JPS6216748A - Apparatus for ultrasonic diagnosis of body cavity - 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 intrabody cavity ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for inserting an ultrasonic transducer into a body cavity and imaging various organs of a living body from within the body cavity.

In recent years, with advances in ultrasonic contrast technology, echo images obtained by ultrasonic scanning have come to be widely used in the medical field.

Compared to X-ray contrast, which has been used in the medical field for a long time, ultrasound contrast technology is harmless to living bodies, can image soft tissues of living bodies without contrast agents, is sensitive to stones and cancerous tissue, and is inexpensive. It is rapidly gaining popularity due to its merits such as:

However, because conventional ultrasonic diagnostic equipment images images of organs inside the living body from the surface of the living body, there is a distance to the organs to be viewed, and in the meantime, inhomogeneous layers such as fat layers must be crossed. Because the sound waves pass through, the S/N of the echo signal may decrease, and if there is a gas layer in the middle, the ultrasound energy may be absorbed and attenuated, making imaging difficult.

Furthermore, the ultrasonic energy of organs located behind bones is attenuated due to absorption of the ultrasonic energy by the bones, making imaging impossible.

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, to be able to image a clear image with good resolution, and to
It is an object of the present invention to provide an intrabody cavity ultrasonic diagnostic device whose distal end portion has a simple configuration.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, prior to a detailed description of the present invention, an example of an intracorporeal ultrasound diagnostic apparatus will be described.

The endoscope (1) has an observation optical system (2) and an illumination optical system (3).
) and a passageway (not shown) for introducing fluid, etc., and furthermore, the distal end has an opening in the observation/illumination direction of the observation optical system (2) and the illumination optical system (3). A storage section (4) is formed therein. The ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving transducer (5) is made of a piezoelectric material such as PZT or niobium oxide, and a damper material, etc., and a support member (6) is provided as an integral part, and the endoscope is rotated by a rotating shaft (7). It is arranged in the storage section (4) of the endoscope (1) so as to be rotatable in the longitudinal direction. A flexible and sliding wire (8), which is a driving means for driving the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving transducer (5), connects the tip of the endoscope (1) and the operating section (not shown). The tip (10) of the sliding wire (8) is inserted so as to be able to slide inside a flexible tube (9) disposed between the ends of the sliding wire (8).
is attached to the support member (6) of the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving transducer (5), and the other end is guided so that it can be operated by the operating section of the endoscope (1). The tip of the input/output shaft (12) of a linear potentiometer (11), which is a means for detecting the rotational angular position of the ultrasonic transducer (5), supports the ultrasonic transducer (5). It is arranged so as to be in contact with the member (6).

Furthermore, the function of the potentiometer (11) is to adjust the sin α
Alternatively, by using one having a resistance curve proportional to Cos α, it is possible to directly obtain the XY scanning information of the CRT used in the image display section (13) in FIG.

Figure 2 shows another example of the invention, in which the distal end of the endoscope (1) has a storage section (4) that opens in the observation and illumination direction for the observation optical system (2) and the illumination optical system (3). ) is formed. The ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving transducer (5) is provided with a support member (6) as an integral part, and is attached to the housing part (4) so that it can be rotated across the long axis direction of the endoscope (1) by a rotating shaft (7). It is located in. The rotating shaft (7) has one end equipped with a rotary potentiometer (
The other end is attached to the rotating wire (15).

In the case of the above-mentioned device, a driving wire (8) or (15) is required, and the mechanism for rotating the ultrasonic transducer (5) is complicated. In contrast, the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 3 has a simplified structure at the distal end of the insertion section.

That is, FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the present invention, in which the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving transducer (5) is integrally formed with a support member (
Although not shown, a storage section (4) for the endoscope (1) similar to the above is provided so that it can be rotated by the rotation axis (7).
It is usually held in place by a spring (21). Electromagnets (22) and (23), which are driving means for driving the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving transducer (5), are arranged opposite to each other in the rotational direction of the support member (6) made of the soft magnetic material. be. The above electromagnets (22) and (23)
By changing the excitation current, the support member (6) made of a magnetic material receives an attractive force, and the ultrasonic transducer (5) rotates in either direction. The rotation angle position detection means may be detected from the excitation current of the electromagnets (22) and (23), or a potentiometer (14) may be separately provided as shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the rotation angle position detection means of the present invention.
The LED is placed across the light shielding plate (24) attached to the rotating shaft (7).
A light emitting element (25) consisting of a photodiode or the like and a light receiving element (26) consisting of a photodiode or the like are provided. The above rotating shaft (7
) is related to the rotating shaft (7) of the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving transducer (5), either directly or via a suitable speed reduction mechanism.

