KR20210085117A - Ultrasound probe - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe comprising: a bonding layer; a sound absorbing layer formed on the bonding layer; and a vibrator existing between the bonding layer and the sound absorbing layer, wherein the sound absorbing layer disperses heat generated by the bonding layer or the vibrator, and the sound absorbing layer comprises a thermoplasticity plastic and a thermally conductive filler. Therefore, an objective of the present invention is to provide the ultrasonic probe.

Description

Ultrasonic Probe {ULTRASOUND PROBE}

The present application relates to an ultrasound probe.

With social changes in which the importance of human health and happiness is increasing day by day, the importance of medical devices is increasing, and the proportion of ultrasound imaging devices in the industrial structure related to medical devices is increasing. The most important performance of the ultrasound imaging apparatus is image quality, and one of the most important factors determining the image quality is an ultrasound transducer. Accordingly, a high-performance ultrasound transducer is essential for a high-definition ultrasound imaging apparatus.

The most representative ultrasound equipment used for medical purposes is an ultrasound imaging device mainly used to image organs and fetuses inside the human body. Unlike other medical devices for internal imaging, such as X-ray imaging machines, computed tomography (CT), or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the diagnostician arbitrarily steers the radiation angle of the ultrasound to the human body desired by the diagnostician. There are advantages in that a specific point inside the body can be contrasted, there is no damage to the human body such as radiation, and an image can be acquired in a relatively short time compared to other medical equipment for contrasting the inside of the human body. In order to realize an image with an ultrasound imaging device, a means and/or device for mutually converting an ultrasound signal and an electrical signal is essential, and this is called an ultrasound probe or an ultrasound transducer in the art.

However, since these ultrasonic probes operate with electrical energy and contact the human body to transmit ultrasonic waves into the human body, there is a need to keep the temperature of the surface as low as possible. The heat generated from the part in contact with the human body may be conducted to the external environment or the sound-absorbing layer of the rear part of the probe, but the conventional sound-absorbing layer has a disadvantage of low thermal conductivity, which leads to the disadvantage that the ultrasonic probe cannot be used for a long time.

Korean Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-2016-0079336, which is the background technology of the present application, relates to an ultrasound probe device and an ultrasound imaging device. _{The above publication discloses an ultrasonic probe using epoxy, HfO 2} powder, etc. as a sound-absorbing material, but does not solve the problem that the temperature of the portion in contact with the ultrasonic probe is kept high.

An object of the present application is to solve the problems of the prior art described above, and to provide an ultrasound probe.

However, the technical process to be achieved by the embodiment of the present application is not limited to the technical problems described above, and other technical problems may exist.

As a technical means for achieving the above technical problem, the first aspect of the present application, a bonding layer; a sound absorbing layer formed on the bonding layer; and a vibrator present between the bonding layer and the sound-absorbing layer, wherein the sound-absorbing layer disperses heat generated from the bonding layer or the vibrator, and the sound-absorbing layer comprises a thermoplastic plastic and a thermally conductive filler. , to provide an ultrasonic probe.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the sound-absorbing layer may have a thermal conductivity of 5.0 W/mK to 25 W/mK, but is not limited thereto.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the sound-absorbing layer may have an attenuation coefficient of 3.0 dB/mm to 20.0 dB/mm with respect to the ultrasonic wave generated by the vibrator, but is not limited thereto.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the ultrasonic wave may have a frequency of 1 MHz to 30 MHz, but is not limited thereto.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the thickness of the sound-absorbing layer may be 14 mm to 20 mm, but is not limited thereto.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the thermally conductive filler may have a thermal conductivity of 50 W/mK to 5,000 W/mK, but is not limited thereto.

According to the exemplary embodiment of the present application, the sound-absorbing layer may have an acoustic impedance of 1 Mryl to 6 Mryl, but is not limited thereto.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the thermoplastic plastic is a polyolefin resin, a polyamide (PA) resin, a polyester resin, an acrylonitrile-butadiene copolymer resin, poly Carbonate (polycarbonate) resin, polyphenylene sulfide (Polyphenylene sulfide, PPS) resin, thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) resin, PS (polystyrene), and may include one selected from the group consisting of combinations thereof, but It is not limited.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the thermally conductive filler is MLG (multilayer graphene), BN (Boron nitride), AlN, Al ₂ O ₃ , Al, Fe, Cu, graphene, carbon nanotube, carbon black, graphite, carbon It may include one selected from the group consisting of fibers, and combinations thereof, but is not limited thereto.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the ultrasound probe may further include a lens layer for focusing ultrasound, but is not limited thereto.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the vibrator is a PZT-based material, a PT-based material, BaTiO ₃ , CdS, ZnO, Li ₂ B ₄ O ₇ , LiTaO ₃ , SiO ₂ , AlPO ₄ , LiNbO ₃ , AlN, PVDF (Polyvinylidene) fluoride), epoxy, silicone rubber, urethane, and a piezoelectric material selected from the group consisting of combinations thereof, but is not limited thereto.

