JPS624130B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is used as an ultrasonic diagnostic device inserted into a hollow organ, and is suitable for diagnosing lesions on the wall of a hollow organ by observing ultrasonic tomographic images of the hollow organ. The present invention relates to a probe for examining inside luminal organs.

Traditionally, the inside of a hollow organ such as the bladder was observed by inserting an endoscope into the organ and observing lesions on the wall with the naked eye or by taking photographs, but with this method, lesions on the wall surface were observed. Only observation was possible, and it was impossible to obtain sufficient diagnostic information about the degree of invasion of the cancerous lesion or the internal tissue of the tumor. In addition, a contrast agent is injected into the blood vessels running through the hollow organs.
Although a method of line inspection has been attempted, the accuracy of diagnosing the degree of tumor invasion was extremely low.

As a diagnostic device that solves these problems, a system using ultrasound has recently been proposed that obtains in-vivo information by emitting an ultrasound beam from a transducer and receiving the reflected echo. However, in general, this type of ultrasound diagnostic equipment obtains information about hollow organs such as the bladder by attaching the transducer to the body surface or inserting the transducer into the rectum or esophagus. (i) It is practically impossible to inject an ultrasound beam in a direction perpendicular to all target wall surfaces of a hollow organ, and it is difficult to obtain effective reflected echoes.

(ii) Since there are restrictions on the distance between the target wall surface and the transducer, in the case of a concave transducer, it is difficult to perform an inspection with the target in the focal region, making it difficult to obtain a high-resolution ultrasonic tomographic image.

(iii) Tissues with a large attenuation effect, such as skin and fat, intervene before the radiated ultrasound beam reaches the hollow organ.

(iv) Due to the long distance from the transducer to the target luminal organ, various noises may be mixed in and adversely affect resolution.

Various difficulties have been pointed out, and in particular, problem (i) above is that the walls of hollow organs cannot be stably depicted due to the oblique incidence of ultrasound waves, making it difficult to diagnose wall destruction due to cancer invasion. The result was that it became extremely difficult.

The present invention has been made to solve the problems of such ultrasound diagnostic equipment, and is particularly useful for diagnosing the stage of cancer patients by obtaining precise ultrasound tomographic images of the wall tissues of hollow organs. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic probe for luminal organ examination suitable for performing the following. That is, the basic structure of the present invention includes a probe tube shaft that is inserted into a body cavity and rotated about its own axis for radial scanning and conical scanning within the hollow organ; The probe is connected and supported by the probe tube shaft so that its axis coincides with the tip of the probe, and it is pivoted by a pin shaft perpendicular to the axis and can swing at a required angle within a plane including the axis. A short pipe part,
One end is connected to the operating tool at the rear end of the probe tube shaft, and the other end is connected to both ends of the pin shaft of the probe tube shaft in a pair, so that parallel relative movement in the axial direction causes the a swing operation mechanism having a pair of parallel drive links for swinging the short probe tube; and a swing operation mechanism that is attached to the short probe tube and that rotates the hollow organ wall from a plane perpendicular to the swing plane. This is a probe for examining the inside of a hollow organ, which consists of an ultrasonic transducer that transmits a fixed directional ultrasonic beam and receives the reflected wave.

The present invention will be described in detail below based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a probe for examining inside a hollow organ, in which the probe tube shaft part 1 has a cylindrical shape made of metal such as stainless steel, and the rear end is connected to a handle 3 through a connecting part 2.
is fixed. The handle 3 is connected to a predetermined rotational drive mechanism (not shown) to rotate the probe shaft 1 integrally. In addition, since the probe tube shaft portion 1 is inserted directly into the bladder through the urethra, for example, it has a smooth surface, a length sufficient for insertion, and a relatively small diameter that allows it to be inserted through the urethra without difficulty. It has the following.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a short probe tube section that is swingably attached to the tip of the probe tube shaft section 1, and is made of plastic such as phenol resin or metal, and an ultrasonic vibrator is attached to the side surface of the tip. Plane part 5 for arranging and fixing
(This plane part 5 is perpendicular to the swing plane of the short probe tube shown in FIG. 7). As shown in FIG. 2, an opening 6 and a guide hole 7 connected to the opening 6 are formed in the plane part, and the opening 6 has a vibrator receiving plate 8 made of rubber as a base material and containing metal powder. is embedded and fixed, and an ultrasonic transducer 9 is mounted and fixed on the upper surface thereof. The ultrasonic transducer 9 is a concave focusing type transducer that emits a single ultrasonic beam having a fixed orientation perpendicular to the axial direction of the probe tube shaft section 1 when the short probe tube section 4 is not swinging. , whose radiation surface has a concave surface with a radius of curvature equal to or smaller than the diameter or radius of the hollow organ, and by supplying a transmission signal between the concave electrode and the back electrode, a single ultrasound beam is generated from the transducer 9. is emitted. To give an example, the vibrator 9 has a diameter of 6 mm and a radius of curvature.
It consists of a 40 mm circular concave PZT transducer and is supplied with a transmit signal with a frequency of 5 MHz. Therefore, the second
The probe in the figure extends approximately vertically from the probe tube shaft section 1.
It will emit a fixedly oriented single ultrasound beam with a focus at a distance of 40 mm. For the transducer 9 having such a shape, by setting the probe tube shaft portion 1 to a diameter of approximately 8 mm, it is possible to obtain a probe that can be smoothly inserted into the urethra and rotated. .

