JPH09135498A - Ultrasonic oscillator element - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily plot a stick needle in an ultrasonic image. SOLUTION: Concerning an ultrasonic oscillator 4a, a 1st ground electrode 5a and 2nd ground electrodes 5b on both the sides of that 1st ground electrode are formed so as to be orthogonal in lengthwise direction with one surface confronted to an exciting electrode 6 of the other surface between two confronted surfaces at the piezoelectric body in the shape of rectangular column, the exciting electrode 6 is connected to a pulsar 3 for outputting a high frequency signal pulse 3 and the 1st ground electrode 5a is grounded at all times but the 2nd ground electrodes 5b are selectively grounded through a switch 2. When the switch 2 is turned on/off, the areas of ground electrodes are made different and the beam width of ultrasonic beams to be emitted is changed so that the image of the stick needle can be provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic transducer element for easily changing the beam width of an ultrasonic beam.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In diagnosis and treatment, a puncture needle is pierced into an affected area to extract a tissue piece from the affected area or to inject a drug into the affected area. When performing such a puncture, it is important that the needle is in the correct position. Therefore, the position of the puncture needle is often confirmed in real time by an ultrasonic image.

A conventional example of an ultrasonic endoscope capable of performing such processing under an ultrasonic image will be briefly described below.

FIG. 12 shows an ultrasonic endoscope 22 having a convex ultrasonic probe of an electronic scanning system at its tip. The ultrasonic endoscope 22 is roughly divided into an eyepiece section 23, an operation section 24, and an insertion section 25. Insertion part 25
A tip portion 26 provided with an ultrasonic probe and a bending portion 27 that is bent by operating the operation portion 24 are formed in the.

A universal cord 28 extends from the operation section 24 to the outside. The other end of the universal cord 28 is connected to an external device such as an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus (not shown) via a connector. An insertion opening 20 for inserting a treatment tool is provided in the vicinity of the operation portion 24 and the insertion portion 25.
The insertion opening 20 passes through a channel (not shown) formed in the insertion portion 25 and the distal end portion 26 of the ultrasonic endoscope 22.
To the forceps port 30 (FIG. 13) at.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of the tip portion 26, but the optical system and acoustic medium are omitted. The tip portion 26 is provided with an acoustic lens 31 and a forceps opening 30. FIG.
13A is a view seen from the surface of the acoustic lens 31, and FIG.
Is a cross-sectional view as seen from the side. Inside the acoustic lens 31, a convex ultrasonic transducer array 32 is provided.
A cable 33 for transmitting a signal is connected to the ultrasonic transducer array 32.

This cable 33 is a universal cord 2
It is connected through 8 to an ultrasonic vibration device (not shown). FIG. 13B shows a state in which the puncture needle 29 inserted through the insertion port 20 projects from the forceps port 30. Then, the puncture needle 29 in the ultrasonic scanning range 34 can be observed on the ultrasonic image.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a portion related to a receiving section of a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. The reflected echo of the ultrasonic wave reflected from the observation object not shown is the ultrasonic transducer array 32.
Received at. Then, the reception signals of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers are combined into one by the beam combining unit 35 and detected by the detection circuit 36.

The detected signal is subjected to level conversion and amplification in the analog processing section 37 for adjusting gain and contrast. Next, after being digitized by the A / D converter 38, it is transmitted to a digital scan converter (abbreviated as DSC) 39, converted into a video signal and output to a display monitor (not shown).

[0010]

As described above, the puncture needle which is within the scanning range of the ultrasonic transducer can be observed on the ultrasonic image. However, since the puncture needle is thin, it tends to bend when it projects long. For example, FIG. 15 shows an ultrasonic probe 5
6 is a schematic view of the ultrasonic beam 59 seen from the tip side of FIG.
Although the position of the needle tip is particularly important in the ultrasonic image of the puncture needle, the tip of the bent puncture needle 58 may protrude from the ultrasonic beam 59.

