JPS63132639A - Ultrasonic probe 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 [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe equipped with a function of transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to a target region of a subject, and an ultrasonic probe and a subject. The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe device equipped with an ultrasonic coupler interposed between the table and the ultrasonic probe device.

(Prior Art) A conventional example of an ultrasonic probe device that combines an ultrasonic probe and an ultrasonic coupler is shown in FIGS. 10 to 12.

The ultrasound probe device 20 shown in FIG.
The ultrasonic coupler 22 is provided with a contact surface 24 to the ultrasonic coupler 22 and has an acoustic medium such as water stored therein. and,
This ultrasonic coupler 22 uses a soft storage body containing, for example, an ice bag or a flexible colloidal substance, so it is flexible and the shape of its contact surface 23 is in the scanning plane of the ultrasonic beam. It has a flat symmetrical shape or is freely deformable with respect to the center line BMc within the center.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 11, a device equipped with an ultrasonic coupler 22a whose contact surface 24a has a predetermined curved shape is also known in order to perform a convex scan on a subject.

However, the ultrasonic coupler 22 (or 2
2a) is used to obtain Doppler information (FFT Doppler information) regarding a peripheral blood vessel 26 such as a carotid artery that runs approximately parallel to the body surface 25 of the subject M, as shown in FIG. 12, for example.

When trying to obtain two-dimensional color Doppler information (two-dimensional color Doppler information), there is a problem that the accuracy of Doppler information in the most important central part of the ultrasound beam BM, that is, in the central part of the target region 27, is low or cannot be measured. This is due to the principle of the Doppler effect. That is, the relationship between the Doppler shift frequency fd and the blood flow velocity V is given by the following equation, where α is the angle between the ultrasound beam and the blood flow.

2ycosα fd=f (f: driving frequency, C: sound speed in the subject) Therefore,
At the target site 27 located at the position described above, the angle α between the blood flow and the ultrasonic beam BM is 90'', so fd=o, making it impossible to measure the blood flow velocity.

Further, the contact surface 24 of the ultrasonic coupler 22 is flat, and
Multiple reflections of ultrasound echoes due to symmetry is also one of the causes.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, in the conventional ultrasound probe device, there is a problem in that it is difficult to obtain accurate Doppler information particularly regarding the central part of the target region.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic probe device that can detect accurate Doppler information even in the center of a target region.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides an ultrasonic probe having a function of transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from a subject, and an ultrasonic probe disposed between the ultrasonic probe and the body surface of the subject. The present invention is an ultrasonic probe device having an ultrasonic coupler, in which an imaging element surface of the ultrasonic probe forms an arbitrary inclination angle with respect to a central axis of the ultrasonic probe.

(Function) The function of the ultrasonic probe device having the above configuration will be explained below.

Since the imager group in the ultrasonic probe of this ultrasonic probe device forms an arbitrary oblique angle with respect to the central axis of the ultrasonic probe, the ultrasonic beam from the ultrasonic probe The beam enters the target area of the subject with an inclination corresponding to the angle of the beam.

As a result, the angle α based on the Doppler effect does not become 90°, and it becomes possible to obtain the Doppler shift frequency fd.

(Example) Examples of the present invention will be described below.

The ultrasonic probe device 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes an ultrasonic probe 1 having the function of transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, and an ultrasonic coupler C attached to the ultrasonic probe 1.

The imaging sensor group 1a arranged in a row at one end of the ultrasonic probe 1 is connected to the ultrasonic probe 1 as shown in FIG.
It is configured to have an arbitrary inclination angle α (for example, 60 degrees) with respect to the central axis Lo.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ultrasonic coupler C is provided with a mounting section 2 consisting of hooks 2a, 2a on its upper part, and both hooks 2a, 2a of this mounting section 2 are attached to the ultrasonic probe 1. It can be attached to the ultrasound probe 1 by engaging with the side wall of the tip.

Further, the contact surface 3 of the ultrasonic coupler C is configured to form a convex curved shape with a predetermined curvature.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, this ultrasonic coupler C has a cross-sectional shape in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction of the ultrasonic probe 1 from the width W1 of the attachment part 2 to the ultrasonic probe 1 to the body surface 4. The width W2 of the contact surface 3 is small. That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, this cross-sectional shape extends from the width W1 of the attachment part 2 to the ultrasound probe 1 to the body surface 4 along the ultrasound beam BM from the ultrasound probe 1. The width W2 of the contact surface 3 is tapered to become smaller.

