WO2014010283A1

WO2014010283A1 - Ultrasonic endoscope

Info

Publication number: WO2014010283A1
Application number: PCT/JP2013/060957
Authority: WO
Inventors: 拓也今橋; 賢治牧田
Original assignee: オリンパスメディカルシステムズ株式会社
Priority date: 2012-07-10
Filing date: 2013-04-11
Publication date: 2014-01-16

Abstract

In the present invention, proximal-side wiring boards (40-3, 40-4) are arranged so that wiring layers (42-3, 42-4) are oriented inwardly and face each other and ground layers (43-3, 43-4) are oriented outwardly and oppose an interior-side wall of a nosepiece (16). In turn, distal-side wiring boards (40-1, 40-2) are bent so as to have an L-shaped cross-sectional shape when cut in a direction orthogonal to an insertion axis and are arranged so as to partially overlap at a base side of the nosepiece (16) interior to form a U-shape opening toward an acoustic lens section (15a) side. This obviates the need for the laborious work of separately preparing shielding cases and assembling wiring boards into the nosepiece for each of the shielding cases, and makes it possible to facilitate accommodating the wiring board in the nosepiece and improve the workability of assembly.

Description

Ultrasound endoscope

The present invention relates to an ultrasonic endoscope in which a wiring board is disposed on the back side of an ultrasonic transmission / reception unit and accommodated in a housing.

Conventionally, an ultrasonic endoscope is used to transmit an ultrasonic wave to a subject such as a diagnostic human body, receive an echo reflected by the subject, and perform signal processing, so that a tomography in the subject is obtained. There is an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for obtaining an image. This ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is widely used in the field of diagnostic medicine because of the advantage that image information of a tomographic image inside a subject can be obtained non-invasively and immediately.

In an ultrasonic endoscope, a plurality of ultrasonic transducers are arranged in a convex arc shape, a so-called convex shape, and these ultrasonic transducers are sequentially switched at high speed electronically at regular intervals and intervals. An ultrasonic transmission / reception unit that can obtain an image is known at the tip. Such an ultrasonic transmission / reception unit electrically connects a substrate in which a conductive pattern for transmitting and receiving signals is arranged on each ultrasonic transducer of a plurality of ultrasonic transducer groups including an acoustic matching layer, a back surface braking layer, and the like. Connected and accommodated in a housing. In this case, a conductive shield case is generally disposed between the housing and the substrate for the purpose of ensuring electrical safety and removing noise.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-204552 discloses an ultrasonic probe in which a shield case is disposed on the entire inside of a probe case and an acoustic window for transmitting ultrasonic waves is provided at the tip of the shield case. The shield case of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-204552 is substantially the same shape as the inside of the probe case and is made of a metal material such as copper that shields electromagnetic waves and has high thermal conductivity. A transducer unit that transmits / receives ultrasonic waves to / from a specimen, a circuit board that transmits / receives signals to / from the transducer unit via lead wires, and a heat conduction unit that transmits heat generated in the transducer unit and the circuit board An endothermic part that absorbs heat from the heat conducting part through the shield case is provided, and heat generated in the probe case is absorbed by the inner shield case and the endothermic part.

However, in an ultrasonic endoscope having this type of ultrasonic transmission / reception unit, it is necessary to extremely reduce the outer shape (housing) of the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit at the tip. Further, in the assembly work of the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit, a coaxial cable having a large number of signal lines corresponding to a plurality of ultrasonic transducers is connected to the end electrode part of the substrate inside the shield case in the housing. The size of the connection portion between the large number of signal lines and the electrode portion is about several millimeters as a whole, and a very difficult connection work is required. For this reason, it takes a lot of labor to accommodate the board together with the shield case in the housing, which not only increases the work man-hours, but also results in loss of expensive members when work mistakes occur, greatly increasing the product cost. It becomes a factor to increase.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an ultrasonic endoscope that can ensure noise resistance of an ultrasonic transmission / reception unit without using a shield case and can improve assembly workability. It is aimed.

