KR101687654B1 - Transesophageal echocardiography tranducer, manufacturing method thereof and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A transesophageal ultrasonic transducer comprises: a sound element array of two-dimensional arrangement; an upper integrated circuit board electrically connected to an upper surface of the sound element array to form a plurality of upper channels parallel with a first direction; a lower integrated circuit board electrically connected to a lower surface of the sound element array to form a plurality of lower channels parallel with a second direction different from the first direction; a plurality of upper switching elements configured to open and close each of the plurality of upper channels; and a plurality of lower switching elements configured to open and close each of the plurality of lower channels.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a transdermal ultrasonic transducer, a method of manufacturing the same, and a method of controlling the transducer,

The present invention relates to a transdermal ultrasonic transducer, a method of manufacturing the same, and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a transdermal ultrasonic transducer for acquiring a 3D image through a two-dimensional array of acoustic elements, And a control method.

An ultrasound imaging system is an apparatus for transmitting an ultrasound signal toward a target to be diagnosed and obtaining an image of the target from the reflected ultrasound signal and displaying it on a display device, and is widely used in medical and diagnostic fields. Generally, an ultrasound imaging system generates ultrasonic waves using a plurality of ultrasonic transducers or probes, and receives the reflected ultrasonic waves using respective ultrasonic transducers. The received ultrasound signal is processed through a known method and displayed on the display device as a signal representing an image of the target.

In recent years, a system for obtaining a three-dimensional image of a lesion using a two-dimensional array transformer has been extensively studied and commercialized in an ultrasound imaging system that obtains a two-dimensional image of a lesion using a one-dimensional array transformer.

Conventionally, a two-dimensional array transducer has been manufactured using a semiconductor manufacturing technology (Korean Patent Application No. 10-2003-7004354) in manufacturing a two-dimensional array transducer used to obtain such a three-dimensional image, There has been a problem in that a manufacturing process is complicated and a lot of time and effort are required for manufacturing.

In order to solve such a problem, there is a need for a transillumination ultrasonic transducer capable of easily producing and obtaining a superior 3 D image, a method of manufacturing the transducer, and a control method thereof.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a transillumination ultrasound transducer which can acquire a superior 3 D image even though it has a simple structure and can be applied to a light degree echocardiography, And to provide a control method of a transillumination ultrasonic transducer capable of acquiring an excellent 3D image through a manufacturing method and simple control of a transducer.

The problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned problems, and other matters not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transdermal ultrasonic transducer including: a two-dimensional array of acoustic elements; a plurality of upper channels electrically connected to the upper surface of the acoustic element array, A lower integrated circuit substrate which is electrically connected to a lower surface of the acoustic element array and forms a plurality of lower channels parallel to a second direction different from the first direction, A plurality of upper switching elements and a plurality of lower switching elements for opening and closing the plurality of lower channels, respectively.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a transdermal ultrasonic transducer, the method comprising the steps of: preparing a two-dimensional array of acoustic elements; forming an upper integrated circuit board on the upper surface of the acoustic element array electrically Forming a plurality of lower channels in parallel with a second direction different from the first direction by electrically connecting the lower integrated circuit substrate to the lower surface of the acoustic device array Forming a plurality of upper switching elements for opening and closing the plurality of upper channels, respectively, and forming a plurality of lower switching elements for opening and closing the plurality of lower channels, respectively.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a transdermal ultrasonic transducer, comprising: switching one or more lower channels among a plurality of lower channels to ON state through corresponding lower switching elements, Turning on one or more upper channels of the upper channels through the corresponding upper switching elements, and, when the turned-on channel is a lower channel, turning on the one or more acoustic elements in the second direction belonging to the lower- And the lower channel formed in one or more acoustic elements in the first direction belonging to the upper channel in the ON state is connected to the lower channel formed in the upper direction, And turning it on through the corresponding lower switching element.

According to the present invention, a transdermal ultrasonic transducer capable of obtaining a superior 3-D image while having a simple structure and being applicable to a transdermal echocardiography, and a transdermal ultrasonic transducer It is possible to provide a control method of a transdermal ultrasonic transducer capable of acquiring an excellent 3D image through a manufacturing method and a simple control.

