JPH0413650Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention is an ultrasonic microscope that can display measurement data obtained from the elastic properties of a sample at a location on the sample that corresponds to a desired location in the ultrasound microscope image, along with an ultrasound microscope image. It concerns a sonic microscope.

FIG. 1 is a sketch of a conventional general ultrasound microscope, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of its signal processing circuit. In FIG. 1, 1 is an eyepiece lens, and 2 is a lens barrel. An objective lens 3 is disposed in the lens barrel 2 facing a stage 4 so as to cooperate with the eyepiece 1 to constitute an optical system of an optical microscope. This optical system is supported by mirror legs 5. The stage 4 is supported by a stage moving device 6 for moving it in the Y-axis direction.

On the other hand, a goniometer 7 is placed on the stage 4, as shown in FIG. 2, and a sample holding table 8 is provided on the top surface of the goniometer 7. Although not shown in FIG. 1, an acoustic lens 9 (see FIG. 2) is disposed in place of the objective lens 3 of the optical microscope, and is arranged to replace the objective lens 3 of the optical microscope. This is set using the optical microscope, and the acoustic lens 9 can be directed to this set location.
Further, the acoustic lens 9 is supported by a vibrator 10 so as to be vibrated in the X-axis direction, as shown in FIG. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1, a light source 11 for epi-illumination, a television image monitor 12 for displaying ultrasound images, an X-Y monitor 13, an operation console 14, etc. are provided.

The acoustic lens 9 shown in FIG. 2 is transmitted with one-dimensional vibration by the vibrator 10, and vibrates in the X-axis direction. On the other hand, the stage 4 is gradually moved in the Y-axis direction by the stage moving device 6. The sample 15 is placed on the sample holder 8, with its surface kept perpendicular to the acoustic lens 9 by the goniometer 7.
The vibration of the acoustic lens 9 in the X-axis direction by the vibrator 10 and the vibration of the sample 1 by the stage moving device 6
5 in the Y-axis direction, the acoustic lens 9
It is scanned two-dimensionally by an ultrasonic beam from. In order to achieve acoustic matching between the acoustic lens 9 and the sample 15, an ultrasonic transmission medium 16, such as water, is inserted between the acoustic lens 9 and the sample 15.

As is well known, in an ultrasonic microscope, a sample 15 is two-dimensionally scanned by ultrasonic waves, and reflected waves or transmitted waves obtained are received, and generally, the amplitude of the received signal is converted into a television signal with brightness. The image is converted and displayed as an ultrasound image on a television image monitor. A signal processing method for this purpose will be briefly explained with reference to FIG.

A burst-like high-frequency pulse signal synchronized with the control signal from the control circuit 17 is generated from a high-frequency generator 18, and is applied to the piezoelectric transducer 20 via a circulator 19. Convert to ultrasound. This ultrasonic wave is turned into a spot by the acoustic lens 9 and irradiates the sample 15, and its reflected wave is received by the piezoelectric transducer 20 through the acoustic lens 9 again and converted into an electric signal. This received signal contains illegal unnecessary signals such as ultrasonic waves reflected within the acoustic lens 9 and burst-like high-frequency pulse signals leaked from the circulator 19, so they are guided to the gate circuit 21 and sent to the control circuit. By using a gate signal having a predetermined timing from the sample 17, only the received signal corresponding to the direct reflected wave from the sample 15 is extracted. This signal is amplified by a high frequency amplifier circuit 22, guided to a mixing circuit 23, mixed with a local oscillation frequency signal from a local oscillator 24, and converted into an intermediate frequency signal. This intermediate frequency signal is sent to the detection circuit 2 via the intermediate frequency amplification circuit 25.
6, and after being envelope-detected here, is input to the blanking circuit 27, and only the received signal corresponding to the direct reflected wave from the sample 15 is extracted by a gate signal having the same timing as the gate signal. The peak detection circuit 28 performs peak detection. The detection output signals obtained in this way are sequentially guided to the scan converter 29, and a synchronization information signal related to the X-axis scanning period from the vibrator 10 and a synchronization information signal related to the Y-axis scanning period from the stage moving device 6 are sent to the scan converter 29. An X deflection signal generation circuit 30 and a Y deflection signal generation circuit 3 each driven by an information signal.
Each deflection signal from 1 is sequentially temporarily stored in a predetermined location in the memory in the scan converter 29. This is read out continuously in accordance with the television scanning period, and synchronization information is added to convert it into a television signal, which is then supplied to the television image monitor 12 for image reproduction to obtain an ultrasound microscope image. There is. Various operations for obtaining an ultrasonic image in this way, such as adjustment of scan width and contrast, can be performed manually using adjustment knobs etc. provided on the console 14.