In such a case, the ultrasonic reflection echo of the puncture needle 58 becomes small, the position of the needle tip of the puncture needle 58 becomes unclear on the ultrasonic image, and an unobservable portion 57 occurs. Even if the ultrasonic image of the puncture needle 58 is drawn, it is difficult to distinguish it from the ultrasonic image of the tissue on a black and white screen.

If the ultrasonic image of the puncture needle is not clearly displayed in this way, the position of the needle tip of the puncture needle cannot be known.
It becomes difficult to puncture a proper position in the affected area, and the efficiency of diagnosis and treatment is significantly reduced.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides
It is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic transducer element that can easily visualize a puncture needle in an ultrasonic image.

[0014]

An ultrasonic transducer element according to the present invention comprises a piezoelectric body formed in a columnar shape, and an excitation electrode for applying an ultrasonic excitation voltage formed on a first bottom surface of the piezoelectric body. By providing a plurality of ground electrodes formed separately from each other on the second bottom surface facing the first bottom surface of the piezoelectric body, the structure is such that the ground area of the ultrasonic transducer can be changed, When used in a small state, the beam width of the ultrasonic wave is widened, so that the ultrasonic beam can easily catch the puncture needle, and the image of the puncture needle can be stably displayed on the ultrasonic image.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) An object of the present invention is to make it easier to draw an ultrasonic image of the puncture needle of the present embodiment.

FIG. 1A shows a portion related to an ultrasonic transducer array including the ultrasonic transducer element of this embodiment. Further, only the part related to the transmission of ultrasonic pulses is shown, and the part related to reception is omitted. FIG. 1B is a view seen from the surface of the ultrasonic transducer array 4 that emits ultrasonic waves.

In the ultrasonic transducer array 4 in which a plurality of ultrasonic transducer elements (hereinafter simply referred to as ultrasonic transducers) 4a of the present embodiment are arranged in parallel, first and second ground electrodes 5 are provided.
A ground electrode 5 including a and 5b and an excitation electrode 6 to which an ultrasonic excitation voltage is applied are provided.

Each of the ultrasonic transducers 4a has a rectangular plate shape or a rectangular prism shape. Quartz crystal having a piezoelectric phenomenon, a piezoelectric body such as PZT, or the like has two surfaces (or bottom surfaces) facing each other. An excitation electrode 6 is formed on the other side, and ground electrodes 5b, 5a, 5b are provided on the other surface facing (or facing) this one surface so as to be orthogonal to the longitudinal direction.
Each excitation electrode 6 is connected to the non-grounded output end of the pulsar 3 that outputs a high-frequency signal for exciting ultrasonic waves into a pulsed intermittent wave.

In this ultrasonic transducer array 4, the longitudinal center of each piezoelectric body is located along the central axis which is the center of the ultrasonic transducer array 4, and the central axis is the longitudinal direction of each piezoelectric body. They are arranged so as to be orthogonal to each other and are slightly separated from each other. Therefore, each piezoelectric body is symmetrical with respect to both sides in the longitudinal direction with respect to the central axis. Therefore, this central axis can also be called a symmetry axis.

In this embodiment, a first ground electrode 5a is provided at the longitudinal center of each piezoelectric element along the central axis, and the first ground electrode 5a is provided on both sides of the first ground electrode 5a. Second ground electrodes 5b are respectively provided at 5a and slightly spaced apart from each other. Since the first ground electrodes 5a are for common grounding of each piezoelectric body at all times, in FIG. 1, the first ground electrode 5a is ribbon-shaped (or band-shaped) so as to pass through the center of each piezoelectric body. A bridge (or a strip) provided on each of the bridges serves as a ground-side electrode of each piezoelectric body and electrically connects the ground electrodes 5a of each piezoelectric body to each other so as to be electrically connected to each other. It is also designed to function as a means.

Further, the second ground electrode 5b is also provided in a ribbon shape (or a band shape) in parallel with the first ground electrode 5a having a ribbon shape or a band shape so as to pass through both sides of the center of each piezoelectric body. By configuring each with a striped (or striped) electrode, it functions as a selective grounding side electrode that is selectively grounded for each piezoelectric body, and connects so that the selective grounding side electrode between each piezoelectric body is electrically connected. It also has the function of a bridge means.

