JPS63161946A - Ultrasonic diagnostic 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 (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnosis 'gAW1' that transmits and receives an ultrasonic signal to a subject and diagnoses based on the received signal.

(Prior art) Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment emits ultrasonic waves into the subject's body, and uses the fact that the degree of attenuation and reflection of the ultrasound waves differs depending on the tissue structure and the lesion area, to detect sounds from various parts of the subject's body. Diagnose by analyzing reflected waves %Af! It is. Although there are several types of ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses, a B-mode apparatus that uses pulsed ultrasonic waves to obtain an image of the llyi layer is often used.

There are many scanning methods for the at-doctor device, but among these, we will consider a method using probe I, which is relatively simple and can be manually moved freely along the body.

In the compound scanning method, the placement and direction of the transducer can be freely changed manually.With the contact compound, the probe is brought into direct contact with the skin and can be freely scanned along the irregularities of the body. Scanning as shown in Fig. 5 is performed in a manner that is possible.In the figure, 1 is a probe, and 2 is the body surface that the probe is in contact with and scanning.

In addition, it is possible to display a cross-section of a rapidly moving heart as an ultrasound image to observe the movement of the heart, or to observe the movement of a fetus on a cathode ray tube by simply placing a probe lightly on the abdomen. Ultrasonic testing with high-speed real-time display is now widely used. There are two ways to do this: a mechanical scanning method in which the probe is moved at high speed to scan the ultrasonic beam, and the other is a method in which a large number of small rectangular transducer pieces are arranged and the operation of these elements is controlled electronically. There are electronic scanning methods to control.

(1) Mechanical sector scanning FIG. 6 shows the principle of a mechanical sector scanning device currently in practical use. In the figure, reference numeral 3 denotes a camera element that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves.The rotation of the motor 4 is converted into a swinging motion by a crank i mechanism 5 in the liquid 6, and the ultrasonic waves are emitted in the direction 808, for example, as shown in the figure. radiate to. The i-swing angle of the vibrator 3 is detected by the angle detector 7. The ultra-a-wave beam emitted from the camera element 3 is emitted into the subject 9 through a sound window 8 made of vinyl or plastic film.

(2) Electronic sector scanning #I7 Figure is an explanatory diagram of electronic sector scanning, in which (a) shows the state during wave transmission and (b) shows the state during wave reception. In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a transducer element, which emits an ultrasonic beam in the direction in which the phase of each transducer element 10 is controlled by a delay element 11, and when receiving waves, the ultrasonic beam is emitted from each transducer element 10. The reflected signal is delayed through a delay element 11 so that it is in phase with the emitted ultrasonic beam in the same direction as shown in FIG. Note that the length of the delay element 11 in the figure is proportional to the delay time.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) By the way, the probes of each of the above methods have the following problems.

(1) The contact compound mechanism is complicated and requires sensors to recognize position, orientation, etc., making II adjustment troublesome. In addition, because the figure is large and the response is slow, it cannot be applied to images from fast-moving 6I instruments.
? l? Mechanisms with small mechanisms have accuracy problems.

(2) Like mechanical sector scanning crank mechanism 5? ! 11! Requires complicated mechanical devices and sensors such as angle detector 7, which causes vibrations, etc. lt
Not l. Furthermore, they make mechanical noise, suffer from mechanical wear, and have a short lifespan.

(3) An electronic sector scanning array probe, electronic switches, transmitter/receiver circuits, or delay maps are required. Therefore, the number of counterfeit parts becomes enormous, and it is particularly difficult to convert a phased array into a portable device.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its purpose is to provide a single transducer, single transmitter/receiver, with no internal device to mechanically drive the transducer. The object of the present invention is to realize ultrasonic diagnosis 1!1vR1t, which has a simplified acoustic system and scanning system that do not require a transducer.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves M to and from a subject and diagnoses based on the received signals. The ultrasonic probe is equipped with a transducer that does not make any target movement, and a built-in WR-easy sensor that detects an II for integrating the amount of displacement of the ultrasonic probe that moves on the body surface of the subject. It is characterized by the fact that