1 is a schematic side view of a transillumination ultrasound transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a schematic diagram of a transillumination ultrasound transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a diagram illustrating a process of acquiring 3D images in a transdermal ultrasonic transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart of a method of manufacturing a transdermal ultrasonic transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The advantages and features of the present invention, and the manner of achieving them, will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Is provided to fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of illustrating embodiments and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. In the present specification, the singular form includes plural forms unless otherwise specified in the specification. It is noted that the terms " comprises "and / or" comprising ", as used herein, do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other elements, steps and operations.

1 to 3, a transillumination ultrasonic transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. 1 is a schematic side view of a transillumination ultrasound transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a schematic diagram of a transillumination ultrasound transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a diagram illustrating a process of acquiring 3D images in a transdermal ultrasonic transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 to 3, a transdermal ultrasonic transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an acoustic element array 20, integrated circuit boards 70 and 80, and switching elements 51, 52, 53, 61 and 62 , 63).

The acoustic element array 20 may be a two-dimensional array of acoustic elements 20 having a two-dimensional array of n x m arrays in which a plurality of acoustic elements 10 are n in the first direction and m in the second direction. The acoustic element 10 constituting the acoustic element array 20 may be any one of a piezoelectric element and a micro-machined ultrasonic transducer.

On the other hand, the above-mentioned first direction represents the direction of one of the two neighboring edges defining the acoustic element array 20, and the second direction represents the direction of the other one of the corners. For example, the first direction may denote the lateral direction and the second direction may denote the longitudinal direction. Alternatively, the first direction may denote the X-axis direction and the second direction may denote the Y-axis direction. The first direction and the second direction may be orthogonal to each other, and may be an angle other than a right angle.

The acoustic element 10 constituting the acoustic element array 20 serves to generate ultrasonic waves toward the target and receive the ultrasonic waves reflected from the target. The ultrasonic signals thus received are processed and displayed as a signal representing the target image Appears on the device.

The integrated circuit substrates 70 and 80 are substrates on which integrated circuits are formed and are electrically connected to the acoustic element array 20 to form acoustic element groups 10 composed of acoustic elements 10 adjacent to each other in the first direction or the second direction These integrated circuit boards 70 and 80 form an upper integrated circuit board 70 and an acoustic circuit board 70 which are electrically connected to the upper surface of the acoustic element array 20, And a lower integrated circuit substrate 80 electrically connected to a lower surface of the element array 20. [

In the case of the upper integrated circuit board 70, a plurality of upper channels 31, 32, and 33 are formed in parallel with the first direction while being electrically connected to the upper surface of the acoustic device array 20. Specifically, 20, one upper channel is formed in one acoustic device group composed of n acoustic elements adjacent to each other along the first direction, m channels exist along the second direction, and a plurality of upper channels 31, 32, and 33 are formed.

In the case of the lower integrated circuit board 80, a plurality of lower channels 41, 42, 43 are formed in parallel with the second direction while being electrically connected to the lower surface of the acoustic device array 20. Specifically, One lower channel is formed in the acoustic device group composed of m acoustic devices adjacent to each other along the direction, and n channels exist along the first direction so that the plurality of lower channels 41, 42, and 43 are formed do.

That is, the upper channels 31, 32, and 33 are formed in the acoustic element array 20 in parallel with the first direction, and the lower channels 41, 42, Respectively.

Adhesion between the integrated circuit boards 70 and 80 and the acoustic element array 20 can be achieved by applying an epoxy bond to the integrated circuit boards 70 and 80 and then attaching the acoustic element array 20 and the integrated circuit boards 70 and 80 The adhesive can be bonded by using a conductive epoxy. Otherwise, when the conductive epoxy is used, an excellent energizing effect can be obtained.

The upper integrated circuit substrate 70 and the lower integrated circuit substrate 80 may be flexible printed circuit boards (FPCBs), but the present invention is not limited thereto and various substrates may be used according to applications.

