JPH0362415B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, particularly an endoscopic ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

Conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses are mainly intended for diagnosis from outside the body, and there are limits to the ultrasonic diagnosis of the gastrointestinal system, such as the stomach and duodenum.

For this reason, endoscopic ultrasound diagnostic equipment that attempts to diagnose from within the body has been developed and used.
Its use is attracting attention.

The configuration of a conventionally used endoscopic ultrasound diagnostic apparatus is shown in FIG. 1, and the structure of an ultrasound transducer is shown in FIG. 2.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a synchronous oscillation circuit, 2 is an excitation circuit, 3 is an endoscope, 4 is a scanning means, and 5 is a synchronous oscillation circuit.
1 is a function generation circuit, 6 is a cathode ray tube, 7 is an amplifier circuit, and 8 is a brightness modulation circuit.

The pulse output of the synchronous oscillation circuit 1 is converted into a high frequency pulse and a pulse with a steep rise by an excitation circuit 2 for generating ultrasonic pulses, and then passes through the inner hole of the endoscope 3 and is installed in the scanning means 4. applied to the oscillator. On the other hand, synchronous oscillation circuit 1
The output passes through the inner hole of the endoscope 3 and is applied to the pulse motor shown in Figure 2, and by electrically controlling forward and reverse rotation, the ultrasonic waves emitted from the transducer scan the inside of the body. can do.

The electrical signals transmitted to the scanning means 4 and the vibrator pass through the inner hole of the endoscope 3, thereby smoothing the insertion of the endoscope 3 into the body. In order to display an image that matches the direction of the ultrasonic waves emitted into the body from the transducer built in the scanning mechanism 4, the pulse output of the synchronous oscillation circuit 1 is converted into a waveform by the function generation circuit 5, and then transmitted to the X and Y of the cathode ray tube 6. The propagation direction of the ultrasonic waves applied to the electrodes is displayed as an image. Ultrasonic waves reflected from abnormal tissue within the body are amplified by an amplifier circuit 7, passed through a brightness modulation circuit 8, and displayed on a cathode ray tube 6 as a tomographic image.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the mechanical scanning method of the vibrator 15 in this device. 3 is an endoscope, 9 is an autopsy window, 10 is an inner hole, 11 is a pulse motor, 12 is a micro gear head, 13 is a rotating shaft,
14 is a damper, 15 is a vibrator, 16 is a pulse motor drive line, 17 is an excitation line for the vibrator, 18 is a rotating shaft support plate, and two-dot chain line 19 is a case.

The outputs of the synchronous oscillation circuit and the excitation circuit in FIG. The pulse motor 11 is fixed to the endoscope 3, rotates at an angle corresponding to the number of output pulses of the synchronous oscillation circuit 1 shown in FIG.
The rotational force of the microhead 12 is transmitted to the damper 14 by the rotating shaft 13, and as the damper 14 rotates, the vibrator 1 bonded to the damper 14
5 emits ultrasonic waves into the body.

Insert the endoscope configured as above into the body,
Diagnosis can be easily determined by visual inspection through the autopsy window and by placing an ultrasonic transducer in close contact with the body. Emitting ultrasonic waves while in close contact with the autopsy site allows the ultrasonic waves to propagate into the body without attenuation, creating a clear image.

However, it is extremely difficult to insert the transducer into the body and bring the transducer surface, which emits ultrasonic waves, into close contact with the autopsy site on the inner wall of the stomach, for example, by operating from outside the body. That's true.

To solve this problem, a commonly used method is to wrap the outside of the transducer part of an endoscopic ultrasound device with a balloon 20 as shown in FIG. The balloon 20 is inflated by injecting a medium 21 with good propagation, for example water or olive oil, and the balloon 20 is moved into the stomach wall 21'.
Closely contact. When an ultrasonic wave is emitted from the transducer 15 in this state, the ultrasonic wave propagates within the medium 21, reaches the stomach wall, and further propagates into the body.
The reflected sound waves inside the body pass through the medium 21 again and return to the vibrator 15.

An endoscopic ultrasound device having such a configuration has the following problems. That's 20 balloons
Multiple vibrations of the radiated ultrasonic waves occur between the wall and the vibrator 15, which poses a problem in creating images.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is characterized in that the ultrasonic wave emitting section can be brought into close contact with the autopsy site.The details of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4a is a sectional view taken along line A-A' in FIG. 4b. In the figure, a plurality of balloons 22 are attached to the back of a case 19 of the ultrasonic emitting unit, and each balloon 22 has a conduit 23 attached thereto and communicates with the outside of the body.

Therefore, through this conduit 23, the balloon 22
By injecting gas or liquid into the balloon and inflating it, the case 19 is pressed against the autopsy site, and the vibrator 15 is brought into close contact with the wall of the internal organ.
When ultrasonic waves are emitted in this state, the ultrasonic waves can propagate efficiently into the body, resulting in multiple reflections compared to the conventional method in which the ultrasonic waves are propagated by inflating the balloon 20 with the medium 21. It is possible to prevent image quality from deteriorating due to

By providing a plurality of balloons 22, the case can be stably supported by increasing the number of supporting points for supporting the case by controlling the degree to which each balloon 22 is inflated, as shown in FIG.

Furthermore, when the autopsy area is the esophagus or trachea, the conventional method described in FIG. 3 inflates the balloon 20 to fill the esophagus or trachea.
Fluids cannot be swallowed into the body and even breathing becomes difficult, but according to the present invention, such problems can be eliminated.

As described above, by providing a balloon on the back of the endoscope, the ultrasonic wave emitting section can be easily brought into close contact with the autopsy site, and a clear image can be obtained, which has a remarkable effect.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 are diagrams showing the configuration of a conventional endoscopic ultrasound device and details of the ultrasound generating part, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the conventional endoscopic ultrasound diagnostic device during autopsy. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the main part of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating its operating state.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Equipped with a sonic transducer that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves inside a case inserted into the body cavity of a living body,
In an endoscopic ultrasound diagnostic apparatus that obtains an ultrasound image at a desired position by externally manipulating the posture of the case, a back surface of the ultrasound transmitting and receiving surface of the case is expanded by an external operation and the ultrasound transmitting and receiving surface is expanded. An endoscopic ultrasonic diagnostic device characterized by comprising a pressing means for bringing the device into close contact with the inner wall of a body cavity.