As explained above, with conventional ultrasound microscopes,
Only ultrasonic images of the sample can be obtained, and it is not possible to obtain more detailed information about the structure and properties of the sample from the elastic properties of the sample. Because it is difficult to obtain such information, it was hoped that an ultrasonic microscope would emerge that could provide even more detailed information about the sample.

In order to meet the above expectations, the purpose of the present invention is to display an ultrasound microscope image and also display measurement data such as a V-Z curve at a desired location within the displayed ultrasound microscope image. The aim is to provide an ultrasonic microscope that allows a wealth of information to be obtained regarding a sample.

The ultrasonic microscope of the present invention consists of a sample holder that holds a sample, an acoustic lens that emits ultrasonic waves toward the sample held on the sample holder, and an ultrasonic wave emitted from the acoustic lens. means for two-dimensionally scanning the sample using the sample, means for receiving and detecting ultrasound modulated by the sample and converting the signal obtained into luminance information, and displaying an ultrasonic microscope image of the sample in response to this luminance information. a first display means; a position specifying means for selecting and specifying the coordinate position of at least one arbitrary region on the ultrasound microscope image displayed on the first display means; and a coordinate position specified by the position specifying means. a position control means for relatively moving the acoustic lens and the sample holder based on position information, and directing the acoustic lens onto the sample surface at a portion corresponding to the coordinate position; measuring means for changing the relative distance between the acoustic lens and the sample and measuring the elastic properties of the sample portion corresponding to the coordinate position specified by the position specifying means; and elastic property data obtained by the measuring means. The invention is characterized by comprising a second display means for displaying.

FIG. 3 is a sketch showing an example of an ultrasonic microscope embodying the present invention. Except for the display panel 32 and the operation console 33, the structure is the same as that of the conventional ultrasonic microscope shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, except for some parts described later. Therefore, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

As shown in the figure, the display panel 32 in this embodiment includes a V-Z curve display monitor 34 representing the features of the present invention, a television image monitor 12 for displaying ultrasound images similar to the conventional one, and an X-Y It is provided together with the monitor 13. In addition, the operation console 33 includes various operation buttons and regulators for obtaining ultrasound images, as well as a new joystick 35 and a V-
V- for operating Z characteristic measurement start and completion
A Z curve operation button 36 is provided.

FIG. 4 shows a microscope portion in the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. In the figure, 37 is a Z-axis moving device for moving the stage 4 in the Z-axis direction, and includes a built-in position sensor for detecting the moving distance in the Z-axis direction. It is configured to be automatically controlled by a control signal, and can also be manually adjusted by a Z-axis operating knob 38. A position sensor 39 for detecting the amount of movement of the stage 4 in the Y-axis direction is attached near the stage moving device 6. Although not shown in FIG. 4, a position sensor 40 is also provided to similarly detect the amount of movement of the acoustic lens 9 in the X-axis direction by the vibrator 10.

