JPH0575416B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention provides a method for obtaining a tomographic image of a living body using ultrasonic waves.
The present invention relates to a mechanical scanning ultrasound probe for a medical ultrasound diagnostic device that uses diagnostic information.

Conventional configuration and its problems A fan-shaped mechanical scanning ultrasonic probe that rotates a piezoelectric vibrator in a fixed direction or rotates it back and forth to scan an ultrasonic beam in a fan shape to obtain a fan-shaped ultrasonic tomographic image. The child (hereinafter abbreviated as MSP) is well known. On the other hand, diagnostic information using ultrasound can be displayed in 2D mode or in 2D mode depending on the display format and information acquisition method.
It is also well known that it is classified into M mode and Doppler mode. 2D mode modulates the brightness of the ultrasonic pulse signal received by a piezoelectric transducer, converts it into a single scanning line, and moves this scanning line electrically or mechanically to create a cross-sectional view (tomographic image).
If this movement is performed at high speed, a real-time tomographic image of the living body can be obtained. In the M mode, ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received at a predetermined position, and a temporal change in the brightness modulation signal of the received signal is shown. On the other hand, in Doppler mode, the frequency spectrum or moving speed of a moving object is determined by receiving a signal whose transmitted signal has undergone frequency modulation (Doppler shift) at the moving speed of the moving object, and uses continuous waves. There are two methods: (CW Doppler) and one using pulse waves (Pulse Doppler). CW Doppler has the advantage of being able to detect high-speed movement, but cannot obtain information only from a specific area. On the other hand, pulsed Doppler is inferior to CW Doppler in its ability to detect high-speed movement, but it has the advantage of being able to obtain Doppler information in a specific area, and each of these can provide diagnostic information in tandem.

When attempting to obtain these various modes with a conventional MSP, in principle, a single MSP could support the 2D mode, M mode, and pulsed Doppler mode as long as a predetermined transmitter/receiver circuit was present. However, information on CW Doppler mode could not be obtained with just one MSP, and other CW Doppler probes were required. In this case, both the above-mentioned MSP and the CW Doppler probe must be operated, which is extremely difficult to operate, and even if it is used mechanically connected to the above-mentioned MSP, the overall The shape has become larger and the contact surface (footprint) with the living body has to be wider, which has become a major obstacle in some diagnostic areas.

Purpose of the Invention The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems by providing a mechanical scanning ultrasound probe that can be used in 2D mode, M mode, CW, and pulsed Doppler mode in a single device. The purpose is to

Structure of the invention The mechanical scanning ultrasound probe MSP according to the present invention includes:
It has one or more ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving units, and the piezoelectric vibrator constituting at least one of the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving units is electrically or mechanically separated, and the separation The above object is achieved by using the piezoelectric vibrators electrically connected or separated depending on the mode to be used.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS FIGS. 1 and 2 show an overview of an MSP and a front view shape of the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving surface, respectively, showing a first embodiment of the present invention. The configuration and operation of the first embodiment will be explained using FIG. The ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving section 1 is composed of a piezoelectric vibrator, an acoustic matching layer, a back loading material, etc., stacked in layers, and the piezoelectric vibrator or piezoelectric vibrator and acoustic matching layer are shown in Figure 2. Two areas (I and O in the case of a, L and R in the case of b) sonic buffer zone 11 as shown in FIG.
These two regions are filled with silicone rubber to reduce acoustic coupling. FIG. 1 shows the case of FIG. 2a. Of course, if acoustic crosstalk is not a problem, only the electrodes of the piezoelectric vibrator may be divided as shown in FIG. 2. One ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving unit 1 having the above-described configuration has degassed water or A sound wave propagation medium 3 made of butanediol or the like is filled. The ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving unit 1 performs reciprocating rotation around a rotating shaft 4 . This reciprocating rotational movement is performed by a motor 5 via a belt or a crank mechanism 6. Reference numeral 7 denotes a rotational position detector for the motor 5, which is connected to the motor 5 by a belt or a gear 8, and is used to control the rotational speed of the motor 5 to a predetermined value using a rotary encoder, potentiometer, etc. 9 is
This is the case for MSP. In this embodiment, the lead wire 10b is connected to the piezoelectric vibrator I, the lead wire 10c is connected to the vibrator O by pressure, and the lead wire 10a is connected to the common electrode.
10b and 10c are connected or separated in the following manner and used in a main unit (not shown) that controls transmission/reception signal processing and display, depending on the desired mode. That is, in 2D mode, M mode and pulsed Doppler mode, 10b and 10
In the CW Doppler mode, 10b and 10c are used as lead wires exclusively for transmission or reception, respectively. Since the area of the sonic buffer band 11 filled with silicone rubber is less than 1/30 to 1/100 of the area of the wave transmitting/receiving surface of each of the two divided ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving parts 1, these are commonly connected. Even if used, the effect on the sound field etc. can be ignored.