The ultrasonic coupler C has an outer shell made of, for example, plastic and contains water or other liquid as an acoustic medium, or is made of a colloidal solid and its holder. When water or other liquid is contained as an acoustic medium, the contact surface 3 with the body surface 4 is made of a silicone rubber membrane.

Furthermore, the ultrasonic coupler C of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. By making the radius of curvature of the lower side 8b smaller, the focus point P' of the lens focus is moved to a shorter distance than the focus point P of the ultrasound probe itself. Incidentally, it is preferable to interpose a suitable acoustic coupling agent (eg, jelly, etc.) between the ultrasonic probe 1 and the acoustic lens 8.

Next, the operation and effects of the ultrasonic probe device 10 having the above configuration will be explained in comparison with a conventional device.

(B) When attempting to detect Doppler information of the carotid artery 6 running parallel to the body surface 4 of the subject M as shown in FIG. 4 using the ultrasound probe device 10, the ultrasound probe 1 Since the center line BMc of the transmitted ultrasound beam BM is inclined with respect to the target region 7 of the carotid artery 6, the angle α based on the Doala effect does not become 90°, making it difficult to obtain the Doppler displacement frequency fd. While this is possible, the reflected echo from the target site 7 will not undergo multiple reflections at the ultrasound coupler C. As a result, target area 7
Doppler information can be detected accurately.

(b) In general carotid artery diagnosis, the part where the common carotid artery branches into the internal and external arteries and the internal arteries are important, but depending on the subject, their location differs, and they are located far above, in the jaw. There are cases where the ultrasound beam BM has to be secretly emitted obliquely upward from the neck.

In such a case, in the device of this embodiment, since the surface of the imager group 1a is inclined, it is easy to radiate the ultrasonic beam 8M obliquely upward.

V\) Since the contact surface 3 to the body surface 4 has a convex curved shape with a predetermined curvature, the transmittance of the ultrasound beam BM at the contact surface 3 to the body surface 4 is improved, and its The reflected echo becomes weaker. Therefore, multiple reflections on the side surfaces of the ultrasonic coupler are reduced, and contactability when brought into contact with the body surface 4 is significantly improved.

(Incline) Furthermore, since the width W2 of the contact surface 3 to the body surface 4 in the cross-sectional shape in the direction perpendicular to the scanning direction A (shown in FIG. 7) of the ultrasound probe 1 is smaller than the conventional one, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the friction when moving in the direction of the arrow E on the body surface 4 is small, making it easy to operate, and when rotating the body surface 4 as a pivot as shown in FIG. sufficient contactability can be obtained.

In contrast, the conventional ultrasonic coupler 22 has a cross-sectional shape in the scanning direction A of the ultrasonic probe 21 (FIG. 7) and a cross-sectional shape in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction A, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. Since the shape (Fig. 8) was rectangular, the body surface 4
The width W1 of the contact surface 24 is large, and when moving on the body surface, the friction is large and it is difficult to operate, and when the body surface is used as a pivot to rotate, the contact surface is insufficient and the contact is poor. There was a problem.

Note that 7 in FIG. 5 is the target site.

Ke9 Mount the acoustic lens 8 on the attachment part 2 to the ultrasonic probe 1, make the radius of curvature of the upper side 8a of this acoustic lens 8 match the radius of curvature of the acoustic lens 8 of the ultrasonic probe 1, and make the radius of curvature of the lower side 8b match. By making the radius smaller, the focus point P' of the lens focus is moved closer than the focus point P of the ultrasound probe itself, so superficial organs (such as the thyroid gland and carotid artery) can be imaged with high quality and wide area. It can be observed in the visual field.

That is, the conventional ultrasonic coupler 22 generally has the effect of bringing the focus point closer to the body surface, but the ultrasonic probe 21
its focal length, the size and depth of the ultrasonic coupler 22),
Also, depending on the depth of the region of interest, the focus point when the ultrasonic coupler is attached may not match the region of interest. For example, the lens focus of the ultrasound probe itself is 6.
cm, the ultrasound coupler water depth, and the depth of the region of interest are both 2 ctn, the focus point and the region of interest are 2 c
m shift, which causes a non-negligible deterioration in image quality.