On the other hand, the relative position of the sample 15 on the sample holder 8 and the acoustic lens 9 is determined by an X-axis position signal and a Y-axis position signal, which will be described later.
In order to move the acoustic lens 9 so as to direct it to the position on the sample 15 corresponding to both of the axial position signals, the above-mentioned position signals are sent to the vibrator 10 (see FIG. 2) and the stage moving device 6. By adding , the configuration is such that the acoustic lens 9 can be moved in the X direction and the stage 4 can be moved in the Y direction. The other configuration is the same as that shown in FIG. 2, and the ultrasonic image can be observed by the television image monitor 12 provided on the display panel 32 in FIG. The means for forming the image are exactly the same as in FIG. 2, so a description thereof will be omitted.

In the present invention, after the sample 15 is two-dimensionally scanned by ultrasonic waves to obtain an ultrasonic image on the television image monitor 12, an ultrasonic image is obtained on the television image monitor 12 using the joystick 35 shown in FIG. Select the position on the ultrasound image where you want to obtain the V-Z curve. That is, by operating the joystick 35, an X-axis signal and a Y-axis signal are generated that represent the coordinates of a desired position on the image plane with the display screen on the television image monitor 12 as the first quadrant plane according to orthogonal coordinate axes; The configuration is such that a cursor can be displayed at a desired position on the ultrasound image using these signals.
Note that a well-known joystick and cursor display device for generating the X-axis signal and Y-axis signal corresponding to the desired coordinate position may be used.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a processing circuit for the X-axis signal and Y-axis signal obtained as described above. That is, joystick 35
The X-axis signal and Y-axis signal generated from the
1, and then guided to the cursor display device 42 where it is converted into a cursor signal at a timing corresponding to the coordinate position on the television image monitor 12 represented by the X-axis and Y-axis signals. Scan converter 29 in Figure 2
superimposed on the output of Therefore, a desired position on the television image monitor 12 can be selected and specified with the cursor by operating the joystick 35.

Further, at the same time, the other of the divided X-axis signal and Y-axis signal is input to comparators 43 and 44,
Here, the X-axis signal is a detection signal from the X-axis direction position sensor 40 of the acoustic lens 9 provided in the vibrator 10,
The Y-axis signals are each compared with a detection signal from a Y-axis position sensor 39 provided to detect the position of the stage 4 on which the sample holding table 8 is placed in the Y-axis direction. The comparison output signals obtained from each of these comparators 43 and 44 are a combination of the X-axis signal and Y-axis signal representing the coordinate position specified by the joystick 35 and the relative position of the acoustic lens 9 with respect to the specified position of the sample 15. Corresponds to positional differences. Each comparison output signal obtained in this way is
As the axis position signal and the Y-axis position signal, the exciter 1
0 and the stage moving device 6, and the acoustic lens 9 is guided to the
By controlling the movement of the stage 4 in the axial direction and in the Y-axis direction, the acoustic lens 9 will face the selected position on the sample 15 on the ultrasound image. In addition, in the figure, 45 indicates a power amplifier.

By operating the V-Z curve operation button indicated by 35 in FIG. 3, the distance in the Z-axis direction between the sample 15 and the acoustic lens 9 can be set to zero value and gradually , the output of the peak detection circuit 27 shown in FIG. 2 is plotted at each appropriate distance, and the data obtained for each plot is stored together with the distance. , the V-Z characteristic automatic measuring device configured to graphically display a V-Z curve on the V-Z curve display monitor 34 is activated, and its operation is canceled by a second operation.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an example of the automatic measuring device. In the same figure,
46 is a Z-axis signal input terminal from a position sensor provided in the Z-axis moving device 37 so as to obtain an output corresponding to the amount of movement of the stage 4 from the reference position in the Z-axis direction. Also, 47 is a scan converter 28
This is an input terminal for receiving the peak detection output signal of the received signal of the acoustic lens 9 which is input to the acoustic lens 9. These signals are sent to A/D converters 48 and 49, respectively.
is converted into a digital signal and stored in the memory 50. The stored Z-axis signal and peak detection output signal are read out in synchronization with the X-axis sweep cycle on the V-Z curve display monitor 34, and converted into analog signals by the D/A converters 51 and 52, For example, by adding the V-Z curve to the Y-axis and X-axis of the V-Z curve display monitor 34 using a cathode ray tube, the V-Z
It is configured so that curves are displayed graphically. Therefore, the user must use the joystick 35 of the operation console 33.
After specifying the coordinate position where you want to obtain a V-Z curve on the ultrasound image on the television image monitor 12 by operating the V-Z curve operation button 36, the V-Z curve can be displayed. The VZ curve at the specified position on the sample 15 is obtained on the monitor 34, and can be observed simultaneously with the ultrasound image.