Therefore, when the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving transducer (5) rotates,
Correspondingly, the light shielding plate (24) moves 7, and the amount of light received by the light receiving element (26) changes, causing the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving transducer (5) to change.
The rotational angular position of the can be detected. At this time, if the rotation angle of the ultrasonic transducer (5) is set to α by setting the edge portion (27) of the light shielding plate (24) not in a straight line as shown in the figure but in an appropriate curved shape, Light receiving element (27
), it becomes possible to obtain a detection voltage proportional to Sinα or Cosα.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the rotational angular position detection means, in which a rotary encoder (28) is used as the rotational angular position detection means of the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving transducer (5), and an optically transparent disc (29) is used. ) has a large number of gratings (30) carved on its outer periphery and is attached to a rotating shaft (7). A light-emitting element (25) and a light-receiving element (26) are arranged facing each other with the disc (29) in between, and when the disc (29) rotates, the grid (30
) to detect the number of

Therefore, the rotation axis (7) is connected to the ultrasonic transceiver transducer (5>
The pulse proportional to the rotation angle of the ultrasonic transmitting/receiving transducer (5) is transmitted directly to the rotation axis (7) of the light-receiving element or by being connected to the rotation axis (7) of (26), it becomes possible to detect the rotation angle.

Furthermore, by triggering the transmitting circuit for generating ultrasonic pulses using the rotational angle position detection pulse obtained by the light receiving element (27), it is possible to obtain a sector scan tomographic image having scanning lines for each fixed angle. can.

Furthermore, instead of such a rotary encoder (28), a linear encoder can be used as the rotation angle position detecting means in the mechanism shown in FIG.

In addition to the ultrasonic transducer (5) having a planar surface, the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving transducer (5) may have a concave surface (31) as shown in Fig. 7 to transmit the ultrasonic beam. can converge.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the ultrasonic beam can be focused by bonding an acoustic lens (32) having one side concavely processed to the surface of the ultrasonic transmitting/receiving transducer (5).

By using a vibrator having a convergent focus in this manner, the ultrasound beam at the diagnostic site becomes sharp, and the lateral resolution of the obtained tomographic image can be improved.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a direct-view endoscope, in which (2) is an observation optical system, (3) is an illumination optical system, (4) is a storage section, (5) is an ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving transducer, (7) is the rotation axis.

Also in the above embodiment, the opening (33) at the tip of the endoscope (1) is sealed with a visible ice bag (34) as shown in FIG. Degassed water can also be introduced from a channel (not shown) for introducing fluid etc. in the mirror (1).

Next, the ultrasonic tomographic image forming process by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention is shown in FIG. A pulse is applied to the ultrasonic transmitting/receiving transducer (5) to emit ultrasonic waves to the body cavity wall, and the acoustic impedance of each tissue in the body (where Z is the acoustic impedance of a certain part, ρ is the density, and C is the speed of sound) , Z-
The reflected waves caused by the difference in
), the reflected signal is amplified by the reception amplification section (37), modulates the brightness of the image display section (13), and at the same time generates an xy deflection signal for the image display section (13) based on the angle information. ), the sweep signal is sent to the image display section (1
3) and rotate the ultrasonic transducer (5) by θ around the rotation axis (7) as shown in Fig. 11 to display the sector scan ultrasonic tomogram inside the body cavity as an image outside the body. (13).

Therefore, the intrabody cavity ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention inserts an ultrasound transducer into the body cavity and contrasts an ultrasound tomographic image, so that the distance to the various organs to be contrasted becomes relatively short. It is less susceptible to the absorption of ultrasonic energy by the tissue of the living body, and it is possible to perform contrast imaging using a high frequency (shorter wavelength) of 5MH to IOMH, thereby increasing the resolution of the image.

In addition, since ultrasound is transmitted and received from within the body cavity, it is possible to image various organs through relatively homogeneous tissues without passing through obstructive areas such as heterogeneous subcutaneous fat layers and bones. /N good ultrasound images can be obtained.

Furthermore, an organ such as the pancreas whose anatomical location is inappropriate for diagnosis from the body surface can be imaged easily through the stomach wall.

Furthermore, the configuration at the distal end of the insertion portion is simplified, making insertion easier and reducing pain to the patient.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view showing one example of the device, Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing another example of the device, Fig. 3 is a front view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing an example of the device. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the rotational angular position detection means used in the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the rotational angular position detection means used in the present invention. Fig. 7 is a front view showing another embodiment of the ultrasonic transducer used in the present invention, and Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of the disc portion of the ultrasonic transducer used in the present invention. FIG. 9 is a front view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 9 is a side view of the distal end showing the state implemented in a direct view endoscope, FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the ultrasonic tomographic image forming process, and FIG. 11 is a It is a figure showing a display state. 1・=−・−・−・Endoscope, 2−−−−−−−−1 observation optical system, 3−・−・−illumination optical system, 4・−・・−
Storage part, 5-・-・Ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving transducer, 7-・-・-
- Rotating shaft, 8, 15, 17, 22, 23 - - Drive means, 11, 14, 24, 25, 26, 28 - One rotation angle position detection means. Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7N Section 8 Figure 10

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) An intraluminal insertion section having at least a storage section, an ultrasonic transceiver transducer rotatably attached to the storage section, an electromagnet for rotating the ultrasonic transceiver transducer, and an ultrasonic transceiver transducer. An intrabody cavity ultrasound diagnostic apparatus comprising a spring member for holding a transducer in a predetermined position. (2) Intrabody cavity ultrasound diagnosis according to claim 1, characterized in that the rotational angle position detection means of the ultrasonic transducer is provided near the ultrasonic transducer. Device. (3) The body cavity insertion section includes at least an observation optical system,
The intrabody cavity ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, which is an endoscope having an illumination optical system.