JPH06125905A - Ultrasonic probe - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To hold a connection part between a tip cap covering a tip body provided with an ultrasonic transducer and a soft tube through which a flexible shaft is passed, so as not to come off. CONSTITUTION:A soft tube 14 through which a flexible shaft 12 is passed and a tip cap 15 covering a tip body 11 provided with an ultrasonic transducer 10 are made of members different from each other and connected together by connecting rings 16a, 16b, and a shape holding ring 17 is fitted into the inside of the part bonded to the connecting ring 16b in the soft tube 14 and firmly fixed with an adhesive. With this constitution, the tip part of the soft tube 14 is put in a state sandwiched between the connecting ring 16b and the shape holding ring 17 and immovable in the direction perpendicular to the bonded part aside from the direction parallel to the bonded part, and separation of the bonded part is surely prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention can be inserted into a body cavity,
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe for performing ultrasonic inspection.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Ultrasonic inspection devices used for inspecting the state of internal tissues are, in addition to those which transmit and receive ultrasonic waves from the external skin, in recent years, ultrasonic probes have been inserted into the body to make a body cavity. A device that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves while moving in the radial direction or the linear direction along the inner wall has been put into practical use. This type of ultrasonic probe that can be inserted into the body includes one that is directly inserted into the body and one that is inserted into the body using an endoscope or the like as a guide. Due to the inserted relationship, a cord having excellent flexibility must be used so that it can freely bend along the insertion path between the tip end main body equipped with the ultrasonic transducer and the portion located outside the body. Moreover, in the case where the endoscope is inserted as a guide,
Since a treatment instrument insertion channel for inserting a treatment instrument such as forceps must be used, and when directly inserted into the body, it may be inserted into a narrow path such as a blood vessel, and therefore The demand for smaller diameter is extremely strong.

Here, in order to adjust the orientation of the tip end main body not only in the radial scanning type ultrasonic transducer but also in the linear scanning type,
The cord must be configured to transmit rotation by remote control. For this reason, the cord has a double structure, and the inner member is a flexible shaft capable of transmitting a rotational force such as a multiple or multi-contact coil spring, and the flexible shaft is inserted into the flexible tube. It is configured to let. A signal cable connected to the ultrasonic transducer is inserted inside the flexible shaft. Here, since the flexible tube smoothly rotates the flexible shaft inside and smoothly guides directly or through the treatment instrument insertion channel of the endoscope to the site to be subjected to the ultrasonic examination, it has good slipperiness. It must consist of members. For this reason, the soft tube is generally made of fluororesin or the like. On the other hand, a tip cap is attached to the tip body to protect the ultrasonic transducer provided in the tip body and to prevent the body cavity wall from being caught when the radial scanning is performed. I am trying to let you. The material of this tip cap must have excellent acoustic characteristics. For this reason, hard polyethylene, polyimide, vinyl chloride, epoxy resin, urethane resin, etc. are usually used. Resins are less preferred from the standpoint of acoustic properties.

As described above, since the flexible tube forming the outermost portion of the ultrasonic probe and the tip cap must be made of different materials, they must be connected and fixed. As a connection structure between the flexible tube and the distal end cap, a highly rigid connecting ring such as a metal is inserted into the distal end cap and fixed with an adhesive or the like, and the other end of the connecting ring is reduced in diameter. It has been conventionally used that a flexible tube is fitted in the reduced diameter portion and then fixed with an adhesive.

[0005]

By the way, the ultrasonic probe, whether it is directly inserted into the body or inserted into the body through a guide member such as an endoscope, has a path along the insertion path. It will be inserted while bending. In particular, in the case of an ultrasonic probe that is inserted using the endoscope as a guide, if the ultrasonic probe is inserted with the angle portion of the insertion portion of the endoscope being curved, the ultrasonic probe will be greatly enlarged when passing through the angle portion. Can be bent. Here, there is a large difference in rigidity between the metal connecting ring and the flexible tube, and because the flexible tube is made of a material with good sliding properties, the bonding conditions to the metal ring are not so good. For this reason, if a force in the direction away from the connecting ring, that is, a force in the radial direction acts on the flexible tube, the bonded portion may easily peel off. Since the flexible tube is repeatedly subjected to bending force in various directions, it has a drawback that if it is continuously used for a long period of time, the tip cap may eventually drop off.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to reliably prevent the tip cap from falling off.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, a tip end body provided with an ultrasonic transducer is connected to a flexible shaft for rotating the tip end body. A flexible shaft is inserted into a flexible tube, and a tip cap is connected to the flexible tube. A coupling ring is fixed to the distal cap, and the tip of the flexible tube is inserted into the coupling ring. Further, a holding ring is inserted and fitted inside the joint portion of the flexible tube with the connecting ring, and the flexible tube is adhesively fixed while being sandwiched by the connecting ring and the holding ring. Is.

