JPH01250239A - Calculus crushing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To suppress the lowering of crushing force to the min. by reducing an opening necessary for obtaining the same resolving power, by using a reflecting plate also mechanically simple as compared with an electronic scanning probe or a mechanical scanning probe. CONSTITUTION:An imaging probe 21 is provided to the side part of an applicator container 3 and the beam axis thereof passes the center 35 of rotation of a reflecting plate 22. The reflecting plate 22 is driven around the axis of the probe at the center of rotation thereof by a rotary rod 41. A fixed rod 42 sets the depth of the reflecting plate, and the angle of rotation and rotational speed of the reflecting plate are set in synchronous relation to an image by a control apparatus 40. The reflecting plate is smaller than the caliber of the probe and, if the caliber of the probe is same to a conventional one, the reflecting plate becomes further smaller clearly as compared with the shade when the probe is placed on the center axis and the transmission obstruction of a crushing wave can be suppressed. Therefore, the lowering of crushing force can be reduced and an efficient apparatus can be prepared.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to an extracorporeal lithotripter for crushing stones inside a living body using focused ultrasonic energy from outside the body.

(Hair nursing technique) As a method of crushing and removing stones such as kidney stones and gallstones that occur inside the body without performing surgery, the stone is irradiated with shock waves or powerful ultrasonic pulse waves from outside the body to crush the stone. Treatment is performed using an extracorporeal lithotripter. These devices use fjM to position the stone to be crushed at the focus of the shock wave or ultrasound that provides the crushing energy.
XM fluoroscopic images or ultrasonic tomographic images are used to identify the position. X41 fluoroscopy may cause injury, and some types of stones may be induced, so equipment that uses ultrasound tomographic images has been developed. FIG. 3 shows an example of an applicator for an extracorporeal lithotripter equipped with a piezoelectric element 1 that generates strong ultrasonic pulse waves and an electronic scanning probe 2 for obtaining ultrasonic tomographic images. The piezoelectric element 1 has a concave surface. and focus 61
Since this powerful ultrasonic pulse wave is generated, the focus display mark in the tomographic image obtained by the electronic scanning probe 2 is overlapped with the kidney stone image so that the kidney stone 4 in the living body 5 matches its position. Operate the applicator dispenser 3.

However, the dotted line 11a connecting the focal point 6 and the side surface of the probe 2
In the area surrounded by b and dotted line 11b, the probe 2 is in the propagation path of the ultrasonic pulse wave, which propagates and impedes concentration on the focal point 6. In order to improve the resolution of the electronic scan probe 2, it is necessary to enlarge the aperture of the probe and increase the number of elements, so the axis diameter becomes large and the point $
The range surrounded by $11a and the dotted line 11b becomes larger. For this reason, the focusing ability of the strong ultrasonic pulse at the focal point 6 deteriorates, resulting in a decrease in crushing force.

(aS problem to be solved by the invention) In the conventional technology, in order to obtain an image of the rBr layer, an electronic scanning probe is installed on the central axis of the crushing pressure i-element, and its axis diameter impedes the propagation of the crushing ultrasonic pulse wave. Then there was a problem. An object of the present invention is to provide a stone crushing device in which a means for obtaining a tomographic image is provided in an applicator container to reduce obstacles to the propagation of ultrasonic pulses from a crushing piezoelectric element, thereby minimizing a decrease in crushing force. That's true.

In the present invention, in order to obtain a tomographic image, the central axis of the piezoelectric element is
In place of the electronic scanning probe, an acoustic reflector is installed to perform equivalent image scanning, and a large-diameter probe with a single transducer is directed toward this reflector on the side of the applicator container, that is, outside the propagation path of the fracture ultrasonic pulse. Emit an ultrasound beam for imaging. Further, in order to obtain a tomographic image, the reflection plate lζ has a link mechanism that changes its inclination so as to change the direction of reflection of the imaging ultrasonic beam and the acoustic wave beam.