(Function) A sensor for simple position and angle detection is provided inside the probe, and an image is displayed by grasping the movement of the probe as it moves on the body surface using a simple mechanism.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a probe according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 20 is the probe of this embodiment, 21 is a transducer for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic beams, 22 is a backing material provided on the back of the transducer 21 to absorb unnecessary ultrasonic beams directed toward the back, and 23 is a backing material. Supplying a transmission signal to the vibrator 21, and
This is a transmission line that converts the echo signal into an electrical signal and sends it to the receiver. Reference numeral 24 denotes a weight for measuring the acceleration caused by the fishing of the probe 20, and is composed of three elements arranged so as to form an angle of 1209, respectively, at the upper vertex 24a of the weight 24 shown in the figure. It is mechanically connected to the rod-shaped stress sensor 25 which is connected to the stress sensor 26 which is also arranged at an angle of 120° at the lower vertex 24b of the weight 24 and which is arranged parallel to each bundle of the stress sensor 25. It is connected to the. 27 is the weight 24. A 6-axis accelerometer composed of a stress sensor 25 and a stress sensor 26; 28 is a cable that sends signals sent and received to the vibrator 21, output signals from the 6-axis accelerator 31i degree meter 27, and other electrical signals to the main body of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. .

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the main body of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that processes the output of the six-axis accelerometer 27 of the probe 20. In the figure, the same parts as in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. In the figure,
31 is an amplifier that amplifies the acceleration signal from the 6-axis accelerometer 27, and its output is input to the multiplexer 32. The multiplexer 32 converts the six acceleration signal inputs into a series of signals and inputs them to the AD converter 33. The ft signal converted into a digital signal by the AD converter 33 is sent to a microprocessor (hereinafter referred to as μPU) 34. Reference numeral 35 denotes a push button switch attached to the probe 20, which is connected to the μPLI 34 via an interface 36.
4 sends a control signal to the multiplexer 32 and AD converter 33 to start operation. μPLJ34 calculates the input acceleration signal and calculates the linear acceleration in the x, y, and z directions and Ω.

It is separated into rotational angular acceleration of φ and 0, and further integrated into two points to obtain a position signal and an angle signal of 14. x, y, z, Ω, and φ obtained by this 6-axis accelerometer 27.

The acceleration of θ is as shown in FIG. That is, probe 2
0, the long axis direction is the two axes, and the two axes perpendicular to it are X
The rotational angular acceleration around the two axes is Ω, the x-axis, and the y-axis.
The rotational angular acceleration around the axis is defined as φ and θ, respectively.

37 is a transmitter/receiver that sends a transmission signal to the vibrator 21 and also amplifies and performs other signal processing on the echo signal fj from the vibrator 21. The echo signal is converted into a digital signal by an AD converter 38 and sent to a digital scan converter. (Hereinafter, DS
C) 39. , the DSC39 has the above μ
The position signal and angle signal from the PU34 are input at the same time, and the echo signal 1 is sent to the address based on those signals.
are incorporated to form an image. 40 is a TV modulator that modulates the output of the DSC 39 into a TV double signal, and displays it on TM01.

Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be explained.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing how the probe 20 is used.

In the figure, the same parts as in FIGS. 1, 2, and 5 are designated by the same reference numerals.

Figure (A) shows the sector scan performed by tilting the probe 20 back and forth, and Figure (B) shows the linear scan performed by moving the probe 20 in parallel. First, gel is applied to the tip of the probe 20 (acoustic aperture) and applied to the body surface 2 using kj. Next, move the probe 20 without pressing the push button switch. You can move it by tilting it and rotating it as shown in Figure 4 (a), or by translating it as shown in figure 4 (b).
Moreover, there is no problem in using both together. In FIG. 1, acceleration is applied with the movement of the probe 2o, and the stress sensor 25 and the stress sensor 26 are distorted and stress is generated due to the inertia of the weight 24, and when the stress sensor 25 and the stress sensor 26 are translated, the stress sensor 25 and the stress sensor 2
6 have the same output, and a vector in the traveling direction can be obtained from the distribution of the tensile stress of the three elements of each stress sensor 4t'. When there is rotation around the X-axis, the outputs of the stress sensors 25 and 26 in the y-axis direction are in opposite directions, so it is recognized as rotation.

The outputs of the stress sensors 25 and 26 due to this acceleration are input to the main body of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus via a cable 28, and are input to the amplifier 3.
1 and is amplified by multiplexer 32.
The signal is converted into a digital signal by the AD converter 33 and input to the μPU 34.