An ultrasonic endoscope according to an aspect of the present invention includes a convex-type ultrasonic transmission / reception unit having a plurality of transducer elements for transmitting / receiving ultrasonic waves at a distal end side of an insertion unit, and a back side of the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit And at least one wiring board electrically connected to the transducer element, a plurality of signal lines electrically connected to the wiring board, and a ground line for electrically grounding the wiring board And a housing that accommodates the wiring board and holds the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit, wherein the wiring board is formed on one surface of the non-conductive base material layer and the base material layer, A conductive wiring layer electrically connected to the signal line, and a conductive ground layer formed on the other surface of the base material layer and electrically connected to the ground line, and at least One wiring board is formed of the wiring layer. Becomes an inner surface, the ground layer is accommodated in the housing is bent so that the outer surface.

Overall configuration diagram of an ultrasonic endoscope Explanatory drawing which shows the detail of an endoscope front-end | tip part Cross section of ultrasonic transmitter / receiver Illustration of wiring board AA line sectional view of FIG. BB sectional view of FIG. Explanatory drawing showing the tip side of the wiring board Explanatory drawing which shows a 1st modification Explanatory drawing which shows a 2nd modification Explanatory drawing which shows the 3rd modification Explanatory drawing which shows a 4th modification. Explanatory drawing which shows the 5th modification Explanatory drawing which shows a 6th modification Explanatory drawing which shows the 7th modification

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, an ultrasonic endoscope (hereinafter also referred to as an endoscope) 1 of the present embodiment is formed in an elongated tubular shape and is inserted at the distal end side of an insertion portion 2 that is inserted into a body cavity or the like. This is an electronic scanning ultrasonic endoscope having an ultrasonic transducer unit 30 having an electronic scanning ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 31. On the proximal end side of the insertion portion 2 of the ultrasonic endoscope 1, an operation portion 3 that also serves as a gripping portion is connected, and on the distal end side of the universal cord 4 that extends from the side portion of the operation portion 3, A connector portion 5 is provided.

The insertion portion 2 is provided with a hard portion 6 connected to the ultrasonic transducer unit 30 on the distal end side, and a bending portion 7 connected to the rear end side of the hard portion 6 and configured to be able to be bent in the vertical direction, for example. And a flexible tube portion 8 provided continuously to the rear end side of the curved portion 7. The flexible tube portion 8 is provided between the bending portion 7 and the operation portion 3, and has a small diameter and long shape formed with flexibility so as to be passively flexible. It is a member.

The operation unit 3 covers the proximal end of the flexible tube unit 8 and is connected to the flexible tube unit 8. The operation unit 3 is connected to the bending unit 3 a, and the user uses the endoscope 1. And a grip portion 3b that is gripped by a hand when performing the operation. Various operation members are arranged on the upper end side of the grip portion 3b, and a treatment for guiding the treatment instrument into the body cavity is located on the lower end side of the grip portion 3b and on the upper portion of the anti-folding portion 3a. A tool insertion port 9 and the like are provided. As an operation member provided in the operation unit 3, for example, a bending lever 10 for performing a bending operation of the bending unit 7, a plurality of operation buttons 11 for performing respective corresponding operations such as an air / water supply operation or suction operation, imaging, illumination, and the like. Etc.

The universal cord 4 extends from the distal end of the insertion portion 2 through the bending portion 7 and the flexible tube portion 8 to the operation portion 3, and further passes various signal lines and the like extending from the operation portion 3 to the inside. This is a composite cable that passes through a light guide of a light source device (not shown) and further passes an air / water supply tube extended from an air / water supply device (not shown) depending on the model. The connector portion 5 disposed on the distal end side of the universal cord 4 includes an ultrasonic connector 5a for connecting with an ultrasonic observation device (not shown), an electrical connector portion 5b for connecting various signal cables, and a light source. The light source side connector 5c which connects between an apparatus and an air / water supply apparatus (not shown) is provided.