In addition, a second aspect of the present application comprises the steps of forming a vibrator on the bonding layer; Preparing a sound-absorbing layer by an injection process; and forming the sound-absorbing layer on the vibrator, wherein the sound-absorbing layer includes a thermoplastic plastic and a thermally conductive filler.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the manufacturing of the sound-absorbing layer may include mixing the thermoplastic plastic and the thermally conductive filler into pellets and injection processing the pellets, but is not limited thereto. .

According to one embodiment of the present application, the injection processing of the pellets may be performed at a temperature of 200°C to 300°C, but is not limited thereto.

The above-described problem solving means are merely exemplary, and should not be construed as limiting the present application. In addition to the exemplary embodiments described above, additional embodiments may exist in the drawings and detailed description.

Conventional ultrasonic probes have a problem in that they cannot be in contact with the human body for a long time because the degree of conduction of heat generated from the lens or the bonding layer to the sound absorbing layer is low.

However, since the ultrasonic probe according to the present application uses a thermoplastic plastic and a thermally conductive filler as the sound-absorbing layer, the degree of conduction of the heat of the bonding layer to the sound-absorbing layer is increased. Accordingly, when the ultrasonic probe is in operation, the temperature of the bonding layer is lower than the temperature of the bonding layer of the conventional ultrasound probe in operation, so that it can be in contact with the human body for a long time.

In addition, the ultrasonic probe according to the present application has a low surface temperature because heat can be well dispersed by the sound-absorbing layer. Accordingly, a higher voltage may be applied than that of a conventional ultrasound probe, and the strength of a signal received by the probe may be increased by the voltage, and thus an ultrasound image may be sharpened.

In addition, since the ultrasonic probe according to the present application is manufactured by an injection process, it can be manufactured at a lower cost than a conventional ultrasonic probe, which is advantageous for mass production.

Moreover, since the ultrasonic probe according to the present application has a similar attenuation coefficient to that of the conventional ultrasonic probe, it is convenient to use and the performance can be maintained compared to the conventional ultrasonic probe.

However, the effects obtainable herein are not limited to the above-described effects, and other effects may exist.

1 is a schematic diagram of an ultrasound probe according to an embodiment of the present application.
2 is a schematic diagram of an ultrasound probe according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application.
3 is a temperature recorded image of an ultrasound probe according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
4 is a temperature recording image of an ultrasound probe according to a comparative example of the present application.
5 is a temperature recording image of an ultrasound probe according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
6 is a temperature recording image of an ultrasound probe according to a comparative example of the present application.
7 is a graph of a surface temperature change of an ultrasonic probe according to an embodiment and a comparative example of the present application.
8 is a graph showing an increase in surface temperature of an ultrasonic probe according to an embodiment and a comparative example of the present application.
9 is a graph showing the intensity of an ultrasonic wave input to an ultrasonic probe according to an embodiment and a comparative example of the present application.
10 is a graph showing the intensity of an ultrasonic wave input to an ultrasonic probe according to an embodiment and a comparative example of the present application.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present application pertains can easily implement them.

However, the present application may be embodied in several different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. And in order to clearly explain the present application in the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted, and similar reference numerals are attached to similar parts throughout the specification.

Throughout this specification, when a part is said to be "connected" to another part, it includes not only the case where it is "directly connected" but also the case where it is "electrically connected" with another element interposed therebetween. do.

Throughout this specification, when it is said that a member is positioned "on", "on", "on", "under", "under", or "under" another member, this means that a member is positioned on the other member. It includes not only the case where they are in contact, but also the case where another member exists between two members.

Throughout this specification, when a part "includes" a component, it means that other components may be further included, rather than excluding other components, unless otherwise stated.

As used herein, the terms "about," "substantially," and the like are used in a sense at or close to the numerical value when the manufacturing and material tolerances inherent in the stated meaning are presented, and to aid in the understanding of the present application. It is used to prevent an unconscionable infringer from using the mentioned disclosure in an unreasonable manner. Also, throughout this specification, "step to" or "step to" does not mean "step for".

