JPS587230A - Ultrasonic probe for endoscope - 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 is suitable for use in ultrasonic diagnosis by inserting it into a body cavity of a subject, such as the rectum, and diagnosing diseases in surrounding organs, such as the prostate or bladder. Concerning an ultrasonic probe for family celebrations.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a typical use of this type of probe.

That is, the endoscopic shaft 12 is inserted into the rectal canal 10a of the subject 10 [7, and the ultrasound beam is transmitted and received from the probe 1 fixed to the tip of the endoscopic shaft 12 in a desired diagnosis direction. It has become.

However, the conventional probe 14 has the disadvantage that only a single ultrasonic beam can be used because the probe 14 has only one ultrasonic transducer. In order to accurately diagnose the tissue to be examined, it is necessary to use two or more types of ultrasonic beams in an extremely short period of time and to consider the frequency-dependent characteristics of the tissue. Therefore, with the conventional probe 14, , it was not possible to obtain highly accurate diagnostic results.

Further, since the conventional probe 14 has only one vibrator, diagnosis can only be performed in one direction in which the vibrating surfaces thereof face each other. Therefore, when diagnosing tissues to be examined located in different directions, another probe 14 with a different vibrating surface of the transducer is used in the rectum 10a.
I had to reinsert it inside. In this way, re-inserting the probe 14 into the rectum 10a every time is not only undesirable, but also causes poor diagnostic efficiency and causes great pain to the subject.

The present invention is a book that has been ignored in consideration of such conventional problems,
The purpose is to use two or more ultrasonic beams in an extremely quiet period of time to study the frequency-dependent characteristics of the fibers of the target area, and to obtain highly accurate diagnostic results. It is possible to diagnose organs, etc. that exist in the direction,
As a result, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic probe for wedding ceremonies that can improve diagnostic efficiency and reduce the pain exerted on the subject.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of ultrasonic transducers are provided on a rotating cylinder rotatably supported within an outer cylinder.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

In this case, 20 is a rotating cylinder rotatably supported within an outer cylinder 22. The rotating cylinder 2o is made of a material such as Bakelite, and a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 24 are provided on different side surfaces located above the rotating cylinder 2o. Each of these vibrations
From 724, a lead wire passes through the inside of the rotating cylinder 2° and is led out to the outside. The outer cylinder 22 is made of a suitable material such as metal or plastic, and each vibrator 2 is placed above the outer cylinder 22.
A plurality of windows 26 located facing 4 are open.

The opening angles of these windows 26 are set to a sufficient degree to transmit and receive ultrasonic beams. Further, the tip of the outer tube 22 is formed with a curved surface to facilitate insertion into the body. 28 is a water cloak with a thickness of 0.1~
It is made of a material such as a rubber membrane that is flexible with a thickness of 0.01 zm and has good permeability to ultrasonic waves. This water jacket side is outer cylinder 2
It is attached to cover the top of 2 in a watertight manner. As shown, when the water cannula 28 is substantially filled with water, it transmits the ultrasonic beam projected from the transducer 24 without substantially attenuating or reflecting it. The water in this water canal is supplied from a medical drip water container (not shown) via a pipe.

Next, the arrangement of the vibrator 24 in the probe 14 will be explained.

FIG. 3 shows two vibrators 24a and 24 in a rotating cylinder 20.
FIG. These oscillators 2
4a.

24b has its vibrating plane approximately parallel to the rotation axis x-x' of the rotating cylinder 20, and has its vibration plane 1800 degrees apart from each other in a direction opposite to
7 are arranged. 17. The outer cylinder 22 has two windows 26a facing the vibrators 24a and 24b.
26b is open.

FIG. 4 shows two vibrators 24a and 24 in a rotating cylinder 20.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of another probe 14 provided with a probe 14b. These vibrators 24a and 24b are arranged so that their vibrating surfaces are substantially parallel to the rotation axis X-X' of the rotating cylinder 20, and facing directions that are 90 degrees different from each other. And, in the outer cylinder 22,
Similarly, 2
Windows 26a, 26b are opened.

FIG. 5 shows three vibrators 24a and 24 in a rotating cylinder 20.
b.

24c is an explanatory diagram of another probe 14 provided with a probe 24c. This 5
- The vibrators 24a + 24b, 24c are arranged so that their vibration surfaces are approximately parallel to the rotating cylinder 20, and facing directions 900 degrees different from each other. Then, the outer cylinder 22
, the above-mentioned vibrator 24 a + 24 b + 24
Three windows 26a facing c.

