controller 22
It has a function as a means 22b for controlling collection of detailed tomographic image data within the region of interest by increasing the scanning line density of the ultrasonic waves transmitted and received from the transducer 16.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5(a), normally M scanning lines transmitted and received from the ultrasonic transducer 16 (not shown) are scanned in a sector shape while applying a four-stage transmitting and receiving focus of 1V to 1V. has been done. In this case, the region of interest 14' including the focal point (not shown) is set such that tomographic image data of the region of interest 14' is obtained by N scanning lines (M>N>) at the center of the M scanning lines. The image displayed on the display section 27 at this time is shown in FIG. 5(b).

Further, if the enlarged display switch of the display instruction section 31 is pressed, the scanning angle of the M scanning lines is set to an included angle as shown by 45 in the figure, and the transmission/reception is performed in four stages within the region of interest 14'. Tomographic image data is collected using M focused scanning lines. Region of interest 14 at this time
The state of the scanning lines within ' is shown in FIG. 6(a). In this way, detailed tomographic data within the region of interest 14' can be collected.

On the other hand, the system controller 2 serves as a means 22G for enlarging the tomographic image data and controlling the display on the display unit 27.
2 stores the tomographic image data for one frame (the tomographic image data within the region of interest) collected as described above based on the press of the enlarged display switch of the display instruction unit 31 via the line memory into the frame memory. write to. The tomographic image data in the region of interest 14' written in this way is then sequentially read out via the line memory of the display system and enlarged and displayed on the display section 27. In this case, display section 2
The image displayed on 7 is shown in FIG. 6(b).

In this way, since tomographic image data is collected by increasing the scanning line density within the regions of interest 1tJ, 14', it is possible to obtain tomographic image data with clear details. In addition, the area of interest 1iA
14' is multi-stage focused, making it possible to obtain even clearer tomographic image data. From the above,
Even when the tomographic image within the region of interest marker 14 is enlarged and displayed on the display unit 27, a clear image can be displayed.

Therefore, the operator can avoid the risk of accidentally sending shock waves to parts other than the object to be crushed.

When the clearly enlarged tomographic image centered on the object to be crushed 39 is displayed on the display unit 27, the operator checks again whether or not the focus point marker 26 is accurately aligned with the object to be crushed. Check if the focus point marker 26 is on the object 3 to be crushed.
9, if they do not match, finely adjust the shock wave applicator 17 to make them match.

Then, the operator operates the pulse generation switch 29 and the system controller 22. Controller 23
A control signal is transmitted to the pulser 18 via the pulsar 18. To this J:
A pulse signal is transmitted from the repulsor 18 to the shock wave transducer 15 , and the shock wave transducer 15 focuses ultrasonic pulses of strong energy (ultrasonic waves for crushing the object to be crushed) on the object to be crushed at a position corresponding to the position of the focus point marker 26 . The wave is transmitted toward the kidney stone 39 as the kidney stone.

This ultrasonic pulse becomes a shock wave at the location of the kidney stone 39,
Crush kidney stones.

By repeating the generation of such ultrasonic pulses as many times as necessary, the entire kidney stone 39 can be crushed and treated.

Note that since the subject is moving slightly due to heartbeat, breathing, etc., the subject signal detection element 28 is placed on the subject's hand 1 in advance.
The object signal obtained from the object signal detection element 28 and the pulse switch 2 are brought into contact with the foot, chest, nose, etc.
The CPU 22 synchronizes the signal from 9 with the signal from pulsar 1.
It is more effective if the timing of sending out the pulse signal from 8 is controlled.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case of crushing kidney stones has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to crushing gallstones, etc. Furthermore, the setting of the region of interest is not limited to the automatic setting of the region that includes the focal point as described above; for example, by inputting coordinate information from a joystick, a region of interest marker indicating a certain region can be set on the display. The region of interest may be set in the region corresponding to the region of interest marker. Further, although the size of the region of interest is constant in the above embodiment, a means for setting the size of the region of interest is provided so that it is enlarged/reduced according to the size of the object to be crushed. You can. In this case, in addition to the effects described above, the magnification of the region of interest can be adjusted. Further, enlarged scanning and normal scanning may be alternately and repeatedly displayed.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a shock wave therapy device that allows easy identification of objects to be crushed within a subject.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a shock wave therapy device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a cross section of the ultrasonic applicator shown in Fig. 1 and its usage state, and Fig. 3 is an embodiment of a water tank. FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the ultrasonic applicator shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 5(a) is an explanatory diagram of scanning lines transmitted and received from the ultrasonic transducer,
6(b) is an explanatory diagram showing an image obtained by the scanning line, FIG. 6(a) is an explanatory diagram showing a state where the scanning line density is increased within the region of interest, and FIG. This is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged display of . 14'...Region of interest, 15...Shock wave transducer, 16...Ultrasonic transducer, 17...Shock wave applicator, 22a...Setting the region of interest in the area including the focal point of the crushing shock wave. Means, 22b... means for increasing the scanning line density of ultrasound transmitted and received from the ultrasound transducer to collect and control detailed tomographic image data within the region of interest, 22G... enlarging the tomographic image data; Means for controlling the display on the display section, 27...Display section, 41a...Focusing point. ■Size

Claims (1)

[Claims] A shock wave comprising a shock wave transducer that forms a focal point of a shock wave for crushing an object to be examined, an ultrasonic transducer that collects tomographic image data of the object, and a display unit that displays the collected tomographic image. In the treatment device, means for setting a region of interest in a region including a focal point of the crushing shock wave, and increasing the scanning line density of ultrasound transmitted and received from the ultrasound transducer to obtain a detailed tomographic image within the region of interest. A shock wave therapy device comprising means for collecting and controlling data, and means for enlarging the tomographic image data and controlling display on a display unit.