WO2022138133A1

WO2022138133A1 - Ultrasonic observation device and ultrasonic observation method

Info

Publication number: WO2022138133A1
Application number: PCT/JP2021/044895
Authority: WO
Inventors: 成史松本; 康人竹内
Original assignee: メロディ・インターナショナル株式会社
Priority date: 2020-12-25
Filing date: 2021-12-07
Publication date: 2022-06-30
Also published as: JPWO2022138133A1

Abstract

This ultrasonic observation device is for observing the degree of tension of the muscles of a target site by using an ultrasonic Doppler method. To acheive the foregoing, the ultrasonic observation device comprises: a probe 101 that includes an ultrasonic wave transmission unit 1011 for transmitting ultrasonic waves in a direction inclined with respect to the surface of a living body, and an ultrasonic wave reception unit 1012 that receives reflected waves of ultrasonic waves transmitted by an ultrasonic wave irradiation unit; a Doppler filter unit 104 that extracts a Doppler signal of a frequency based on Doppler shift with respect to ultrasonic waves of reflected waves received by the ultrasonic wave reception unit 1012; and an acquisition unit 106 that acquires, from the Doppler signal acquired by the Doppler filter unit 104, a signal of a sideband frequency indicating micro-vibrations in the traveling direction of muscle fibers.

Description

Ultrasonic observation device and ultrasonic observation method

The present invention relates to an apparatus or the like for observing a living body using ultrasonic waves. For example, the present invention relates to a mechanomyogram observation device and the like, further to an ultrasonic Doppler mechanomyogram device and the like, and further to an external measurement labor pain meter and the like using the same method.

Conventionally, the external measuring labor pain meter that has been put into practical use for many years is a mechanical (compressor type) hardness meter, that is, a kind of durometer. Durometers specialized for the purpose of this external measurement labor meter include a guard ring type (one-sided type), a bokki type, and a mushroom type that is a compromise between them. The outline is explained in Non-Patent Document 1 and the like.

On the other hand, an attempt was made to observe the myoelectric signal emitted by the uterine muscle and evaluate the tension of the uterine muscle based on its level or power, and an external measurement labor pain meter of this type was also proposed. , Explained in Non-Patent Document 2. However, this has not been widely used in clinical applications.

On the other hand, the muscle sound of the uterine muscle, muscle tremolo (small vibration of the muscle), or mechanomyogram (mechanomyogram) is observed as an acoustic or mechanical signal, and the tension of the uterine muscle is determined by its level or power. Attempts have been made to evaluate the uterus, and this type of external measurement labor pain meter has also been proposed. The outline is explained in Patent Document 2 and the like. However, this too has not been widely used in clinical applications.

In addition to mechanical or acoustic observations, the generation of muscle sounds or muscle tremolo, which is a phenomenon that accompanies when muscles exert force, is also observed by the laser Doppler method, and this method has a certain position as a method for evaluating muscle activity. Is getting. This is explained in Non-Patent Document 3.

Japanese Patent No. 5892609 Japanese Patent No. 6487172

In the conventional technique, there is a problem that information that can be used for observing muscles in a living body cannot be appropriately and easily acquired by using ultrasonic waves.

The ultrasonic observation device of the first aspect of the present invention receives an ultrasonic transmission unit that transmits ultrasonic waves in a direction inclined with respect to the surface of a living body and an ultrasonic reflected wave transmitted by the ultrasonic transmission unit. The raw from the probe having the ultrasonic receiver, the Doppler filter unit that extracts the Doppler signal indicating the Doppler component of the reflected wave received by the ultrasonic receiver, and the Doppler signal extracted by the Doppler filter unit. It includes an acquisition unit that acquires a signal in the sideband frequency band indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of muscle fibers in the body, and an output unit that outputs a signal in the sideband frequency band acquired by the acquisition unit.

With such a configuration, the ultrasonic observation device can appropriately and easily acquire information that can be used for observing muscles in a living body by using ultrasonic waves.

Further, the probe has a housing, the ultrasonic transmitting unit and the ultrasonic receiving unit are attached to the housing, and the transmitting surface of the ultrasonic transmitting unit is a living body. The ultrasonic wave receiving unit is arranged so as to be inclined with respect to the surface of the body, and the receiving surface is transmitted from the ultrasonic wave transmitting unit, and the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave reflected by the muscle fibers in the living body is incident. As such, it may be arranged so as to be inclined with respect to the surface of the living body.

With such a configuration, the ultrasonic observation device can appropriately and easily acquire the ultrasonic wave by applying the ultrasonic wave transmitting unit and the ultrasonic wave receiving unit of the probe to the living body.

Further, in the ultrasonic transmitting unit, the transmitting surface is arranged so that the transmitting direction of the ultrasonic wave is inclined with respect to the surface of the muscle fiber to be observed, and in the ultrasonic receiving unit, the receiving surface is the said. It may be arranged so as to be perpendicular to the reflection direction of the ultrasonic wave reflected by the muscle fiber to be observed.

With such a configuration, the ultrasonic observation device can irradiate ultrasonic waves so as not to be perpendicular to the traveling direction of the muscle fiber to be observed, and appropriately acquires a signal indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber. can do.