(For PF-) The basic structure and operation of the present invention are shown in FIG. Since the imaging probe 2) only needs to emit an imaging ultrasonic pulse signal toward the reflection plate 22, the transducer 25 in the probe 2) may be a single transducer. If focusing is required, the vibrator is made concave or an annealed array perturber is used. The opposite plate 22 is connected to the center axis 26 of the crushing plate piezoelectric element and the probe 2.
) rotates around the axis 23 around the intersection with the central axis 23. The ultrasonic pulse signal from the probe 2) is reflected by the reflection plate 22 and transmitted in the direction of the scanning line 24 of the scanning plane 24 including the axis 26 and perpendicular to the scanning plane 24, and a part becomes a reflected signal and is transmitted in the reverse path. Probe 2)1ζ is received, and the trace fa is constructed one after another. If the focus is set in consideration of the size of the focal point 27 of the image signal, the aperture 2 of the probe 2)
Since the reflector 22 can be set sufficiently small compared to the probe 2) required to obtain the same resolution, the reflection plate 22 can be set to have a smaller reflection that causes less obstruction to the propagation of the breaking wave compared to placing a probe with the same aperture diameter as the probe 2) required to obtain the same resolution. A board can be built in.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1. A one-image probe 2) is provided on the side of the applicator container 3, and is placed at a position away from the propagation path of the ultrasonic pulse wave for crushing. The beam axis passes through the center of rotation 35 of the reflector 22. The reflector plate 22 is driven by the rotating rod 2) to rotate around the axis of the probe 2) about a center of rotation 35. Fixed rod 42
is used to set the depth position of the reflecting plate 22. The rotation angle, zero rotation speed, etc. of the reflection plate 22 are set by the control device 40 using a signal 44 from the ultrasonic tomographic image device 43 so as to be synchronized with the image.

The reflecting plate 22 is smaller than the aperture 25 of the probe 2), and if the aperture of the probe 2) is the same as the conventional one, it is obviously smaller than the shadow when the probe is placed on the Iζ central axis, and the breaking wave can suppress propagation obstacles.

〔Effect of the invention〕

By using a reflector that is mechanically simpler than electronic scan probes or mechanical scan probes,
The aperture required to obtain the same resolution can be made smaller, and the range that obstructs the propagation path of the breaking wave can be reduced, making it possible to reduce the decrease in crushing force, resulting in an efficient extracorporeal lithotripter. can be provided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing dimensions for acquiring an image according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a conventional example. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Breaking wave piezoelectric element, 2... Electronic scan probe, 3... Applicator container, 4... Stone, 5...
- Living body, 6... Focal point of the breaking wave, 7... Applicator membrane, 11a+11b... Broken line indicated by the range where propagation of the breaking wave is disturbed, 2)... Single oscillator probe, 22...
・Reflector plate, 23... Probe axis 1 rotation axis, 24...
- Scanning plane, 24μ...Scanning line, 25...Probe sensor, 26...Radial axis of fracture, 27...Focus of image, 28...Rotation center, 31a. 31b... Range of obstruction caused by reflector, 32... Example of scanning line, 34... Range of image rendering, 35... Rotation center, 40... Rotation control box, 41... Rotation angle Control rod, 42... Fixed rod, 43... Ultrasonic wave 1! IT
Pigeon image device.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a stone crushing device that has means for driving a piezoelectric element formed in a concave shape with a high voltage pulse and means for obtaining an ultrasonic tomographic image near the focal point, the means for obtaining an ultrasonic tomographic image is lateral. 1. A stone crushing device comprising: an ultrasonic transmitting/receiving means installed in the applicator; a reflecting means installed in the center of the applicator; and a control means thereof. (2) As the reflecting means, a reflecting plate smaller than the aperture of the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving means installed laterally is configured such that the emission axis of the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving means is the rotation axis. lithotripter.