In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to this embodiment, the second ground electrodes 5b are electrically connected to each other by the lead wire. The second ground electrode 5b is grounded via a switch 2 serving as a grounding state switching means so that it can be selectively grounded. When two contacts of this switch 2 are ON, the second ground electrode 5b is grounded, On the other hand, when the two contacts are off, the second ground electrode 5b is in a non-grounded state. In addition,
The grounded output end of the pulser 3 is grounded. Switch 2 of 2
ON / OFF of the contact can be controlled by a control signal from the ultrasonic observation apparatus 1.

Therefore, when the switch 2 is turned on, both the first and second ground electrodes 5a and 5b are connected to the ground side output terminal of the pulser 3. When the switch 2 is OFF, only the first ground electrode 5a is connected to the ground side output terminal of the pulser 3, and the second ground electrode 5b is disconnected from the circuit. In the present embodiment, the switch 2 and the pulser 3 may be included in the ultrasonic observation apparatus 1.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are views of the ultrasonic transducer array 4 as seen from the tip side, and can also be viewed as one ultrasonic transducer 4a. Here, the pulsar 3, the signal line and the like are omitted. In the normal state, the switch 2 is turned on as shown in FIG. 2, and the first and second ground electrodes 5a and 5b are both grounded.
One surface is entirely grounded.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3A, the switch 2 is turned off.
When F, the ground electrode 5b is cut off, so that each ultrasonic transducer 4a (or ultrasonic transducer array 4) is grounded only in the shaded portion of FIG. 3 (A), and only in the shaded portion as shown in FIG. 3 (B). Of the ultrasonic transducer 41a (or the ultrasonic transducer array 41).

In general, the smaller the ultrasonic transducer, the more the ultrasonic beam spreads. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, the OF is larger than the ultrasonic beam 42 when the switch 2 is turned on.
The ultrasonic beam 43 when it is set to F spreads more. When the puncture needle protruding from the forceps port is bent, the tip of the puncture needle may be disengaged from the ultrasonic beam 42 as shown in FIG.

Focusing on the range 44, the beam width of the ultrasonic beam 43 output from the narrow aperture is wider than that of the ultrasonic beam 42 for the reason described above. Therefore, even if the tip of the puncture needle deviates from the ultrasonic beam 42, the ultrasonic beam 43 easily fits inside the beam.

FIG. 4 shows reflected echoes when the ultrasonic beam 43 is output with the aperture narrowed, that is, when the switch 2 is turned off. In addition to containing all the puncture needles in the ultrasonic beam 43, in general, a metal such as a puncture needle has a larger reflection coefficient of ultrasonic waves than biological tissue,
The reflection echo 11 from the puncture needle is the reflection echo 1 from the tissue
It is greater than zero.

FIG. 5 shows the characteristics of normal gain and contrast. In the characteristics of FIG. 5, the slope corresponds to the high contrast, and the steeper the slope, the higher the contrast. Further, when the characteristic shown in FIG. 5 is shown by the dotted line, the output has an offset larger than 0 even if the input is 0, and the higher the offset value, the larger the gain.

FIG. 6 shows the characteristics in which the contrast is set high. Here, when the reflected echo signal of FIG. 4 is passed through an analog processing unit that adjusts the gain and contrast set in the characteristics of FIG. 6, the reflected echo signal of the puncture needle is emphasized and output as shown in FIG. This is explained in FIG. In the high-contrast characteristic as shown in FIG. 6, a certain value A shown in FIG.

Here, a certain value A is set to a value larger than the reflected echo signal from the tissue and smaller than the reflected echo signal from the puncture needle. Further, since FIG. 6 has a high contrast characteristic, the output signal has a higher contrast and is brighter than usual.

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of the configuration of the receiving system of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 7 having this embodiment. When configuring a convex type ultrasonic probe provided at the distal end portion 26 of the ultrasonic endoscope 22 of FIG. 12, the center of each ultrasonic transducer 4a forming the ultrasonic transducer array 4 is a convex surface or the like. Arrange them so that they touch the curved surface of.