The switching elements 51, 52 and 53 (61, 62 and 63) serve as switches for opening and closing the upper channels 31, 32 and 33 and the lower channels 41, 42 and 43, A plurality of upper switching elements 51, 52 and 53 for opening and closing the respective lower switching elements 31, 32 and 33 and a plurality of lower switching elements 61, 62 and 63 for opening and closing the lower channels 41, The upper switching elements 51, 52 and 53 may be formed in the same number as the plurality of upper channels 31, 32 and 33 and may be connected to the upper channels 31, 32 and 33, The lower switching elements 61, 62 and 63 may be formed in the same number as the lower channels 41, 42 and 43 and connected to the lower channels 41, 42 and 43.

That is, m upper switching elements 51, 52 and 53 are formed and n lower switching elements 61, 62 and 63 are formed, and each of the plurality of upper channels 31, 32, The lower channels 41, 42 and 43 can be individually opened and closed.

In order to control the process of opening and closing the channel by the switching elements 51, 52 and 53 (61, 62 and 63), there may be a switching element control part (not shown) And 3 D images can be generated by sequentially opening / closing the switching elements 51, 52, 53 (61, 62, 63) to simultaneously drive a plurality of channels arranged in two dimensions.

3, a 3-D image acquisition process using the transdermal ultrasonic transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail. First, a two-dimensional array 20 of nxm array, M upper channels 31, 32 and 33 arranged in parallel to the first direction and n lower channels 41, 42 and 43 arranged in parallel to the second direction are arranged on the acoustic element array 20 of the two- M upper switching elements 51, 52 and 53 connected to m upper channels 31, 32 and 33 and n lower switching elements connected to n lower channels 41, 42 and 43 61, 62, 63 are formed.

Next, in the acoustic element array 20, among the n acoustic element groups arranged in the second direction, there is an acoustic element group located at the rightmost position on the drawing, and the lower channel 41 formed in the acoustic element group is opened A lower switching element 61 is formed, and this lower switching element is in the OFF state (A).

Thereafter, the lower switching element 61 is turned on to electrically connect the lower channel 41 and the lower switching element 61, and then the upper channels 31 and 32 of the acoustic elements constituting the acoustic element group The upper switching elements 51, 52 and 53 of the OFF state B corresponding to the upper and lower switching elements 33 and 33 are turned from the bottom to the top in the ON state (C) Are sequentially driven.

In addition, when the lower switching element for opening and closing the lower channel formed in the acoustic element group adjacent to the left side in the drawing from the acoustic element group is in the ON state and the m upper switching elements for opening and closing the upper channel are turned on in turn, The acoustic elements in the acoustic element group adjacent to the left side are sequentially driven.

In this way, when turning on / off the switching element at time intervals, thousands of acoustic element driving modes are realized and 3D images are obtained.

Hereinafter, a transilluminated ultrasonic transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing a transilluminated ultrasonic transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

4, a method of manufacturing a transdermal ultrasonic transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. 4 is a flowchart of a method of manufacturing a transdermal ultrasonic transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, a method of manufacturing a transdermal ultrasonic transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention includes preparing a two-dimensional array of acoustic elements (S10), forming an upper integrated circuit (S20) of forming a plurality of upper channels in parallel with the first direction by electrically connecting the lower integrated circuit substrate to the lower integrated circuit substrate by electrically connecting the lower integrated circuit substrate to the lower surface of the acoustic device array (S30) forming a plurality of upper switching elements for opening and closing the plurality of upper channels, respectively, and forming a plurality of lower switching elements for opening and closing the plurality of lower channels, respectively Step S50.

The step S10 of preparing a two-dimensional array of acoustic elements includes the step of arranging a two-dimensional array of nxm arrays in which acoustic elements 10 as piezoelectric elements or micromechanical ultrasonic transducers are n in the first direction and m in the second direction Thereby preparing an acoustic element array 20 having a two-dimensional array.

The step (S20) of forming a plurality of upper channels parallel to the first direction by electrically connecting the upper integrated circuit substrate to the upper surface of the acoustic element array includes the step of forming the acoustic element array 20 by using an epoxy bond or a conductive epoxy M upper channels are formed in parallel with the first direction by electrically connecting to the integrated circuit substrate 70, for example, FPCB.