Further, in the ultrasonic transmitting unit, the transmitting surface is arranged so that the transmitting direction of the ultrasonic wave is inclined with respect to the surface of the uterine muscle to be observed, and in the ultrasonic receiving unit, the receiving surface is the said. It may be arranged so as to be perpendicular to the reflection direction of the ultrasonic wave reflected by the uterine muscle.

With such a configuration, the ultrasonic observation device can acquire information indicating minute vibration of the uterine muscle, and can be used as, for example, an external measurement labor pain meter.

Further, the probe has a plurality of ultrasonic wave transmitting units that transmit ultrasonic waves in different directions and a plurality of ultrasonic wave receiving units that receive reflected waves of ultrasonic waves transmitted by the plurality of ultrasonic wave transmitting units. The Doppler filter unit extracts a plurality of the Doppler signals indicating the Doppler components of the reflected waves received by the plurality of ultrasonic receiving units, respectively, and the acquisition unit is the Doppler filter unit. A sideband frequency band signal indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber may be acquired from the plurality of extracted Doppler signals.

With this configuration, the ultrasonic observation device can simultaneously acquire signals indicating minute vibrations of the running method of muscle fibers for different observation sites in the same living body.

Further, the probe has a plurality of ultrasonic transmission units that transmit ultrasonic waves in different directions and a plurality of ultrasonic reception units that receive reflected waves of ultrasonic waves transmitted by the plurality of ultrasonic transmission units. The Doppler filter unit extracts a plurality of the Doppler signals indicating the Doppler components of the reflected waves received by the plurality of ultrasonic receiver units, respectively, and the acquisition unit extracts the Doppler filter unit. A sideband frequency band signal indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber is acquired from a part of the plurality of Doppler signals, and the output unit receives the sideband frequency band signal acquired by the acquisition unit. Of the plurality of Doppler signals, a second Doppler signal other than the first Doppler signal obtained by the acquisition unit may output a signal in the sideband frequency band.

With this configuration, the ultrasonic observation device simultaneously obtains a signal indicating a minute vibration of the running method of muscle fibers of one or more observation sites in the same living body and a Doppler signal indicating the movement of one or more other observation sites. Can be obtained.

Further, the ultrasonic transmitting unit transmits ultrasonic waves in a pulse shape, and the ultrasonic receiving unit receives reflected waves while the ultrasonic transmitting unit transmits ultrasonic pulses, and the ultrasonic transmission unit transmits ultrasonic waves. The unit and the ultrasonic wave receiving unit may receive ultrasonic waves and reflected waves from the same transmitting / receiving surface arranged so as to be inclined with respect to the surface of the living body.

With such a configuration, the ultrasonic observation device can appropriately and easily acquire information that can be used for observing muscles in the living body by means of pulse Doppler.

Further, the Doppler filter unit acquires Doppler signals for two or more different range gates of the reflected waves received by the ultrasonic wave receiving unit while the ultrasonic wave transmitting unit transmits ultrasonic pulses. The acquisition unit acquires a sideband frequency band signal indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber from the Doppler signal extracted by the Doppler filter unit, and the acquisition unit acquires the output unit. The signal of the sideband frequency band may be output.

Further, the Doppler filter unit acquires the Doppler signal for each of two or more different range gates of the reflected wave received by the ultrasonic receiver unit while the ultrasonic transmitter unit transmits the ultrasonic pulse. The acquisition unit acquires a signal in the sideband frequency band on the low frequency side indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber from the Doppler signal extracted by the Doppler filter unit for one or more range gates, and the output unit. Is the first Doppler signal acquired by the acquisition unit among the sideband frequency band signals acquired by the acquisition unit for each of the one or more range gates and the plurality of Doppler signals extracted by the Doppler filter unit. A second Doppler signal other than one or more may be output.

With this configuration, the ultrasonic observation device can simultaneously acquire a signal indicating a minute vibration of the running method of muscle fibers and a Doppler signal indicating a large movement of the observation site for different observation sites in the same living body.

Further, the signal in the sideband frequency band acquired by the acquisition unit may be a signal in the frequency band from 5 Hz to 100 Hz.

With such a configuration, the ultrasonic observation device can appropriately acquire a signal indicating a minute movement of muscle fibers.

Further, in the ultrasonic observation device, the acquisition unit acquires a signal in the sideband frequency band for the Doppler signal acquired by the Doppler filter unit for the range gate corresponding to the uterine muscle, and the output unit obtains the signal in the sideband frequency band. The sideband frequency band signal acquired by the acquisition unit and the Doppler signal extracted by the Doppler filter unit for the range gate corresponding to the fetal heart in the womb may be output.

With this configuration, the ultrasonic observation device can simultaneously observe the minute vibration of the uterine muscle and the movement of the fetal heart.

The ultrasonic observation method according to the second aspect of the present invention receives an ultrasonic transmission unit that transmits ultrasonic waves in a direction inclined with respect to the surface of a living body and an ultrasonic reflected wave transmitted by the ultrasonic transmission unit. It is an ultrasonic observation method performed by using a probe having an ultrasonic receiving unit and a device having a transmitting unit, a Doppler filter unit, an acquiring unit, and an output unit, wherein the transmitting unit is the probe. The step of transmitting ultrasonic waves in a direction inclined with respect to the surface of the living body, the step of extracting the Doppler signal indicating the Doppler component of the reflected wave on the surface of the ultrasonic waves by the Doppler filter unit, and the acquisition unit. A step of acquiring a sideband frequency band signal indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber in the living body from the Doppler signal, and a step of the output unit outputting a signal of the sideband frequency band. Have.