Multiplexer 32. As described above, the AD converter 33 is operated by a control signal output from the μPU 34 by pressing the push button switch 35. The output signals of these six stress sensors Toyo are calculated by u P tJ 34 into acceleration of each component of x, y, z, O, φ, and θ, and are converted into a position signal and an angle signal by two integration calculations. , to the DSC 39 to give data on the current position and direction. This bullet measurement result can be obtained by calculation using an algorithm used in the inertial navigation system. D5
Based on this information, C39 separately inputs the vibrator 21,
An image is constructed from echo signals passed through a transceiver 37 and an AD converter 38. In this case, acceleration No. 13 DSC3
Writing to 9 is controlled by a push button switch 35. [) The image input to the SC 39 undergoes necessary processing in the TV modulator 40 and is then displayed on the TV 41.

In the above operation of the probe, write on one side from the point where the push button switch 35 is pressed to the point where the switch is turned off. In this way, the initial value will be set to error free < 19. The DSC 39 determines whether the sound ray is T in the image drawn by the operation of the probe 20.
If it goes beyond the V41 screen, it is recommended to move or rotate the TM01 screen so that the last sound ray is always at the edge of the screen or angle of view. .

As explained above, according to the probe of this embodiment, it is possible to use an electronic beamformer with array electronics, an array transducer, or a mechanical sector scan. ! It has become possible to obtain an ultrasonic diagnostic device with only a stationary part, without any complicated electronic devices or mechanical devices. Additionally, devices that use inertial navigation like this system may produce errors over a long period of time, but since this occurs in a short period of time, such as creating a single image, the requirements for stability and reproducibility are not so great. It is not important and can be produced at low cost.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and may be modified in the following manner.

1. The part to the left of AA' in FIG. 2 may be summarized to make the signal transmission and reception wireless.

2. Instead of manual operation, a dedicated scanning mechanism, such as a simple clockwork mechanism, may be used for simple operations.

3. Even though it is manual, a guide means may be used to maintain the scanning plane.

4. Also, use another additional push button switch to switch from M mode to DS.
You may also instruct C to do this.

5.8/M mode may be performed.

Particularly on the M mode side, in this case, a sound ray movement M mode image called an iFIM scan is obtained.

6. A gyro may be used instead of using an acceleration sensor and performing integration twice. An example thereof is shown in FIG. In the figure, 50 is a rotatable weight with a built-in gear 11, and a rotation sensor 51 is attached to a part of its surface. Reference numeral 52 indicates a low-friction bearing that receives the weight 50, 53 indicates three arms that support the weight 50 and are attached to the outer case of the probe, and a strain gauge 54 is attached to the three arms 53. The installation has been completed. x, y,
When the z-axis is set as shown in the figure and the weight 50 is rotated around the l-axis, the weight 50 generates an upward or downward force and causes strain on the strain gauge.

Furthermore, since the weight 50 does not move when rotated around the X axis, a positional deviation occurs between the rotation sensor 51 and the arm 52, resulting in an output.

7. It goes without saying that the Jfl ultrasound diagnostic apparatus may be equipped with any other equipment such as pulse Doppler, CW Doppler, etc.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained in detail above, according to the present invention, there is no need to drive a vibrator, a single vibrator is required, and therefore a single transceiver is required, and displacement can be detected. It is possible to realize an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus equipped with a simple ultrasonic probe that includes various sensors for the purpose of the present invention, and the practical effects are great.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a diagram of an ultrasonic probe according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a block diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a diagram of each axis of a 6-axis accelerometer. Explanatory drawings, Fig. 4 is a diagram of an example of the use of the probe of the present invention, Fig. 5 is a diagram of a contact compound scanning method, Fig. 6 is a diagram of a mechanical sector scanning probe, and Fig. 7 is an illustration of an electronic probe. FIG. 8, which is an explanatory diagram of sector scanning, is a diagram of a sensor according to another embodiment. 2... Body surface 20... Probe 21...
Vibrator 22... Backing material 24... Weight 25.26... Stress sensor 27... 6-axis accelerometer 28... Cable 32... Multiplexer 33. 38... AD converter 34.・μPU 35 push button switch 37・
...Transmitter/receiver 39...DSC41...TV Patent applicant Yokogawa Medical Systems Co., Ltd. Fig. 1 24; Heavy duty Fig. 3 Fig. 4 35. Push button switch (b) 5th ward entrance 2, body surface Fig. 6 Fig. 7 (b) 11; Delay element 51; Rotation sensor 52; Bearing 53; 7-Munu 1 strain gauge

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an ultrasound diagnostic device that sends and receives ultrasound signals to and from a subject and diagnoses based on the received signals, a transducer that does not spontaneously make mechanical movements and an ultrasound probe that moves over the body surface of the subject. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising the ultrasonic probe having a built-in simple sensor for detecting various quantities for integrating displacement amounts.