10 is a conductive paint applied to the peripheral edge of the concave electrode of the vibrator 9, and 11 is a lead wire, which connects the back electrode to the anode terminal 12 of the handle 3.

Next, to explain the swinging mechanism of the short probe tube section 4, the rear end of the short probe tube section 4 has a pair of grooves divided by grooves as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6. Arm portions 4a and 4b are formed, and a protrusion 1a formed at the tip of the probe tube shaft portion 1 is fitted into these grooves, and is pivotally supported by a pin 13. Therefore, the probe short tube section 4 can swing within a predetermined plane using the pin 13 as a fulcrum. Reference numerals 14 and 15 designate a pair of links that are placed opposite each other with the protrusion 1a in between.The tips of these links are loosely fitted and pivoted in the split groove of the short probe tube 4, and each end is provided with a rack. is formed to constitute an internal gear mechanism (swing operation mechanism) together with the pinion 16 as shown in FIG. In this internal gear mechanism, a pinion 16 is rotated by rotating a handle 17 shown in FIG. 1, and this rotation causes opposing links 14 and 15 to move in opposite directions via a rack portion. Therefore, the tip pivot portions of the respective links 14 and 15 are moved so as to swing the short probe tube portion 4 around the pin 13, and the short probe tube portion 4 is moved relative to the probe tube shaft portion 1. is Figure 7A,
As shown in (B) and (C), any swing angle can be taken, and a fixed relationship with the probe tube shaft 1 can be maintained at that position by installing a locking device or the like. It should be noted that the links 14 and 15 may cause slight radial movement to some extent due to their axial movement, which may cause the vibrator base 4 to wobble. This is prevented by providing an elastic body 18 in the inner cylindrical part of the pipe shaft 1 to stabilize the links 14 and 15.

According to the ultrasonic probe configured as described above, the transducer is inserted directly into the bladder etc. from the urethra,
The ultrasound beam is radiated to the bladder wall in an ideal sound field using urine in the bladder or 100 to 300 ml of saline injected into the bladder as a transmission medium, which significantly reduces the attenuation of the ultrasound beam and The generation of noise signals is significantly suppressed, and since the object is at a close distance, the ultrasonic convergence effect of the concave transducer is maximized, making it possible to obtain ultrasonic tomographic images with extremely high resolution.

Furthermore, since it is possible to transmit and receive ultrasound waves perpendicularly to the target bladder mucosa, etc., stable visualization of the bladder wall, which is essential for diagnosing the degree of cancer invasion, is possible. 7A, 7B, and 7C show states in which the short probe tube section 4 is swung to an arbitrary angle (swung parallel to the plane of the paper of FIG. 7) by the swiveling operation mechanism.

And the radial or conical scanning of the probe is
This is done by rotating the probe tube shaft section 1 about its own axis at a predetermined rotational speed, and a cross-sectional image of a predetermined width of the bladder or the like can be obtained with one rotation. While adjusting this operation by moving the probe tube shaft section 1 in the axial direction and swinging the short probe tube section 4, it is possible to arbitrarily center the wall region that requires diagnosis.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned radial scanning and conical scanning are as follows:
This diagram graphically represents the locus of the ultrasonic beam transmitted and received when the probe tube shaft section 1 is rotated around its own axis.

FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the probe according to the present invention, the feature of which is that the probe shaft 1 has a tubular jacket 19.
is that it is loosely coated.

