JPS59131341A - Endoscopic ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus - 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 [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to an endoscopic ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that enables ultrasonic diagnosis of deep parts of the human body and internal organs.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

BACKGROUND ART Conventional ultrasonic diagnostic devices are mainly intended for diagnosis from outside the body, and diagnosis using a sonde method is implemented in one field of obstetrics.

Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses that transmit and receive the above-mentioned ultrasonic waves using various scanning methods have been disclosed.

For example, as described in JP-A-49-15280 and elsewhere, when an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using the A-mode scanning method emits ultrasonic waves, the reflected waves travel the distance from the emission point to the reflection point over a period of time. Since it returns to the launch point after a delay of 30 minutes, this is displayed on an oscilloscope with the horizontal axis as the time axis and the intensity of the reflected wave as the vertical axis.

In addition, when using the B-mode scanning method, the (ultrasonic) transducer is moved while detecting reflected waves as in the A-mode, and the brightness of the bright spot on the time axis is modulated on the oscilloscope. A brightness-modulated tomographic image is drawn on the surface where the vibrator has moved.

Various scanning methods are known for moving these transducers, including linear scanning (translational scanning), sector scanning (rotational operation), arc scanning (circular scanning), radial scanning (full rotation), etc.
It is used differently depending on the area to be diagnosed.

In addition to manual methods for driving these vibrators, there are
Broadly divided into mechanical scanning methods and electronic scanning methods, for example, there is a mechanical scanning method for B mode in which a vibrator is moved in an oscillating manner, and an electronic scanning method for B mode is, for example, in JP-A-48 As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 85170, scanning is performed by sequentially applying pulses to the camera element while shifting the delay time using a variable delay circuit interposed between a plurality of linearly arranged transducers. The direction is made into sectors.

In addition, a mechanical drive method for linear scanning involves translating a vibrator, but a gauntlet drive method involves moving a plurality of linearly arranged Linear scanning is possible by sequentially turning on the transducers via electronic changeover switches.

However, because these conventional ultrasound diagnostic devices transmit and receive ultrasound waves from outside the body, there are limitations due to the characteristics of ultrasound when it comes to ultrasound diagnosis of deep parts of the body and internal organs such as the gastrointestinal system such as the stomach and duodenum. be.

That is, the signal-to-noise ratio (SN ratio) is extremely deteriorated due to the influence of large reflected images due to bone tissue, etc. between the target site and the attenuation of ultrasonic waves due to the intervening fat layer, etc.1. There was a problem in that it was almost impossible to obtain the required quality of information from ultrasonic waves.

By the way, an endoscope that has an insertion part that can be inserted into a body cavity and that enables observation of the inserted part inside the body cavity is known, for example, from the Utility Model Publication No. 39
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 36577, an illuminating means and an object illuminated by the illuminating means are imaged on the front end surface of the optical fiber bundle using an objective lens system, and the image is transmitted to the rear end side. The proximal rear end of the optical fiber bundle is connected to an eyepiece, etc., so that it can be observed from outside the body cavity. These endoscopes are equipped with a so-called forceps channel through which a treatment tool such as a tissue sampling device can be inserted to perform appropriate treatment.

In addition, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 40-25828, it has become possible to send liquid using a liquid feeding channel (which may also be used in conjunction with a forceps channel) or to collect a sample by suction. There is.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an endoscopic ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can obtain clear ultrasonic diagnostic images with a high IsN ratio for deep parts of the body such as internal organs. do.

