JPH0671466B2 - Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus including an ultrasonic transceiver that requires a relatively large area, such as a linear electronic scanning system, and more particularly to a body cavity. The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves after passing through a narrowed portion such as a sheet to a position where a diagnosis should be made.

[Prior Art] Scanning methods in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus include a mechanical scanning method and an electronic scanning method. Even in the electronic scanning method, there are linear, sector, and convex scanning methods. Here, for example, in a linear electronic scanning type ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a large number of micro-vibrators are arranged in a line, and each micro-vibrator is sequentially operated to perform scanning to obtain one tomographic image. I will get it. Therefore, in order to obtain a wide scanning range, the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver should be made long,
At the same time, the number of arranged micro-vibrators must be increased. However, when the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver is formed in a long length like this,
It is difficult to pass through a narrowed portion such as the inside of a body cavity and lead it to a diagnosis site.

Therefore, when the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver is made to have flexibility and is inserted into the body, a guide member for insertion operation is used, and the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver is connected and fixed to the guide member. Wrap or fold it around the distal end and use the treatment tool insertion channel of the endoscope as a guide means to insert the treatment tool insertion channel into the treatment tool insertion channel, and the tip of the guide member from the tip of the insertion part of the endoscope. It has been known that the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver is forcibly expanded by projecting it.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, as described above, if the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver having flexibility is forcibly expanded, the micro-vibrator does not necessarily have a planar state so as to be aligned linearly. Don't Therefore, there is a drawback that an accurate linear scan cannot be performed at the time of its operation, the adhesion to the wall of the body cavity is deteriorated, and an accurate diagnosis cannot be performed, such as a partial lack of a received signal.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to be able to compactly store an ultrasonic transceiver when inserting it into a guide means, and to perform diagnosis in a body cavity. Another object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of smoothly and reliably restoring the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving surface to a predetermined state.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a flexible distal end of a guide member for insertion operation which is inserted into a guide means such as a treatment tool insertion channel of an endoscope. A band-shaped ultrasonic transmitter / receiver having a shape is attached, and a shape memory member for restoring the ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver surface to a previously stored shape when the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver is in a predetermined temperature state is attached. What is done is the feature.

[Operation] As described above, by using the flexible band-shaped ultrasonic transmitter / receiver, for example, when inserting the treatment tool insertion channel or the like in the endoscope into the body cavity as a guide, The ultrasonic transmitter / receiver can be housed in a wound state around the tip of the guide member, and can be smoothly inserted into the treatment instrument insertion channel having a small inner diameter. Then, when it is led out from the treatment tool insertion channel or the like, it is restored to the stored predetermined shape by the action of the shape memory member made of a shape memory alloy, a shape memory resin, or the like. For example, when performing linear electronic scanning, the micro-vibrator can be reliably restored to a linear shape. Therefore,
By operating the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver in this state, an accurate tomographic image of the internal tissue can be obtained.

Here, the temperature at which the stored shape is restored, that is, the austenite transformation temperature, may be, for example, the body temperature, and a heater is built into the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver so that the heater heats up to the restored temperature of the stored shape. You may
On the other hand, for example, it is possible to change the temperature by supplying cooling water to the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver from a water supply port for cleaning such as an observation window provided in an endoscope or stopping heating by a heater. The shape memory member is in a martensite state, and it can be collected in a compact shape such as by winding it.

Embodiments Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

First, FIG. 1 shows a cross section of an ultrasonic transceiver which constitutes a linear electronic scanning type ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and FIG. 2 shows a circuit diagram thereof.

As is apparent from FIG. 1, an ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver 1 for receiving an ultrasonic wave signal in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus toward the body and receiving a reflection echo thereof is provided with an upper electrode 3 sandwiching a piezoelectric element 2. And a lower electrode 4 are provided. A high-frequency power source is connected to both electrodes 3 and 4, and a current is passed between them to generate ultrasonic waves. Here, the transducer of ultrasonic waves in the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver needs to be a minute transducer in order to narrow the spot diameter of the ultrasonic beam, and for this reason, the ultrasonic transducer on the outgoing / incident side of the ultrasonic wave sandwiching the piezoelectric element 2 is used. The upper electrode 3 located is divided into a large number of minute pieces and arranged linearly, and the lower electrode 4 on the other side is formed in a long strip shape. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, a switch 5 is connected to each upper electrode 3, and by sequentially turning on each switch 5 from the end, an ultrasonic beam sequentially oscillates, It is designed for linear electronic scanning. Therefore,
A large number of micro-vibrators are formed for each formation site of each upper electrode 3.

The ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1 is in the form of a flexible thin plate. That is, as the piezoelectric element 2, a flexible polymer piezoelectric material such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), a PVDF-based copolymer, a copolymer of vinylidene fluoride and ethylene fluoride, or a resin having these piezoelectric properties is used. A mixture of the ceramic powder is used. The lower electrode 4 is formed by mixing a powder of silver or the like, carbon or the like into a metal thin film or a flexible synthetic resin. On the other hand, since the upper electrode 3 is divided into many small pieces, the upper electrode 3
Is not always an essential requirement, but is preferably made of a flexible material. The ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1 configured in this manner is insulated and sealed with a resin having a good insulating property such as vinyl chloride or polyethylene.

Further, on the back surface side of the lower electrode 4, a backing material 6 formed by mixing metal fine particles into a resin material is provided in order to prevent generation of noise due to ultrasonic waves wrapping around. ing. A shape memory alloy 7 is attached to the back surface of the backing material 6.

A flexible guide shaft 8 as a guide member for insertion operation is connected and fixed to one side of the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1 configured as described above. Here, the guide shaft 8 is, for example, a contact coil spring or the like, so that the ultrasonic transceiver 1 can be smoothly inserted into a narrow passage like a treatment instrument insertion channel 11 described later. A force that pushes and pulls in the axial direction can be smoothly transmitted, and is configured to bend easily when a force acts in the bending direction. Inside, power is supplied to the ultrasonic transceiver 1, and A cable for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the ultrasonic signal processing device is built in.

The ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1 described above is inserted into a body cavity,
It is used for diagnosing the internal tissue state from the wall of the body cavity, and an endoscope is used for guiding the ultrasonic transceiver 1 to the site to be diagnosed. As is well known, the endoscope has a body operation portion which is continuously provided with an insertion portion to be inserted into a body cavity. As shown in FIG. 3, a treatment tool such as forceps is inserted into the insertion portion 10. A treatment instrument insertion channel 11 is provided for this purpose. The ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1 is guided into the body cavity through the treatment instrument insertion channel 11. Further, the distal end of the insertion portion 10 is provided with a treatment instrument outlet of the treatment instrument insertion channel 11, an illumination window 12 for irradiating the inside of the body cavity, an observation window 13 and an observation window for observing the inside of the body cavity. 1
An air / water supply port 14 for supplying a cleaning fluid to 2 and the like is formed.

Here, the insertion portion 10 of the endoscope is guided to a body cavity to be inspected and diagnosed through a narrowed portion in the body. Therefore, the insertion portion 10 has a small diameter and the insertion portion 10 has a small diameter.
Since various items are incorporated in the treatment instrument 10, the inner diameter of the treatment instrument insertion channel 11 is extremely small. Therefore, the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1 cannot be inserted into the treatment instrument insertion channel 11 in a flat state as shown in FIG. However, as described above, since the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1 has a flexible structure as a whole, the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1 is wound around the guide shaft 8 as shown in FIG. Can be in a state. As a result, the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1 can be compactly stored and can be inserted into the treatment instrument insertion channel 11.

However, when the ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver 1 is led out from the treatment tool outlet in the treatment tool insertion channel 11, the transmission / reception surface of the ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver 1 must be restored so as to have the plane state shown in FIG. I won't. For this reason, the shape memory alloy 7 is additionally provided on the back surface side of the ultrasonic transceiver 1. The memory state of the shape memory alloy 7 is a flat state, and the temperature at which the memory state is transformed into the body temperature is
It is set to about 38 ℃ -40 ℃.

Further, the shape of the side edge portion 1a on the base end side of the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1 is
The side that is connected to the guide shaft 8 has the widest width, and the width is curved so that the width becomes narrower as the distance from the side increases. Therefore, if the temperature range that transforms into the above memory shape is excluded,
The shape memory alloy 7 is in the martensite state, and as shown in FIG. 5, the guide shaft 8 is rotated and pulled into the treatment instrument insertion channel 11 to move the guide shaft 8 to the fourth position.
It becomes possible to wind the guide shaft 8 shown in the figure.

The present embodiment is configured in this way, and its operation will be described next.

First, the insertion portion 10 of the endoscope is inserted into the body, and the tip portion thereof is guided to the site where ultrasonic diagnosis should be performed. Therefore, the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1 in which the guide shaft 8 is continuously provided is inserted into the treatment instrument insertion channel 11 in the insertion portion 10. At this time, the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1 is guided as shown in FIG. It is wound around the shaft 8. As a result, even if the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1 is made long to obtain a large scanning width, it can be accommodated compactly and can be inserted into the treatment instrument insertion channel 11.

Then, the guide shaft 8 is pushed into the treatment instrument insertion channel 11 so that the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1 is fed to a position protruding from the treatment instrument outlet of the treatment instrument insertion channel 11. As a result, the shape memory alloy 7 attached to the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1 rises to the internal temperature of the body and is deformed into a flat state that is the memorized shape of the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1. It becomes a plane state.

Therefore, while observing the position of this ultrasonic transceiver 1 through the observation window 13 of the endoscope, press it against the wall of the body cavity,
Switch 5 of upper electrode 3 divided into many small pieces in order
When turned on, an ultrasonic pulse is made to enter the inside of the body, and by receiving the reflection echo thereof, linear electronic scanning is performed, and an ultrasonic tomographic image inside the body is obtained.

Here, when performing linear electronic scanning, many micro-vibrators forming the ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver 1 must be in a linear state, but when the ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver 1 is located inside the body, the shape memory Since the ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver 1 is held in a planar state by the action of the alloy 7, the ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver surface including the micro-vibrator formed by each upper electrode 3 is surely kept in a planar state. . Further, unless the ultrasonic transmitter-receiver 1 is in a state of being in close contact with the inside of the body cavity, signal attenuation will be significantly increased. However, the force for holding the memorized shape of the shape memory alloy 7 allows the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1 to be kept in a flat state, and a sufficient pressing force against the body cavity wall of the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1 can be obtained. .

Next, when the ultrasonic diagnosis is completed, the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1 must be collected in the treatment instrument insertion channel 11. For this purpose, first, water is supplied from the air / water supply port 14 provided in the insertion portion 10 toward the ultrasonic transceiver 1. As a result, the shape memory alloy 7 is cooled and its temperature state changes,
It transforms into a martensitic state. Therefore, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 5, the guide shaft 8 is rotated and drawn into the treatment instrument insertion channel 11, whereby the wound state of FIG. Is possible.

Next, FIGS. 6 and 7 show a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1'has a heater.
20 is provided and the heater 20 is operated by the switch 21 to heat the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1 ′ so that the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1 ′ is provided on the surface opposite to the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving surface. The memory resin 22 is adapted to be restored to the memory shape. Further, when the shape memory resin 22 is used as the shape memory member in this way, the shape memory resin 22 exerts an ultrasonic wave absorbing function. , Can also serve as a backing material.

A wire 23 for holding the other end of the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1'when the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1'is wound around the guide shaft 8'is provided. By rotating 8 ', its winding is possible.

With this structure, the guide shaft 8 '
With the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1'rolled up at the tip of the instrument, insert it into the treatment instrument insertion channel 11 in the insertion portion 10 of the endoscope, project it from the treatment instrument outlet, and turn on the switch 21.
Then, by heating the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1 ′ with the heater 20, the shape memory resin 22 has a memorized shape, and the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver surface of the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1 ′ becomes a flat state. Further, when the heating of the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 1'by the heater 20 is stopped, the shape memory resin 22 becomes in a martensite state, and the wire 23 is pulled to rotate the guide shaft 8'around the axis, whereby ultrasonic waves are generated. The transceiver 1'can be wound around the guide shaft 8'and collected.

If a shape memory member capable of memorizing shapes in two directions is used, and one of these shapes is in a planar state and the other shape is in a winding state, ultrasonic diagnosis is performed. When performing the ultrasonic transmission / reception, the ultrasonic transmission / reception can be performed at a temperature that memorizes the planar state, which enables smooth ultrasonic diagnosis. It can be easily collected.

In the above-described embodiment, the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver is configured to have a planar shape, but this is so-called linear scanning, and other than this, for example, it is curved in a convex shape. The same effect can be obtained with convex scanning, curved concavely, or sector scanning even in the case of the same planar shape.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, in the present embodiment, the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver attached to the tip of the guide member is made flexible, and when the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver reaches a predetermined temperature state. Since a mechanism for attaching a shape memory member whose ultrasonic transmission / reception surface has a predetermined shape is provided, it can be compactly stored when the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver is inserted into the guide means and can be diagnosed in the body cavity. When performing, the ultrasonic transmission / reception surface can be restored to a predetermined state smoothly and reliably, and an accurate tomographic image of the internal tissue can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 6 show a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an ultrasonic transmitter / receiver, FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram thereof, FIG. FIG. 5 is an external view showing a state in which the transceiver is wound around a guide shaft, FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a state in which an ultrasonic transceiver is wound around a guide shaft, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are views showing the present invention. FIG. 6 is an external view of a main part of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view of an ultrasonic transceiver. 1,1 '... Ultrasonic transmitter / receiver, 2 ... Piezoelectric element, 3 ... Upper electrode, 4 ... Lower electrode, 7 ... Shape memory alloy, 8,8'
...... Guide shaft, 10 …… Insertion part, 11 …… Treatment tool insertion channel, 20 …… Heater, 22 …… Shape memory resin.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A flexible band-shaped ultrasonic transmitter / receiver is attached to the tip of a guide member for insertion operation which is inserted into guide means such as a treatment tool insertion channel of an endoscope, and the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver is attached. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized in that a shape memory member that restores the shape of the ultrasonic wave transmitting and receiving surface to a previously stored shape is additionally provided when the temperature reaches a predetermined temperature state.