JPH11178825A - Ultrasonic probe and injection of water therein - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely remove bubbles when water is injected into the sheath tube of an ultrasonic probe of the type inserted into a celom. SOLUTION: The front end 18 of a sheath tube 14 has a structure which is inflated like a balloon by injecting water therein. When water is injected into the sheath tube 14, the front end 18 is inflated to form an air escape part therein. Thereafter, the proximal end of the sheath tube 14 is opened or suction is performed at the proximal end to restore the front end 18 to its original shape, during which bubbles present at the front end are forced out toward the proximal end. Hence, the bubbles can be completely removed from near an ultrasonic vibrator 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe and a water injection method, and more particularly, to the removal of air bubbles in an ultrasonic probe inserted into a body cavity.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A small-diameter probe is known as an ultrasonic probe inserted into a body cavity. Such an ultrasound probe is composed of, for example, an insertion tube inserted into a blood vessel and a base end provided on the base end side thereof. The insertion tube includes an outer sheath tube and a rotating wire that rotates inside the sheath tube, and an ultrasonic transducer is provided at the tip of the rotating wire. By rotating the rotating wire, the ultrasonic transducer rotates, and as a result, the ultrasonic beam can be radially scanned. Physiological saline or the like is injected into the sheath tube in order to ensure ultrasonic wave propagation.

[0003]

However, the sheath tube is an extremely thin tube, and it is very difficult to inject water into it. For this reason, it has also been performed to insert a tube for water injection into the sheath tube and to inject water from the distal end. However, if the sheath tube becomes extremely thin, it becomes impossible to insert such a tube for water injection.

[0004] On the other hand, if air bubbles are present in the sheath tube, the propagation of ultrasonic waves is disturbed by the air bubbles, and as a result, a problem arises in that noise is generated in an ultrasonic image.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic probe and a water injection method capable of surely injecting water without generating air bubbles in an insertion tube. It is in.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an ultrasonic probe having an insertion tube inserted into a body cavity, in which an ultrasonic vibrator is rotationally driven inside the insertion tube. In the armature, the insertion tube has a tip portion which expands by water injection into the insertion tube and has a tip portion which is restored after water injection is released.

According to the above configuration, when water is injected into the insertion tube, the distal end swells, and the air is driven into the distal end. After sufficient water injection, the proximal end of the insertion tube is released to the atmosphere or if suction is performed at the proximal end, the distal end is restored to its original shape, and bubbles are expelled to the proximal end by the restoring force etc. . Therefore, it is possible to smoothly and surely inject water into the insertion tube. The liquid injected by the water injection is desirably physiological saline, but may be another liquid. Water injection shall mean the injection of some liquid.

The distal end may be formed integrally with another portion of the insertion tube, or may be formed separately. In any case, at least the distal end portion is made of an elastic, stretchable thickness and member. A member for X-ray contrast may be mixed into the tip. The tip does not necessarily need to bulge spherically, nor does it need to bulge evenly as a whole. For example, a part of the tip may be bulged. When returning to the original shape, even if the restoration is not strictly performed, it is sufficient that the original shape can be substantially restored as long as the function of the tip can be exhibited.

It is sufficient that the air bubbles are removed at least at the portion where the ultrasonic transducer exists. Even if the air bubbles exist at the base end side of the insertion tube, the transmission and reception of the ultrasonic waves can be performed without any problem. Can do waves. In that sense, the degree of swelling of the tip may be set as appropriate.

Preferably, the tip is curved,
It functions as an insertion guide at the time of insertion into a body cavity. According to the above configuration, for example, when inserting an insertion tube into a blood vessel or the like, the distal end portion can function as an insertion guide, and it is not necessary to use a separate insertion guide (for example, a guide wire). That is, by adjusting the bending direction to the running of the blood vessel, the insertion tube can be smoothly inserted along the blood vessel.

According to the present invention, water can be smoothly injected, and it is not necessary to make the distal end of the insertion tube open for water injection. That is, compared to the case where the open structure is adopted,
According to the sealed structure, it is easy to maintain electrical insulation with the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit, and it is possible to reliably prevent the eluted substance from flowing into the body,
The cost for ensuring safety can be reduced.

[0012] In the water injection method according to the present invention, water is injected into the insertion tube until the distal end portion expands and bubbles gather at the distal end portion while the distal end portion is turned down. It is characterized in that the side is opened to the atmosphere or the air is sucked at the base end to release the bubbles at the tip. At the time of water injection and suction, for example, a syringe is used. In this case, a sensor or the like for monitoring the injection pressure may be provided.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of an ultrasonic probe according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a main part thereof.

The ultrasonic probe shown in FIG. 1 is a body-insertable ultrasonic probe that is inserted into a body cavity such as a blood vessel.
It is roughly composed of an insertion portion 10 and a base end portion 12. The insertion section 10 includes a flexible sheath tube 14 made of a soft resin or the like inserted into a body cavity, and a rotating wire 16 rotatably inserted into the sheath tube 14.
It is composed of An ultrasonic vibrator 20 for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves is provided at the tip of the rotating wire 16. By driving the rotating wire 16 to rotate, the ultrasonic vibrator 20 is rotated.
Is rotated, and as a result, the ultrasonic waves formed by the ultrasonic transducer 20 are radially scanned. A drive motor (not shown) for rotationally driving the rotating wire 16 is provided in the base end portion 12.
Is provided. A connection hole 14A is provided on the proximal end side of the sheath tube 14, and a syringe is connected to the connection hole 14A when a liquid is injected into the sheath tube 14.