According to the ultrasonic observation device or the like according to the present invention, information that can be used for observing muscles in a living body can be appropriately and easily acquired by using ultrasonic waves.

Block diagram of the ultrasonic observation apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. A perspective view (FIG. 2 (a)) and a top view (FIG. 2 (b)) of the probe of the ultrasonic observation device. Flow chart explaining the operation of the ultrasonic observation device Figures for explaining the operation of the ultrasonic observation device (FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b)). A diagram showing the transition of the frequency of the Doppler signal in the low frequency region (FIG. 5 (a)) and a diagram showing the transition of the frequency spectrum (FIG. 5 (b)) for explaining the ultrasonic observation device. A perspective view (FIG. 6 (a)) and a top view (FIG. 6 (b)) of a modified example of the probe of the ultrasonic observation device. A perspective view (FIG. 7 (b)) and a top view (FIG. 7 (b)) of a modified example of the probe of the ultrasonic observation device. Block diagram of the ultrasonic observation apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. A perspective view (FIG. 9 (a)) and a top view (FIG. 9 (b)) of the ultrasonic observation device. A perspective view (FIG. 10 (b)) and a top view (FIG. 10 (b)) of a modified example of the probe of the ultrasonic observation device. Schematic diagram for explaining a modified example of the ultrasonic observation device A perspective view (FIG. 12 (a)) and a top view ((FIG. 12 (b)) of the probe of the ultrasonic observation device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. A perspective view (FIG. 13 (a)) and a top view ((FIG. 13 (b)) of a probe of a modified example of the ultrasonic observation device. The figure which shows an example of the appearance of the computer system in each embodiment. Diagram showing an example of the configuration of the computer system

Hereinafter, embodiments of the ultrasonic observation device and the like will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, since the components with the same reference numerals perform the same operation in the embodiment, the description may be omitted again.

(Embodiment 1)
The ultrasonic observation device according to the present embodiment can be used as a muscle observation or an external measurement labor pain meter by observing a muscle sound of a muscle such as a uterine muscle or a phenomenon such as a muscle tremolo. The ultrasonic observation device does not observe the phenomenon acoustically or mechanically, but observes fluctuations in the frequency of the reflected wave with respect to the irradiated ultrasonic waves due to the Doppler phenomenon.

In the phenomenon of mechanomyogram or muscle tremolo, even if the muscles that are exerting force exert a certain or substantially constant force as a whole, each of the muscle fibers that compose it moves sharply (like pulling). It is caused by the phenomenon of (moving to). Since the movement occurs in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber, the condition to be set for observing the movement is the observation of the vibration in the longitudinal direction (that is, the tangential direction) of the local tissue of the muscle. Therefore, in order to properly observe such a muscle phenomenon, it is not necessary to observe the vibration in the direction perpendicular to the running direction of the muscle fiber (that is, the normal direction), but to the running direction of the muscle fiber. It is necessary to observe vibrations in directions other than vertical.

As a result of diligent research by the inventors of the present application, when ultrasonic waves are used to detect vibrations other than those perpendicular to the traveling direction of the muscle fibers, the ultrasonic waves are not perpendicular to the muscle fibers. A signal in a specific sideband frequency band that can show minute vibration of a muscle from a Doppler signal that shows the Doppler component of the reflected wave of the irradiated ultrasonic wave while irradiating from the direction, specifically, a signal in the low frequency band of 5 to 100 Hz. It was found that it is preferable to selectively extract the signal. Here, the Doppler signal is a component in the band of the frequency (that is, the Doppler frequency) in which the frequency of the reflected wave generated by the ultrasonic wave transmitted by the ultrasonic observation device being reflected by the vibrating muscle fiber fluctuates. It is a signal indicating a component. The Doppler signal may be a signal indicating a variation in the difference between the frequency of the ultrasonic wave transmitted by the ultrasonic observation device and the frequency of the reflected wave (that is, the variation in the amount of Doppler shift) caused by the Doppler phenomenon.

Further, as a preferred example, when the frequency of the ultrasonic wave of the observation system is 3 MHz and the angle of incidence of the ultrasonic wave on the muscle is 45 degrees, a signal in the frequency band of 25 Hz to 100 Hz is reflected as a specific sideband frequency band. By acquiring and observing from the Doppler signal of the wave, it was found that the minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber can be observed more appropriately.

The ultrasonic observation device of the present embodiment utilizes such knowledge to acquire information that enables observation of minute vibrations in the traveling direction of muscle fibers.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the ultrasonic observation device 1 according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view (FIG. 2 (a)) and a top view (FIG. 2 (b)) of the probe of the ultrasonic observation device 1 according to the present embodiment as viewed from the front side for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves. be.

The ultrasonic observation device 1 includes a probe 101, a transmitter 102, an amplification unit 103, a Doppler filter unit 104, an AD conversion unit 105, an acquisition unit 106, and an output unit 107. The probe 101 has an ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 1011 and an ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012. In FIG. 2B, the housing 10 is represented by a dotted line for convenience of explanation.

The probe 101 has, for example, a housing 10, and an ultrasonic transmitting unit 1011 and an ultrasonic receiving unit 1012 are attached to the housing 10. However, if the housing 10 is unnecessary, the housing 10 may be omitted. Further, the shape and material of the housing 10 are not limited.

The ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 transmits ultrasonic waves in response to a signal from the transmitter 102. The ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 1011 has, for example, an oscillator 1011a. The ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 1011 may be a vibrator 1011a, and may include another circuit, a transmitter 102, etc., which will be described later, in addition to the vibrator 1011a. Here, a case where the ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 1011 is one oscillator 1011a will be described as an example. The ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 may have an oscillator array composed of two or more oscillators or two or more oscillators.

The ultrasonic wave transmission unit 1011 transmits ultrasonic waves in a direction inclined with respect to the surface of the living body. The living body here is, for example, a subject. The living body is usually a human body, but may be an animal other than the human body. The observation target of the ultrasonic observation device 1 of the present embodiment is, for example, a muscle in a living body. The surface of the living body here is, for example, a portion of the surface of the living body to which the probe 101 is in contact. The contact of the probe 101 here may be, for example, a part of the probe 101 being brought into contact with the surface of the living body. The direction in which the probe 101 is in contact is, for example, the front-back direction of the probe.

The ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 1011 is arranged so as to transmit ultrasonic waves in a direction inclined with respect to the surface of a living body, for example. The ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 1011 is attached to the housing 10 so as to transmit ultrasonic waves in a direction inclined with respect to the surface of the living body, for example, with the probe 101 in contact with the surface of the living body. .. For example, the ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 1011 is arranged so that the transmitting direction of the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmitting surface 1011b is inclined with respect to the traveling direction of the muscle fiber of the muscle to be observed. The ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 1011 is arranged so that the transmitting surface 1011b is inclined with respect to the surface of the living body, for example, with the probe 101 in contact with the surface of the living body. The transmission surface 1011b of the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 1011 is, for example, a surface for transmitting ultrasonic waves of the vibrator 1012a included in the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 1011. The transmission surface 1011b of the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 may be, for example, the transmission surface of a plurality of oscillators included in the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 or the transmission surface of the oscillator array.

In the ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 1011 for example, the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the transmitting surface 1011b of the ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 1011 are generated in a state where the front side of the housing 10 of the probe 101 is in contact with the surface of the living body. It is attached to the front of the housing 10 so that it is transmitted in a direction inclined with respect to the surface of the living body. For example, the ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 1011 has a state in which the front side of the housing 10 of the probe 101 is in contact with the surface of the living body, and the transmitting surface 1011b is inclined with respect to the surface of the living body. It is attached to the front of the housing 10.

The direction inclined with respect to the surface of the living body here is, for example, 0 degrees or more with respect to the surface of the portion of the surface of the living body to which the probe 101 is in contact and the normal of this surface. It is a direction that is tilted at an angle. Further, the surface of the living body here may be, for example, a virtual plane in contact with the surface of the living body, or a plane that approximates a portion of the surface of the living body to which the probe 101 is in contact. The same applies to the following.

In this embodiment, a plate 20 to which the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 is attached is provided in front of the housing 10. The ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 is attached to the rear surface of the plate 20 with the transmission surface 1011b side facing forward so that the transmission surface 1011b faces forward. The portion of the plate 20 to which the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 is attached is inclined with respect to a virtual plane parallel to the front-back direction of the probe 101, whereby the transmission surface facing the rear surface of the plate 20 1011b is also inclined with respect to the front-rear direction of the probe 101. In addition, instead of the plate 20, an acoustic lens (not shown) or the like may be provided in which the portion to which the transmission surface 1011b side of the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 is attached is similarly inclined.

It is preferable that the transmission direction of the ultrasonic wave transmitted by the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 1011 is not perpendicular to the traveling direction of the muscle fiber of the muscle to be observed in the living body. For example, the smaller angle between the traveling direction of the muscle fiber of the muscle to be observed and the transmitting direction of ultrasonic waves is preferably 60 degrees or less, and more preferably 45 degrees or less. preferable. The running direction of the muscle fiber is, for example, the direction in which the muscle fiber extends. The running direction of the muscle fiber may be considered as the tangential direction of the muscle fiber.

The muscle to be observed here is, for example, the uterine muscle, but the muscle is not limited to this.

The oscillator 1011a of the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 is connected to the transmitter 102, for example, via a cable 30 provided in the housing 10. The oscillator 1011a may be wirelessly connected to the transmitter 102.

The ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 may continuously transmit ultrasonic waves or may transmit ultrasonic waves in a pulse shape. In this embodiment, a case where the ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 1011 mainly continuously transmits ultrasonic waves, that is, a case where ultrasonic waves that are continuous waves (CW) are transmitted will be described as an example.

The ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 receives the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave transmitted by the ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 1011. The ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 has, for example, an oscillator 1012a. The ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 may be the oscillator 1012a, and may include other circuits, an amplification unit 103, etc., which will be described later, in addition to the oscillator 1012a. Here, a case where the ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 is one oscillator 1012a will be described. The ultrasonic receiving unit 1012 may have two or more oscillators or an oscillator array composed of two or more oscillators.

The ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 receives, for example, a reflected wave in which the ultrasonic wave transmitted by the ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 1011 is reflected by the observation target. The ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 is attached to the housing 10 so as to receive, for example, a reflected wave incident from a direction inclined with respect to the surface of the living body. The ultrasonic receiving unit 1012 is arranged so that the receiving surface 1012b is inclined with respect to the surface of the living body so that the reflected wave of the ultrasonic waves reflected by the muscle fibers in the living body is incident. The ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 is arranged so that the receiving surface 1012b is perpendicular to the reflection direction of the ultrasonic wave reflected by the muscle fiber in the living body to be observed. The receiving surface 1012b of the ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 is, for example, a surface for receiving the ultrasonic waves of the vibrator 1012a included in the ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012. The receiving surface 1012b of the ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 may be, for example, a surface for receiving ultrasonic waves of a plurality of vibrators included in the ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012, or a receiving surface of a plurality of vibrator arrays.

For example, the ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 transmits the ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 1011 reflected by the observation target in the living body in a state where the front side of the housing 10 of the probe 101 is in contact with the surface of the living body. It is attached to the front of the housing 10 so that the reflected wave of the sound wave is incident on the receiving surface 1012b. For example, the ultrasonic receiving unit 1012 has a housing in which the receiving surface 1012b is inclined with respect to the surface of the living body in a state where the front side of the housing 10 of the probe 101 is in contact with the surface of the living body. It is attached to the front of 10.

Here, the portion to which the receiving surface 1012b of the ultrasonic receiving unit 1012 of the plate 20 is attached is inclined with respect to the virtual plane parallel to the front-back direction of the probe 101, and the ultrasonic receiving unit 1012 is The receiving surface 1012b is attached to the rear surface of the plate 20 so that the receiving surface 1012b faces forward. As a result, the transmission surface 1011b facing the rear surface of the plate 20 is also inclined with respect to the front-rear direction of the probe 101.

In this embodiment, the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 and the ultrasonic reception unit 1012 are arranged so that the transmission surface 1011b and the reception surface 1012b are plane-symmetrical with respect to a virtual plane parallel to the front-back direction of the probe 101. It is attached to the front side of the probe 101. Further, the transmission surface 1011b and the reception surface 1012b are inclined with respect to the above virtual plane so that the portion closer to the virtual plane of the transmission surface 1011b and the reception surface 1012b is located behind the probe 101. The virtual plane is preferably a virtual plane that passes through the center of the probe 101 in the width direction. The virtual plane may be, for example, a virtual plane that is perpendicular to the surface of the living body when the front surface of the probe 101 is brought into contact with the surface of the living body.

Specifically, the plate 20 has a shape in which the left and right sides are bent so that the central portion is convex toward the rear. An ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 is attached to one of the left and right sides of the rear surface of the bent plate 20. Further, the ultrasonic receiving unit 1012 is attached to the left and right sides of the rear surface of the plate 20. The ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 1011 and the ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 are attached so that the transmitting surface 1011b and the receiving surface 1012b are on the front side of the probe 101.

When the sizes of the transmitting surface 1011b and the receiving surface 1012b are different, for example, the central portion of each surface is arranged so as to be plane-symmetrical, so that the transmitting surface 1011b and the receiving surface 1012b are arranged plane-symmetrically. Equivalent to doing. The same applies to the following. In addition, instead of the plate 20, the portions to which the transmission surface 1011b of the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 and the reception surface 1012b of the ultrasonic reception unit 1012 are attached are inclined in the same manner as the plate 20. (Not shown) may be provided.

The planar shape and size of the plate 20, the transmitting surface 1011b of the vibrator 1011a, and the receiving surface 1012b of the vibrator 1012a may be any shape and size. Further, the size of the housing 10 is not limited to the shape or the like.

The oscillator of the ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 is connected to the amplification unit 103 via, for example, a cable 30 provided in the housing 10. The oscillator of the ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 and the amplification unit 103 may be wirelessly connected.

The method of attaching and arranging the ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 1011 and the ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 to the housing 10 described above is an example, and is not limited to the above-mentioned mounting method. Further, the shape, structure, and the like of the housing 10 described above are examples, and are not limited to the above-mentioned shape and structure.

For example, the frequency of the ultrasonic wave transmitted by the ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 1011 is 2 MHz or more and 3 MHz or less, and the irradiation density in the region of interest in the target region is, for example, about 2 mW / cm ² or more and 10 mW / cm ² or less. However, this ultrasonic wave is an example, and the ultrasonic wave transmitted by the ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 1011 is not limited to such an ultrasonic wave.

Since the probe 101 transmits ultrasonic waves in a direction inclined at an angle other than 90 degrees with respect to the surface of the living body, it may be considered as a bevel incident probe.

The transmitter 102 generates a signal for generating an ultrasonic wave and transmits it to the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 1011. For example, the transmitter 102 transmits a signal for generating ultrasonic waves to one or more oscillators included in the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011. The transmitter 102 may have, for example, an oscillator or the like. Further, the transmitter 102 may have an amplifier (not shown) for amplifying the generated signal, another circuit, or the like. The transmitter 102 may, for example, generate a signal for generating continuous ultrasonic waves, or may generate a signal for generating pulsed ultrasonic waves.

In response to the signal transmitted by the transmitter 102, the vibrator 1011a of the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 generates an ultrasonic wave, and the generated ultrasonic wave is transmitted from the transmission surface 1011b. Further, when the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 has a plurality of oscillators or oscillator arrays, the transmitter 102 may transmit a signal for generating ultrasonic waves to each oscillator, and the transmitter 102 may transmit a signal to each oscillator. On the other hand, the delay time of the signal to be transmitted may be controlled. However, the configuration of the transmitter 102 is not limited to such a configuration. The probe 101 may have a transmitter 102, and the ultrasonic transmitter 1011 may have a transmitter 102.