FIG. 7 shows a display in another embodiment of the present invention in which V-Z curves at a plurality of locations on a sample, for example, two locations, are simultaneously displayed on separate V-Z curve display monitors 34, 34'. It is a sketch mainly showing only the panel 53 and the operation console. The operation console 54 is provided with two joysticks as shown at 35 and 35', which constitute part of the means for selecting and specifying the desired position of the sample as explained in FIGS. 3 to 5. Yes, and each of these three
5, 35', V-Z curve operation button 36,
36' are provided respectively. These joysticks 35, 35' are constructed so that they can be operated independently, and each joystick 35, 35'
2 on the television image monitor 12 corresponding to
In addition to displaying a cursor for position selection at the location, a character generator or the like generates symbols or letters such as A and B that can distinguish between the joysticks 35 and 35' and displays them near the corresponding cursors. It is configured to obtain. On the other hand, the V-Z characteristic automatic measurement circuit explained with reference to FIG. , 35', two sets are provided so that a separate V-Z curve can be obtained for each position on the sample 15 selected by .

After selecting and specifying different coordinate positions on the television image monitor 12 by operating the respective joysticks 35, 35', the V-Z curve operation button attached to each joystick 35, 35' is pressed. 36 and 36' at appropriate time intervals, the V-Z characteristics can be automatically measured for different selected positions on the sample 15 by the same method as in the previous embodiment, and the V-Z characteristics obtained thereby can be measured automatically. The V-Z curve data is displayed on separate V-Z curve display monitors 34, 34'.
The structure is such that it can be graphically displayed using curved lines.
Therefore, by selecting and specifying two locations on the ultrasonic image where you want to obtain a V-Z curve using the two dials 35 and 35', and sequentially operating the V-Z curve operation buttons 36 and 36', The V-Z curves at those desired positions of the sample 15 are displayed on each V-Z curve display monitor 3.
4,34'.

In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, as a means for selecting and specifying an arbitrary coordinate position on an ultrasound microscope image displayed as brightness information, a cursor is moved on a television image monitor using a joy stick as a component thereof. However, the cursor can be digitally moved on the television image monitor, stopped at a desired position, and the address on the television image monitor at that position is obtained, without using the joystick. Position information is detected and compared with information regarding the position of the acoustic lens obtained from each position sensor in the X-axis direction of the vibrator 10 and in the Y-axis direction of the stage 4, as shown in FIG. The acoustic lens may be directed to the desired position on the sample, and the cursor may be moved by a cursor operation button.

In addition, when displaying multiple V-Z curves, use one V-Z display monitor and manually switch the display using a switch button provided on the console. You can also
In this case, the V-Z characteristics of multiple locations on the sample are automatically measured and stored in sequence using one position selection means, and the results are switched and displayed on one V-Z display monitor. Of course, this is a good thing.

Furthermore, the ultrasonic microscope of the present invention can be equipped with a storage device such as a floppy disk device to store many types of V-Z curves obtained from many locations on a sample, and can be used to store them sequentially or selectively as needed. It can also be read out and displayed on the V-Z display monitor 34.

Note that position sensors that detect the positions of the vibrator 10 and stage 4 used in each of the above embodiments, that is, the amount of movement in the X-axis and Y-axis directions, and the Z
As a device for detecting the amount of movement in the axial direction, for example, an optical sensor, an encoder, a magnetic scale, or the like may be used.