Next, the configuration of the distal end side of the insertion portion 2 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, a treatment tool such as an objective lens window 20 constituting an observation optical system, an illumination lens window 21 constituting an illumination optical system, and a puncture needle are led out to the hard part 6 on the distal end side of the insertion part 2. A treatment instrument outlet 22 is provided.

On the other hand, the ultrasonic transducer unit 30 connected to the hard portion 6 includes an ultrasonic probe 15 and a nose piece 16 that is a housing that accommodates the ultrasonic probe 15. . The ultrasonic probe 15 is integrally disposed and held in a cutout portion formed in the center portion of the nosepiece 16, and forms a convex ultrasonic scanning surface in the longitudinal axis direction of the insertion portion 2. An ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 31 is formed by the acoustic lens unit 15a and the plurality of transducer elements 15b arranged along the convex surface inside the acoustic lens unit 15a.

A cylindrical protrusion 16a is provided at the tip of the nosepiece 16, and a first balloon holding groove 17a is formed on the outer periphery of the base of the protrusion 16a. A second balloon holding groove 17b is formed on the outer periphery of the connecting portion. Between the first balloon holding groove 17a and the second balloon holding groove 17b, a thin and highly shrinkable balloon formed of, for example, silicon rubber or latex rubber covers the nose piece 16 and is detachable. It is supposed to be disguised.

A cutout portion 18 is provided in the side wall portion of the nosepiece 16 in front of the second balloon holding groove 17b in the distal direction, and a nose is formed on the bottom portion of the cutout portion 18 on the second balloon holding groove 17b side. A balloon water supply / drainage port 19 which is an opening of a balloon water supply / drainage conduit formed in the longitudinal direction in the piece 16 and the hard part 6 is opened. The balloon water supply / drainage conduit is a conduit for supplying / draining the medium liquid into the balloon, and the balloon water supply / drainage port 19 is opened obliquely upward in the outer diameter direction of the nosepiece 16.

Conventionally, this balloon water supply / drainage pipe is opened in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal axis direction toward the side wall surface of the nosepiece 16, and there is a difficulty in water supply when the balloon is inflated to an appropriate size. Whether or not a cleaning tool such as a cleaning brush has reached the tip of the water supply / drainage pipeline when cleaning the pipeline was based on hand feeling.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the balloon water supply / drain port 19 of the nosepiece 16 is directed toward the outer diameter direction of the nosepiece 16 within the notch 18 provided in the side wall of the nosepiece 16 toward the distal end. The opening is inclined obliquely upward. As a result, the medium liquid fed from the balloon water supply / drainage line can smoothly flow to the tip side along the side wall surface of the nosepiece 16, and the balloon can be actively inflated to the ultrasonic radiation surface side. Water supply can be improved.

In addition, since the shape of the pipeline leading to the opening of the balloon water supply and drainage pipeline approaches a straight line, the cleaning tool must reach the tip of the water supply and drainage pipeline when performing cleaning work by inserting a cleaning tool such as a brush. Can be determined visually. Furthermore, since the balloon water supply / drainage pipe exists in the nosepiece 16 that accommodates the ultrasonic probe 15, the cooling effect of the ultrasonic probe 15 by water supply in the pipe can be obtained.

Next, the signal wiring system of the ultrasonic transducer unit 30 will be described.
In the ultrasonic transducer unit 30 according to the present embodiment, the plurality of transducer elements 15b are connected to a wiring board in which corresponding signal lines are arranged as a pattern, and the wiring board does not use a shield case and has noise resistance. Is accommodated in the nosepiece 16 in a state in which is secured. A plurality of signal cables forming a drive line, a signal line, and a ground line are connected to the wiring board, and these signal cables are inserted through the insertion portion 2 and connected to the ultrasonic connector 5a.

