JPH08308806A - Hardness measuring device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a hardness measuring device which displays the hardness of the lesion part of the intra corporeal living tissue as well as the hardness of the normal tissue. CONSTITUTION: In a hardness measuring device having a measuring means which is brought into contact with the intra corporeal living tissue so as to measure hardness of the living tissue, a first sensor 5 which measures the hardness of a normal tissue to become a reference value and a second sensor 6 which measures the hardness of lesion part are provided in the tip part of a sheath 2 having flexibility and the hardness of the lesion part is compared with the normal tissue and judged so that the hardness of the lesion part can diagnose.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hardness measuring device used for diagnosing, for example, a submucosal tumor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as a method of measuring the hardness of a living tissue, a vibration generating means such as a piezoelectric element is pressed against the living tissue, and the vibration generating means is vibrated at a frequency that resonates with the living tissue. There is known a method of measuring the hardness of a living tissue by detecting a change in vibration of a vibration generating means with a vibration detecting element such as a piezoelectric element. As an apparatus to which this method is applied, a measurement means provided in a flexible tube as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-114014 is provided so as to be capable of advancing and retracting, and the measurement means is pressed against a tissue. There is.

That is, a hardness measuring sensor that is pressed against a living tissue in a body cavity and an extending member that flattens the surface of the living tissue with which the hardness measuring sensor abuts are provided to accurately measure the hardness of the living tissue. It is designed so that it can be measured.

[0004]

However, since the information on the hardness of the lesion obtained in this way is only one place and is not compared with the surrounding tissues, the reference information is not shown. The degree of hardness was difficult to judge.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to show the hardness of a lesion part of a living tissue in a body cavity at the same time as the hardness of a normal tissue. To provide a measuring device.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a hardness measuring device having a measuring means for contacting a living tissue in a body cavity and measuring the hardness of the living tissue. In the above, the measuring means includes a first measuring means and a second measuring means for measuring hardness of different portions.

According to the present invention having such a configuration, the hardness of the lesioned part is measured by measuring the hardness of the normal tissue as the reference value by the first measuring means and the hardness of the lesioned part by the second measuring means. It can be determined by comparing the hardness with the hardness of normal tissue.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 show a first embodiment, and reference numeral 1 in the drawings shows the overall configuration of a hardness measuring device for a living tissue. This device 1 is configured as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. That is, the operation wire 3 is inserted into the flexible sheath 2 so as to be movable back and forth. Sheath 2
A concave portion 2a is provided along the axial direction of the sheath 2 on the side wall in the vicinity of the distal end of the movable portion, and the movable portion pivotally attached to the distal end in the concave portion 2a so as to be rotatable around a pivot pin 4a as a fulcrum. 4 are provided. The operation wire 3 is connected to the free end of the movable portion 4.

When the operation wire 3 is pulled in, the movable portion 4 is rotated around the pivot pin 4a as a fulcrum and is housed in the recess 2a. When the operation wire 3 is pushed out, the movable portion 4 is moved to the pivot pin 4a. Is used as a fulcrum to pivot to project from the recess 2a to the side of the sheath 2.

A first sensor (reference value sensor) 5 as a first measuring means is provided at the distal end of the sheath 2, and a second sensor (a second measuring means) is provided on the side wall of the movable portion 4 as a second measuring means. A measurement sensor 6 is provided. By pushing out the operation wire 3, the movable portion 4 projects in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the sheath 2 with the pivot pin 4a as a fulcrum, and the second sensor 6 is arranged in parallel with the first sensor 5. There is.

A handle 7 for driving the operating wire 3, a detection circuit unit 8 to which the first and second sensors 5 and 6 are connected, a frequency counter 9 and a personal computer 10 are provided on the hand side of the apparatus 1.
Is provided.

A vibrating body made of piezoelectric ceramic is built in the first and second sensors 5 and 6, and is driven by a resonance frequency by an oscillating circuit. According to the hardness measuring device configured as described above, the sheath 2 is inserted into the body cavity via the channel of the endoscope, and the first sensor 5 at the tip of the sheath 2 is inserted into the mucous membrane 11 as a living tissue. Press to make contact. Then, when the handle 7 is driven to push out the operation wire 3 and the movable portion 4 is projected from the sheath 2, the second sensor 6 on the side wall is pressed against the mucous membrane 11 and brought into contact therewith.

When the ultrasonic vibration is oscillated, the acoustic impedance changes according to the hardness of the living tissue, and the resonance frequency shifts in the negative direction. The softer the shift, the greater the amount. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the first sensor 5 is attached to a tissue without a submucosal tumor (hereinafter referred to as SMT) 12.
When the second sensor 6 comes into contact with a tissue having the SMT 12, the shift amount of the resonance frequency 13b of the second sensor 6 is displayed smaller than that of the resonance frequency 13a of the first sensor 5 as shown in FIG. . The display means displays both the resonance frequencies 13a and 13b on the screen of the personal computer 10.

As described above, since the hardness of the submucosal tissue is compared and displayed on the screen in a normal state and an abnormal state such as SMT, the level of hardness is easy to understand and the lesion can be diagnosed more reliably. .