As is clear from the description of each of the embodiments above, the present invention enables a conventional ultrasonic microscope to display measurement data of the elastic properties of a sample, such as the ability to observe the V-Z curve at any desired position on the sample. This configuration has an additional display means for displaying the information. Therefore, according to the ultrasonic microscope of the present invention, it is possible to display measurement data such as a V-Z curve at a desired position along with an ultrasonic microscope image, and to simultaneously compare and observe the ultrasonic microscope image. This method has the effect of being able to obtain useful information about the sample, such as its structure and properties, and the speed of sound (velocity of surface acoustic waves) of the sample, which cannot be obtained using an ultrasonic microscope.

In addition, in the embodiment shown in Fig. 7, in which the V-Z curves at multiple different locations on the same sample are displayed simultaneously, it is easy to compare the V-Z curves at different locations on the sample. be able to.
Furthermore, by attaching a floppy disk device to the ultrasonic microscope of the present invention, an extremely large number of V-Z curves within the same sample can be obtained and stored, and the V-Z curve at any desired position can be recorded at any time. It also has the advantage of being able to read out and display information, which is extremely effective when performing detailed analysis of a sample.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a sketch of a conventional general ultrasound microscope, Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a signal processing circuit, and Figure 3 is an example of an ultrasound microscope implementing the present invention. The sketch diagram, Figure 4, shows
A configuration diagram of a microscope part in an embodiment of the present invention,
Figure 5 shows the position where you want to take the V-Z curve of the sample.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of a signal processing circuit for directing an acoustic lens. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an example of a VZ characteristic measurement and display circuit. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of a VZ characteristic measurement and display circuit. FIG. 7 is a sketch mainly showing only the display panel and operation console portions in another embodiment. 4... Stage, 6... Stage moving device, 7
... Goniometer, 8 ... Sample holding table, 9 ... Acoustic lens, 10 ... Vibrator, 12 ... Television image monitor for displaying ultrasound images, 13 ... X-Y monitor, 32, 53 ... Display panel, 33, 54...
...Operation console, 34, 34'... V-Z curve display monitor, 35, 35'... Joystick, 36,
36'...V-Z curve operation button, 37...Z-axis moving device, 38...Z-axis operation knob, 39, 40
...Position sensor, 41, 48, 49...A/D converter, 42...Cursor display device, 43, 44...
... Comparator, 45 ... Power amplifier, 46 ... Z-axis signal input terminal, 47 ... Detection output signal input terminal, 5
0...Memory, 51, 52...D/A converter.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] 1. A sample holder that holds a sample, an acoustic lens that emits ultrasonic waves toward the sample held on the sample holder, and an ultrasonic wave emitted from this acoustic lens. Therefore, there is a means for two-dimensionally scanning the sample, a means for converting the signal obtained by receiving and detecting the ultrasonic waves modulated by the sample into brightness information, and a means for converting the signal obtained by receiving and detecting the ultrasonic waves modulated by the sample into brightness information, and receiving this brightness information to create an ultrasonic microscope image of the sample. a first display means for displaying; a position specifying means for selecting and specifying the coordinate position of at least one arbitrary region on the ultrasound microscope image displayed on the first display means; specifying by the position specifying means; position control means for relatively moving the acoustic lens and sample holder based on the coordinate position information, and directing the acoustic lens onto the sample surface at a portion corresponding to the coordinate position; measuring means for measuring elastic properties of a sample portion corresponding to a coordinate position specified by the position specifying means by changing the relative distance between the acoustic lens and the sample, and the elasticity obtained by the measuring means; An ultrasonic microscope comprising: second display means for displaying characteristic data. 2. Utility model registration claim 1, characterized in that, based on the coordinate position specified by the position specifying means, the specified position is displayed with a cursor on the ultrasonic microscope image on the first display means. Ultrasonic microscope described in section. 3. A plurality of said second display means are provided, and an ultrasonic microscope image is displayed on said first display means based on coordinate position information of a plurality of locations designated by said position designation means in correspondence with these display means. The ultrasonic microscope according to claim 1 of the utility model registration, characterized in that designated positions are displayed with a plurality of cursors.