The distal end portion 18 of the sheath tube 14 is configured to be extendable and contractable in this embodiment, and constitutes a so-called balloon portion. In FIG. 1, a state in which the tip portion 18 is expanded is indicated by reference numeral 18A. The distal end portion 18A is slightly bent, that is, bent in an arc shape with respect to the center axis of the sheath tube 14, and therefore, when the insertion portion 10 is inserted into the body cavity, the distal end portion 18 can function as an insertion guide. is there. In other words, by aligning the bending direction of the distal end portion 18 with the running direction of the blood vessel, it is possible to smoothly insert the insertion portion 10 into a complicated and meandering blood vessel.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the sheath tube 14 and the distal end portion 18 are integrally formed. However, the distal end portion 18 can be formed as a separate member as will be described later with reference to FIG. is there.

As will be described in detail later, the sheath tube 14
A liquid 22 such as physiological saline is injected into the inside.
This is to prevent the presence of air bubbles on the ultrasonic beam formed by the ultrasonic transducer 20 from attenuating and scattering the ultrasonic waves there, thereby preventing adverse effects on the ultrasonic image. Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate such bubbles at least in the vicinity of the ultrasonic transducer 20.

However, the sheath tube 14 is extremely thin, for example, having an inner diameter of 1 mm, and contains a liquid 22 therein.
It is extremely difficult to completely remove air bubbles from the distal end of the sheath tube 14 when the gas is injected. Therefore, as described above, in the present embodiment, the distal end portion 18 has a structure that swells at the time of water injection and serves as a balloon, and the swelling of the distal end portion 18 allows smooth injection of water while removing bubbles as described later. It is possible to do.

FIG. 2 shows a state in which water is injected into the sheath tube 14. First, sheath tube 14
In a state where the distal end of the sheath tube 1 is directed downward, for example, a physiological saline solution is turned into a liquid 22 by a syringe or the like.
4 is injected. Then, as described above, the distal end portion 18 expands, and a bubble, that is, an air escape portion 100 is formed there. When the water injection is sufficiently performed, the injection of water by the syringe is stopped, and the distal end portion 18 is returned to the original shape by opening the proximal end side of the sheath tube 14 or performing reverse suction with the syringe. The state immediately before that is shown in FIG. With the return of the distal end portion 18 to its original shape, the air existing inside the distal end portion 18 is expelled as bubbles 102 to the proximal end side. As a result, the tip 1
Although depending on the degree of swelling of 8, bubbles existing at the distal end can be completely removed, and most of the bubbles can be expelled from the sheath tube 14. Of course, if there are some bubbles on the proximal end side of the sheath tube, there is no adverse effect on the transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves.

As described above, in the ultrasonic probe according to the present embodiment, since the distal end portion 18 is inflated to form a balloon, water injection can be performed much more smoothly than before, and bubbles can be efficiently removed. Is possible. Therefore, there is an advantage that the image quality of the ultrasonic image can be improved as a result.

In FIG. 4, the distal end 18 is connected to the sheath tube 14.
An embodiment in the case where it is constituted by a member different from the above is shown.
A distal end portion 18 as a distal end cover is connected to a distal end of a tube 14A which is a main member of the sheath tube 14, and, for example, in a connecting portion 50, both members are adhered by an adhesive or the like. However, a fitting structure is adopted between the two members to increase the bonding surface area. In this case, the tip portion 18 is formed of a soft and strong material such as polyurethane.

Incidentally, it is possible to mix an X-ray contrast agent into such a tip portion 18.
When the insertion section 10 is inserted into the blood vessel while performing the radiography, there is an advantage that the position of the distal end can be monitored more accurately.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a method for injecting water into an ultrasonic probe according to the present invention. Note that this flowchart is a flowchart in the case where the distal end portion 18 shown in FIG.

In step S101, the distal end portion 18 is attached to the sheath tube 14 using, for example, an adhesive.
Then, in S102, the rotating wire 16 is inserted into the sheath tube 14. Each of the above steps is performed, for example, by a manufacturer.

Next, in S103, for example, water is injected into the sheath tube 14 using the syringe or the like on the user side as described above. In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, the distal end portion 18 expands and an air escape portion 100 is formed there. Further, if opening or suction is performed on the proximal end side of the sheath tube 14 in S104, the distal end portion 18 becomes the original shape. The bubble 10 returns to its original state at that time.
2 is smoothly expelled to the proximal end side. Therefore,
After the user has confirmed that such reliable water injection has been performed, the insertion unit 10 is inserted into the body cavity to perform ultrasonic diagnosis.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention,
There is an advantage that water can be reliably injected without generating bubbles in the insertion tube.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a main part of an ultrasonic probe according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a tip portion is expanded.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a distal end portion returns to an original shape.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing an embodiment in a case where the distal end portion is formed by another member.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a water injection method according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 insertion part, 12 base end part, 14 sheath tube,
16 rotating wire, 18 tip, 20 ultrasonic transducer, 22 liquid.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An ultrasonic probe comprising an insertion tube inserted into a body cavity, wherein an ultrasonic vibrator is driven to rotate inside the insertion tube, wherein the insertion tube is filled with water into the insertion tube. An ultrasonic probe characterized by having an end portion which is swollen by the method and which can be restored after releasing water injection. 2. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the distal end is curved, and functions as an insertion guide when inserted into a body cavity. 3. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the distal end of the insertion tube has a sealed structure. 4. The method for injecting water into an ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein water is injected into the insertion tube until the distal end swells and bubbles gather at the distal end while the distal end is turned down. ,
Thereafter, the base end side of the insertion tube is opened to the atmosphere or suction is performed at the base end side to release the bubbles at the distal end portion, whereby a water injection method is provided.