JPS5854939A - Ultrasonic probe and production thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe used in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and a method for manufacturing the same.

An ultrasound probe generally used in a linear electronic scanning ultrasound diagnostic device has a plurality of ultrasound transducers arranged in a straight line, and by scanning in a straight line, 1) an Xt-shaped tomographic image can be obtained; It is something.

On the other hand, in order to further expand the field of view to be examined, it is known to scan an ultrasonic beam in a fan shape. To perform fan-shaped scanning of this ultrasonic beam, there are two methods: one is to drive and scan an array of ultrasonic transducers while controlling the phase purely electrically, and the other is to bend the array of ultrasound transducers with an appropriate curvature and drive and scan them. It is being

The former purely electrical method requires an extremely complicated electrical circuit system and is an expensive device, making it not very practical. On the other hand, the latter method of bending an array of ultrasonic transducers and simply driving and scanning them is practical because the electric circuit system can be simplified and the device can be manufactured at low cost.

The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe having a curved array of ultrasonic transducers and a method for manufacturing the same, and the present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe having a curved array of ultrasonic transducers, and a method for manufacturing the same. A manufacturing method is provided.

Conventionally, a method of manufacturing a probe in which rows of ultrasonic transducers are arranged in a curved line has been carried out by the manufacturing method shown in FIGS.

In the method shown in FIGS. 1a, b, and c, first, as shown in FIG. 3a, 3b, 3
Then, the sheet 4 is glued onto the surface of the piezoelectric vibrator 1, and the piezoelectric vibrator 1 is removed from the cutting table 2. Then, as shown in Fig. 1, the sheet 4 is adhered to the hood 5 having a desired curvature, and then the piezoelectric vibrator 1 is adhered to the sound absorber 6. After that, the mold 6 and the sheet 4 are separated, and the first As shown in Figure C, an array of ultrasonic transducers having a desired curvature is completed. However, in this manufacturing method, the work procedure is extremely complicated, and the same work is also required when adding an acoustic matching layer to the surface of the piezoelectric vibrator, making the manufacturing process even more complicated and making it difficult to produce a homogeneous product. It has the disadvantage of being difficult.

On the other hand, in another conventional method, as shown in FIG. 2a, first, one electrode of the piezoelectric vibrator 1 having electrodes provided on both surfaces is used, and an epoxy resin or the like is used as the second matching layer 8. Next, the piezoelectric vibrator 1 and the first matching layer 7 are connected to a plurality of elements 3a.
Cut into ~3n pieces.

Thereafter, as shown in Figure 2, by utilizing the flexibility of the epoxy resin of the second matching layer 8, it is fixed to a frame 9 having a desired curvature, and an array of convex or concave ultrasonic transducers is attached. Form. However, in this probe manufacturing method, in order to make the ultrasonic transducer row have a desired curvature, it is necessary to
and the first matching layer 7 of non-flexible hard material must be cut. For this reason, during cutting, the blade wears down extremely, making it difficult to cut uniformly, leading to problems such as deterioration of the characteristics of the ultrasonic probe.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. That is, a first acoustic matching layer and a second acoustic matching layer having flexibility are provided on one surface of a piezoelectric vibrator, and only the piezoelectric vibrator is cut into a plurality of pieces to form the first and second acoustic matching layers. By utilizing the flexibility of the layers, the ultrasonic transducer array is bent to construct an ultrasonic probe having a desired curved surface.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below. Figure 3 a, b
, C show an embodiment of the present invention.

First, as shown in FIG. 3a, electrodes 10a are placed on both sides.

A first matching layer 7 which is flexible and performs appropriate acoustic matching on the electrode 10b of the piezoelectric vibrator 1 provided with 1 ob, for example, a mixture of epoxy resin 1 and tungsten metal powder 7 to 8 in weight ratio. A plate made of the same material molded into a sheet with a thickness of one-fourth the wavelength of the radiated ultrasonic wave is bonded. Next, on the first matching layer 7, a second matching layer 8, such as a plate made of epoxy resin molded into a sheet shape with a quarter wavelength, is bonded. Of course you can strain it. Of course, the piezoelectric vibrator 1 and the first matching layer 7,
The second matching layer 8 may be bonded or bonded at the same time. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3, only the piezoelectric vibrator 1 is formed into a plurality of elements 3a at arbitrary intervals.