Specifically, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 7, the ultrasonic transducer unit 30 includes four pieces in the elevation direction on the back side of the acoustic lens unit 15 a held at the center of the nosepiece 16. Wiring boards 40-i (i = 1, 2, 3, 4) are arranged, and these wiring boards 40-i share the wiring of the plurality of transducer elements 15b. For example, when the number of the plurality of transducer elements 15b is 40 elements, 4 elements are wired by the two wiring boards 40-1 and 40-2 on the distal end side (first balloon holding groove 17a side) The remaining 36 elements are wired by the two wiring boards 40-3 and 40-4 on the base end side (second balloon holding groove 17b side).

Each wiring board 40-i is a double-sided board (two-layer board) in which conductive conductive layers are formed on both sides of a base material layer 41-i made of an insulating material, as simply shown in FIG. The conductive layer on one side is formed exclusively for grounding. That is, a wiring layer 42-i printed with conductive patterns 42a-i connected to each transducer element 15b is formed on one surface of the base material layer 41-i which is a nonconductive nonconductive layer, On the other surface of the base material layer 41-i, a conductive ground layer 43-i made of a metal material such as copper is formed over substantially the entire surface.

In the wiring layer 42-i, a coaxial wire bundle 44 made up of coaxial wires as a plurality of signal wirings for transmitting driving signals and receiving signals of the transducer elements 15 b through lands formed at the ends of the conductive patterns 42 a-i. -i is connected. The ground layer 43-i is connected to a ground line 45-i for grounding the entire ground layer 43-i.

Here, it is desirable that the wiring board 40-i is a flexible board having flexibility in order to facilitate storage in the nosepiece 16. In the present embodiment, among the wiring boards 40-1 to 40-4, the wiring boards 40-3 and 40-4 on the base end side may be rigid boards. Since the wiring boards 40-1 and 40-2 are bent and accommodated in the nosepiece 16 as described below, a flexible board or a rigid flexible board in which the flexible board and the rigid board are integrated is used. It is desirable to use it.

Hereinafter, the arrangement of the wiring board 40-i in the nosepiece 16 will be described. Among the wiring boards 40-i, the wiring boards 40-3 and 40-4 on the proximal end side are arranged so as to face each other on the inner side wall surface side of the nosepiece 16, as shown in FIG. Specifically, the wiring boards 40-3 and 40-4 face each other across the insertion axis (center axis of the ultrasonic transducer unit 30) with the wiring layers 42-3 and 42-4 facing inward. The ground layers 43-3 and 43-4 are disposed so as to face outward and to face the inner side wall of the nosepiece 16.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the wiring boards 40-1 and 40-2 on the front end side have an L shape (angle shape) when the cross-sectional shape is cut in a direction orthogonal to the insertion axis. Each is bent. And it arrange | positions so that it may become the U-shape (channel shape) which overlaps partially by the bottom part inside the nosepiece 16, and opens toward the acoustic lens part 15a side.

Also in this case, the wiring boards 40-1 and 40-2 are arranged so that the ground layers 43-1 and 43-2 face the outside and face the inner side wall of the nosepiece 16. Further, as shown by part C in FIG. 7, at least one of the wiring boards 40-1 and 40-2 is orthogonal to the insertion axis so as to cover the opening on the tip side of the wiring boards 40-3 and 40-4. It is desirable to bend on the tip side in the direction to be.

That is, the wiring board 40-i in the nosepiece 16 is arranged such that the wiring layer 42-i is disposed on the inner side, the ground layer 43-i is disposed on the outer side, and the wiring layer 42-i is surrounded by the ground layer 43-i. Therefore, the electromagnetic wave noise can be shielded by the ground layer 43-i, and the EMI noise component of the wiring layer 42-i can be reduced.

This eliminates the need for troublesome work such as separately preparing a shield case and incorporating the wiring board into the nose piece together with the shield case, and facilitates the assembly of the wiring board into the nose piece, thereby improving the assembly workability. Can be improved.