The mantle 19 is made of metal such as stainless steel, and has an insertion part 19a along the probe tube shaft part 1 and a holding part 19b.
It is formed from. The probe tube shaft portion 1 is inserted into the urethra, and in this state, rotational driving force from the handle 3 is supplied to the probe tube shaft portion 1. During this rotational drive for radial scanning, the probe shaft 1 slides and rotates inside the jacket 19, and the jacket 19 forms a bearing part of the probe tube shaft 1 when inserted into the urethra. Therefore, according to this example, smooth rotation of the probe can be obtained without direct frictional sliding with the urethral probe, and physical pain to the subject can be reduced. .

As described above, the probe for examining inside hollow organs according to the present invention is capable of transmitting and receiving ultrasonic beams perpendicular to the target wall surface by directly inserting the ultrasonic transducer into the hollow organ. It is possible to obtain ultrasonic tomographic images with extremely high resolution, and the internal tissue of a tumor or its degree of invasion can be accurately observed, resulting in an excellent effect of significantly improving diagnostic accuracy.

Further, according to the present invention, the short probe tube section having the probe has a simple structure in which it can be easily swung by parallel movement of a pair of parallel links, so that the device itself can be easily swung. Its usefulness is great as it is easy to manufacture and low cost.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. For example, it is conceivable to arrange two vibrators on the front and back sides of the short probe tube, and the swing operation mechanism may also be a pinion rack. Naturally, it is not limited to the combination of the following.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a front view of a probe for examining inside a hollow organ, FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of section A in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a section B in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of section C in FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of section B in FIG. 1, FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of section B in FIG. 1, and FIG. A, B, and C are diagrams illustrating a state in which the short probe tube portion is swung arbitrarily, and FIG. 8 is a front view of a probe for examining inside a hollow organ showing another embodiment. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Probe tube shaft part, 2... Connection part, 3... Handle, 4... Short probe tube part, 4a, 4b... Arm part,
5...Plane part, 6...Opening part, 7...Guiding hole, 8...
... Vibrator receiving plate, 9 ... Ultrasonic transducer, 10 ... Conductive paint, 11 ... Lead wire, 12 ... Anode terminal, 13 ... Pin, 14, 15 ... Link, 16
... Pinion, 17 ... Handle, 18 ... Elastic body, 19 ... Mantle, 19a ... Insertion part, 19b ...
...Holding section.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A probe tube shaft portion that is rotated around its own axis for radial scanning and conical scanning in a hollow organ inserted into a body cavity, and A probe short whose axis line coincides with the tip thereof, is pivoted by a pin shaft perpendicular to the axis line, and is connected and supported by the probe tube shaft part so as to be able to swing at a required angle within a plane including the axis line. A tube portion, one end of which is connected to an operating tool at the rear end of the probe tube shaft portion, and the other end of which is connected to both sides of the pin shaft of the probe tube shaft portion in parallel with the axial direction. a swing operation mechanism having a pair of parallel drive links that swing the short probe tube by relative movement; A probe for examining inside a hollow organ, consisting of an ultrasonic transducer that transmits a fixed directional ultrasonic beam to the wall of a hollow organ and receives the reflected wave. 2 The ultrasonic transducer attached to the short probe tube is
The probe for examining inside a hollow organ according to claim 1, characterized in that it is a concave ultrasonic transducer that can focus the beam on the wall of the hollow organ to be examined. 3 A probe tube shaft portion that is rotated around its own axis for radial scanning and conical scanning in a hollow organ inserted into a body cavity, and a probe whose axis line is aligned at the tip of the probe tube shaft portion. , a short probe tube part connected and supported by the probe tube shaft part, which is pivotally supported by a pin shaft perpendicular to the axis line and can swing at a required angle within a plane including the axis; The probe is connected to an operating tool at the rear end of the probe tube shaft, and the other end is connected to both sides of the pin shaft of the probe tube shaft in a pair, so that the probe can be moved by parallel relative movement in the axial direction. a swinging operation mechanism having a pair of parallel drive links for swinging the probe short tube section; and a swinging operation mechanism that is attached to the probe short tube section and fixed to the wall of the hollow organ from a plane perpendicular to the swinging plane thereof. It is equipped with an ultrasonic transducer that transmits a directional ultrasonic beam and receives its reflected wave, and a tubular mantle that is loosely attached to the probe tube shaft, and is inserted into a hollow organ. A probe for examining inside a hollow organ, characterized in that the probe tube shaft portion rotates about its own axis within the mantle.