FIG. 3 shows an overview of a mechanical scanning ultrasound probe according to a second embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment shows a configuration diagram of an MSP having a plurality of ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving sections, and Fig. 4 shows a side view of a rotor in which the plurality of ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving sections are installed. and b show an example thereof. Ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving unit 1, acoustic window material 2, sound wave propagation medium 3, rotating shaft 4, motor 5, belt or crank mechanism 6,
The rotational position detector 7 and case 9 are the same as those shown in FIG. 1, and 12 is a signal transmitter, 13 is a contact line with the main unit (not shown), 14 is a rotor, and 15 is an undivided ultrasonic wave. The receiving parts are shown respectively.

The MSP shown in Figure 3 is the MSP shown in Figure 1.
The basic idea is to rotate in a fixed direction to obtain a fan-shaped tomographic image. The ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving section 1 is
They are installed on the rotor 14 at 120° intervals, and signals transmitted and received on the wave transmitting/receiving surface of the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving unit 1 are sent to the main body via a signal transmitter 12 composed of a slip ring or a rotary transformer and a connecting line 13. guided by a device (not shown).

The shape and structure of the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving section in the second embodiment is basically that shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b.
Depending on how the MSP is operated and used, there are various combinations of ultrasonic wave transmitting and receiving sections. In FIG. 4a, three sets of ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving surfaces 1 having the shape and structure shown in FIG. 2 are installed around the rotor 14. In this case, six transmitting/receiving signal lines and one ground line 12 to the main unit, and as explained in the first embodiment, can be commonly connected or used separately in various modes. Although the connection line 13 is represented by one line in FIG. 3, it basically has a number of lines corresponding to the number of divided ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving sections.

Figure 4b shows other combination examples.
It is composed of two ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving surfaces: a divided ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving section 1 and an undivided circular ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving section 15. For example, the operation of an MSP with such a combination of rotors 14 is 2D.
The ultrasonic transceiver 15 is used to obtain the CW, M, and pulse Doppler modes, and the ultrasonic transceiver 1 is used for separate transmission and reception when the CW Doppler mode is obtained. In order to obtain the 2D mode, it is also possible to connect the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving unit 1 in common and using the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving units 15 and 1. Also, on the remaining side of FIG. It is also possible to provide an ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving section (not shown) and obtain a 2D mode with three ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving surfaces.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above embodiments, the present invention provides a mechanical scanning ultrasonic probe equipped with at least one ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving section having a mechanically or electrically divided wave surface. By providing. By using the divided transmission and reception wave surfaces as common drive or divided drive according to the desired mode, each mode information of 2D, M, CW and pulsed Doppler, which are the main modes of ultrasonic diagnostic information, can be All can be obtained with one mechanical scanning ultrasound probe, but conventionally requires at least two probes, which has problems such as poor operability, enlarged shape, and limited diagnostic area. can be solved easily and inexpensively.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an overview diagram of a mechanical scanning ultrasound probe (MSP) according to the first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2a,
b is a front view of the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving unit, FIG. 3 is an overview of the MSP which is the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 4a and 4 are
b shows a side view of a rotor in which a plurality of ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving sections are installed. 1, 15...Ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving unit, 2...Acoustic window material, 3...Sound wave propagation medium, 10a, 10b, 10
c... Lead wire, 13... Connection wire, 14... Rotor.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. At least one ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving section having a mechanically or electrically divided wave transmitting/receiving surface, a driving means for rotationally or oscillatingly driving the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving section, and the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving section. an acoustic window containing at least a sound wave transmitting/receiving section and filled with a sound wave propagation medium, and a selection means for driving the divided transmitting/receiving wave surfaces of the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving section in common drive or dividedly depending on a desired diagnosis mode. A mechanical scanning ultrasonic probe comprising: 2. The machine according to claim 1, comprising both an ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving section having a structure in which the wave transmitting/receiving surface is divided and an ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving section having a structure in which the wave transmitting/receiving surface is not divided. Scanning ultrasound probe. 3. The mechanical scanning ultrasonic detector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an ultrasonic CW Doppler mode is obtained by driving the divided transmitting/receiving wave surfaces of the ultrasonic transmitting/receiving section in a divided manner. Tentacles.