Throughout this specification, the term "combination of these" included in the expression of the Markush form means one or more mixtures or combinations selected from the group consisting of the components described in the expression of the Markush form, and the components It is meant to include one or more selected from the group consisting of.

Throughout this specification, reference to “A and/or B” means “A or B, or A and B”.

Hereinafter, the ultrasonic probe of the present application will be described in detail with reference to embodiments, examples, and drawings. However, the present application is not limited to these embodiments and examples and drawings.

As a technical means for achieving the above technical problem, the first aspect of the present application, the bonding layer 100; a sound-absorbing layer 300 formed on the bonding layer 100; and a vibrator 200 present between the bonding layer 100 and the sound-absorbing layer 300, wherein the sound-absorbing layer 300 absorbs heat generated by the bonding layer 100 or the vibrator 200. Dispersing, and the sound-absorbing layer 300 is to include a thermoplastic plastic 310 and a thermally conductive filler 320, provides an ultrasonic probe (10).

According to one embodiment of the present application, the thermally conductive filler 320 may be uniformly dispersed in the thermoplastic plastic 310 according to the shape and size of the thermally conductive filler 320, but is not limited thereto. .

In this regard, when the thermally conductive filler 320 is uniformly dispersed in the thermoplastic plastic 310, thermal conductivity and/or sound absorption of the sound-absorbing layer 300 may be reduced, and the sound-absorbing layer 300 may have different thermal conductivity and/or sound absorption properties depending on the location.

1 is a schematic diagram of an ultrasound probe 10 according to an embodiment of the present application. In this regard, the thermally conductive filler 320 exists only by being kneaded inside the thermoplastic plastic 310 , and the size and shape of the particles of the thermally conductive filler 320 may exist in a form different from that of FIG. 1 .

For example, as will be described later, when the thermally conductive filler 320 is fine particles of 1 μm to 10 μm, the thermally conductive filler 320 is uniformly or non-uniformly (homogeneous) in the thermoplastic plastic 310 ( may be heterogeneous). In addition, when the thermally conductive filler 320 has a diameter of 1 μm to 1 mm and a rod shape of 10 mm or less in length, the thermally conductive filler 320 may be uniformly dispersed as shown in FIG. 1 , but may be positioned, However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

In this regard, the ultrasonic probe 10 may further include a wire (not shown) for applying a voltage to the bonding layer 100 or the vibrator 200 , but is not limited thereto.

An ultrasonic probe according to the present disclosure refers to a device for detecting the inside of an object through ultrasonic waves generated by vibration of some parts by application of a voltage.

Since the temperature of the bonding layer 100 bonded to the skin rapidly rises due to the generation of resistance heat and the like due to the application of voltage in the ultrasonic probe 10, it is important to keep the temperature of the bonding layer 100 low. Do.

Specifically, the vibrator 200 vibrates by the voltage applied from the electric wire, and in this process, ultrasonic waves can be generated. A portion of the ultrasound may pass through the skin through the bonding layer 100 , and may be reflected back to be received by the bonding layer 100 . At this time, by comparing the time difference between when ultrasonic waves are propagated and received again in the bonding layer 100 and the intensity of the ultrasonic waves when they are received, the state inside the human body can be checked without surgery.

In this regard, if the applied voltage increases, the resistance heat also increases, but there is an advantage in that an image obtained by reflection of ultrasonic waves becomes clear. The ultrasonic probe 10 in which the degree of diffusion of the resistive heat is improved, can apply a higher voltage than a conventional ultrasonic probe, and thus has the advantage of obtaining a high-resolution image.

The thermoplastic plastic 310 according to the present application may have fluidity by heat, and has an advantage of high processability, unlike thermosetting plastics cured by heat.

Since the sound-absorbing layer of the conventional ultrasonic probe uses a thermosetting plastic, the processability is low, and manufacturing cost and time are required. As will be described later, the sound-absorbing layer 300 of the ultrasonic probe 10 according to the present application is manufactured by kneading and injecting the thermoplastic plastic 310 and the thermally conductive filler 320, so it is higher than the conventional sound-absorbing layer. It is possible to reduce manufacturing cost and time due to processability.

According to the exemplary embodiment of the present application, the sound-absorbing layer 300 may have a thermal conductivity of 5.0 W/mK to 25 W/mK, but is not limited thereto. For example, the sound absorbing layer 300 is about 5 W/mK to about 25 W/mK, about 5 W/mK to about 20 W/mK, about 5 W/mK to about 15 W/mK, about 5 W /mK to about 10 W/mK, about 10 W/mK to about 25 W/mK, about 15 W/mK to about 25 W/mK, about 20 W/mK to about 25 W/mK, about 10 W/mK to about 20 W/mK, or about 15 W/mK, but is not limited thereto.