In addition, since the wiring board 40-i surrounds the wiring layer 42-i with the ground layer 43-i and is accommodated in the nose piece 16, it is possible to ensure noise resistance and electrical safety. it can. When a plurality of wiring boards are used, the wiring to the transducer element 15b can be dispersed to reduce the size of each board, and the diameter of the distal end of the insertion portion can be reduced.

Further, since each of the wiring boards 40-i is provided with a ground layer 43-i made of a metal material such as copper that shields electromagnetic waves and has high thermal conductivity, the vibrator element 15b and the wiring layer 42-i. The heat generated on the side can be effectively dissipated, and an excessive temperature rise at the distal end of the insertion portion can be prevented.

In the above, an example using four wiring boards 40-1 to 40-4 has been described. However, it is sufficient to use at least one board having a wiring layer and a ground layer. The substrate may be used. Various modifications of the arrangement of the substrates in the nosepiece 16 are conceivable. Hereinafter, first to seventh modifications will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIGS. 8 to 10 show first to third modifications, in which one wiring board 50 is bent and arranged in the nose piece 16, and is a cross section when cut in a direction perpendicular to the insertion axis. In the example, the shapes have a U-shaped (channel shape), a V-shaped shape, and a U-shaped bent shape.

The wiring board 50 is a double-sided board (two-layer board) in which conductive conductive layers are formed on both sides of a base material layer 51 made of an insulating material, similar to the above-described wiring board 40-i. A wiring layer 52 on which a conductive pattern connected to each transducer element 15b is printed is formed on one surface, and a conductive ground layer 53 is formed on the other surface of the base material layer 51 over substantially the entire surface. Is formed.

The wiring board 50 is disposed in the nosepiece 16 in a folded shape when the U-shaped folded shape is 50A, the V-shaped folded shape is 50B, and the U-shaped folded shape is 50C. The bent shapes 50A, 50B, and 50C are arranged so that the open end side is the transducer element 15b side, the wiring layer 52 is inside, and the ground layer 53 is outside.

Even when the wiring board 50 is bent and arranged as described above, it is possible to secure noise resistance without using a shield case, improve assembly workability, and ensure electrical safety.

The fourth modification shown in FIG. 11 is an example in which two

wiring boards

60 and 70 are combined. One wiring board 60 is a flat board, and the other wiring board 70 is bent so that a cross-sectional shape when cut in a direction orthogonal to the insertion axis is an L shape (angle shape). . These

wiring boards

60 and 70 are two-layer boards similar to the wiring boards 40-i and 50 described above. The wiring board 60 has a wiring layer 62 formed on one surface of a base material layer 61 and a ground layer 63 formed on the other surface. In addition, the wiring board 70 has a wiring layer 72 formed on the inner surface of the angled shape of the base material layer 71 and a ground layer 73 formed on the outer surface of the angled shape.

One wiring board 60 is disposed in the nose piece 16 with the wiring layer 62 on the inside and the ground layer 63 on the outside so that one side is on the transducer element 15b side. The other wiring board 70 has an angle-shaped inner wiring layer 72 disposed opposite to the wiring layer 62 of the first wiring board 60, and a cross-sectional shape when cut in a direction perpendicular to the insertion axis. Are arranged in the nosepiece 16 so that the wiring substrate 60 and the wiring substrate 70 form a channel shape.

That is, the wiring layer 62 of the flat wiring board 60 and the wiring layer 72 of the angle-shaped wiring board 70 face each other, and the ground layers 73 of the

wiring boards

60 and 70 cover the wiring layers 62 and 72. 73 are disposed outside and accommodated in the nosepiece 16, ensuring noise resistance without using a shield case, improving assembly workability, and ensuring electrical safety.

Further, in the fifth modification shown in FIG. 12, two

wiring boards

80 and 90 folded so that the cross-sectional shape when cut in the direction orthogonal to the insertion axis is an L shape (angle shape). It is an example which combines. These

wiring boards

80 and 90 are the same as the wiring board 70, and

wiring layers

82 and 92 are formed on the inner surfaces of the base layers 81 and 91, respectively, and the ground surfaces are formed on the outer surfaces of the angle shapes.