A high frequency signal pulse is sequentially applied to each ultrasonic transducer 4a from a transmission circuit such as a pulser not shown in FIG. 9, and an ultrasonic beam is emitted in a substantially fan shape. in this case,
The high frequency signal pulse is simultaneously output to the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 4a, and the time when the high frequency signal pulse is actually applied to the ultrasonic transducer 4a is slightly shifted by passing through the delay circuits having different delay amounts. The beam may be electrically focused.

The ultrasonic beam emitted to the living body side is reflected by a portion of the living body where the acoustic impedance is changed to be a reflection echo, and the ultrasonic transducer 4a used for transmission is used.
Is received, converted into an electric signal, and input to the beam combiner 12.

The beam combiner 12 combines the received signals from the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 4a into a single signal, which is then input to the detection circuit 13 and detected by the detection circuit 13. After the received signal is detected, it is divided into two systems and input to the tissue analog processing unit 14 and the puncture needle analog processing unit 15.

The adjustment of the input / output characteristics in the analog processing units 14 and 15 is set in advance to an appropriate characteristic using a keyboard (not shown) or the like. For example, the tissue analog processing unit 14 sets appropriate characteristics by setting parameters such as a keyboard (not shown) so that the characteristics of gain and contrast are suitable for obtaining the reflected echo signal from the tissue.

The puncture needle analog processing section 15 is set so that the characteristics of gain and contrast are suitable for obtaining the reflected echo signal from the puncture needle. As described above, the gain and contrast characteristics suitable for obtaining the reflection echo signal from the puncture needle on the side beyond the characteristics of the gain and contrast suitable for obtaining the reflection echo signal from the tissue are set.

The analog-processed signals are switched, input to the switch 16, and alternately output by the signal from the timing controller 18. The timing controller 18 also includes a switch 2 for switching the ground area of the image synthesis portion 19 and the ultrasonic transducer array 4.
Is also outputting a signal.

The signal transmitted / received when the switch 2 is ON connects the changeover switch 16 to the tissue analog processing section 14 and outputs the signal to the A / D converter 17. Also, switch 2
The signal transmitted and received when the switch is OFF is the changeover switch 16
Is connected to the puncture needle analog processing unit 15 and is output to the A / D converter 17.

The signal selected by the change-over switch 16 is digitized by the A / D converter 17, and then in the image synthesizing section 19 including the DSC, the analog processing section 1 for the puncture needle.
The image in which the puncture needle image is emphasized by 5 and the image of the normal tissue adjusted by the tissue analog processing unit 14 are superimposed and combined as one image, which is output to the monitor and displayed on the monitor screen.

Further, when obtaining an ultrasonic image of a tissue, FIG.
10, the switch 2 is turned on as shown in FIG. 3 when the switch 2 is turned on to increase the resolution with the ultrasonic beam 42 having a narrow width as shown by the dotted line in FIG.
As shown by the solid line in FIG. 10, the FF is set to the ultrasonic beam 43 having a wide beam width, and the ultrasonic beams 42 and 4 are generated.
Since the images obtained in No. 3 are combined, the ultrasonic image of the tissue does not deteriorate.

Although the acoustic lens is not described for simplification of description, in an actual ultrasonic probe, the ultrasonic lens is superposed in the lateral direction (or the width direction) orthogonal to the transducer array direction of the ultrasonic transducer array. An acoustic lens is needed to focus the acoustic beam. Therefore, the effect of providing an acoustic lens will be considered below.

FIG. 11 shows a profile of an ultrasonic beam when the acoustic lens 40 made of silicone resin is provided on the surface of the ultrasonic transducer array 4.

The ultrasonic beam 45 is a profile when the switch 2 is turned on, and the ultrasonic beam 46 is a profile when the switch 2 is turned off. The beam width of the ultrasonic beam 45 is wider near the ultrasonic transducer array 4 and at a far distance, but it is important for diagnosis in the vicinity of the focal portion 47 of the ultrasonic beams 45 and 46.