The amplification unit 103 amplifies the signal output according to the reflected wave received by the ultrasonic wave reception unit 1012. For example, the amplification unit 103 amplifies the signal output by the vibrator 1012a of the ultrasonic wave reception unit 1012 according to the received reflected wave. For example, the amplification unit 103 is an amplifier that amplifies the signal output by the vibrator. The amplification unit 103 is preferably a low noise amplifier. The amplification unit 103 may amplify the signal continuously output by the vibrator 1012a according to the reflected wave continuously incident on the vibrator 1012a of the ultrasonic wave reception unit 1012, for example, at different times. The signal output by the vibrator 1012a may be amplified according to the incident reflected wave.

When the ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 has a plurality of oscillators or oscillator arrays, the signals received and output by each oscillator may be individually amplified. Further, the amplification unit 103 may further control the delay time of the received signal and the like. However, the configuration of the amplification unit 103 is not limited to such a configuration.

The probe 101 may have the amplification unit 103, or the ultrasonic wave reception unit 1012 may have the amplification unit 103. Further, when the Doppler filter unit 104 extracts the Doppler signal from the signal itself acquired by the vibrator 1012a of the ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012, the amplification unit 103 may not be provided. Further, the amplification unit 103 may include a circuit (not shown) or the like for performing predetermined processing on the signal before amplification and the signal after amplification.

The Doppler filter unit 104 extracts the Doppler component from the reflected wave received by the ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 of the probe 101. The Doppler signal here is, for example, a Doppler shift component in the frequency range corresponding to the Doppler phenomenon generated in response to the motion of the object to be observed.

The Doppler filter unit 104 is, for example, a bandpass filter that passes a signal having a frequency corresponding to the Doppler component and does not pass a signal having a frequency corresponding to the Doppler component. The Doppler filter unit 104 is lower than the frequency of the Doppler component due to the vibration of the muscle fiber (that is, the Doppler frequency), and is higher than the frequency of the infrasound component caused by the tissue shaking clutter and the frequency of the Doppler component due to the vibration of the muscle fiber. It is a bandpass filter that removes high frequency components. The Doppler filter unit 104 may have a band removal filter that removes the band of the ultrasonic frequency transmitted by the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 1011 and the above-mentioned bandpass filter provided after the band removal filter. .. Here, for example, a case where the Doppler filter unit 104 extracts the Doppler signal from the signal amplified by the amplification unit 103 from the reflected wave received by the ultrasonic wave reception unit 1012 will be described.

When the ultrasonic receiving unit 1012 has a plurality of oscillators and oscillator arrays, the Doppler filter unit 104 is a signal output by each oscillator constituting the plurality of oscillators and oscillator arrays, and the amplification unit 103 The Doppler signal may be extracted from the amplified signal. The output from the Doppler filter unit 104 may be, for example, a complex signal that forms a pair of common mode (i) and orthogonal (q) with respect to a component of a certain Doppler shift frequency of interest. The configuration of the Doppler filter unit 104 is not limited to the above configuration. Since the configuration for acquiring the Doppler signal indicating the temporal change of the reflected wave is a known technique, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The AD conversion unit 105 A / D-converts the output of the Doppler filter unit 104. For example, the Doppler signal, which is an analog signal output by the Doppler filter unit 104, is converted into a digital signal. The AD conversion unit 105 outputs, for example, the digital signal acquired by the conversion to the acquisition unit 106 and the output unit 107. The AD conversion unit 105 may, for example, store the digital signal acquired by the conversion in a storage unit (not shown) or the like. If A / D conversion of the Doppler signal is unnecessary, the AD conversion unit 105 may not be provided.

The acquisition unit 106 acquires a sideband frequency band signal indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber from the Doppler signal extracted by the Doppler filter unit 104. For example, the acquisition unit 106 acquires a Doppler signal acquired by the Doppler filter unit 104, and the AD conversion unit 105 acquires a signal in the sideband frequency band as described above from the A / D converted Doppler signal. The muscle fiber here is, for example, a muscle fiber of a muscle such as a uterine muscle to be observed. The sideband frequency band signal indicating the minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber acquired by the acquisition unit 106 is, for example, a signal in the sideband frequency band on the low frequency side of the Doppler signal.

The acquisition unit 106 acquires, for example, a signal in the frequency band from 5 Hz to 100 Hz as a signal in the sideband frequency band indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber. For example, when the ultrasonic frequency used for observation is 3 MHz and the angle of incidence on the muscle to be observed (for example, the angle of incidence on the tangent of the muscle fiber) is 45 degrees, the acquisition unit 106 is the Doppler filter unit 104. It is preferable to acquire a signal in a frequency band from, for example, 5 Hz to 100 Hz as a signal in the sideband frequency band indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber from the Doppler signal extracted by.