Basically, the above problem can be solved by increasing the water depth of the ultrasonic coupler 22, but if the ultrasonic coupler 22 is made larger, the operability becomes worse, and if the water depth is increased, the window material (to the body surface) There is a problem in that artifacts due to multiple reflections of the members forming the contact surface appear and impede diagnosis (image reading). Furthermore, it is conceivable to attach only an acoustic lens to the ultrasound probe 21 without installing an ultrasound coupler, but in that case, the image of the region of interest may be lost.

Since it is displayed above the lid-shaped image, there is a problem that the field of view becomes narrow.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, the attachment part 2 to the ultrasound probe 1 is
An acoustic lens 8 is provided in the acoustic lens 8, and by making the radius of curvature of the upper side of the acoustic lens 8 coincide with the radius of curvature of the acoustic lens of the ultrasound probe 1, and making the radius of curvature of the lower side smaller, the focus point P' of the lens focus can be set. Since the ultrasound probe is moved closer than the focus point P of the ultrasound probe itself, superficial organs can be observed with high image quality and a wide field of view.

Next, a modification of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG. still,
In the ultrasonic coupler device 10a shown in the figure, parts having the same functions as those shown in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

The difference between the ultrasound probe device 10a shown in FIG. 9 and the one shown in FIG. 1 is that, instead of the ultrasound coupler C, a part of the ultrasound probe 1 on the imaging element group 1a side is This is because the ultrasonic coupler C1 is configured to have an inclined surface 2b corresponding to the inclination angle of the child group 1a.

That is, the inclined surface 2b of the ultrasonic coupler C1 is the contact surface 3
The distance from the cylinder group 1a increases from the vicinity of the cylinder group 1a to the end thereof.

According to this ultrasonic probe device 10a, in addition to the functions and effects (A) to (E) described above, the following functions and effects are exhibited.

That is, a part of the ultrasound beam 8M reflected from the body surface 4 of the subject M travels to the inclined surface 2b of the ultrasound coupler C1, but is reflected laterally by this inclined surface 2b and is reflected within the scanning plane of the ultrasound beam. It doesn't stop there.

This greatly contributes to the removal of unnecessary artifacts.

It goes without saying that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and that various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention. For example, it can also be implemented by integrally incorporating an ultrasound coupler inside an ultrasound probe.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention detailed above, since the sensor surface of the ultrasound probe is formed to have an arbitrary inclination angle with respect to its central axis, the Doppler at the center of the target region is An ultrasonic probe device that can also accurately detect information can be provided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing an embodiment of the device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the ultrasonic coupler of the same device, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the ultrasonic coupler of the same device, and FIG. FIGS. 5 and 6 are explanatory views showing how the device is used. FIGS. 5 and 6 are explanatory views of the operation of the device, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are schematic front views of a conventional ultrasonic coupler equipped with an ultrasonic probe. A right side view, FIG. 9 is a partially cutaway front view showing a modification of the present invention, FIG. 10 is a front view showing a conventional ultrasonic probe device, and FIG. 11 is a part of an ultrasonic coupler for convex scanning. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing how the ultrasonic probe and ultrasonic coupler shown in FIG. 10 are used. 10.108... Ultrasonic probe device, 1... Ultrasonic probe, 3... Contact surface, C1C1... Ultrasonic coupler. Agent: Patent attorney Masayoshi Misawa 1+-, /L. 5F=1 Figure 7 Figure 8

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) An ultrasonic probe device having an ultrasonic probe capable of transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from a subject, and an ultrasonic coupler disposed between the ultrasonic probe and the body surface of the subject, An ultrasonic probe device characterized in that the transducer surface of the ultrasonic probe is configured to form an arbitrary inclination angle with respect to the central axis of the ultrasonic probe. (2) The ultrasonic probe device according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic coupler contains water or other liquid as an acoustic medium. (3) The ultrasonic probe device according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic coupler has a colloidal substance as an acoustic medium and a holder thereof. (4) The ultrasonic coupler is formed such that a part thereof on the ultrasonic probe side has an inclined surface that is equal to or similar to the transducer surface having the inclined angle. The ultrasonic probe device according to any one of items 3 to 3. (5) The ultrasonic probe device according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic coupler is configured to be detachable from the ultrasonic probe. (6) The ultrasonic probe device according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic coupler is integrated into an ultrasonic probe.