Focusing on the vicinity of the focal portion 47, the ultrasonic beam 46 is wider than the ultrasonic beam 45. This is because the narrow aperture has a property that the beam width at the focus narrowed by the acoustic lens 40 becomes thicker than the wide aperture.

At this focal point 47, when the puncture needle extends out of the ultrasonic beam 45 as in the case shown in FIG. 15, the beam width widens when the switch 2 is turned off, and the ultrasonic beam 46 punctures. It becomes easier to capture the reflection echo of the needle. That is, even when the acoustic lens 40 is provided, the same effect can be obtained in the focal portion of the ultrasonic beam.

In the present embodiment, by changing the area of the ground electrode of the ultrasonic transducer, the reflected echo of the puncture needle can be easily visualized, and by providing the analog processing unit for the puncture needle image, the puncture needle is provided. The image can be highlighted. As a result, the position of the puncture needle can be easily confirmed on the ultrasonic image, and there is an effect that the reduction in diagnostic efficiency due to the invisible puncture needle image is eliminated.

It can be said that the present embodiment has the following features. In other words, the structure is such that the ground area of the ultrasonic transducers can be changed in the direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction in which the plurality of ultrasonic transducers are arranged, and the scanning surface of the ultrasonic beam including the arrangement direction in which the ultrasonic transducers are arranged and The beam width of the ultrasonic beam in the orthogonal direction can be changed.

(Second Embodiment) This embodiment is the first
It is similar to the above embodiment, but it is intended to make the ultrasonic image of the puncture needle easier to see.

The block diagram is the same as in FIG. But,
The image composition section is a color image composition section to which a color processing section is added. In the color image synthesizing unit, when the A / D-converted signal from the puncture needle analog processing unit 16 is input, it exceeds a certain value (such as A in FIG. 7) larger than the reflected echo signal from the tissue. Color signal is added.

When the signal from the tissue analog processing section 15 is input, color signal processing is not performed. The switching of the color signal processing function is performed by the timing controller 18 in synchronization with the switching of the changeover switch 17. The color image of the puncture needle and the black-and-white normal tissue image are overlaid in the color image synthesizing unit to be synthesized as one image and displayed on a monitor (not shown). Further, by displaying the portion of the puncture needle in a different color, it becomes easier to explain to the observer that the ultrasound image obtained by scanning is different from the ultrasound image of the normal tissue.

In this embodiment, the color processing function is added to the first embodiment, and the coloring process is performed to color only the portion of the puncture needle by the coloring means, so that the image of the puncture needle is more emphasized and is easier to see. There is.

Note that the coloring process may be performed on a portion other than the puncture needle. In this case, if the reflected echo intensity is within a range of a value lower than A, which is a threshold value, and if the reflected echo intensity is high, the puncture needle is colored with a color different from the color for coloring the puncture needle. It can be easily distinguished from the needle.

In each of the above-described embodiments, two second ground electrodes 5b are provided on both sides of the first ground electrode 5a,
Although the two second ground electrodes 5b are electrically connected to each other so that they can be grounded or ungrounded, only one of the two may be grounded or two may be grounded.

Further, a device provided with only one ground electrode 5b adjacent to the first ground electrode 5a and a device provided with three or more ground electrodes 5b also belong to the present invention. The ultrasonic transducer element or the like of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned one, and the excitation electrode 6 side is formed by being divided into a plurality of parts, and the plurality of excitation electrode 6 sides are switched by switching means such as a switch to focus. The beam width in the vicinity may be changed.

In this case, the ground electrode side is divided into a plurality of parts, and the excitation electrode side opposite to each divided ground electrode is also divided into a plurality of parts, or the ground electrode side is the entire surface electrode and only the excitation electrode side is provided. It may be divided into a plurality of pieces.

When the excitation electrode is divided into a plurality of parts, it is selectively connected by a switching means such as a switch to a driving means such as a pulser or a transmission circuit for applying an ultrasonic excitation voltage or an ultrasonic excitation signal. Further, the receiving circuit for performing the signal processing on the received echo signal or the beam synthesizing means may also be used as the switching means such as the switch, and the connection may be selectively made. In this way, the beam width in the direction orthogonal to the scanning surface including the scanning direction of the ultrasonic beam by electronic scanning may be changed.