The sound-absorbing layer 300 according to the present application means an area for preventing the ultrasonic waves not propagating to the bonding layer 100 from acting as noise when checking the state inside the human body during the operation of the ultrasonic probe 10 . In the prior art, the sound-absorbing layer was prepared from thermosetting plastic and/or metal powder, but the conventional sound-absorbing layer had a disadvantage of low thermal conductivity.

However, the sound absorbing layer 300 may have high thermal conductivity by the thermally conductive filler 320 even if the thermal conductivity of the thermoplastic plastic 310 is low. Specifically, since the sound absorbing layer 300 has a structure in which the thermally conductive filler 320 present in the form of fine particles is evenly distributed inside the thermoplastic plastic 310, a voltage is applied to the ultrasonic probe 10 Then, heat generated in the vibrator 200 or the bonding layer 100 may be evenly distributed by the thermally conductive filler 320 of the sound absorbing layer 300 . As a result, the temperature of the bonding layer 100 is maintained at 30° C. to 60° C., so that it can be in contact with the human body for a long time compared to the conventional ultrasonic probe.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the sound-absorbing layer 300 may have an attenuation coefficient of 3.0 dB/mm to 20.0 dB/mm with respect to the ultrasonic wave generated by the vibrator 200, but is not limited thereto. . For example, the sound absorbing layer 300 is about 3 dB/mm to about 20 dB/mm, about 6 dB/mm to about 20 dB/mm, about 9 dB/mm to about 20 dB/mm, about 12 dB /mm to about 20 dB/mm, about 15 dB/mm to about 20 dB/mm, about 18 dB/mm to about 20 dB/mm, about 3 dB/mm to about 6 dB/mm, about 3 dB/mm to about 9 dB/mm, from about 3 dB/mm to about 12 dB/mm, from about 3 dB/mm to about 15 dB/mm, from about 3 dB/mm to about 18 dB/mm, from about 6 dB/mm to about It may have an attenuation coefficient of 18 dB/mm, about 9 dB/mm to about 15 dB/mm, or about 12 dB/mm, but is not limited thereto.

When ultrasonic waves pass through a medium, the intensity after passing through the medium such as scattering or absorption in the medium is lower than the intensity before passing through the medium. The intensity of the ultrasonic wave, based on the same material, decreases as the thickness of the medium increases, and this ratio is referred to as an attenuation coefficient.

The sound absorbing layer 300 may attenuate the ultrasonic waves generated in the bonding layer 100 or the vibrator 200 by the thermally conductive filler 320 and the thermoplastic plastic 310, which is of a conventional ultrasonic probe. It may be consistent with the mechanism of the ultrasonic attenuation process.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the vibrator 200 is a PZT-based material, a PT-based material, BaTiO ₃ , CdS, ZnO, Li ₂ B ₄ O ₇ , LiTaO ₃ , SiO ₂ , AlPO ₄ , LiNbO ₃ , AlN, It may include, but is not limited to, a piezoelectric material selected from the group consisting of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), epoxy, silicone rubber, urethane, and combinations thereof.

Since the vibrator 200 is a piezoelectric material, it can convert electrical energy into pressure. The vibrator 200 vibrates at a high speed by an alternating voltage to generate ultrasonic waves so that the inside of the human body can be inspected.

According to the exemplary embodiment of the present application, the intensity of the ultrasonic wave generated by the vibrator 200 may be determined by the AC voltage, but is not limited thereto. Specifically, since the ultrasonic wave has to penetrate into the human body and be reflected from the surface of various organs such as blood vessels or organs, it must have a certain strength or more to penetrate into the human body. As the intensity of the ultrasonic wave increases, the vibration of the vibrator 200 increases, which means that the voltage applied to the vibrator 200 should increase. However, as the voltage increases, the ultrasonic waves absorbed by the rear surface of the vibrator 200 , that is, the sound absorbing layer 300 also increase, and the heat generated by the resistance heat of the ultrasonic probe 10 and the absorbed ultrasonic energy. Since the temperature of the bonding layer 100 may increase due to energy, etc., the AC voltage should have a voltage range of 200 V to 230 V and a frequency of 50 Hz to 60 Hz.

The bonding layer 100 according to the present disclosure refers to a portion of the ultrasound probe 10 that directly contacts the skin. In this regard, the bonding layer 100 irradiates ultrasound toward the skin, receives ultrasound reflected from an organ to be observed with the ultrasound probe 10, and at the same time, between the skin and the bonding layer 100 . This is to remove ultrasonic waves scattered at the interface.