Layers

83 and 93 are formed.

Similar to the fourth modification, the

wiring boards

80 and 90 are arranged in the nosepiece 16 so that the cross-sectional shape when cut in the direction orthogonal to the insertion axis forms a channel shape in the

wiring boards

80 and 90. However, with respect to the fourth modification, the surfaces of the nosepieces 16 below the acoustic lens portion 15a are disposed so that the surfaces of the angle shapes overlap each other. Even in such an arrangement, similarly, noise resistance can be ensured without using a shield case to improve the assembling workability, and electrical safety can be ensured.

Furthermore, the sixth and seventh modified examples shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 are examples in which the wiring board 100 is added to the fourth modified example of FIG. 11 and the fifth modified example of FIG. . The wiring board 100 is a flat board similar to the wiring board 60 described above, and the wiring layer 102 is formed on one surface of the base material layer base material layer 101 and the ground layer 103 is formed on the other surface 2. It is a layer substrate.

In the example of FIG. 13, the flat wiring board 100 is parallel to the wiring board 60 and the wiring layers 62 and 102 face each other between the flat wiring board 60 and the angle-shaped wiring board 70. Has been placed. In the example of FIG. 14, the wiring layer 102 of the flat wiring board 100 is disposed between the two angle-shaped

wiring boards

80 and 90 so as to face the wiring layer 82 or the wiring layer 92. . Also in these examples, it is possible to secure noise resistance without using a shield case to improve the assembly workability and to ensure electrical safety.

As described above, in this embodiment, since the wiring board is folded and accommodated in the nose piece so that the wiring layer is on the inside and the ground layer is on the outside, a separate shielding case is prepared and the entire shielding case is wired. It is not necessary to perform a laborious operation of incorporating the substrate into the nosepiece, and the noise resistance of the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit can be ensured without using a shield case, and the assembling workability can be improved.

This application is filed on the basis of a priority claim based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-154858 filed in Japan on July 10, 2012, and the above description includes the present specification, claims, and drawings. Is quoted in

Claims

A convex-type ultrasonic transmission / reception unit that is inserted into a subject and has a plurality of transducer elements for transmitting / receiving ultrasonic waves;
At least one wiring board disposed on the back side of the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit and electrically connected to the transducer element;
A plurality of signal lines electrically connected to the wiring board;
A ground line for electrically grounding the wiring board;
A housing for accommodating the wiring board and holding the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit;
With
The wiring board is
A non-conductive substrate layer;
A conductive wiring layer formed on one surface of the base material layer and electrically connected to the plurality of signal lines;
A conductive ground layer formed on the other surface of the base material layer and electrically connected to the ground wire;
Have
At least one of the wiring boards is
An ultrasonic endoscope, wherein the wiring layer is bent and accommodated in the housing so that the wiring layer becomes an inner surface and the ground layer becomes an outer surface.
The wiring board is
The cross-sectional shape when cut in a direction orthogonal to the insertion axis has a bent shape that is bent so as to be a U shape, a V shape, or a U shape,
The ultrasonic endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic endoscope is housed in the housing such that an open end side of the bent shape is on the transducer element side.
Having two wiring boards, a flat first wiring board and a second wiring board bent so that the cross-sectional shape when cut in a direction orthogonal to the insertion axis is L-shaped;
2. The ultrasonic endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the wiring layer of the first wiring board and the wiring layer on the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit side of the second wiring board are arranged to face each other. mirror.
The cross-sectional shape when cut in a direction perpendicular to the insertion axis has two wiring boards having an L-shaped cross section, and the two wiring boards are arranged so that the wiring layers on the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit side face each other. The ultrasonic endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic endoscope is arranged.
A third wiring board having a flat plate shape;
5. The ultrasonic endoscope according to claim 3, wherein the third wiring board is disposed between two opposing wiring boards. 6.