When an ultrasonic scanning device for electronically scanning (scanning) is constructed by an ultrasonic vibrator array formed by arranging a plurality of the ultrasonic vibrators 4a and the like described above, Ultrasonic transducers may be arranged so as to be suitable for obtaining an ultrasonic tomographic image. For example, when performing a convex type electronic scan, the symmetry axis of the ultrasonic transducer array should be in contact with a curved surface such as a convex surface. It suffices to arrange the ultrasonic transducers, or in the case of performing radial scanning, the ultrasonic transducers should be arranged along the cylindrical surface. In this case as well, the axis of symmetry of the ultrasonic transducer array depends on the cylindrical surface. The ultrasonic transducers are arranged so as to be in contact with the curved surface. The embodiments and the like formed by partially combining the above-described embodiments and the like also belong to the present invention.

[Additional Notes] 1. A columnar shaped piezoelectric body, and an excitation electrode formed on the first bottom surface of the piezoelectric body for applying an ultrasonic excitation voltage,
An ultrasonic transducer element comprising a plurality of ground electrodes formed on a second bottom surface of the piezoelectric body facing the first bottom surface and spaced apart from each other.

2. A quadrangular prism-shaped piezoelectric body, an excitation electrode for applying an ultrasonic excitation voltage formed on a first bottom surface of the piezoelectric body, and a second bottom surface facing the first body surface of the piezoelectric body. First provided on the bottom along the axis of symmetry
The ultrasonic transducer element having a plurality of ground electrodes and a plurality of second ground electrodes provided on both sides of the first ground electrode along the first ground electrode and at a distance from each other.
A plurality of ultrasonic transducer arrays arranged on the bottom surface of the ultrasonic transducer in the direction of the axis of symmetry, and bridge means for electrically connecting the first ground electrode and the second ground electrode of each ultrasonic transducer element. An ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver for electronic scanning, characterized by having.

3. The ultrasonic transducer array according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of ultrasonic transducer elements are arranged along a curve with which the symmetry axis of the second bottom surface is in contact. Ultrasonic transducer. 4. The bridging means includes a first ground electrode and a second ground electrode.
3. The ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver for electronic scanning as set forth in appendix 2, wherein the ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver is a ribbon electrode for connecting each ultrasonic element to each ground electrode.

[0062] 5. The ribbon-shaped electrode is provided in contact with the second bottom surface of each ultrasonic element,
5. The ultrasonic transducer for electronic scanning as set forth in appendix 4, wherein the ultrasonic transducer serves as both the ground electrode and the second ground electrode. 6. Electronic scanning ultrasonic wave transmitters / receivers according to appendices 2 to 5, a transmitter / receiver connecting means to which the electronic scanning ultrasonic wave transmitters / receivers are connected, and a first ground of the electronic scanning ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver. The terminal of the transducer connection means corresponding to the electrode is grounded, and the connection of the terminal of the transducer connection means corresponding to the second ground electrode of the ultrasonic wave transducer for electronic scanning with the ground is opened or closed. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, comprising:

7. In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to appendix 6, further, a gain / contrast adjustment is performed with respect to a signal generating unit that controls the grounding state switching unit and an ultrasonic wave reception signal from the electronic scanning ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver. The first analog processing means for converting the first analog processing means into a first ultrasonic image signal and the ultrasonic reception signal from the electronic scanning ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver, and the adjustment range of the first analog processing means. A second analog processing means for applying a contrast exceeding the above to obtain a second ultrasonic image signal; and an image synthesizing means for synthesizing the output signals of the first and second analog processing means. Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment.

8. 8. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to appendix 7, wherein the image synthesizing unit has a coloring unit that performs a coloring process on the second ultrasonic image signal. 9. An ultrasonic transducer array in which a plurality of ultrasonic transducers are arranged in parallel, and an electronic scanning ultrasonic endoscope equipped with a forceps port for inserting a treatment tool, etc. A grounded first ground electrode provided on the central axis, and second ground electrodes provided on both sides along the first ground electrode and usually connected to the first ground electrode; A switch for disconnecting the second ground electrode from the first ground electrode for observing the puncture needle.