In the above embodiment, the second sensor 6 presses against the mucous membrane 11 with the handle 7 via the operation wire 3, but the pivot pin 4a is provided with a torsion spring and is movable. The portion 4 may be elastically pressed against the mucous membrane 11 with an appropriate pressing force.

Further, in the above embodiment, the first sensor 5 is provided at the tip of the sheath 2 and the second sensor 6 is provided at the side wall of the movable portion 4, but the first and second sensors 5, 6 are provided. The interval may be adjustable. In this case, the hardness of any living tissue can be measured, the normal state and the abnormal state can be measured and compared more reliably, and the lesion can be diagnosed.

In the above embodiment, the personal computer 1
Although the resonance frequencies 13a and 13b are displayed on the screen of 0, a monitor may be provided instead of the personal computer 10.
5 to 7 show a second embodiment, and the same components as those of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 5 shows the overall structure of the hardness measuring device. The device 14 is composed of a sheath 15 and a needle portion 16 provided in the sheath 15 so as to be movable back and forth. The first sensor 5 is provided at the tip of the sheath 15 and the second sensor 6 is provided at the side wall of the needle 16a as the puncture portion. Is provided.

According to this embodiment, the device 14 is inserted into the body cavity through the channel of the endoscope 17, and the needle portion 16 is pushed out to cause the needle 16a to protrude from the sheath 15 and the mucosa 11
Puncture the needle 16a into the
The sensor 5 is brought into contact with the mucous membrane 11.

As shown in FIGS. 7A to 7C, when the second sensor 6 faces the SMT 12, a difference appears in the shift amount between the first and second resonance frequencies 13a and 13b, resulting in the SMT.
It is possible to know the existence of 12 and the degree of hardness. Further, the puncture depth of the needle 16a and the contact position of the first sensor 5 may be changed to obtain data on a plurality of resonance frequencies. In this way, the second sensor 6 can be brought close to the lesion by puncturing, more accurate data can be obtained, and the position and hardness of the SMT 12 can be diagnosed more accurately.

The hardness measuring device may be constructed by arbitrarily combining the constructions of the first and second embodiments.
According to the embodiment described above, the following configuration is obtained.

(Supplementary Note 1) In a hardness measuring device having a measuring means for measuring the hardness of the living tissue in contact with the living tissue in the body cavity, the measuring means measures the hardness of different portions. A hardness measuring device comprising a first measuring means and a second measuring means.

(Supplementary Note 2) In the hardness measuring device according to Supplementary Note 1, the second measuring means is movable with respect to the first measuring means. (Supplementary Note 3) In the hardness measuring device according to Supplementary Note 1 or 2, the second measuring means can arbitrarily select contact or non-contact with the biological tissue measured by the first measuring means. Is characterized by.

(Supplementary Note 4) The hardness measuring device according to Supplementary Note 1 or 2 is characterized in that the measurement interval between the first measuring means and the second measuring means can be adjusted. (Supplementary note 5) The hardness measuring device according to supplementary note 1, comprising a flexible sheath and a movable portion projecting and retracting from the flexible sheath, wherein the first measuring means is an end portion of the flexible sheath. In addition, the second measuring means is provided on each of the movable parts.

(Supplementary Note 6) In the hardness measuring apparatus according to Supplementary Note 5, the movable portion is pivotally attached to a flexible sheath so as to be rotatable, and is projected and retracted by an operation wire inserted through the flexible sheath. It is characterized by

(Supplementary Note 7) In the hardness measuring apparatus according to Supplementary Note 5, the main body portion is an endoscope injection needle, and the movable portion is a puncture portion. (Supplementary Note 8) In the hardness measuring device according to Supplementary Note 5, the second measuring means is provided on a side wall of the puncture portion.

(Supplementary Note 9) In the hardness measuring apparatus according to Supplementary Note 1, the first and second measuring means are vibration generating means such as a piezoelectric element. (Supplementary note 10) In the hardness measuring device according to supplementary note 1, the first and second measuring means include a vibrating piezoelectric element that vibrates at a resonance frequency of the living tissue in the body cavity, and the living tissue in the body cavity. And a vibration detecting piezoelectric element for detecting the vibration at the time of contact.

(Supplementary Note 11) The hardness measuring device according to Supplementary Note 1 is characterized in that display means is provided for simultaneously displaying data measured by the first measuring means and the second measuring means. . (Supplementary Note 12) In the hardness measuring device according to Supplementary Note 11, the display means is a screen of a personal computer or a monitor.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the hardness of the normal tissue, which is the reference value, and the hardness of the lesion can be measured, the hardness of the lesion can be compared with the normal tissue for determination, and the hardness of the lesion can be more accurately diagnosed. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a hardness measuring device showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of a tip portion of the apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory view of the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a display state of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional side view of a tip end portion of a hardness measuring device showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the operation of the same embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory view and a display state explanatory view of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Hardness measuring device, 2 ... Sheath, 3 ... Operation wire, 4 ...
Movable part, 5 ... 1st sensor, 6 ... 2nd sensor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A hardness measuring device having a measuring means for measuring the hardness of the living tissue in contact with the living tissue in the body cavity, wherein the measuring means measures the hardness of different regions. A hardness measuring device comprising: the measuring means and the second measuring means.