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention further includes an ultrasonic transducer that can be mechanically or electronically scanned at the distal end of the insertion section of an endoscope that allows the insertion section to be inserted into a body cavity and optically observe the inside of the body cavity. At the same time, a guide path for a transmission line for transmitting input/output signals of the ultrasonic transducer is provided in the endoscope insertion section, so that signals can be transmitted via the transmission line inserted through the guide path. By doing so, it is possible to optically observe with an endoscope and diagnose with ultrasound, and even when the target region is deep inside the body cavity, ultrasound can be transmitted and received close to the target region. This makes it possible to obtain ultrasonic diagnostic images with a high signal-to-noise ratio.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Hereinafter, a B-mode endoscopic ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus will be described in detail as an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 shows a block diagram of the configuration of an endoscopic ultrasound diagnostic device, and Figure 2 shows an ultrasound transducer (ultrasonic transducer) in a mechanical scanning system.
It shows the structure of the periphery.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a synchronous oscillation circuit that outputs a reference pulse signal, which supplies the pulse signal to an excitation circuit 2 to generate ultrasonic excitation pulses. Reference numeral 3 designates an endoscope, which has an insertion portion that can be inserted into a body cavity, and is capable of optically observing the interior of the body cavity into which it is inserted. Further, reference numeral 4 is a scanning mechanism that scans ultrasonic waves in the form of sectors. A function generating circuit 5 generates a sweep signal in accordance with a scanning azimuth position on a cathode ray tube 6 as an image display device. Further, the amplifier circuit 7 amplifies the ultrasonic waves reflected inside the body by the (ultrasonic) imager 15 and converts them into electrical signals, and outputs the amplified signals to the brightness modulation circuit 8 for brightness modulation. This is for displaying on a cathode ray tube 6.

The pulse output of the synchronous oscillation circuit 1 is converted into a high-frequency pulse with a steep rise by an excitation circuit 2 for generating pulses for ultrasonic excitation, and then formed to be inserted into the insertion section of the endoscope 3. For example, the signal is applied to a vibrator 15 installed in the scanning mechanism 4 via an excitation line 17 as a signal transmission line that passes through a dedicated guide path 10 shown in FIG. On the other hand, the output of the synchronous oscillation circuit 1 is applied to the pulse motor 11 via the drive line 16 shown in FIG. By electrically controlling the reversal, the oscillator 1
Ultrasonic waves emitted from 5 can scan the inside of the body. Drive@16 and excitation line 17 as electrical signal transmission lines transmitted to the scanning mechanism 4 and the vibrator 15
This allows the endoscope 3 to be inserted more smoothly into the body by passing through a dedicated guide path 10 extending from the insertion portion of the endoscope 3 to the proximal side (not shown).

In order to display images of the direction of the ultrasound waves emitted into the body from the transducer 15 built into the scanning mechanism 4 and the reflection intensity of the ultrasound waves at each position along each direction, according to each direction and each position, The pulse output of the synchronous oscillation circuit 1 is supplied to the function generation circuit 5 and converted into a waveform, and then outputted to the X of the cathode ray tube 6.

It is applied to the Yt pole and swept along the propagation direction of the ultrasonic wave and each direction. In this case, the ultrasonic waves radiated into the body in a sector-like manner are reflected by abnormal tissues where the sound speed and density change, and the reflected ultrasonic waves are received by the ultrasonic transducer 15 and converted into electrical signals. The minute signal is greatly amplified by the amplifier circuit 7 through the signal transmission line inserted in the guide path 10, and the brightness modulation circuit 8 modulates the brightness of the sweep signal, so that the ultrasonic waves are transmitted in a direction corresponding to each direction and position scanned. The reflected intensity of the ultrasonic waves is displayed as brightness on the cathode ray tube 6 by the brightness of the swept beam displayed in sectors, forming a tomographic image.

The present invention is characterized by an ultrasonic transducer (which excites (outputs) ultrasonic waves by applying electric pulses and converts the input ultrasonic waves into electric signals by receiving (inputting) the ultrasonic waves.
An ultrasonic transducer) 15 is attached to the tip of the insertion section of the endoscope 3, and is integrated with the endoscope 3.
A dedicated guide path 10 is formed along the axial direction inside the guide path 10, and a transmission line for the excitation (output), an input signal converted into an electric signal, and a signal line for scanning are connected in the guide path 10. An embodiment of the mechanical scanning method, for example, based on insertion, will be described in further detail with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 2, numeral 3 is an endoscope that enables observation of the object illuminated by illumination means, numeral 9 is an autopsy window for viewing formed on the distal end side of the insertion section, numeral 10 is a guide path, and numeral 11 is a pulse pulse. 1 is a motor, 12 is a micro gear head, 13 is a rotating shaft, 14 is a damper, 15 is a camera element, 16 is a pulse motor drive line, 1
7 is the excitation line of the camera element, 18 is the rotating shaft support plate, and the two-dot chain line 1
9 is a case.