In this case, the intensity of the reflected ultrasonic wave may be weakened in the process of penetrating the skin. In order to sense the weak intensity, the impedance of the bonding layer 100 may have a median value between the impedance of the ultrasound probe 10 and the impedance of the skin.

When the thickness of the bonding layer 100 corresponds to 1/4 of the thickness of the ultrasound, the ultrasound is not reflected between the skin and the interface between the bonding layer 100 .

As will be described later, the ultrasonic waves received by the bonding layer 100 may be reflected in a direction other than the bonding layer 100 depending on an organ inside the human body. Since the ultrasonic waves reflected in the other directions may weaken the intensity of ultrasonic waves to be received by the bonding layer 100 , the ultrasonic probe 10 includes a lens layer for focusing the ultrasonic waves received from the bonding layer 100 . (110) may be further included, but is not limited thereto.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the ultrasonic wave may have a frequency of 1 MHz to 30 MHz, but is not limited thereto. The above-described damping coefficient may be changed according to the frequency of the ultrasonic wave.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the thickness of the sound-absorbing layer 300 may be 14 mm to 20 mm, but is not limited thereto. For example, the thickness of the sound absorbing layer 300 is about 14 nm to about 20 nm, about 15 nm to about 20 nm, about 16 nm to about 20 nm, about 17 nm to about 20 nm, about 18 nm to about 20 nm, about 19 nm to about 20 nm, about 14 nm to about 19 nm, about 14 nm to about 18 nm, about 14 nm to about 17 nm, about 14 nm to about 16 nm, about 14 nm to about 15 nm , about 15 nm to about 19 nm, about 16 nm to about 18 nm, or about 17 nm, but is not limited thereto.

According to the exemplary embodiment of the present application, the thermally conductive filler 320 may have a thermal conductivity of 50 W/mK to 5,000 W/mK, but is not limited thereto. For example, the thermally conductive filler 320 is about 50 W/mK to about 5,000 W/mK, about 100 W/mK to about 5,000 W/mK, about 150 W/mK to about 5,000 W/mK, about 200 W/mK to about 5,000 W/mK, about 250 W/mK to about 5,000 W/mK, about 500 W/mK to about 5,000 W/mK, about 750 W/mK to about 5,000 W/mK, about 1,000 W/mK mK to about 5,000 W/mK, about 2,000 W/mK to about 5,000 W/mK, about 3,000 W/mK to about 5,000 W/mK, about 4,000 W/mK to about 5,000 W/mK, about 50 W/mK to about 100 W/mK, about 50 W/mK to about 150 W/mK, about 50 W/mK to about 200 W/mK, about 50 W/mK to about 250 W/mK, about 50 W/mK to about 500 W/mK, about 50 W/mK to about 750 W/mK, about 50 W/mK to about 1,000 W/mK, about 50 W/mK to about 2,000 W/mK, about 50 W/mK to about 3,000 W/mK mK, about 50 W/mK to about 4,000 W/mK, about 100 W/mK to about 4,000 W/mK, about 150 W/mK to about 3,000 W/mK, about 200 W/mK to about 2,000 W/mK, It may have a thermal conductivity of about 250 W/mK to about 1,000 W/mK, or about 500 W/mK to about 750 W/mK, but is not limited thereto.

According to the exemplary embodiment of the present application, the sound-absorbing layer 300 may have an acoustic impedance of 1 Mray to 6 Mryl, but is not limited thereto. In this regard, when the acoustic impedance of the sound absorbing layer 300 is less than 1 Mrayl, the pulse length is increased and the bandwidth is decreased, so that the sensitivity can be increased. However, if the sensitivity is too high, a lot of noise may exist in the image obtained by the ultrasound probe 10 . Conversely, when the acoustic impedance is greater than or equal to 6 Mrayl, the pulse length may be reduced and the bandwidth may be increased, resulting in lower sensitivity.

Acoustic impedance according to the present application is expressed as the product of the velocity of a sound wave passing through a specific medium and the density of the medium, and means the relative amplitude of the reflected energy and transmitted energy of the sound wave.

