JPS62152441A - Body cavity 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 [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to an intrabody cavity ultrasound probe inserted into a body cavity.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is an ultrasonic probe shown in FIG. 3 for the purpose of diagnosing, for example, the prostate gland.

That is, the conventional intrabody cavity ultrasound probe 1 shown in FIG.
0 is a cylindrical insertion section 1 with a rounded tip, a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 2 arranged near the tip of this insertion section 1, and a grip section connected to the base end of the insertion section 1. It consists of 3.

By the way, in the conventional intrabody cavity ultrasound probe 10, a plurality of ultrasound transducers 2 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the axial direction of the insertion section 1, so that the results obtained by linear scanning are as shown in FIG. As shown, it is an ultrasound image of a plane (longitudinal section) 11 including the axis of the insertion portion l. Therefore, this probe lO
In order to insert the insertion section 1 from the anus into the rectum and obtain an ultrasound image of the desired cross section of the prostate, the position must be identified by moving the insertion section 1 in and out, and the insertion section 1 must also be rotated in the direction of the arrow 12. However, there is a problem in that the probe operation is time-consuming.

Furthermore, since the ultrasound image obtained in this manner is a longitudinal section of the prostate, there is also the problem that it is difficult to understand the anatomical positional relationship.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to obtain ultrasound information within a body cavity where it is possible to easily obtain ultrasound information that can accurately grasp the anatomical positional relationship of the diagnostic target site. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic probe.

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention arranges a plurality of ultrasonic transducers at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction of an insertion section formed in a cylindrical shape, thereby making it possible to accurately grasp the anatomical positional relationship of a region to be diagnosed. This makes it easy to obtain sonic information.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically explained with reference to Examples.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an intracorporeal ultrasound probe according to an embodiment of the present invention. This intrabody cavity ultrasound probe 20 includes an insertion section 21 formed in a cylindrical shape and a grip section 3 connected to the proximal end of the insertion section 21.

The insertion portion 21 includes a first. Second. third vibrator group 22a,
22b and 22c are provided. Each transducer group consists of a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 23 arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction of the insertion section 21.

Further, the distal end portion of the insertion portion 21 is formed into a spherical shape, and a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 24 are arranged on the circumferential surface passing through the apex thereof. This is called a fourth vibrator group 22d. Each of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 23 and 24 has an electrode drawn out using a flexible printed circuit board (not shown) on which a conductive layer is formed, and is connected to the wave transmitting/receiving section of the main body of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus via the cable 9. Connected.

In FIG. 1, a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 23, 24 are exposed for convenience of explanation, but in reality, there are matching layers, acoustic lenses, etc. on the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 2, 3, 24. are stacked.

Next, the intracorporeal ultrasound probe 2 configured as described above will be described.
The effect of 0 will be explained.

1st. Second. Third. Fourth vibrator group 22a.

Ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received by each of 22b, 22c, and 22d, and the resultant wave is 2 in FIG.
This results in ultrasonic images of the planes shown at 5, 26, 27, and 28. In other words, the first. Second. Third vibrator group 22a, 22b, 2
According to 2c, since radial scanning is possible, ultrasonic information of planes 25, 26, and 27 centered on the insertion section 21 and perpendicular to the axis of the insertion section 21 can be obtained,
Further, according to the fourth transducer group 24, convex scanning is possible, so ultrasonic information of the fan-shaped plane 28 in front of the insertion section 21 can be obtained.

Therefore, when diagnosing or examining the prostate, the first part of the insertion section 21 inserted into the rectum from the anus. By appropriately switching the second and third transducers 22a, 22b, and 22c to excite and receive, it is possible to obtain an ultrasound image of a continuous cross section of the prostate. A desired tomographic image of the prostate can be obtained without rotating the insertion section 21. In general, doctors and others are accustomed to seeing a cross section (a cross section perpendicular to the body axis) of a subject, and in this sense, an ultrasound image of a cross section perpendicular to the axis of the insertion section 21 is anatomically Extremely advantageous. In addition, a cross-sectional image of the prostate is extremely useful for diagnosing the symmetry of the prostate.

To obtain a cross-sectional image of the prostate, it is possible to use a mechanical scan probe with an ultrasonic transducer that rotates mechanically, but the resolution at short distances is poor and the problem is due to multiple window materials, etc. This is not desirable because there are many artifacts. In this regard, since this embodiment is for electronic scanning, the resolution of the ultrasonic image is high and there are few artifacts.

High resolution is achieved by focusing in the depth direction and varying the aperture.

Further, by exciting the fourth transducer group 22d, an ultrasonic wave group in the fan-shaped plane 28 is obtained, which causes the insertion portion 21
Since the front of the tip can be confirmed, there is an advantage that blind spots in diagnosis can be minimized. In particular, when the insertion section 21 is inserted into a cavity, there is an advantage that ultrasonic images of various organs existing in a cavity such as an ovary or a uterus can be obtained at a wide angle by excitation of the fourth transducer group 28.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and includes various modifications. For example, in the above example,
The first transducer group performs radial scanning. Second. Third vibrator group 22a.

22b and 22c have been described, but the first
．． Second. If at least one of the third transducer groups 22a, 22b, and 33c is included, it is possible to obtain a cross-sectional image of the prostate, etc., and if the number of transducer groups is increased, continuous transverse The number of plane images can be further increased.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an intra-body cavity ultrasound probe that can easily obtain ultrasound information that allows accurate understanding of the anatomical positional relationship of a region to be diagnosed.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an intrabody cavity ultrasound probe according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a plane from which ultrasound information can be obtained by the intrabody cavity ultrasound probe of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a conventional intracorporeal ultrasound probe, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a plane from which ultrasound information can be obtained by the intracorporeal ultrasound probe shown in the figure. 21... Insertion section, 23... Vibrator. Figure 4

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an intrabody cavity ultrasound probe having a cylindrical insertion section and a plurality of ultrasound transducers arranged in the insertion section, a plurality of ultrasonic transducers are arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction of the insertion section. An intrabody cavity ultrasound probe characterized by an array of ultrasound transducers.