The outputs of the synchronous oscillation circuit 1 and the excitation circuit 2 in FIG. 1 are transmitted to the pulse motor 11 and the vibrator 15 by a drive line 16 and an excitation line 17 passing through the guide path 10 of the endoscope 3, respectively. The pulse motor 11 is fixed to the endoscope 3 and rotates at an angle corresponding to the number of output pulses of the synchronous oscillation circuit 1 shown in FIG. If the rotation angle per pulse is 1 degree or less, the micro gearhead 12 is not required.
If the rotation angle is larger than that, a micro gear head 12 is required to improve the resolution of the image on the cathode ray tube 6. The rotational force of the micro gear head 12 is generated by the rotation shaft 13.
When the damper 14 rotates, the ultrasonic wave is transmitted into the body from the vibrator 15 whose back surface is bonded to the damper 14.

The rotating shaft 13 is connected to the micro gear head 12 and the rotating support plate 1.
8, the pivot rotates in the direction of the arrow shown on the central axis. The case 19 protects the rotation mechanism and prevents damage to the body wall when the endoscope 3 is inserted into the body.

The drive line 16 and the excitation line 17 (which also serves as an electric signal transmission line by receiving reflected waves) are provided with a play that allows them to rotate back and forth in a sector shape, as shown in FIG.

When using the above embodiment for ultrasound diagnosis inside the body, the endoscope 3 is inserted into the body, the diagnosis site is determined by performing autopsy through the autopsy window 9, and the ultrasound transducer is used. This can be easily done by closely arranging the inducer.

The medical significance of the present invention is explained as follows.

Ultrasound diagnosis of pancreas etc. uses ultrasound from the back and abdomen.
However, with conventional arrays, it is difficult to search for the affected area and obtain good diagnostic results, which has been a major barrier to ultrasound diagnosis.However, the ultrasound diagnostic back cover of the present invention According to , ultrasonic diagnosis of the pancreas is possible by simply bringing the ultrasonic transducer 15 attached to the tip of the endoscope 3 into close contact with the mucosal surface of the stomach and duodenum. It has the feature of being able to make a diagnosis while checking the body part. At the same time, diagnosis can also be made by optically observing the inner wall surface of the scanned region.

The above-described embodiments are merely the basic configuration of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention also falls within the scope of the present invention even if the ultrasonic transducer 15 is replaced from mechanical scanning to electronic scanning.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, an ultrasonic transducer capable of transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves is provided at the tip of the insertion portion of the endoscope, and a guide path for a signal transmission line is provided within the endoscope. Since the signal transmission line for the ultrasound transducer is inserted through the signal transmission line for the ultrasound transducer to enable the transmission of electrical signals, it is possible to obtain an ultrasound image with a high signal-to-noise ratio in close proximity to the target region, and it is also possible to obtain the target region with an optical This can be done by checking. In addition, since optical information can also be obtained, it is possible to examine in detail from various aspects when making a diagnosis, etc., and more accurate diagnosis and treatment can be performed.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an endoscopic ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the structure around the ultrasound transducer. 1... Synchronous oscillation circuit 2... Excitation circuit 3...
Endoscope 4.--Scanning mechanism 5
...Function generation circuit 6...Cathode ray tube 7...
Amplifier circuit 8... Brightness modulation circuit 9... Inspection window 10... Guide, inner path 11... Pulse motor 12... Micro gear head 13... Rotating shaft 14... Damper 15...
- Camera element 16 - Pulse motor drive line 17 - Oscillator excitation line 18 - Rotating shaft support plate 19 - Case '-1
, Figure 1

Claims (1)

[Claims] An ultrasonic transducer that can be mechanically or electronically scanned is provided at the tip of an insertion section that can be inserted into a body cavity in an endoscope, and a dedicated guide path is provided inside the insertion section, and the ultrasonic transducer is inserted into the guide path. An endoscopic ultrasonic diagnostic device characterized by having a transmission line for inputting and outputting signals passed through a sonic transducer.