As described above, the sound-absorbing layer 300 includes the thermoplastic plastic 310 and the thermally conductive filler 320 . In this regard, the damping coefficient of the sound-absorbing layer 300 is greatly affected by the thermoplastic plastic 310, and the thermally conductive filler 320 fixes the shape of the sound-absorbing layer 300 and reinforces the strength. , is to improve the heat dissipation of the sound-absorbing layer (300)

According to one embodiment of the present application, the thermoplastic plastic 310 is a polyolefin resin, a polyamide (PA) resin, a polyester resin, an acrylonitrile-butadiene copolymer (Acrylonitrile-Butadiene copolymer) Resins, polycarbonate resins, polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) resins, thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) resins, PS (polystyrene), and combinations thereof may include those selected from the group consisting of However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the thermoplastic plastic 310 may be a PA resin, but is not limited thereto.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the thermally conductive filler 320 is MLG (multilayer graphene), BN (boron nitride), AlN, Al ₂ O ₃ , Al, Fe, Cu, graphene, carbon nanotubes, carbon black , graphite, carbon fiber, and may include one selected from the group consisting of combinations thereof, but is not limited thereto.

According to the exemplary embodiment of the present application, the thermally conductive filler 320 may have a diameter of 1 μm to 200 μm, but is not limited thereto. For example, the thermally conductive filler 320 may be about 1 μm to about 200 μm, about 10 μm to about 200 μm, about 20 μm to about 200 μm, about 30 μm to about 200 μm, about 40 μm to about 200 μm, about 50 μm to about 200 μm, about 75 μm to about 200 μm, about 100 μm to about 200 μm, about 125 μm to about 200 μm, about 150 μm to about 200 μm, about 175 μm to about 200 μm, about 1 μm to about 175 μm, about 1 μm to about 150 μm, about 1 μm to about 125 μm, about 1 μm to about 100 μm, about 1 μm to about 75 μm, about 1 μm to about 50 μm, about 1 μm to about 40 μm, about 1 μm to about 30 μm, about 1 μm to about 20 μm, about 1 μm to about 10 μm, about 10 μm to about 175 μm, about 20 μm to about 150 μm, about 30 μm to about 125 μm, about 40 μm to about 100 μm, or about 50 μm to about 75 μm, but is not limited thereto.

The conventional sound-absorbing layer used a metal powder such as Hf powder and Mn powder as a thermally conductive filler. The metal powder was useful when fixing the shape of the sound-absorbing layer, but may not be homogenously distributed in the sound-absorbing layer depending on the density of the metal powder and the manufacturing method of the metal powders. In addition, as will be described later, since the conventional sound-absorbing layer required a mold in the manufacturing process, there was a disadvantage that the manufacturing process took a long time.

2 is a schematic diagram of an ultrasound probe 10 according to an embodiment of the present application.

According to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the ultrasound probe 10 may further include a lens layer 110 for focusing ultrasound, but is not limited thereto.

As described above, the ultrasound probe 10 is a device for receiving and graphicizing the ultrasound reflected from the inside of the human body. In this regard, the ultrasonic wave may have an incident angle of 0° or more because curvature exists in organs, organs, and the like of the human body. Since the ultrasonic probe 10 cannot receive all of the reflected ultrasonic waves, the lens layer 110, which is a component for focusing the reflected ultrasonic waves, may be required to measure the signal strength.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the ultrasonic probe 10 may further include a ground layer 400 and a flexible circuit board 500, but is not limited thereto.

The flexible circuit board 500 may supply an electrical signal to the vibrator 200 by making contact with the vibrator 200 , and the ground layer 400 is for grounding the flexible circuit board 500 .

In this regard, although each part is shown separately in FIG. 2 , the ultrasonic probe 10 may exist by combining each part.

Although omitted herein, the ultrasound probe 10 is connected to an external electronic device, so that the reflected ultrasound data can be graphicized to see through the inside of the human body.

In addition, the second aspect of the present application comprises the steps of forming the vibrator 200 on the bonding layer 100; manufacturing a sound-absorbing layer 300 by an injection process; And in the method of manufacturing the ultrasonic probe (10) comprising the step of forming the sound-absorbing layer (300) on the vibrator (200), the sound-absorbing layer (300) is a thermoplastic plastic (310) and a thermally conductive filler (320) ), which provides a method of manufacturing the ultrasonic probe 10, including.