[0008]

In the connecting portion of the flexible tube, it has a considerable strength against the force in the direction of pulling along the adhesive surface, but it is weak against the force to separate it from the adhesive surface. Therefore, the flexible tube is bonded and fixed by being sandwiched between the connecting ring and the holding ring. As a result, the flexible tube is fixed both outward and inward in the radial direction, and even if a bending force is applied, the movement in the direction of separating the adhesive surfaces is completely restricted. Therefore, even if the bending force is repeatedly applied in various directions, the flexible tube and the coupling ring are not separated from each other, and the tip cap can be reliably prevented from falling off.

If the shape-retaining ring is provided inside the flexible tube, it cannot be denied that the portion provided with the shape-retaining ring becomes a constriction when viewed from the whole ultrasonic probe.
However, when performing radial scanning, a certain amount of gap is required for the tip body provided in the tip cap to smoothly rotate in a non-contact state with the tip cap. However, if there is a gap in this portion, there is a possibility that a core runout may occur when the tip end main body is rotationally driven, which is not very preferable in performing scanning with ultrasonic waves. Therefore, the region narrowed by providing the shape-retaining ring can be used to exert the core runout prevention function of the tip end body provided with the ultrasonic transducer.
That is, the tip body is extended to the disposition position of the shape-retaining ring, and the gap between the outer diameter of the tip-shape body and the inner diameter of the shape-retaining ring is set to an extent that does not hinder the rotation of the tip body. , Reduce the gap as much as possible. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of rotational unevenness or the like due to the runout of the ultrasonic transducer when performing radial scanning.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 shows the overall configuration of the ultrasonic probe,
FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of the tip portion. In the figure, 1
Is an ultrasonic probe, and 2 is an operating means. The ultrasonic probe 1 is composed of a probe body 3 and a connector section 4 for connecting to the operating means 2. Further, the operating means 2 has a built-in rotation driving means such as a motor, and the connecting connector section 4 is operated. The radial scanning can be performed by operating the rotary driving means in the state of being connected to the No. 2 unit. Further, if the probe main body 3 is displaced in the axial direction, linear scanning can be performed. The ultrasonic probe 1 is guided from the treatment instrument introducing portion C provided on the endoscope S into the body through a treatment instrument insertion channel provided for inserting a treatment instrument such as forceps, and as necessary. Radial scanning and linear scanning can be performed, and inspection by the M mode method, Doppler method, etc. can also be performed.

Reference numeral 10 denotes an ultrasonic vibrator for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic pulses. The ultrasonic vibrator 10 is fixedly provided on the tip end main body 11, and the tip end main body 1 is provided.
1, the other end of the flexible shaft 12 whose one end is connected to the rotating portion 4a of the connection connector portion 4 is connected. The flexible shaft 12 is for transmitting the rotational force of the rotating portion 4a of the connection connector 4 to the tip portion main body 11, and is composed of a multiple or multi-contact coil spring. The flexible shaft 12 is connected to the ultrasonic transducer 10 to supply a transmission trigger signal to the ultrasonic transducer 10 and to transmit a reflected echo signal received by the ultrasonic transducer 10 to the ultrasonic observation device. Is inserted inside.

The flexible shaft 12 is inserted in the flexible tube 14. This flexible tube 14
One end of the connecting connector 4 is connected to the cap portion 4b which is connected to the operating means 2 in a non-rotating state,
The other end is not fixed to either the flexible shaft 12 or the tip portion main body 11. Then, a distal end cap 15 housed so as to cover the distal end portion main body 11 is connected to the distal end of the flexible tube 14.

With the above-mentioned structure, the ultrasonic probe 1 is guided to a position in the body cavity close to the wall of the body cavity to be subjected to ultrasonic examination through the treatment tool insertion channel of the endoscope S. While displacing the ultrasonic probe 1 in the linear direction or the radial direction, an ultrasonic pulse is directed from the ultrasonic transducer 10 into the body, the reflected echo signal is received, and this received signal is received by the signal cable 1
By transmitting the ultrasonic wave to the ultrasonic observation apparatus via 3 and performing a predetermined signal processing, it is possible to display an ultrasonic image of the tissue slice in the body on the monitor apparatus. In the case of performing the radial scanning, it is natural that the tip end main body 11 provided with the ultrasonic transducer 10 must be rotationally driven, and even in the case of performing the linear scanning, the orientation of the ultrasonic transducer 10 is changed. In order to adjust, it is necessary to rotate the tip body 11. Thus, the flexible shaft 12 has the flexible tube 14
Since the movement in the swinging direction is restricted inside, when the flexible shaft 12 is rotated around the axis by the rotation driving means in the operation means 2 or manually, the rotational force is smoothly and surely extended to the tip portion main body 11. Can be communicated.

The flexible tube 14 smoothly slides the flexible shaft 12 when the flexible shaft 12 is rotated, and also allows the ultrasonic probe 1 to be smoothly inserted into the treatment instrument insertion channel of the endoscope S. It is composed of a member having extremely good sliding property such as fluororesin. On the other hand, the tip cap 15 is a member having a good propagating property of the ultrasonic signal, that is, a member having an excellent acoustic characteristic, because the ultrasonic signal is transmitted and received through the end cap 15, and the end cap 15 has a high electrical property. It must be made of an insulating material. Therefore, although the tip cap 15 is made of a resin material, hard polyethylene is the most excellent resin material having good acoustic characteristics, such as polyimide, vinyl chloride, epoxy resin,
Urethane resin etc. can also be used. However, the fluororesin that is the material of the soft tube 14 is not appropriate from the viewpoint of acoustic characteristics.

