JPS6314623B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an intrabody cavity probe.

In general, an intracorporeal probe having an ultrasonic transducer has a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 2 arranged circumferentially so as to emit ultrasonic waves into a cylindrical container 1 in a fixed direction, as shown in FIG. Each of the ultrasonic transducers 2 is configured to be electrically connected to each end of a cable disposed within the cylindrical container 1 via, for example, a printed circuit board (not shown). For this reason, the ultrasonic transducer is emitted only from one direction, and its field of view is extremely narrow.
For example, a probe for intracorporeal examination used for prostate examination etc. requires a cross section perpendicular to this, but in this case, the position of the ultrasonic transducer is rotated in the circumferential direction to emit ultrasonic waves. The operation was troublesome and uneconomical.

Therefore, in order to solve these problems, an intrabody cavity probe was proposed in which multiple ultrasonic transducers were arranged in the circumferential direction of a cylindrical container, but this intrabody cavity probe had a complicated structure. However, the manufacturing process was complicated and the product was expensive.

The present invention has been made based on the above-mentioned circumstances, and is capable of obtaining a tomographic image in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the intracorporeal probe, has an extremely simple configuration, and is easy to manufacture. The object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an intracorporeal probe that can provide a highly reliable product at low cost.

This invention will be described with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an intracorporeal probe manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an ultrasonic transducer plate bonded to an elastic material. , FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state in which a printed circuit board and a ground plate are attached to an ultrasonic transducer board, and FIG. FIG. 5B is a longitudinal sectional view of the ultrasonic transducer plate, and FIG. 6A is a perspective view of the main part showing the ultrasonic transducer attached to the cylindrical container. FIG. 6B is a longitudinal sectional view of the same, and FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which an acoustic lens is attached to the surface of the ultrasonic transducer.
In each figure, reference numeral 10 denotes an intrabody cavity probe, and as shown in FIG. An ultrasonic transducer plate 12 (for example, made of lead titanium zirconate (PZT)) of the same size is bonded with an epoxy or alkyl adhesive. next,
A conductive layer 14 is formed on one side (one longitudinal side) of this ultrasonic transducer plate 12 in accordance with a predetermined pitch of each ultrasonic transducer 12a (see FIG. 5A) to be divided.
Printed circuit board (hereinafter sometimes referred to as EPC board) that is printed with downward flexibility.
15 is attached to which the conductive layer 14 is electrically connected, and a grounding plate 18 having downward flexibility.
is attached to the other side (see Figure 4). Cuts 13 of a predetermined pitch are made in a direction perpendicular to one longitudinal side of the ultrasonic transducer plate 12 configured as described above to divide the ultrasonic transducer plate 12 into a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 12a. (See Figures 5A and B).
Although the drawing of FIG. 5A shows the connector 16 and cable 17 attached, these may be connected after the ultrasonic transducer plate 12 is attached to the cylindrical container 19.

Next, the ultrasonic transducer plate 1 configured in this way
The earth plate 18, the ultrasonic transducer plate 12, and the FPC plate 15 are curved so that the ultrasonic transducer 12a is aligned in the axial direction, and a cylindrical container 19 made of, for example, synthetic resin is attached via an appropriate adhesive. (See Figure 6A and B). The ground plate 18 is connected to the EPC board 1 via a cable (not shown) disposed between the cylindrical container 19 and the elastic material 11.
It is connected to one end of the conductive layer 14 on the conductive layer 5 and grounded to the outside. Further, the ultrasonic transducer 1
An acoustic lens 20 made of silicone rubber or the like is bonded to the outer peripheral surface of the lens 2a using, for example, adhesive. Further, a device connected to the ultrasonic transducer 12a
One end of each conductive layer 14 of the FPC board 15 is connected to a cable 17 via a connector 16, and the connected cable 17 is inserted into the cylindrical container 19 through a hole (not shown) provided in the peripheral wall thereof. is further connected to a display via an appropriate processing circuit (not shown), and by sequentially driving the ultrasound transducer 12a, an ultrasound image of the inside of the body in the direction in which the ultrasound waves are emitted is displayed on the display. It is to be displayed. Further, the ground plate 18, FPC board 15, connector 16, etc. are covered with a cover 21 (see FIG. 2).

It goes without saying that this invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and includes various modifications as long as they do not change the gist of the invention. for example,
Needless to say, the number of ultrasonic transducers 12a can be set to an appropriate number depending on the type of intracorporeal probe, and the thickness, size of the cut, etc. of the ultrasonic transducers 12a at that time can also be set to appropriate values. It is something that can be adjusted. Further, the acoustic lens can be made into a convex lens or a concave lens depending on the purpose of use, and the cable can be directly attached by an appropriate means instead of the printed circuit board in the above embodiment. It's okay. Further, the acoustic lens may be attached by bonding a plate-shaped one with an adhesive, but it may also be attached by fitting an annular-shaped one to the ultrasonic vibrator. In addition, the surface of the cut formed between the ultrasonic transducers will expand somewhat when the ultrasonic transducer plate is bonded to the cylindrical container, but the cut should be made in advance to compensate for the expansion. This can be prevented by making fewer cuts when forming. Further, the focus of the emitted ultrasonic waves is controlled, for example, in the axial direction via an acoustic lens, while the focus in the circumferential direction is electrically processed by a control device. In addition, these control methods are
Appropriate publicly known methods can be adopted, so
A detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

Since the present invention is configured as described above, ultrasonic waves can be emitted in the circumferential direction perpendicular to the axial direction, and the configuration is extremely simple, easy to manufacture, and reliable. It has excellent effects such as being able to supply high quality products at low cost.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional intrabody cavity probe, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of an intrabody probe manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which an ultrasonic transducer plate is adhered to an elastic material, FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state in which a printed circuit board and a ground plate are attached to an ultrasonic transducer board, and FIG. , a plan view showing a state in which an ultrasonic transducer plate is divided into a plurality of ultrasonic transducers by making cuts, FIG. 5B is a vertical cross-sectional view of the ultrasonic transducer plate, and FIG. FIG. 6B is a perspective view of the main parts showing the state in which the ultrasonic transducer is attached to the shaped container.
is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the same, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which an acoustic lens is attached to the surface of an ultrasonic transducer. 1... Cylindrical container, 2... Ultrasonic vibrator, 10...
... Intrabody probe, 11 ... Elastic material, 12 ... Ultrasonic transducer plate, 13 ... Cut, 14 ... Conductive layer, 15 ... Printed circuit board, 16 ... Connector, 17 ... Cable, 18 ...Earth plate, 19
... Cylindrical container, 20 ... Acoustic lens, 21 ... Cover.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ultrasonic transducer plate is glued onto a flexible rectangular elastic material, one end of the conductor is connected to the glued ultrasonic transducer plate, and one side of the ultrasonic transducer plate is The ultrasonic transducer plate configured in this manner is divided into a plurality of ultrasonic transducers connected to the conductor by forming cuts parallel to the plane at a certain pitch. 1. A method for producing an intrabody cavity probe, characterized in that the probe is curved along a direction and bonded in an annular shape to the outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical container, and each of the ultrasonic transducers is covered with an acoustic lens.