In this regard, the steps of manufacturing the sound absorbing layer 300 and forming the vibrator 200 on the bonding layer 100 may be performed irrespective of the order. For example, after manufacturing the sound absorbing layer 300 and forming the vibrator 200 on the bonding layer 100 , or after forming the vibrator 200 on the bonding layer 100 , the sound absorption layer (300) may be prepared, or the above two steps may be performed at the same time, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

With respect to the method of manufacturing an ultrasound probe according to the second aspect of the present application, detailed description of parts overlapping with the first aspect of the present application is omitted, but even if the description is omitted, the contents described in the first aspect of the present application The same can be applied to both sides

Conventional ultrasonic probe used a thermosetting plastic as a sound-absorbing layer. At this time, when the thermosetting plastic is heated to a low temperature, it cannot be injected into the mold, and when heated to a high temperature, curing occurs before injection into the mold.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the manufacturing of the sound-absorbing layer 300 includes mixing the thermoplastic plastic 310 and the thermally conductive filler 320 into pellets and injection processing the pellets (not shown). It may include, but is not limited to.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the injection processing of the pellets may be performed at a temperature of 200°C to 300°C, but is not limited thereto. In this regard, the pressure applied to injection-process the pellets may be different depending on the shape of the product. For example, a pressure of up to 10,000 psi may be applied to the pellets during injection processing of the pellets.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the size of the pellets may be 1 mm to 5 mm, but is not limited thereto. For example, the size of the pellets is about 1 mm to about 5 mm, about 2 mm to about 5 mm, about 3 mm to about 5 mm, about 4 mm to about 5 mm, about 1 mm to about 4 mm, about 1 mm to about 3 mm, about 1 mm to about 2 mm, about 2 mm to about 4 mm, or about 3 mm, but is not limited thereto.

Pellets according to the present application means a material having a form of small grains, such as rice grains. The pellets are formed by cooling a material in which the thermoplastic plastic 310 and the thermally conductive filler 320 are mixed, and have a constant shape and size. If the shape and size of the pellets are not uniform, it may not be uniformly melted by heat, and in this case, there is a disadvantage that the quality of the molded product may be deteriorated.

The sound-absorbing layer 300 may be manufactured by injecting a mixture in which the thermoplastic plastic 310 and the thermally conductive filler 320 are homogeneously present, that is, the pellet. Accordingly, the sound-absorbing layer 300 may be manufactured by a simple process of extrusion and injection, and the required time may be shortened, which may be advantageous for mass production.

Specifically, the raw material of the sound-absorbing layer 300 is a thermoplastic plastic 310 and a thermally conductive filler 320 . When the raw material is extruded, the raw material has a pellet form, and the sound-absorbing layer 300 can be manufactured by melting the pellet in an injection machine at a high temperature and then injecting it into a mold.

The present invention will be described in more detail through the following examples, but the following examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application.

[Example]

Thermoplastic PA6 and multi-layer graphene (MLG), a thermally conductive filler, were mixed, and the mixture was melted at 280° C. and then mold-injected using an injection machine to prepare pellets. Then, the pellet was put into a hopper, and the sound-absorbing layer was prepared by injecting it into a mold at high pressure and then taking it out by cooling.

Then, a flexible circuit board was laminated on the sound-absorbing layer, and a piezoelectric material, PZT, was laminated on the flexible circuit board, a ground layer was formed on the PZT, and then a junction to be bonded to the skin was laminated.

Then, after separating the channel, a lens was attached to the separated stack to prepare a probe.

[Comparative Example 1]

A conventional ultrasonic probe using EDS2 (PU+Mn powder) as a sound absorbing layer was used.

[Comparative Example 2]

An ultrasonic probe was manufactured in the same process as in Example 1, but only PA6 was used as the sound absorbing layer.

In this regard, the physical properties according to the material of the sound-absorbing layer of the Examples and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 are expressed as shown in Table 1 below.

[Table 1]

In Table 1, thermal conductivity and specific heat were analyzed by C-THERM's TCi product.

Referring to Table 1, since the sound-absorbing layer of the embodiment has higher thermal conductivity than the materials of Comparative Examples 1 and 2, it is possible to effectively control the temperature of the bonding layer during use of the ultrasonic probe.

[Experimental Example 1]

3 and 5 are temperature recording images of an ultrasound probe according to an embodiment of the present application, and FIGS. 4 and 6 are temperature recording images of an ultrasound probe according to a comparative example of the present application.

Specifically, FIGS. 3 and 4 are the temperatures of the bonding layer before the ultrasonic probe is operated, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are the temperatures when 30 minutes have elapsed since the ultrasonic probe was operated.

3 to 6 , when the ultrasonic probe of Comparative Example 1 is operated, the central temperature rises to 31° C., and the temperature increases toward the central part. However, in the ultrasonic probe of this embodiment, the temperature of the surface of the bonding layer is about It is maintained at about 27°C, and the overall temperature is kept constant. Through these results, it can be confirmed that the ultrasonic probe of the embodiment can be in contact with the human body for a longer period of time than the conventional ultrasonic probe.