The step (S30) of forming a plurality of lower channels parallel to a second direction different from the first direction by electrically connecting the lower integrated circuit board to the lower surface of the acoustic element array may include bonding the acoustic element array 20 with the epoxy bond By using a conductive epoxy, the lower integrated circuit substrate 80, for example, the FPCB is electrically connected to form n lower channels parallel to the second direction.

The step (S40) of forming a plurality of upper switching elements for opening and closing the plurality of upper channels may include forming a plurality of upper channels 31 and 32 A plurality of upper switching elements 51, 52 and 53 corresponding to the plurality of upper channels 31, 32 and 33 are formed to open and close the upper and lower channels 33 and 33, respectively.

The step (S50) of forming a plurality of lower switching elements for respectively opening and closing the plurality of lower channels includes a step of forming a plurality of lower channels 41 and 42 62, and 63 are formed corresponding to the plurality of lower channels 41, 42, and 43 to open and close the lower switching elements 43 and 43, respectively.

After the lightweight ultrasonic transducer is manufactured according to the above manufacturing method, the 3 D image is obtained by driving the acoustic device by turning on / off the lower switching device and the upper switching device under the control of the switching device control unit in the manner described above.

The method of manufacturing a transdermal ultrasonic transducer according to the present invention is a method of manufacturing a transdermal ultrasonic transducer according to the present invention, in which only the acoustic element array 20 and two FPCBs are joined and the switching elements 51, 52, 53, 61, 62, and 63 are used to drive the acoustic device 10 to acquire 3D images, the manufacturing method is simple and the manufacturing cost is reduced. In addition, the manufacturing method of the transdermal ultrasonic transducer according to the present invention enables miniaturization of the ultrasonic transducer.

The method of manufacturing the transdermal ultrasonic transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention has been described above, and a method of controlling the transdermal ultrasonic transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

A method of controlling a transdermal ultrasonic transducer according to an embodiment of the present invention includes switching one or more lower channels of a plurality of lower channels to the ON state through corresponding lower switching devices, And the channel is turned ON through the corresponding upper switching element.

Thereafter, when the channel in the ON state is the lower channel, the upper channel formed in each of the one or more acoustic elements in the second direction belonging to the ON-state lower channel is turned ON through the corresponding upper switching element, The lower channel formed in one or more acoustic elements in the first direction belonging to the upper channel in the ON state is turned ON through the corresponding lower switching element.

At this time, the on / off state of the upper switching element and the lower switching element is controlled by the switching element controller, and the lower switching element and the upper switching element are turned on / off under the control of the switching element controller to drive the acoustic element D image.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, You will understand. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive.

10: Acoustic device 20: Acoustic device array
31, 32, 33: upper channel 41, 42, 43: lower channel
51, 52, 53: upper switching element 61, 62, 63: lower switching element
70: upper integrated circuit board 80: lower integrated circuit board

Claims (10)