26b and 26c are open.

And each vibrator 24 a + 24 b +
24c, respectively, for example, 3.5 MHz, 5
A device that transmits and receives ultrasonic beams of 7 MHz and 7 MHz is used.

Next, the functions of these probes will be explained.

The probe 14 is inserted into the rectum 10a from the anus of the subject 1o for diagnosis.
inserted within. Each window 26 is set in a direction corresponding to the region to be examined. Note that during this insertion, water is not introduced into the water cannula 28 at first, and after the insertion, water is introduced to fill the water cannula 28 with water. As a result, the outer wall of the water cannula 28 comes into close contact with, for example, the inner wall of the rectum 10a. In this state, when an ultrasound beam is projected from the transducer 24, if a disease exists in the projection propagation path of the ultrasound beam, the reflected waves from there are captured by the transducer 24, which indicates the presence of the disease. is detected.

6- If the probe 14 used here has the vibrating surfaces of the transducers 24a and 24b arranged as shown in FIG. 3, for example, the probe 14 can be inserted into the rectum 10a. Diagnosis of the test site in two 180° directions can be performed while holding the device. Also, a vibrator 24a.

24b have their vibration surfaces 90 degrees apart from each other, as shown in FIG.
0 If the probes 14 are placed facing different directions,
It is possible to diagnose the test site in two directions that are 90° different. As shown in Figure 5, the vibrator 24a +
If the probes 24b and 24c are arranged with their vibration surfaces facing in directions 90° different from each other, it is possible to diagnose the test site in three directions that are 90° different from each other. In this way, it is possible to diagnose test sites located in different directions while the probe 14 remains inserted into the rectum 10a.

Further, each of the vibrators 24a, 24b, and 24c has a frequency of 3.5 MHz.

Since the ultrasonic beams of 5 MHz and 7 MHz are projected, the ultrasonic beams used for diagnosis can be switched in an extremely short time while the probe 14 is inserted into the rectum 10a. As a result, it is possible to examine the frequency-dependent characteristics of the tissue of the region to be examined, making it possible to diagnose with high accuracy.

Note that the vibration surfaces of the vibrator 24 in the above embodiments are all arranged parallel to the rotation axis x-x' of the rotating cylinder 200. However, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, any one of the vibrating surfaces of the vibrator 24 may be arranged so as to have an arbitrary oblique angle θ in the −F downward direction.

Thereby, a wider range of test regions can be diagnosed by simply inserting the probe 14 into the rectum 10a once. Further, in this case, each vibrator 24 may project an ultrasonic beam of the same frequency.

As described above, according to the present invention, by providing a plurality of ultrasonic transducers in a rotating cylinder rotatably supported within an outer cylinder, diagnosis using two or more ultrasonic beams or Diagnosis of organs, etc. located in different directions can be performed with the probe inserted into the body cavity. As a result, by switching between two or more ultrasound beams in an extremely short period of time, the tissue to be examined can be diagnosed. We investigated the frequency-dependent characteristics of A probe can be provided.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a general usage example of an ultrasound probe for a wedding ceremony, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the structure of an ultrasound probe for a wedding ceremony showing an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 7 Figure 5 shows different arrangements of the transducers in the probe, in which (A) is a side view;
(B) is a plan view, (C) is an external perspective view, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing another arrangement of the vibrator. Identical members in each figure are given the same reference numerals, and 10 is the subject;
14 is an ultrasonic probe for family celebrations, 20 is a rotating cylinder, 22 is an outer cylinder, and 24, 24a, 24b + 24c are ultrasonic transducers. Applicant: Aloka Co., Ltd. 9-years old 1 year old 0 + 2 years old 3 years old 1,000 year old 4 years + 5 children

Claims (1)

[Claims] (11) A rotating cylinder is rotatably supported in an outer cylinder inserted into a body cavity of a subject, and a plurality of ultrasonic transducers are provided on the rotating cylinder. An ultrasonic probe for a family celebration. (2. In the ultrasonic probe for a family celebration according to claim (1), each of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers has a different frequency. An ultrasonic probe for endoscopic purposes, characterized by An ultrasonic probe for a family celebration, characterized in that each vibrating surface is arranged substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the rotating cylinder. (4) An ultrasonic probe for a family celebration according to claim (3). An ultrasonic probe for a wedding celebration, characterized in that at least one vibrating surface of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers faces the other vibrating surfaces at a different angle.