JPH0691886B2 - Intracavity probe - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an intracavity probe suitable for diagnosing a subject, for example, a living body's prostate or the vicinity of a birth canal.

[Technical Background of the Invention and Problems] A conventional prostate probe, which is a type of intracavity probe, has a transducer 10A on the peripheral surface of a cylindrical insertion portion 10 having a rounded tip as shown in FIG. It consists of a structure and forms a straight line in the axial direction.
It was inserted into al (anus) 11A and the transducer was operated to send and receive ultrasonic waves to diagnose the prostate.

However, if the shape of an organ such as the rectum 11D is curved as shown in FIG. 4 due to, for example, rectal hypertrophy, when the probe 10A is inserted there, the probe itself is inserted at an angle, so scanning to the prostate part is performed. Can't do
There is a problem that an accurate diagnosis cannot be made such that the bladder cannot be imaged. In addition, as shown in the figure, using the prostate probe 10B, Vagina (vagina) 11B of the living body 11 is obtained.
There is also an example in which it is inserted into a rectal (anus) to measure the presence or absence of ectopic pregnancy or the birth canal diameter. Because ectopic pregnancy is often implanted behind the ovaries, it is meaningful to insert from Rectal. However, also in this case, there is a problem that the field of view is narrow and accurate diagnosis cannot be performed because the scanning is linear.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an intracavity probe which is inserted into a body cavity of a living body and which can accurately and extensively diagnose the site. The purpose is.

[Outline of the Invention] An outline of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object is to include a grip portion,
A cylindrical insertion portion having a center axis of the tip portion having a predetermined curvature with respect to the insertion direction and connected to the grip portion to be inserted into a body cavity, and a transducer portion provided at least at a part around the tip portion. And the transducer portion is provided on the convex surface of the tip portion having a predetermined curvature.

[Examples of the Invention] The present invention will be specifically described with reference to the following examples.

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a body cavity probe according to an embodiment of the present invention. The probe 1 is composed of a grip portion 2A, a cylindrical insertion portion 2B whose center axis has a predetermined curvature, and a transducer 3 attached to a part of a peripheral surface near the tip of the insertion portion 2B. As shown in FIG. 1, the insertion portion 2B has a center axis of the distal end portion having a predetermined curvature with respect to the insertion direction, is connected to the grip portion 2A, and is inserted into the body cavity. The transducer 3 is for observing a site such as an organ by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves.
It is arranged at a convex portion having a predetermined curvature at the tip of 2B. Particularly for diagnosing a wide field of view, it is desirable to use a convex array type transducer in which a plurality of transducers are arranged in a strip shape (array shape) as shown in FIG.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the use of the probe 1, in which the probe 1A is inserted into the anus 11A of the living body 11 to diagnose the prostate and the uterus, as shown by the imaginary line. It shows an example of measuring the birth canal diameter by inserting the probe 1B into the vagina 11B.

First, the probe 1A inserted from the anus 11A emits a beam that spreads radially from the transducer part 3 when the tip part is inserted deeply.
Even if the follicle 5 is implanted inside, the presence of the follicle 5 can be confirmed, and the presence or absence of ectopic pregnancy can be determined by this. It should be noted that if the probe tip is placed at the position where the prostate is present, it will be possible to accurately diagnose the prostate, and in this case, even if the shape of the organ such as the rectum is curved due to rectal hypertrophy, etc. Since a radial beam can be emitted without damaging the internal organs and a wide field of view can be obtained, no trouble occurs when imaging the entire image of the bladder or uterus.

Also, when the probe 1B is inserted into the vagina 11B, the uterus is generated by the radial beam from the transducer 3 at the tip curvature portion.
Since the condition of the entrance inside 11C can be grasped, it becomes extremely easy to calculate the diameter of the birth canal.

Incidentally, in FIG. 2, it can be easily found even in the case of the implantation example shown by a black circle in the back of the ovary. Therefore, even if the shape of the organ is bent due to rectal hypertrophy etc., the tip can be inserted into the anus, vagina, etc. without damaging the organ, and the entire area of the site to be diagnosed such as prostate, uterus, birth canal diameter, etc. Images can be accurately diagnosed in a wide field of view.

Thus, the probe of the present invention has a wide range of applications.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention described above, since the field of view is widened, accurate diagnosis can be performed even if the site to be examined is deformed.
Further, it is possible to provide an intracavity probe capable of not only diagnosing a prostate of a living body but also widely diagnosing each site of a body cavity such as measurement of a birth canal diameter, a condition of ectopic pregnancy, and imaging of a bladder. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing a usage example of the apparatus of the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view showing a structure of a conventional apparatus and a usage example thereof. FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view showing another usage example of the conventional device. 1 ... Intracavity probe, 2A ... Gripping part, 2B ... Inserting part,
3 ... Transducer.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A grip portion, a cylindrical insertion portion having a center axis of the tip portion having a predetermined curvature with respect to the insertion direction and being inserted into a body cavity by being connected to the grip portion, and a periphery of the tip portion. And a transducer portion provided on at least a part of the probe, wherein the transducer portion is provided on a convex surface of the tip portion having a predetermined curvature. 2. The intracavity probe according to claim 1, wherein the transducer portion is a convex array transducer in which a plurality of transducers are arranged in a strip shape.