Since the process and configuration for selectively acquiring a signal in a desired frequency band from a Doppler signal or the like is a known technique, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The output unit 107 outputs a signal in the sideband frequency band acquired by the acquisition unit 106. For example, the output unit 107 may output the signal of the sideband frequency band acquired by the acquisition unit 106 as it is. Further, the output unit 107 may acquire information for desired output by using the signal of the sideband frequency band acquired by the acquisition unit 106, and may output the acquired information for output. The information for the desired output is, for example, information such as a graph showing changes over time in the frequency distribution and output of the signal acquired by the acquisition unit 106, the frequency spectrum of the signal in the sideband frequency band, or the transition of the frequency spectrum. Information indicating, etc., but is not limited to this information.

The output unit 107 may perform a predetermined evaluation on the signal acquired by the acquisition unit 106 and output information or the like indicating the evaluation result. For example, when the output level of the signal acquired by the acquisition unit 106 is equal to or higher than the threshold value, the output unit 107 may output desired information. The output unit 107 may have a processing unit (not shown) or the like for acquiring such information. Since the process of acquiring desired information such as a frequency spectrum using a signal is a known technique, detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

"Output" here means display on a monitor (not shown), projection using a projector, printing using a printer, sound output, transmission to an external device, storage on a recording medium, and other processing. It is a concept that includes delivery of processing results to devices and other programs. The output unit 107 may or may not include an output device such as a monitor, a speaker, or a printer. The output unit 107 is realized by the driver software of the output device, the driver software of the output device, the output device, and the like.

Next, an example of the operation of the ultrasonic observation device 1 will be described using the flowchart of FIG.

(Step S101) The transmitter 102 starts generating a signal for generating an ultrasonic wave and transmitting the generated signal to the ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 1011. For example, the transmitter 102 starts the above generation and transmission in response to an operation from a user received by a reception unit or the like (not shown).

(Step S102) The ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 of the probe 101 starts transmission of ultrasonic waves in response to the signal transmitted from the transmitter 102. For example, ultrasonic waves are transmitted from the vibrator 1011a of the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 at an inclined angle with respect to the surface of a living body having a muscle to be observed, and the ultrasonic wave is transmitted at an inclined angle with respect to the muscle to be observed. Sound waves are transmitted.

(Step S103) The ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 of the probe 101 starts receiving the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave transmitted in step S102 by the muscle to be observed.

(Step S104) The amplification unit 103 amplifies the signal output according to the reflected wave received by the ultrasonic wave reception unit 1012 in step S103. For example, the amplification unit 103 amplifies the output of the vibrator 1012a included in the ultrasonic wave reception unit 1012.

(Step S105) The Doppler filter unit 104 extracts the Doppler signal from the signal amplified by the amplification unit 103 in step S104.

(Step S106) The AD conversion unit 105 performs A / D conversion on the Doppler signal acquired in step S105.

(Step S107) The acquisition unit 106 acquires a sideband frequency band signal indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber from the Doppler signal acquired in step S105 and A / D converted in step S106.

(Step S108) The output unit 107 outputs the signal acquired in step S107.

(Step S109) The ultrasonic observation device 1 determines whether the reception unit or the like (not shown) has received an instruction to end the transmission of ultrasonic waves. If it is accepted, each of the above processes is terminated, and if it is not accepted, the process returns to step S107.

The processing from step S104 to step S106 may be continuously performed according to the signal that the ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 sequentially receives and outputs the reflected wave.

Hereinafter, a specific operation of the observation performed by using the ultrasonic observation device 1 in the present embodiment will be described with an example. Here, the case where the muscle to be observed is the gastrocnemius muscle of the lower limbs of the human body will be described as an example.

FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b) are diagrams for explaining a state in which the probe 101 is brought into contact with the surface of the human body and ultrasonic waves are transmitted.

First, as shown in FIG. 4A, the gastrocnemius muscle 41, which is behind the lower limbs of the human body 40, is located on both sides of the bent plate 20 in front of the probe 101, which protrudes forward. It hits the body surface 40a of the part. Then, in this state, when the user of the probe 101 operates a switch or the like (not shown) to give an instruction to transmit a signal for generating ultrasonic waves to the transmitter 102, the transmitter 102 emits ultrasonic waves. The generation of the signal for generating the above signal and the continuous transmission of the generated signal to the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 are started. In response to this signal, the oscillator 1011a of the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 continuously transmits ultrasonic waves.

Here, the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 is attached to the probe 101 so that the ultrasonic waves 45 continuously transmitted from the transmission surface 1011b of the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 are transmitted at an angle with respect to the body surface 40a. It is assumed that it has been done. Further, among the ultrasonic waves 45 transmitted from the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 and the ultrasonic waves reflected by the abdominal muscle 41 at a depth of about 2 to 3 cm from the surface of the human body 40, the ultrasonic waves are reflected as the reflected wave 46 and are the ultrasonic reception unit. It is assumed that the mounting positions of the ultrasonic transmitting unit 1011 and the ultrasonic receiving unit 1012, and the mounting angles of the transmitting surface 1011b and the receiving surface 1012b are adjusted so that the ultrasonic waves are received by the receiving surface 1012b of the 1012. The adjustment of the mounting angles of the transmitting surface 1011b and the receiving surface 1012b may be considered as, for example, adjusting the bending angle of the plate 20 and the like.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4B, the ultrasonic wave 45 transmitted from the ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 1011 runs the muscle fiber of the gastrocnemius muscle 41 located at a depth of 2 to 3 cm from the body surface 40a of the human body 40. It is incident at an angle inclined at an angle other than 90 degrees with respect to the direction, a part thereof is reflected by the gastrocnemius muscle 41, and the reflected wave 46 is incident on the receiving surface 1012b of the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011.