As a transillumination ultrasonic transducer,
A two-dimensional array of acoustic elements;
An upper channel in which a plurality of acoustic elements neighboring in a first direction of the acoustic element array are connected in series;
A lower channel in which a plurality of acoustic elements neighboring in a second direction of the acoustic element array are connected in series;
An upper integrated circuit substrate electrically connected to the upper surface of the acoustic element array to form a plurality of upper channels;
A lower integrated circuit board electrically connected to the lower surface of the acoustic device array to form a plurality of the lower channels;
A plurality of upper switching elements formed on the upper integrated circuit substrate and opening / closing the plurality of upper channels, respectively;
A plurality of lower switching elements formed on the lower integrated circuit board, each of the lower switching elements opening and closing the plurality of lower channels; And
And a switching element controller for controlling the process of opening and closing the respective channels of the upper switching element and the lower switching element,
A plurality of different acoustic elements correspond to each other in a one-to-one correspondence to each of a plurality of different intersections formed between a plurality of the upper channels and a plurality of the lower channels,
Wherein the acoustic device is electrically connected at an intersection of any one of the upper channels and the lower channels so that any one upper channel formed on the upper surface of the acoustic device and one lower channel formed on the lower surface of the acoustic device are electrically and simultaneously Is driven for a short time interval,
The upper switching element and the lower switching element are selectively controlled according to the control of the switching element control part and the upper channel or the lower channel is individually opened and closed by the selectively controlled upper switching element or the lower switching element Wherein driving of each of the acoustic elements corresponding to one-to-one on a plurality of intersections is variably controlled. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first direction and the second direction are orthogonal to each other. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the acoustic element is one of a piezoelectric element and an ultrasonic mechanical ultrasonic transducer. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the upper integrated circuit board and the lower integrated circuit board are flexible printed circuit boards (FPCBs). The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the acoustic element array and the upper integrated circuit board and the lower integrated circuit board are bonded with an epoxy bond or a conductive epoxy bond. A method of manufacturing a transdermal ultrasonic transducer according to claim 1,
Preparing a two-dimensional array of acoustic elements;
Forming a plurality of upper channels in the upper integrated circuit in which a plurality of acoustic elements neighboring in a first direction of the acoustic element array are connected in series;
Forming a plurality of subchannels in a lower integrated circuit in which a plurality of acoustic elements neighboring in a second direction of the acoustic element array are connected in series;
Electrically connecting the upper integrated circuit substrate to an upper surface of the acoustic device array;
Electrically connecting the lower integrated circuit board to a lower surface of the acoustic device array;
Forming a plurality of upper switching elements for opening and closing the plurality of upper channels, respectively;
Forming a plurality of lower switching elements for opening and closing the plurality of lower channels, respectively;
Forming a switching element control part for controlling a process of opening and closing each channel of the upper switching element and the lower switching element; And
The acoustic device array is connected to the upper integrated circuit substrate and the lower integrated circuit substrate such that a plurality of different acoustic devices correspond one to one to each of a plurality of different intersections formed between the plurality of upper channels and the plurality of lower channels Comprising:
Wherein the acoustic device is electrically connected at an intersection of any one of the upper channels and the lower channels so that any one upper channel formed on the upper surface of the acoustic device and one lower channel formed on the lower surface of the acoustic device are electrically and simultaneously Is driven for a short time interval,
The upper switching element and the lower switching element are selectively controlled according to the control of the switching element control part and the upper channel or the lower channel is individually opened and closed by the selectively controlled upper switching element or the lower switching element Wherein driving of each of the acoustic elements corresponding to one-to-one on a plurality of intersections is variably controlled. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the acoustic element array, the upper integrated circuit board, and the lower integrated circuit board are bonded with an epoxy bond or a conductive epoxy bond. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the first direction and the second direction are orthogonal to each other. A control method for a transillumination ultrasonic transducer according to claim 1,
One or more subchannels of the plurality of subchannels are turned to the ON state that is electrically short-circuited through corresponding lower switching elements, or one or more upper channels of the plurality of upper channels are electrically short-circuited Turning it on; And
When the channel in the ON state is the lower channel, the upper channel formed in each of the one or more acoustic elements in the second direction belonging to the ON-state lower channel is turned ON through the corresponding upper switching element,
Turning on a lower channel formed in each of at least one acoustic element in a first direction belonging to an upper channel that has been turned ON through a corresponding lower switching element when the channel in which the ON state is the upper channel,
The process of adjusting an ON state, which is an electrical short-circuit state, or an OFF state, which is an electrically open state, through the upper switching element and the lower switching element is performed by a switching element controller,
A plurality of different acoustic elements correspond to each other in a one-to-one correspondence to each of a plurality of different intersections formed between a plurality of the upper channels and a plurality of the lower channels,
Wherein the acoustic device is electrically connected at an intersection of any one of the upper channels and the lower channels so that any one upper channel formed on the upper surface of the acoustic device and one lower channel formed on the lower surface of the acoustic device are electrically and simultaneously Is driven for a short time interval,
The upper switching element and the lower switching element are selectively controlled according to the control of the switching element control part and the upper channel or the lower channel is individually opened and closed by the selectively controlled upper switching element or the lower switching element Further comprising the step of variably controlling driving of each of the acoustic elements corresponding one-to-one on a plurality of intersections.
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