3b, 3c, . . . , 3n are cut to form an ultrasonic transducer array. Next, the frame 9a having a desired curvature, for example, when scanning the ultrasonic beam in a fan shape, the frame 9a has a convex shape as shown in FIG. By utilizing the flexibility of the second matching layer 7°8, it is adhered to a curved surface to create an ultrasonic transducer having an arbitrary curvature.

Next, by placing the array of ultrasonic transducers arranged in a curved shape like this in a suitable case and attaching a cable to connect it to the main unit, an ultrasonic probe that can easily fan scan the ultrasonic beam can be created. That's what you get.

Note that when forming the first and second acoustic matching layers 7.8 on the piezoelectric vibrator, matching layer material may be formed by pouring the matching layer material using spacers of appropriate thickness.

The shape of the ultrasonic transducer array is not limited to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, and various modifications are possible. For example, a curve opposite to that shown in Figure 3C, that is, a concave sound wave emitting surface to converge the sound waves, or a two-dimensional array of ultrasonic transducers that are convex or concave with respect to the sound wave emitting surface. It can also be made into a curved shape.

As described above, the present invention involves attaching electrodes to both sides of a piezoelectric vibrator, forming at least one acoustic matching layer made of a flexible material on one side, and forming a plurality of piezoelectric vibrator parts. The piezoelectric vibrator parts are then cut and separated from each other, and the piezoelectric vibrator parts are fixed along a frame having an arbitrary curvature.

According to the present invention, the piezoelectric vibrator can be formed into a curved or curved shape by cutting only the piezoelectric vibrator, so there is less wear on the blade during manufacturing and the cutting precision is high, and the matching layer and the piezoelectric vibrator are firmly attached. Therefore, it is possible to easily produce a homogeneous curved ultrasonic transducer array without dimensional accuracy, and a high-performance ultrasonic probe can be obtained at an extremely low cost.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1a is a perspective view showing a conventional method for manufacturing an ultrasonic probe, FIG. The same is a cross-sectional view, and FIGS. 3a and 3b are perspective d5 diagrams illustrating an embodiment of the ultrasonic probe and manufacturing method according to the present invention. 1... Ultrasonic vibrator, 2... Cutting table,
3a...3n...cutting groove, 4...
Sheet, 5...Mold base, 6...Sound absorber having desired curved surface, 7...First matching layer material, 8
. . . Second matching layer material, 9 . . . Frame having a desired curved surface. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other person No. 1
Figure 2

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) It has a plurality of piezoelectric vibrators with electrodes attached to both sides, and one or more acoustic matching layers that are in close contact with one electrode surface of the piezoelectric vibrators, and this acoustic matching layer is made of a flexible material. form,
An ultrasonic probe characterized in that the piezoelectric transducer group is arranged so that a sound wave emitting surface thereof has a curved shape or a curved surface shape. (2) The acoustic matching layer is composed of two layers; the acoustic matching layer close to the piezoelectric vibrator is made of a material that is a mixture of synthetic resin and tungsten metal powder, and the acoustic matching layer close to the sound wave radiated body is made of synthetic resin. An ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, characterized in that: (3) Claim 1 or 2 characterized in that the thickness of the acoustic matching layer is set to a quarter wavelength of the radiated ultrasonic wave.
The ultrasonic probe described in any of the paragraphs. (4) forming electrodes on both sides of the piezoelectric plate; forming one or more layers of flexible material on one electrode surface of the piezoelectric plate; A process of cutting the plate and dividing the piezoelectric plate into a plurality of mutually separated rows or a planar mosaic; and a process of bending and fixing the divided piezoelectric plate along a frame having an arbitrary curvature. A method for manufacturing a sliding ultrasonic probe characterized by: