TWI754297B - Ultrasound system for improving needle visualization - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention provides an ultrasound system for improving needle visualization, including: an ultrasound probe, which has a tail and a head. A plurality of transducing elements (or more specifically, piezoelectric elements) are embedded in a surface of the head. The transducing elements are arranged in an array of M times N (M × N), wherein M is a positive even number, N is a positive integer, and N is greater than M.

Description

Ultrasound system to improve needle visualization

The present invention relates to an ultrasound system for improving needle visualization, especially a smart stereotaxic ultrasound system for needle navigation.

During medical procedures or physical examinations, where a needle or needle-like instrument may be inserted into a patient's body part, it is necessary to ensure that the needle is in the correct orientation (direction of travel). For this purpose, an ultrasonic probe can be used to detect the position of the needle with the direction.

1A and 1B illustrate a conventional needle navigation problem, commonly referred to as the "needle not in-plane" problem. A single longitudinal plane (“1L”) linear probe 90 can detect the extent of an image plane 92 . However, as shown in FIG. 1A , often the needle 94 only partially intersects the image plane 92 , and the entire needle 94 does not appear on the image plane 92 , so it is difficult to confirm the position and orientation of the needle 94 .

Thus, in order to adjust the needle 94 to be "in-plane", the user must attempt to rotate the probe or reinsert the needle. However, if only the intersection of the needle 94 and the image plane 92 in FIG. 1A is observed, as shown in FIG. 1B , there are many possibilities for the orientation of the needle, including a mirror orientation. Therefore, the user just blindly Rotate the probe clockwise or counterclockwise or reinsert the needle, trying to observe the direction of the needle 94, but there is a 50% chance of rotating the probe to the wrong direction, which will be unfavorable for surgery or physical examination using the needle 94.

Figure 1C shows a conventional solution to the needle navigation problem described above. Experienced users are accustomed to shaking the probe 90 to tilt the image plane 92 , and collecting a plurality of tilted image planes 92 is helpful for judging the direction of the needle 94 . However, this solution relies on the accumulated experience of the user, and only extremely limited information can be obtained about the direction of the needle, and the probability of rotating in the wrong direction is still very high.

Therefore, there is an urgent need to propose an improved ultrasonic system to eliminate or alleviate the above-mentioned problems.

In view of this, the present invention proposes a linear ultrasound transducer with two longitudinal planes ("2L" for short), which can be used to locate the orientation (travel direction) of a needle (or in a broader sense, various instruments). ). The dual longitudinal linear probe of the present invention can be further extended to an "even" longitudinal linear probe.

It is worth noting that other probes, such as three longitudinal planes ("3L") linear ultrasound probes, will form "odd" longitudinal planes, and thus have a "central plane". Because the central plane is located in the center, it is beneficial to use the center of the probe appearance as a mental imagery to assist in needle orientation. The 2L linear (or more broadly, even longitudinal) probes of the present invention lack an inherent center plane, so various techniques are used to reconstruct the center plane, or to compensate for the absence of the center plane, to obtain a signal equivalent to that from the center plane.

To this end, the present invention creates the "Bilateral Incomplete Mixing Method of Acoustic Waves", and uses the 2L linear probe to achieve the three-longitudinal imaging effect of the 3L linear probe, that is, the image equivalent to the central plane can be obtained. In particular, the "incomplete mixing" of bilateral sound waves means that the sound waves on the left and right sides must reach a certain level with each other. degree of mixing, and at the same time, each must maintain a certain degree of independence. Among them, the mixing of the two-sided acoustic waves is to eliminate the "blind zone" caused by the gap between the two rows of transducer elements (refer to Figure 5D), which is sufficient to detect images equivalent to the central plane. As for the independence of the bilateral sound waves, the purpose is to enable the probe to generate stereotactic perception beyond a single longitudinal plane, so as to confirm the direction of the needle and avoid misjudging the direction of a mirror image.

In terms of advantages, compared with the typical 1L linear probe, the 2L linear probe of the present invention can provide stereoscopic perception beyond a single longitudinal plane, more accurately confirm the needle orientation, and avoid misjudging the mirror orientation. Compared with the 3L linear probe, the 2L linear probe of the present invention omits an entire row of transducer elements, which not only reduces the material and cost of transducer elements, but also greatly reduces the computational complexity of image data at the software level.

According to one aspect of the present invention, an ultrasound system for improving needle visualization is provided, including: an ultrasound probe having a tail and a head. A surface of the head is embedded with a plurality of transducer elements. The transducer elements are arranged in an array of M times N (M×N); wherein, M is a positive even number, N is a positive integer, and N is greater than M.

Optionally, or preferably, the array is an array with 2 rows and N columns, and the transducer elements are divided into a first row transducer element group and a second row transducer element group, which are respectively configured to form a first row. 1 ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface and a second ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface.

Optionally, or preferably, between the 1st ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface and the 2nd ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface, there is a bilateral isochronous central ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface to be established or to be eliminated or minimized. a blind spot.

Optionally, or preferably, an acoustic lens (acoustic lens) is attached in front of the transducer elements, and the acoustic lens is configured to make the first ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface intersected or partially overlapped (partially overlapped). ) on the second ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface.

Optionally, or preferably, the acoustic lens is a monofocal lens, or a multifocal lens with multiple focal points.

Optionally, or preferably, there is a gap between the first row of transducer element groups and the second row of transducer element groups; the focal points of the acoustic lens are located in front of the gap, or are located in the center at equal time intervals on both sides. Ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface or blind area; or, the acoustic lens is based on the gap as the geometric center of symmetry.

Optionally, or preferably, a splitter is sandwiched between the transducer elements and the acoustic lens, or in the acoustic lens, or in front of the acoustic lens, and the splitter is aimed at the blind area; A dispersion structure is formed in the acoustic lens, and the dispersion structure is aimed at the blind area.

Optionally, or preferably, the acoustic lens has one or more wave guide configurations aimed at the dead zone.

Optionally, or preferably, the array is a staggered array, so that the transducing element group in the first row is staggered to the transducing element group in the second row.

Alternatively, or preferably, the array is a zipped array.

Optionally, or preferably, each transducing element group itself is configured to be curved into a convex surface or a concave surface, aiming at a blind area or an object to be measured.

Optionally, or preferably, the 1st ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface and the 2nd ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface are mixed based on the incomplete mixing method of bilateral sound waves, so that the sound waves of the two reach a degree of mixing with each other, and simultaneously. , each retains its independence.

Optionally, or preferably, the detection surface is bent into a first sub-surface and a second sub-surface, and the first sub-surface is not parallel to the second sub-surface.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an ultrasound system for improving needle visualization is provided, comprising: an ultrasound probe having a tail and a head. A surface of the head is embedded with a first group of two-dimensional array type transducer element sets and a second group of two-dimensional array type transducer element sets, each two-dimensional array type transducer element set is composed of a plurality of micro It consists of transducing elements, and these two-dimensional array transducing element sets are arranged to form an included angle, which can be parallel or non-parallel to each other.

Optionally, or preferably, the micro transducer elements are dislocated so that each two-dimensional array transducer element set structure is curved into a convex surface or a concave surface, and is aligned with a blind area or an object to be measured.

Next, the present invention also makes innovative improvements to the 3L linear probe.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, an ultrasound system for improving needle visualization is provided, comprising: an ultrasound probe having a tail and a head. A surface of the head is embedded with a plurality of transducer elements. The transducer elements are arranged in an array of L times N (L×N); wherein, L is a positive odd number, N is a positive integer, and N is greater than L; The energy element group, the central area transducer element group, and the right side area transducer element group are respectively configured to form a left ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface, a central ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface, and a right ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface. noodle. The central region transducer element group transducer elements are configured differently from the left side region transducer element group transducer elements and/or the right side region transducer element group transducer elements.

Optionally, or preferably, the transducer element size of the central region transducer element group is smaller than the left region transducer element group transducer element size, and/or smaller than the right region transducer element group transducer element size.

Optionally, or preferably, the size of the transducer elements of the transducer element group in the central region is equal to or less than 1 times the size of the transducer element of the transducer element group in the left region, and/or the transduction element size of the transducer element group in the right region is greater than that in the right region. The component size is equal to or less than 1 times, forming a "center-assisted" type.

Optionally, or preferably, the size of the transducer elements of the transducer element group in the central region is equal to or greater than 1 times the size of the transducer element of the transducer element group in the left region, and/or the transduction element size of the transducer element group in the right region is greater than that in the right region. The component size is equal to or greater than 1, resulting in a "center-dominant" pattern.

Optionally, or preferably, the central group of transducer elements is not parallel to the left group of transducer elements, and/or is not parallel to the right group of transducer elements.

Optionally, or preferably, the central area transducer element group is closer to a test object than the left side area transducer element group and/or the right side area transducer element group to form a "center first" type.

Optionally, or preferably, the central area transducer element group is farther from a DUT than the left side area transducer element group and/or the right side area transducer element group to form a "center behind" type.

Optionally, or preferably, the array is a staggered array, so that the transducing element groups in the left region are staggered to the transducing element groups in the right region.

Optionally, or preferably, the transducer elements are configured to be curved into a convex surface or a concave surface, aiming at a blind area or an object to be measured.

Optionally, or preferably, the signals of the transducing element groups in certain regions are mixed.

Optionally, or preferably, the signal of the transducer element group in the left area is mixed with the signal of the transducer element group in the center area, and processed by a first side circuit; the signal of the transducer element group in the center area and the transducer element group in the right area are mixed. The signals are mixed and processed by a second side circuit.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, an ultrasound system for improving needle visualization is provided, comprising: an ultrasound probe having a tail and a head. A surface of the head is embedded with a left side A group two-dimensional array type transducer element set, a central group two-dimensional array type transducer element set, and a right side group two-dimensional array type transducer element set, each two-dimensional array type transducer element set is composed of It is composed of multiple micro transducer elements.

Optionally, or preferably, the system of the present invention further comprises: an auxiliary signal source attached to the ultrasonic probe or embedded in the ultrasonic probe. The auxiliary signal source includes an inertial measurement unit, a metal detector, or a sensor.

Optionally, or preferably, the signals of certain groups of two-dimensional array transducer element sets are mixed.

The accompanying drawings and detailed descriptions will hereinafter make other objects, advantages, and novel features of the present invention more apparent.

[this invention]

1: Ultrasound system to improve needle visualization

10: Ultrasonic probe

12: tail

14: Head

140: Surface

140-1: 1st subsurface

140-2: Subsurface 2

140-1': 1st sub-camber

140-2': 2nd sub-camber

140-C’: Central sub-camber

140-L’: Left sub-camber

140-R’: Right sub-camber

142: Transducer element

142-1: Transducer element group in row 1

142-2: Line 2 Transducer Element Group

142-C: Central area transducer element group

142-C1: Column 1 Central Region Transducer Element

142-L: Transducer element group in the left area

142-L1: Transducer element in the left area of column 1

142-LL1: Transducer element in the leftmost area of column 1

142-R: Transducer element group in the right area

142-R1: Transducer element on the right side of column 1

142-RR1: Transducing element in the rightmost area of the first column

144: Acoustic Lens

144A: Central passivation

144B: Concave Lens Construction

144C: Inflection point

144E: Waveguide Construction

144D: Convex Lens Construction

145: Dispersed Structure

146: Diffuser

15: Two-dimensional array transducer element set

15-1: The first group of two-dimensional array transducer elements

15-2: The second group of two-dimensional array transducer element set

15-L: Two-dimensional array transducer element set in the left area

15-R: Right side two-dimensional array transducer element set

150: Miniature transducer element

20: Ultrasonic probe

70: Processing equipment

80: Ultrasonic probe

82-C: Central Region Transducer Element

82-L: Transducer element in the left area

82-R: Transducer element on the right side

a: long

b: wide

P1: The first ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface

P2: The second ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface

PC: Central ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface (central plane)

SIDE1: side 1 circuit

SIDE2: side 2 circuit

SIDEC: Left circuit

SIDEL: Central Circuit

SIDER: Right circuit

SW: switch

Z: blind spot

θ: included angle

[prior art]

90: Single longitudinal linear probe

92: Image plane

94: Needle

1A and 1B illustrate a conventional needle navigation problem.

Figure 1C shows a conventional solution to the needle navigation problem described above.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a dual longitudinal linear (2L linear) ultrasonic probe according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3A , 3B, and 3C show schematic diagrams for explaining the operation of the ultrasonic probe of FIG. 2 .

FIGS. 4A , 4B, and 4C show implementations of the “Bilateral Incomplete Mixing Method” of a dual longitudinal linear (2L linear) ultrasonic probe according to various embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram showing the operation principle of the acoustic lens.

Figure 5B shows an acoustic lens combination of various embodiments of the present invention.

5C shows an acoustic lens having one or more waveguide configurations according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5D shows a schematic diagram of the operation of the acoustic lens.

FIG. 6A shows a schematic diagram of a double longitudinal linear (2L linear, folded) ultrasonic probe having a zigzag structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6B shows a schematic diagram of a double longitudinal linear (2L linear, folded) ultrasonic probe with a zigzag structure and an acoustic lens according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 6C , 6D, and 6E illustrate configurations of ultrasonic probes according to various embodiments of the present invention.

6F , FIG. 6G , and FIG. 6H show the configuration of the ultrasonic probe in which the transducer element with the convex surface facing down is matched with the acoustic lens according to various embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7A shows an ultrasound probe having a staggered array according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7B shows the dimensions of the transducing element.

FIG. 7C shows a dual longitudinal linear (2L linear, staggered, folded) ultrasonic probe with a zigzag structure and a staggered array according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7D shows an ultrasound probe capable of detecting lateral images and having a staggered array according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figures 7E, 7F, and 7G illustrate zippered array ultrasound probes of various embodiments of the present invention.

8 shows a block diagram of an ultrasound system for improved needle visualization according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of a three-longitudinal linear (3L linear, main central) ultrasonic probe according to a comparative example of the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of a center-assisted three-longitudinal linear (3L linear, ancillary central) ultrasonic probe according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11A shows a functional block diagram of a circuit of a three-longitudinal (3L) ultrasonic probe according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11B shows a circuit functional block diagram of a five longitudinal plane (5L) ultrasonic probe according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 shows a circuit functional block diagram of an ultrasonic probe using a two-dimensional array (2D array) transducer element set according to an embodiment of the present invention.

13A and 13B show the arrangement of three longitudinal plane (3L) ultrasonic probes according to various embodiments of the present invention.

14A , 14B, 14C, and 14D show the configuration of ultrasonic probes using two-dimensional array transducer element sets according to various embodiments of the present invention.

15A and 15B respectively show a side view, a first perspective view, and a second perspective view of a 2L probe and a 3L probe with a curved surface.

Various embodiments of the present invention are provided below. These embodiments are used to illustrate the technical content of the present invention, but not to limit the scope of the right of the present invention. A feature of one embodiment can be applied to other embodiments by suitable modification, substitution, combination, isolation.

It should be noted that, in this document, unless otherwise specified, having "a" element is not limited to having a single such element, but may include one or more such elements.

In addition, in this document, unless otherwise specified, ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" are only used to distinguish multiple elements with the same name, and do not mean that there is a rank, hierarchy, or execution order among them , or process sequence. A "first" element and a "second" element may appear together in the same component or separately in different components. The presence of an element with a higher ordinal number does not necessarily imply the presence of another element with a lower ordinal number.

In this article, unless otherwise specified, the so-called feature A "or" (or) or "and/or" (and/or) feature B, refers to the existence of nail alone, the existence of B alone, or the coexistence of A and B ; The so-called feature A "and" (and) or "and" (and) or "and" (and) feature B, is that nail and B coexist; the so-called "include", "include", "have", "include" ", means including but not limited to.

In addition, in this document, the so-called "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front", "rear", or "between" and other terms are only used to describe the relationship between multiple elements. Relative position, and can be generalized to include translation, rotation, or mirroring.

Furthermore, herein, unless specifically stated otherwise, "an element is on another element" or the like does not necessarily mean that the element is in contact with the other element.

Furthermore, herein, "preferred" or "better" is used to describe optional or additional elements or features, ie, those elements or features are not required and may be omitted.

In addition, in this document, an element "suitable for" another element means that the other element is not part of the subject matter of the application, but exemplarily or by reference helps to conceive the nature or application of the element .

Furthermore, as used herein, "about" a numerical value means a range including ±10% of the numerical value, particularly a range of ±5% of the numerical value.

In addition, in this document, terms such as "system", "equipment", "device", "module", or "unit" refer to an electronic component or a digital circuit composed of a plurality of electronic components, an analog circuits, or other broader circuits, and they do not necessarily have a hierarchical or hierarchical relationship unless otherwise specified.

In addition, in this document, unless otherwise specified, the electrical connection of the two elements may include direct connection or indirect connection. In an indirect connection, there may be one or more other components, such as resistors, capacitors, or inductors. Electrical connections are used to transmit one or more signals, such as DC or AC current or voltage, depending on the application.

[Example of double longitudinal linear (2L linear) ultrasonic probe]

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a dual longitudinal linear (2L linear) ultrasonic probe 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3A , 3B, and 3C show schematic diagrams for explaining the operation of the ultrasonic probe 10 of FIG. 2 .

The ultrasonic probe 10 of the present invention has a tail portion 12 and a head portion 14 . The tail 12 is for the user to hold (it can also be held by a mechanical arm or the like). A surface 140 of the head 14 is embedded with a plurality of (acoustic and electrical) transducer elements 142 . In other words, the transducing element 142 generally does not protrude from the surface 140 . In operation, the surface 140 may be pressed against the site to be detected, eg, the surgical site of the patient. In other embodiments, other elements may be further disposed on the surface 140 , for example, an acoustic lens, a shock absorption layer, or a coating layer, and in this case, these elements are used to stick to the site to be detected. The transducer element 142 may be a piezoelectric element. The transducer element 142 can convert ultrasonic waves into electronic signals, or convert electronic signals into ultrasonic waves, and transmit and receive ultrasonic waves. According to the present invention, the transducer elements 142 of the ultrasonic probe 10 are arranged in an array of M times N (M×N); wherein M is a positive even number, N is a positive integer, and N is greater than M. (Row row, column column.)

In this example, M=2, so the above array is an array with 2 rows and N columns, and the transducer elements 142 are divided into a first row transducer element group 142-1 and a second row transducer element group 142- 2. It is configured to form a first ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface P1 and a second ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface P2 respectively. The vertical detection plane is referred to as "vertical plane" for short.

As shown in FIG. 3A , SL, SC, and SR are located on the first ultrasonic longitudinal detection plane P1, the central ultrasonic longitudinal detection plane (referred to as the “central plane”), and the second ultrasonic longitudinal detection plane, respectively. For the three points of P2, the ultrasonic probe 10 of the present invention can perform time domain analysis on the echo signal by Analysis to construct additional image planes, since the transit time of the signal from the center plane PC to the (left) row 1 transducer element group 142-1 is equal to the transit time to the (right side) second row transducer element group 142-2 delivery time.

As shown in FIG. 3B , since M is a positive even number, there is a bilateral equidistant central ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface to be established between the first ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface P1 and the second ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface P2 (referred to as "bilateral equidistant central plane") PC2L or a blind zone Z to be eliminated or minimized. The present invention reconstructs the central plane PC2L through various techniques, or compensates for the vacancy of the central plane PC2L to obtain a signal equivalent to the central plane PC2L, as shown in FIG. 3C .

FIGS. 4A , 4B, and 4C show implementations of the “Bilateral Incomplete Mixing Method” of a dual longitudinal linear (2L linear) ultrasonic probe according to various embodiments of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4A , FIG. 4B , and FIG. 4C , an acoustic lens 144 may be attached in front of the transducer elements 142 . The acoustic lens 144 is configured such that the first ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface P1 is intersected or partially overlapped with the second ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface P2.

In addition, the transducer elements 142 may be between the transducer elements 142 and the acoustic lens 144 (as shown in FIG. 4A ), within the acoustic lens 144 (as shown in FIG. 4B ), or in front of the acoustic lens 144 (as shown in FIG. 4C ) ) A splitter (splitter) 146 is set up, and the splitter 146 is aimed at the blind zone Z or the central ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface PC2L at equal time intervals on both sides, whereby the sound waves are introduced into the blind zone Z, or the echoes of the blind zone Z are introduced into transducer element 142, while minimizing the dead zone Z.

In this way, the sound waves on the left and right sides, that is, the sound waves of the first ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface P1 and the second ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface P2 can be "incompletely mixed", and the three-longitudinal imaging effect of the 3L linear probe can be achieved. , that is, the image equivalent to the PC from the central plane can be obtained. The mixing of the two-sided acoustic waves can eliminate the dead zone caused by the gap G (as shown in FIG. 5D ) between the two rows of transducer elements 142 , and is sufficient to detect images corresponding to the central plane PC. As for the independence of the bilateral sound waves, the probe can generate a single longitudinal three-dimensional perception to confirm the direction of the needle and avoid misjudging the direction of the mirror image. The operation mode of the conventional multi-plane probe is that each plane is focused and imaged independently, which is a multi-plane that does not intersect or overlap in space, which attempts to increase the spatial extent of orientation. In the present invention, part of the sound waves between the imaging planes can be mixed, and the signals can be mixed to reconstruct the equidistant central plane, which is the innovation. In addition, the signal from another part of the sound wave that is not mixed between the imaging planes can reconstruct out-of-plane spatial information to eliminate mirror images. On the other hand, the mixing and focusing methods between the imaging planes include: acoustic lenses, acoustic lens waveguides, acoustic lens diffusers, placing transducer elements on probes with a meandering structure, or arranging transducer elements in a zipper array, etc. , the embodiments of the present invention can be seen, and can be combined with each other.

In terms of advantages, compared to a typical 1L linear probe, the (2L) ultrasonic probe 10 of the present invention can provide stereoscopic perception beyond a single longitudinal plane, more accurately determine the needle orientation, and avoid misjudgment as a mirror image orientation. Compared with the 3L linear probe, the ultrasonic probe 10 of the present invention omits an entire row (center) of transducer elements, which not only reduces the material and cost of transducer elements, but also greatly reduces the amount of image data at the software level. Operational complexity.

FIG. 5A shows a schematic diagram of the construction of the acoustic lens 144 . Figure 5B shows an acoustic lens combination of various embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 5C shows an acoustic lens having one or more wave guide structures 144E according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5D shows a schematic diagram of the operation of the acoustic lens. Among them, only one column of the transducer elements in the first row of the transducer element group 142-1 and one of the transducer elements in the second row of the transducer element group 142-2 are exemplarily marked.

The acoustic lens 144 is an element for deflecting sound waves. When designing the acoustic lens 144 of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 5A , the following components exist in sequence from the middle to the left: (i) the central passivation portion 144A to reduce the wear of the central portion of the acoustic lens 144 ; (ii) the dispersion structure 145, aiming at the dead zone Z; the dispersion structure 145 can be hollowed out (filled with air), or as shown in FIG. 5B, can be filled with a diffuser 146; wherein the diffuser 146 material is different from acoustic lens 144 material to provide different acoustic indices of refraction; (iii) concave lens configuration 144B; (iv) inflection point 144C; and (v) convex lens configuration 144D. The components (i) to (v) above can be integrated into a multifocal lens with one or more focal points in the plane where the blind zone Z is located in the bilateral equidistant central plane PC2L or below the gap G. In this way, the effective mirror body area is set to the center of geometric symmetry with the center plane PC2L equidistant from both sides, so the structure of the acoustic lens 144 from the center to the right side can refer to the structure from the center to the left side.

In the embodiment, the so-called concave lens, inflection point, or convex lens is defined in terms of the center of the single-sided transducer element or its detection surfaces PL and PR, and the local features will vary with the refractive index of the acoustic medium. Change.

In FIG. 5B , the upper three embodiments form the acoustic lens 144 separately from the diffuser 146 , while the lower three embodiments use the acoustic lens 144 purely without the use of the diffuser 146 .

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5C , the acoustic lens 144 may also have one or more wave guides 144E, and the direction of the acoustic waves passing through the acoustic lens 144 with the wave guides 144E is shown in FIG. 5D , so that the dead zone Z in FIG. 3B is minimized It doesn't even exist anymore.

FIG. 6A shows a schematic diagram of a double longitudinal linear (2L linear, folded) ultrasonic probe having a zigzag structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6B shows a schematic diagram of a double longitudinal linear (2L linear, folded) ultrasonic probe with a zigzag structure and an acoustic lens 144 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 6A , in this zigzag structure, the surface 140 is folded into a first sub-surface 140-1 and a second sub-surface 140-2. The first sub-surface 140-1 is not parallel to the second sub-surface 140-2. In particular, the angle between the two must make the first ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface P1 and the second ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface P2 (at a specific depth) within) intersect or partially overlap.

Although the example of FIG. 6A can make the first ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface P1 intersect or partially overlap with the second ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface P2, the acoustic lens 144 can still be used to enhance the mixing of left and right bilateral acoustic waves combined, as shown in Figure 6B. In the example of FIG. 6B , the acoustic lens 144 is a multi-focal length lens, and a dispersion structure 145 is formed, and the dispersion structure 145 is aligned with the blind zone Z. As shown in FIG.

FIGS. 6C , 6D, and 6E show the configuration of ultrasonic probes according to various embodiments of the present invention, wherein only one column of transducer elements in the first row of transducer element group 142-1 and the One column of transducer elements in the second row of transducer element group 142-2.

In FIG. 6C , the upper left is a simplified schematic diagram of the embodiment of FIG. 2 , and the middle left is a simplified schematic diagram of the embodiment of FIG. 6A .

In addition, as shown in the upper right of FIG. 6C , the transducer elements 142 can be completely replaced by the two-dimensional array type transducer element set 15 . This two-dimensional array type transducer element set 15 is slightly different from the aforementioned transducer element 142 . The two-dimensional array type transducer element set 15 originally has a plurality of micro transducer elements 150 , which are equally divided into a plurality of groups. A group of micro-transducing elements 150 may act as a single transducing element 142 .

As shown in the middle right of FIG. 6C , the plurality of miniature transducer elements 150 of the two-dimensional array transducer element set 15 are divided into a first group 15 - 1 (which can replace the first area transducer element group 142 - 1 ) and a second group 15-2 (which can replace the second area transducer element group 142-2), and the two can be bent to form an included angle θ, and the included angle θ can be between 90 degrees and 180 degrees, so they can be parallel to each other or Not parallel.

As shown in the lower right of FIG. 6C , the micro transducer elements 150 of the two-dimensional array transducer element set 15 can be formed by using a microelectromechanical system (abbreviated as MEMS). Here, although the micro transducer elements are arranged in a straight line, they are aligned with the central plane PC2L (refer to FIG. 3C ).

FIG. 6D shows a schematic diagram of two two-dimensional array transducer element sets 15 . The lower left and the lower right are observed facing the surface 140; the upper left and the upper right are observed along the transverse axis of the probe. have to. The difference between the two two-dimensional array transducer element sets 15 is that the length and width directions of the micro transducer elements 150 are reversed.

Next, in FIG. 6E , each transducer element group 142-1, 142-2 itself is structured to be curved into a convex surface or a concave surface, which is aligned with the blind zone Z or the object to be tested. In the case of the two-dimensional array transducer element set 15, the micro transducer elements 150 can also be designed to be displaced from each other, so that the two-dimensional array transducer element sets 15-1 and 15-2 are structurally curved Make a convex surface or a concave surface, aiming at the blind zone Z or the object to be tested.

FIGS. 6F , 6G, and 6H illustrate configurations of ultrasonic probes in which the transducer elements 142-1 and 142-2 with the convex surface facing down are matched with the acoustic lens 144 according to various embodiments of the present invention, wherein the acoustic lens 144 It may have a dispersion structure 145 or a waveguide structure 144E. For the specific structure, reference may be made to FIG. 5A and its related description, so it is not repeated here.

FIG. 7A shows an ultrasonic probe with a staggered array according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the first row of the transducer element group 142-1 is staggered to the second row of the transducer element group 142-2. FIG. 7B shows the size of the transducer element 142 , wherein the size of the transducer element 142 is a unit of length a and a unit of width b. In the staggered array of FIG. 7A, due to the dislocation of the two rows of transducer elements 142, the central plane PC can obtain a higher resolution. Specifically, if the resolution of the ultrasonic probe without dislocation is R ppi (pixels per inch), the resolution of the ultrasonic probe with a dislocation of 0.5b units can be improved to be between Rppi~2Rppi.

FIG. 7C shows a dual longitudinal linear (2L linear, staggered, folded) ultrasonic probe with a zigzag structure and a staggered array according to an embodiment of the present invention, the effect of which has been described above, and will not be repeated here.

7D shows an ultrasonic probe capable of detecting lateral images and having a staggered array according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the arrangement direction of the transducer elements 142 for detecting lateral images is substantially perpendicular to The arrangement direction of the transducer elements 142 for detecting the longitudinal image. The horizontal plane and the two vertical planes can assist each other and avoid misjudging the direction of a mirror image, so that the direction of the needle can be detected more accurately.

FIGS. 7E , 7F, and 7G show ultrasonic probes of zipper arrays according to various embodiments of the present invention; wherein, only one column of transducer elements in the first row of transducer element group 142-1 is exemplarily marked and one column of transducer elements in the second row of transducer element groups 142-2. In addition, the first row of the transducer element group 142-1 represented by the solid line and the second row of the transducer element group 142-2 represented by the dashed line exemplarily represent a superimposed state one above the other. The left of FIG. 7E or FIG. 7F is a zippered array without zigzag, while the right is a zippered array with zigzag. When viewed facing the surface 140 (refer to the label in FIG. 7A ), the transducer elements of FIG. 7E are rectangular, while the transducer elements of FIG. 7F are L-shaped and can be closely arranged. Figures 7E and 7F both present a 2L linear probe, while Figure 7G presents a 3L linear probe.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of an ultrasound system 1 for improving needle visualization according to an embodiment of the present invention. The ultrasonic probe 10 of the present invention can be connected to a processing device 70 . The processing device 70 can process the raw ultrasonic image data transmitted from the ultrasonic probe 10, especially the raw image data of the needles obtained from the first ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface P1 and the second ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface P2. The processing device 70 may have an artificial intelligence program such as a neural network, and a computer vision module to process the obtained raw image data of the needle to show the direction of the needle, and advise the user how to rotate the probe to find the needle, or to recreate the needle. How to adjust the direction of the needle when inserting the needle, preferably a three-dimensional (3D) or two-dimensional (2D) real-time image model is displayed on the screen, and the trajectory of the needle is fed back to the user to assist the user to confirm the direction of the needle.

[Three longitudinal linear (3L linear) ultrasonic probe embodiment]

FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of a three-L linear (main central) ultrasonic probe 80 according to a comparative example of the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of a center-assisted three-longitudinal linear (3L linear, ancillary central) ultrasonic probe 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The ultrasonic probe 20 of the present invention has a tail portion 12 and a head portion 14 . A surface 140 of the head 14 is embedded with a plurality of transducer elements 142 . The transducer elements 142 are arranged in an array of L times N (L×N); wherein, L is a positive odd number, N is a positive integer, and N is greater than L.

In this example, L=3, so the above-mentioned array is an array of 3 rows and N columns, and the transducer elements 142 are divided into a left-side transducer element group 142-L (an entire row, but only one is shown in FIG. 10 ). 142-L as an example), a central area transducer element group 142-C (an entire row, but only one 142-C is indicated in FIG. 10 as an example), and a right area transducer element group 142-R (an entire row, but Figure 10 shows only one 142-R as an example), which are respectively configured to form a left ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface PL, a central ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface PC, and a right ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface PR.

The ultrasonic probe 80 of FIG. 9 is a 3L probe; it is worth noting that the length of the transducer element 82-C in the central region is greater than the length of the transducer element 82-L in the left region and/or the transducer element 82-R in the right region , because it emphasizes the image of the central plane obtained by the central region transducer element 82-C.

However, in the ultrasonic probe 20 of the present invention of FIG. 10, the transducer element size of the central region transducer element group 142-C is smaller than the transducer element size of the left region transducer element group 142-L, and/or smaller than the right region transducer element size. Energy Element Group 142-R Transducer Element Dimensions. In particular, the transducer element size (length) of the central region transducer element group 142-C is 1 times or less the size (length) of the transducer element size (length) of the left region transducer element group 142-L, and/or the right region transduction element Element group 142-R is 1 times or less the size (length) of the transducing elements. In the present invention, in order to improve the blind area of the 2L probe, a new central area transducer element group 142-C transducer element is added to the 2L probe, but its size is opposite to that of the central area transducer element 82-C of the comparative example in FIG. A kind of "central auxiliary" type.

FIG. 11A shows a functional block diagram of a circuit of a three-longitudinal (3L) ultrasonic probe according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Taking the transducer element group 142 of the first row as an example, it has been divided into a first row of left-side transducer elements 142-L1, a first-row central transducer element 142-C1, and a first-row right-side transducer element 142-C1. Element 142-R1, but belongs to the 3L system (and so on up to the Nth column 142). However, the ultrasound system 1 for improving needle visualization of FIG. 8 , which is designed for the ultrasound probe 10 of FIG. 2 , belongs to the 2L system and has two-sided circuits. In order to make the ultrasonic probe 20 of FIG. 10 and FIG. 11A work with the system 1 of FIG. 8 (the system 1 can use the ultrasonic probe 10 of FIG. 2 ), it is necessary to transduce the three lines from the left area, the central area, and the right area. The signal of element 142 is converted and processed by the two-side circuit. Specifically, the signal of the transducer element 142-L1 in the left area of the first row is mixed with the signal of the transducer element 142-C1 in the center area of the first row, and processed by a first side circuit SIDE1; The signal of the transducer element 142-C1 is mixed with the signal of the transducer element 142-R1 in the right area of the first row, and processed by a second side circuit SIDE2. The signal of the central region transducer element 142-C1 can be selected through the switch SW to select which side of the circuit (eg, the left side, the right side, or both sides simultaneously) to transmit. In this way, the "double-side acoustic incomplete mixing method" of the 2L system can be realized, and the blind zone Z located in the center can be minimized.

FIG. 11B shows a circuit functional block diagram of a five longitudinal plane (5L) ultrasonic probe according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Extending the principle of the embodiment of FIG. 11A , the signals of more rows of transducer elements 142 can be converted to be processed by fewer side circuits. As shown in FIG. 11B , the signals of transducer elements 142-LL1 in the leftmost area of the first row can be combined with the signals of the transducer elements 142-LL1 of the first row. The signals of the left area 142-L1 in the first row are mixed and processed by the left circuit SIDEL; the signal of the transducer element 142-C1 in the center area of the first row is directly processed by the central circuit SIDEC; the signal of the transducer element 142-R1 in the right area of the first row It can be mixed with the signal of the rightmost transducer element 142-RR1 in the first row and processed by the right circuit SIDER. The same is true for other columns of a certain number of rows. The same is true for other numbers of lines. It can be seen from this that many The row transducer elements can be converted to a single row of circuits; or a single transducer element can be cut into multiple pieces, and the cut result can be restored by the circuit.

FIG. 12 shows a functional block diagram of a circuit of an ultrasonic probe using a two-dimensional array (2D array) transducer element set 15 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

This two-dimensional array type transducer element set 15 is slightly different from the aforementioned transducer element 142 . The two-dimensional array type transducer element set 15 originally has a plurality of micro transducer elements 150 , which are equally divided into a plurality of groups. A group of micro-transducing elements 150 may act as a single transducing element 142 . In FIG. 12 , the plurality of miniature transducer elements 150 of the two-dimensional array type transducer element set 15 are divided into a left group (which can be used as the transducer element 142-L1 of FIG. transducer element 142-C1), and a right group (which can be used as transducer element 142-R1 in FIG. 11A).

13A and 13B show the configuration of three longitudinal plane (3L) ultrasonic probes according to various embodiments of the present invention, which are 3L probes, in which only the left area, the central area and the right side of one column are exemplarily marked three transducer elements in the area.

First, in terms of the position of the transducer elements, the three transducer elements in the left area, the central area, and the right area can be configured to be non-overlapping, overlapping and the center is in the front (close to the object to be tested), or overlapping and the center is behind (far away from the object to be tested). measurement).

Second, in terms of transducer element orientation, the transducer elements can be configured without zigzags or zigzags (see also the zigzag configuration of the 2L probe of FIG. 6A ).

Finally, in terms of the size (length) of the transducer element, the "center-based" type means that the size of the transducer element in the central region is larger (longer) than the size of the transducer elements in the left and right regions, and the "center-secondary" type It means that the size of the transducer elements in the central area is smaller (shorter) than that of the transducer elements in the left and right sides.

Accordingly, the above-mentioned different configurations can form different superposition effects of sound waves, and focus on images obtained by different ultrasonic longitudinal detection surfaces. Additionally, the ultrasound probe can be designed to allow the user to adjust (move, rotate, or telescopic) the position, orientation, or size of the transducing element.

In addition to being a rectangular parallelepiped as shown in Fig. 13A, the shape of the transducer element can also be curved into a convex surface or a concave surface as shown in Fig. 13B to provide a converging or diffusing effect of sound waves, and focus on images with different lateral positions and depths to generate a single The three-dimensional perception beyond the vertical plane can more accurately judge the direction of the needle. In FIG. 13B, "forward" means facing the test object.

FIGS. 14A , 14B, 14C, and 14D show configurations of ultrasonic probes using a two-dimensional array transducer element set 15 according to various embodiments of the present invention. As an example, the common feature is the central region. The transducer element 142-C is farther away from the object to be tested than the two-dimensional array transducer element sets 15-L and 15-R in the left and right regions, and the size of the transducer element 142-C in the central region is smaller than that of the two left and right regions The overall dimensions of the dimensional array transducer sets 15-L and 15-R (referred to as "the center supplemented"). As shown in FIG. 14B , the micro transducer elements 150 of the two-dimensional array type transducer element set 15 may be formed by using a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS). As for the overall shape of the two-dimensional array type transducer element sets 15-L and 15-R on the left and right sides, the micro transducer elements can be designed to be misaligned with each other, and then curved into a convex surface or a concave surface to align with the blind area. or the analyte, as shown in Figure 14C and Figure 14D, respectively. For the principle, reference may be made to FIG. 6E and related descriptions thereof, and thus will not be repeated here. In FIGS. 14C and 14D, "forward" means facing the object to be tested.

15A and 15B respectively show a side view, a first perspective view, and a second perspective view of a 2L probe and a 3L probe with a curved surface.

2, FIG. 6A, or FIG. 10, the surface 140 and the first subsurface 140-1 and the second subsurface 140-2 constituting it are all presented as planes; on the contrary, in FIGS. 15A and 15B, the subsurfaces The surfaces 140-1', 140-2', 140-R', 140-C', 140-L' appear as arcs in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the probe. However, except for subtables In addition to the curved surface, the remaining elements of the probe in FIGS. 15A and 15B may refer to FIG. 2 , FIG. 6A , or FIG. 10 and related descriptions thereof.

(Specially note that the convex shape or concave shape formed by the transducer element 140 or the two-dimensional array transducer element set 15 is described in the transverse axis direction of the probe, while the arc in FIGS. 15A and 15B The curved surface is described in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the probe, and the two are different.)

In this embodiment, the curved surface feature is applied to the double longitudinal curved surface (2L curved, folded) probe with a zigzag structure and the three longitudinal curved surface (3L curved, folded) probe with a zigzag structure, which is only an example and not limited thereto. It is understandable that the arc features of this embodiment can also be applied to probes of other embodiments of the present invention.

Although this invention has been described in terms of several embodiments, it should be understood that many other possible modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and the claimed scope of the invention.

10: Ultrasonic probe

12: tail

14: Head

140: Surface

142: Transducer element

Claims (16)

An ultrasound system (1) for improving needle imaging, comprising: an ultrasound probe (10) having a tail (12) and a head (14); a surface (140) of the head (14) embedded in a surface (140) A plurality of transducer elements (142) are provided; the ultrasonic probe (10) is characterized in that: the transducer elements (142) are arranged in an array of M times N (that is, M×N); wherein, M is a positive even number, N is a positive integer, and N is greater than M; wherein, the array includes an array of 2 rows and N columns, and the transducer elements (142) are divided into a first row transducer element group (142-1 ) and the second row of transducer element groups (142-2), respectively configured to form a first ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface (P1) and a second ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface (P2); 1. Between the ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface (P1) and the second ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface (P2), there is a bilateral equidistant central ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface (PC2L) to be established or to be eliminated or minimized. A blind zone (Z) of the change. The system of claim 1, wherein an acoustic lens (144) is attached in front of the transducer elements (142), the acoustic lens (144) being configured to make the first ultrasonic longitudinal The detection plane (P1) is intersected or partially overlapped with the second ultrasonic longitudinal detection plane (P2). The system of claim 2, wherein the acoustic lens (144) is a single focal lens, or a multifocal lens having multiple focal points. The system of claim 3, wherein a gap (G) exists between the first row of transducer element groups (142-1) and the second row of transducer element groups (142-2); the acoustic lens ( The focal points of 144) are located in front of the gap (G), or located in the bilateral equidistant central ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface (PC2L) or the blind zone (Z); or, the acoustic lens (144) is Take this gap (G) as the center of geometric symmetry. The system of claim 2, wherein between the transducer elements (142) and the acoustic lens (144), or within the acoustic lens (144), or in front of the acoustic lens (144) a splitter (146) aligned with the dead zone (Z); or a splitter (145) formed in the acoustic lens (144) aligned with the splitter (145) The dead zone (Z). The system of claim 2, wherein the acoustic lens (144) has one or more wave guide configurations (144E) aligned with the dead zone (Z). The system of claim 2, wherein the acoustic lens (144) is adapted to another array of (M+1) times N (ie (M+1)×N) such that the two non-central vertical Faces intersect or partially overlap a central longitudinal plane. The system of claim 1, wherein the array is a staggered array, such that the first row of transducer element groups (142-1) are staggered to the second row of transducer element groups (142-2) . The system of claim 1, wherein the array is a zipped array. The system according to claim 1, wherein each transducer element group (142-1, 142-2) itself is configured to be curved into a convex surface or a concave surface, aiming at a blind zone (Z) or an object to be measured. The system of claim 1, wherein the first ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface (P1) and the second ultrasonic longitudinal detection surface (P2) are mixed based on a bilateral incomplete mixing method, so that the two The sound waves of each other reach a degree of mixing with each other, and at the same time, each maintains an independence. The system of claim 1, 8, 9, or 10, wherein the surface (140) is bent into a first subsurface (140-1) and a second subsurface (140-2), the first subsurface The surface (140-1) is not parallel to the second subsurface (140-2). The system (1) according to claim 1, further comprising: an auxiliary signal source attached to the ultrasonic probe (10) or embedded in the ultrasonic probe (10); the auxiliary signal source comprising an or Multiple inertial measurement units, metal detectors, or sensors. The system (1) according to claim 1, wherein a part of the surface (140) of the head (14) is an arc surface (140-1', 140-2'). An ultrasound system (1) for improving needle imaging, comprising: an ultrasound probe (10) having a tail (12) and a head (14); the ultrasound probe (10) is characterized in that the head A surface (140) of the part (14) is embedded with a first group of two-dimensional array type transducer element sets (15-1) and a second group of two-dimensional array type transducer element sets (15-2), Each two-dimensional array transducer element set (15-1, 15-2) is composed of a plurality of miniature transducer elements (150), and the two-dimensional array transducer element sets (15-1, 150) 15-2) are arranged to be parallel or non-parallel to each other. The system of claim 15, wherein the miniature transducer elements (150) are misaligned such that each two-dimensional array transducer element set (15-1, 15-2) is configured to be curved into a convex surface or a concave surface , aiming at a blind zone (Z) or an object to be tested.

Images