JPS61240946A - Ultrasonic probe - 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 Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an ultrasound probe used in a medical ultrasound diagnostic apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development and widespread use of ultrasonic diagnostic devices, ultrasonic diagnostic devices are being used for various medical diagnoses.

Normally, when making a diagnosis, it is connected to an ultrasound diagnostic device,
The contact surface of an ultrasound probe that transmits and receives ultrasound signals is applied to the subject, and a tomographic image is projected on the display of the ultrasound diagnostic device. At this time, the contact surface of the ultrasound probe is flat, but the object is not flat. Therefore, when the contact surface of the ultrasound probe is brought into contact with the subject, a space is created between the contact surface and the subject, resulting in uneven images.

For this reason, some conventional ultrasonic probes use a bag made of a material that is flexible and can be seen through. This conventional ultrasonic probe will be explained with reference to FIG. 3. A holder 102 is attached to the lower part of the ultrasonic probe main body 1o1, and hooks 103 are provided on both sides of the holder 102. On the other hand, bag 104
is provided with an inlet 106 in the center of the side, and this inlet 1
Water 106 is injected from 05 and sealed by a stopper 107. Mounting parts 108 are provided on both upper sides of the bag 104, and the mounting parts 108 are engaged with the hooks 103 of the holder 102, so that the inner surface of the bag 104 is brought into contact with the contact surface 109 of the tip of the ultrasound probe body 1o1. Closely attached. Since the bag 104 is made of a flexible material such as rubber, it can be easily deformed and can be brought into contact with the subject without space. Therefore, clear images can be obtained. When making a diagnosis using this bag 104, since the bag 104 is thick, it is suitable for use when it is desired to obtain a clear image of the vicinity of the surface of the subject. Furthermore, if this bag 104 is used, the subject does not need to be deformed, so that the patient is less likely to suffer pain.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, with the configuration of the conventional ultrasonic probe as described above,
When diagnosing a deep part, etc., which does not require the bag 104, the holder 102 is too large and obstructs the diagnosis, so it must be removed.

That is, when the bag 104 is required, the ultrasonic probe body 10
The two-step process of attaching the holder 102 to the holder 102 and then attaching the bag 104 containing the water 106 to the holder 102 is cumbersome.

Also, during diagnosis, the bag 104 directly hits the subject;
Although force is applied to the bag 104 and the holder 102, the ultrasound probe main body 101, the holder 102, and the holder 10
2 and the bag 104 are not completely fixed, there is a problem that they may come off.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems.
The protrusion from the ultrasound probe body can be made smaller so that it does not get in the way of deep diagnosis work, and the time and effort required to attach the bag can be reduced. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic probe which can be securely held in the main body to prevent the bag from easily coming off during diagnosis, and which can further reduce costs.

Means for solving the problems and the technical means of the present invention for solving the above problems are an ultrasonic probe formed of a flexible and see-through material, and a predetermined acoustic A bag filled with an impedance liquid and brought into close contact with the contact surface of the ultrasonic probe body, and a bag that is attached opposite to the ultrasonic probe body and the bag and held together on the inner surface of the support. It is equipped with an attachment/detachment means having a large number of removable locking members made of elastic material.

According to the above-mentioned structure, the present invention allows the bag to be easily and reliably attached to the contact surface of the ultrasound probe body by locking the locking member that is a means for attaching and detaching the bag to the ultrasound probe body. It can be placed in close contact with the

Further, by forcibly removing the locking member, only the support and a small protrusion of the locking member remain on the ultrasound probe main body side, so that they do not interfere with diagnosis.

EXAMPLE Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view. In FIGS. 1 and 2, 1 is an ultrasonic probe body in which a group of ultrasonic transducers is provided, and 2 is an inner surface that is in close contact with a contact surface 3 at the lower end of the ultrasonic probe body 1. It's a bag.

The bag 2 is made of a flexible, see-through material such as rubber, and has an injection port 4 formed in the center of the side, through which a liquid having a predetermined acoustic impedance, such as water 6, is injected. and sealed by the frame 6.

Mounting parts 7 made of synthetic resin or the like are fixed to both sides of the upper part of the bag 2. The bag 2 and the ultrasonic probe main body 1 can be attached and detached using a fastener 8 which is an attachment/detachment means. This fastener 8 has a pair of tape-shaped supports 9, 1o, each having elasticity on its inner surface, and a large number of locking members 11, 12, which can be engaged and detached, are protruded from opposite sides. These locking members 11 and 12 can be selected from various shapes such as hook-shaped, mushroom-shaped, loop-shaped, etc., and combined. The outer surface of each support 9.10 is provided with an adhesive layer. The adhesive layer of one support 9 is attached to the center of the inclined surface on the long side at the bottom of the ultrasound probe main body 1, and the adhesive layer of the other support 1o is attached to the bag 2. Part 7
It is attached to the center of the inner surface.

Next, an example of use of the above embodiment will be explained. When the bag 2 is required for diagnosis, for example when you want to obtain a clear image near the surface of the subject, the locking member 12 on the attachment part 7 side of the bag 2 filled with water 6 can be attached to the ultrasonic probe. The bag 2 is attached to the ultrasound probe body 1 by pressing against the locking member 11 on the body 1 side and elastically engaged with each other, and the inner surface of the bag 2 is attached to the ultrasound probe body 1. Bring it into close contact with the contact surface 3. By applying the bag 2 to the subject, a tomographic image can be projected on the display of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

In addition, when the bag 2 is unnecessary for diagnosis, for example, when you want to see organs deep in the subject, the locking member 11 on the bag 2 side is closer than the locking member 11 on the ultrasound probe main body 1 side. By removing 12, the shiva lug 2 can be removed from the ultrasound probe body 1, and only the small protrusions of the support 9 and the locking member 11 remain on the ultrasound probe body 1 side. Diagnosis can be performed without any problems.

The supports 9 and 10 of the magic fastener 8 are attached to the attachment portions 7 of the ultrasonic probe body 1 and the bag 2 with adhesive, so they are removable and can be replaced.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is applicable not only to electronic linear scanning type ultrasound probes but also to electronic sector scanning type ultrasound probes and mechanical scanning type ultrasound probes. can also be applied.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, the ultrasonic probe body and the bag are arranged so as to face the inner surface of the support.
Attachment/detachment is performed by an attachment/detachment means having a large number of engaging/detachable locking members. Therefore, the bag can be easily attached to the ultrasonic probe body, and the bag can be kept securely attached during diagnosis. In addition, when the bag is removed from the ultrasound probe body, only the support and the small protrusion of the locking member remain on the ultrasound probe body side, which interferes with deep diagnosis work that does not require the bag. There is no risk of it becoming. Furthermore, since the structure is simple, costs can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 show an embodiment of the ultrasound probe of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a side view, FIG. 2 is a perspective view, and FIG. 3 is a side view of a conventional ultrasound probe. It is a diagram. 1... Ultrasonic probe body, 2... Bag, 3... Contact surface, 4... Inlet, 5
・・・・・・−Water, 6・・・・・・ Stopper, 7・・・・・・
Mounting part, 8...Magic fastener, 9゜10
...support body, 11.12...locking member. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other person 2nd
figure

Claims (1)

[Claims] an ultrasonic probe body; a bag made of a flexible and see-through material; filled with a liquid having a predetermined acoustic impedance; It is characterized by comprising a detachable means that is attached to face the ultrasonic probe main body and the bag, and has a plurality of locking members made of elastic material that can be engaged with and detached from each other on the inner surface of the support body. Ultrasonic probe.