[Experimental Example 2]

7 is a graph of the surface temperature change of the ultrasonic probe according to the embodiment and the comparative example, FIG. 8 is a graph of the surface temperature increase of the ultrasonic probe according to the embodiment and the comparative example, and FIGS. 9 and 10 are It is a graph of the ultrasonic intensity input to the ultrasonic probe according to the above Examples and Comparative Examples.

7 to 10 , the surface temperature of the ultrasonic probe of the comparative example is about 40 °C, and the degree of increase in the surface temperature is 16.2 °C, whereas the ultrasonic probe of the embodiment has a surface temperature of about 35 °C and the extent to which the surface temperature rises is about 12°C. However, since there is no significant difference in the intensity of ultrasonic waves received in the Examples and Comparative Examples, it can be confirmed that the ultrasonic probe according to the present application has increased ease of use without deterioration in performance compared to the conventional ultrasonic probe.

The foregoing description of the present application is for illustration, and those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present application pertains will understand that it can be easily modified into other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present application. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single type may be implemented in a distributed manner, and likewise components described as distributed may be implemented in a combined form.

The scope of the present application is indicated by the following claims rather than the above detailed description, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents should be construed as being included in the scope of the present application.

10: ultrasonic probe
100: bonding layer
110: lens layer
200: vibrator
300: sound absorption layer
310: thermoplastic
320: thermally conductive filler
400: ground layer
500: flexible circuit board

Claims (14)

bonding layer;
a sound absorbing layer formed on the bonding layer; and
a vibrator present between the bonding layer and the sound absorbing layer;
including,
The sound-absorbing layer disperses heat generated by the bonding layer or the vibrator,
The sound-absorbing layer will include a thermoplastic and a thermally conductive filler,
ultrasonic probe.
The method of claim 1,
The sound-absorbing layer will have a thermal conductivity of 5.0 W / mK to 25 W / mK, the ultrasonic probe.
The method of claim 1,
The sound-absorbing layer will have an attenuation coefficient of 3.0 dB/mm to 20.0 dB/mm with respect to the ultrasonic waves generated by the vibrator, the ultrasonic probe.
4. The method of claim 3,
The ultrasonic wave will have a frequency of 1 MHz to 30 MHz, the ultrasonic probe.
The method of claim 1,
The thickness of the sound-absorbing layer is 14 mm to 20 mm, the ultrasonic probe.
The method of claim 1,
The sound-absorbing layer will have an acoustic impedance of 1 Mryl to 6 Mryl, the ultrasonic probe.
The method of claim 1,
The thermally conductive filler will have a thermal conductivity of 50 W / mK to 5,000 W / mK, the ultrasonic probe.
The method of claim 1,
The thermoplastic plastic is a polyolefin resin, polyamide (PA) resin, polyester resin, acrylonitrile-butadiene copolymer resin, polycarbonate resin, polyphenyl An ultrasonic probe comprising one selected from the group consisting of polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) resin, thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) resin, polystyrene (PS), and combinations thereof.
The method of claim 1,
The thermally conductive filler is multilayer graphene (MLG), boron nitride (BN), AlN, Al ₂ O ₃ , Al, Fe, Cu, graphene, carbon nanotube, carbon black, graphite, carbon fiber, and combinations thereof. An ultrasonic probe comprising one selected from the group consisting of.
The method of claim 1,
The ultrasound probe further comprises a lens layer for focusing the ultrasound, the ultrasound probe.
The method of claim 1,
The vibrator is a PZT-based material, a PT-based material, BaTiO ₃ , CdS, ZnO, Li ₂ B ₄ O ₇ , LiTaO ₃ , SiO ₂ , AlPO ₄ , LiNbO ₃ , AlN, PVDF (Polyvinylidene fluoride), epoxy, silicone rubber, An ultrasonic probe comprising a piezoelectric material selected from the group consisting of urethane, and combinations thereof.
forming a vibrator on the bonding layer;
Preparing a sound-absorbing layer by an injection process; and
forming the sound absorbing layer on the vibrator
In the method of manufacturing an ultrasonic probe comprising:
The sound-absorbing layer will include a thermoplastic and a thermally conductive thermally conductive filler,
A method for manufacturing an ultrasonic probe.
13. The method of claim 12,
Manufacturing the sound-absorbing layer is a method of manufacturing an ultrasonic probe comprising the step of mixing the thermoplastic plastic and the thermally conductive filler to pelletize and injection-processing the pellet.
14. The method of claim 13,
The injection processing of the pellet is performed at a temperature of 200 ℃ to 300 ℃, the method of manufacturing an ultrasonic probe.

Images