From the above points, the flexible tube 14 and the distal end cap 15 are formed as separate members, and are connected to each other. In order to perform this connection and to secure the shape retention of the tip cap 15, a connection ring 16 made of a metal material such as stainless steel is used. The connecting ring 16 has a reduced outer diameter at the tip side portion thereof, and the cap insertion portion 16 is inserted into the tip cap 15.
It is a. Further, the proximal end side has a tube fitting portion 16b having an enlarged inner diameter and fitted into the flexible tube 14. Then, the distal end cap 15 is inserted into the cap fitting portion 16a of the connecting ring 16, the flexible tube 14 is fitted into the tube fitting portion 16b, and the flexible tube 14 is fixed by using an adhesive to connect the two. To be done.

By the way, since the flexible tube 14 is designed to be freely bendable and is made of a material having a good sliding property, when the tip portion of the ultrasonic probe 1 is curved, the flexible tube 14 is deformed inward. The adhesive may peel off. In order to prevent this, a shape-retaining ring 17 made of a metal ring such as stainless steel is inserted inside the portion of the flexible tube 14 that is bonded to the connecting ring 16 and is bonded with an adhesive. It is fixed. As a result, the distal end portion of the flexible tube 14 is sandwiched between the connecting ring 16 and the shape-retaining ring 17, and is orthogonal to the adhesive portion regardless of the direction parallel to the adhesive portion (direction of arrow A in FIG. 2). In the direction (arrow B direction in FIG. 2), it cannot be moved completely.

As a result, even when the tip portion of the ultrasonic probe 1 is bent, the force in the direction in which the flexible tube 14 is separated from the bonded portion does not act, and even if it is repeatedly bent, it is in an extremely stable state. Therefore, the tip cap 15 does not fall off the flexible tube 14. Further, if the joint portion between the connecting ring 16 and the shape-retaining ring 17 is also fixed, the adhesive area of the flexible tube 14 is increased, so that the adhesive strength is further improved. There is no danger that 15 will fall out.

Next, FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, the same or equivalent components as those of the first embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals. And its description is omitted.

Thus, in this embodiment, the tip end main body 20 is configured to extend to the position where the shape retaining ring 17 is disposed. Here, if the shape-retaining ring 17 is provided, the inner diameter is reduced by the thickness of the shape-retaining ring 17, and this portion becomes a narrowed portion. Then, in this narrowed portion, the difference between the outer diameter of the tip body 20 and the inner diameter of the shape-retaining ring 17 is made as small as possible, so that the tip body 20 rotates substantially in a state of sliding with the shape-retaining ring 17. It is supposed to do.

With this construction, the flexible tube 14
Not only is firmly fixed between the tip cap 15 and the tip cap 15, but also by making the fitting portion of the tip body 20 to the shape-retaining ring 17 longer, the tip body 20 does not cause runout. The swing of the rotation axis is prevented, and extremely stable and accurate rotation is possible. As a result, radial scanning by the ultrasonic transducer 10 can be performed extremely accurately.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the ultrasonic probe 1 is configured to be inserted into the treatment instrument insertion channel of the endoscope. However, the ultrasonic probe 1 itself is inserted into a body cavity, a blood vessel, or the like. May be Further, although the ultrasonic transducer 10 is configured to scan in the radial direction and the linear direction, the ultrasonic transducer 10 may be scanned in only one of the radial direction and the linear direction, or may be in the electronic scanning type. good.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, the retaining ring is inserted into the inside of the joint portion of the flexible tube with the coupling ring, and the flexible tube is bonded by sandwiching the coupling ring and the retaining ring. Since the structure is fixed, various effects such as surely preventing the connecting portion of the flexible tube with the distal end portion main body from falling off are exhibited.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a partial cross section of an ultrasonic probe according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the tip portion of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a tip portion of an ultrasonic probe showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Ultrasonic Probe 10 Ultrasonic Transducer 11,20 Tip Body 12 Flexible Shaft 14 Flexible Tube 15 Tip Cap 16 Connecting Ring 17 Shape-Retaining Ring

Claims (2)

[Claims] A flexible shaft for rotating the tip body is connected to a tip body provided with an ultrasonic transducer, the flexible shaft is inserted into a flexible tube, and a tip cap is attached to the flexible tube. In the connected ultrasonic probe, a connecting ring is fixed to the tip cap, the tip of the soft tube is inserted into the connecting ring, and a holding ring is provided inside a joint portion of the soft tube with the connecting ring. Is inserted,
An ultrasonic probe, characterized in that a flexible tube is sandwiched and fixed between the connecting ring and the retaining ring by adhesive bonding. 2. When the tip body is rotated, the tip body is extended into the holding ring so that the base end of the tip body can slidably contact the holding ring. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic probe is configured to prevent core runout.