10. In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus to which the ultrasonic endoscope is connected, a control signal generation unit that controls the switch, and a first analog processing unit that changes the level or amplification factor of a received signal in order to adjust gain and contrast. A second analog processing unit, which has a contrast characteristic set higher than that of the first analog processing unit to display a puncture needle, and is connected in parallel with the first analog processing unit; It has an image synthesizing unit that superimposes a first image obtained from the image signal output from the analog processing unit and a second image obtained from the image signal output from the second analog processing unit and synthesizes them into one image. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to appendix 9, characterized in that.

11. The image synthesizing unit colors the image of the puncture needle obtained from the image signal output from the second analog processing unit, and colors the image obtained from the image signal output from the first analog processing unit. 11. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to appendix 10, wherein the images are superimposed and combined into one image. 12. A columnar-shaped piezoelectric body, and an excitation electrode and a ground electrode for applying an ultrasonic excitation voltage formed on a first bottom surface of the piezoelectric body and a second bottom surface facing the first bottom surface, respectively. An ultrasonic transducer element, wherein at least one of the electrodes is a plurality of electrodes divided into a plurality of electrodes.

[0067]

As described above, according to the ultrasonic transducer element of the present invention, the piezoelectric body formed in a column shape and the ultrasonic excitation voltage applied to the first bottom surface of the piezoelectric body are applied. Of the ultrasonic transducer element and the plurality of ground electrodes formed on the second bottom surface of the piezoelectric body opposite to the first bottom surface of the piezoelectric body so as to be spaced apart from each other. When an ultrasonic image is generated by electronically scanning, the beam width can be changed by changing the ground areas of the plurality of ground electrodes, so that the position of the puncture needle can be easily confirmed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an ultrasonic transducer array having an ultrasonic transducer element according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a case where a switch is turned on to ground the second ground electrode of the ultrasonic transducer array.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a case where a switch is turned off and a second ground electrode of the ultrasonic transducer array is not grounded, and its equivalent ultrasonic transducer array.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a reflection echo obtained in the state of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing input / output characteristics of a signal processing system for a received signal.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing input / output characteristics for obtaining a reflection echo of a puncture needle with high contrast.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a waveform of an output signal with respect to a waveform of an input signal according to the input / output characteristics of FIG.

8 is a diagram showing a waveform of a reflection echo obtained with the input / output characteristics of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a reception system of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an ultrasonic beam by an ultrasonic transducer array when a switch is turned on and off.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an ultrasonic beam by an ultrasonic transducer array when a switch is turned on and off when an acoustic lens is provided.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an ultrasonic endoscope having a convex type ultrasonic probe of an electronic scanning system at the tip.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged view showing a tip portion of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a receiving system of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of an ultrasonic beam seen from the tip side of the ultrasonic probe.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ultrasonic observation device 2 ... Switch 3 ... Pulsar 4 ... Ultrasonic oscillator array 4a ... Ultrasonic oscillator element 5a ... 1st ground electrode 5b ... 2nd ground electrode 6 ... Excitation electrode 7 ... Ultrasonic diagnostic device 10 ... Reflected echo from tissue 11 ... Reflected echo from puncture needle 12 ... Beam combining unit 13 ... Detection circuit 14 ... Tissue analog processing unit 15 ... Puncture needle analog processing unit 16 ... Switch 17 ... A / D converter 18 ... Timing controller 19 ... Image synthesizer 40 ... Acoustic lens 42, 43, 45, 46 ... Ultrasonic beam 47 ... Focus part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A piezoelectric body formed in a columnar shape, an excitation electrode for applying an ultrasonic excitation voltage, which is formed on a first bottom surface of the piezoelectric body, and a first electrode facing the first bottom surface of the piezoelectric body. 2. An ultrasonic transducer element having a plurality of ground electrodes formed on the bottom surface of 2 so as to be separated from each other.