The oscillator 1012a of the ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 outputs a signal according to the reflected wave 46 incident on the receiving surface 1012b. The amplification unit 103 amplifies the signal output by the vibrator 1012a. The Doppler filter unit 104 extracts a Doppler signal from the signal amplified by the amplification unit 103. The AD conversion unit 105 A / D-converts the Doppler signal extracted by the Doppler filter unit 104.

The acquisition unit 106 acquires a signal in the sideband frequency band indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber from the A / D converted Doppler signal. Here, the acquisition unit 106 acquires a signal in a frequency band in the range of 5 Hz to 50 Hz as a signal in the sideband frequency band indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber. Then, the output unit 107 outputs the data of the acquired signal. For example, the output unit 107 acquires information indicating a transition of the frequency spectrum (for example, information of a graph showing the transition) using the acquired signal, and stores the acquired data in a storage unit (not shown). do. In addition, the acquired signal data is displayed on a monitor (not shown) or the like.

FIG. 5 shows the low frequency of the Doppler signals A / D converted by the AD conversion unit 105 for explaining the sideband frequency band signal indicating the minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber acquired by the acquisition unit 106. It is a figure which shows the transition of the frequency spectrum of the Doppler signal of a region (FIG. 5 (a)), and the figure which shows the transition of the signal amplitude of a Doppler signal of a low frequency region (FIG. 5 (b)). In FIG. 5, the horizontal axis indicates the elapsed time, and here, the transition of the frequency spectrum and the transition of the signal amplitude of the Doppler signal within the same 6-second interval are arranged one above the other so that the time axes match. Shows. In FIG. 5A, the vertical axis indicates frequency (Hz), and in FIG. 5B, the vertical axis indicates signal voltage.

For example, it is assumed that the section 51 in FIG. 5B shows a section in which the force is started to be applied to the gastrocnemius muscle 41, and the section 52 indicates a section in which the force is released from the gastrocnemius muscle 41. It is assumed that the section 53 from the beginning of the section 51 to the end of the section 52 indicates a section in which the gastrocnemius muscle 41 is being emphasized. The output in section 53 of FIG. 5 shows the Doppler component of the microvibration of the muscle that is seen only while exerting force on the gastrocnemius muscle, and section 51 and section 52 are translational movements caused by the movement of the muscle. It is a Doppler component of. From the transition of the frequency spectrum in FIG. 5B, it can be seen that the component of the minute movement of the muscle fiber in the traveling direction is about 5 Hz to 50 Hz. Therefore, as shown by the above-mentioned findings, it can be seen that by acquiring a signal in the sideband frequency band from 5 Hz to 100 Hz, a signal indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber can be acquired. Therefore, it can be seen that by acquiring and outputting the information of such a frequency band, it is possible to observe minute vibrations in the traveling direction of the muscle fibers.

In this specific example, the ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 can receive the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave irradiated to a depth of 2 to 3 cm from the body surface 40a of the human body 40 so that the gastrocnemius muscle 41 can be observed. Although the angles of the transmitting surface 1011b and the receiving surface 1012b of the probe 101 are set, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. The angles of the transmitting surface 1011b and the receiving surface 1012b of the probe 101 are such that the ultrasonic waves are irradiated in a direction inclined at an angle other than 90 degrees with respect to the traveling direction of the muscle fiber to be observed, and the muscle to be observed is observed. The ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 may be set so that the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave reflected by the fiber can be received.

For example, when the observation target is the uterine muscle, the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transmission surface 1011b of the probe 101 abutting on the abdominal wall of the human body 40 is other than 90 degrees with respect to the traveling direction of the muscle fiber of the uterine muscle. The angles of the transmitting surface 1011b and the receiving surface 1012b of the probe 101 are set so that the ultrasonic waves are irradiated at the angle of 1 and the reflected waves of the ultrasonic waves reflected by the uterine muscle are incident on the receiving surface 1012b. You just have to. By targeting the uterine muscle in this way, it is possible to observe minute vibrations of the uterine muscle, and the ultrasonic observation device 1 that makes such a uterine muscle an observation target can observe labor pains. It can be used as a device or as an outer labor meter.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, information that can be used for observing muscles in a living body can be appropriately and easily obtained by using ultrasonic waves. For example, according to the present embodiment, an ultrasonic Doppler mechanomyogram device configured to observe mechanical minute vibrations in the traveling direction of muscle fibers in a muscle in an observation target region by an ultrasonic Doppler method is provided. Can be done. In addition, it is possible to provide a labor pain observation device configured to observe minute vibrations in the tangential direction of the uterine muscle by the ultrasonic Doppler method.

As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the transmission surface 1011b in a state where the probe 101 is in contact with the surface 61a of the living body 61 is the living body 61. A cylinder 80 may be provided so that the wave transmitted in a desired direction inclined with respect to the surface 61a and reflected by the muscle to be observed is received on the receiving surface 1012b. The cylinder 80 is in a state where the probe 101 is in contact with the surface 61a of the living body 61 in front of the probe 101 where at least the ultrasonic transmitting section 1011 and the ultrasonic receiving section 1012 are arranged. It is a member for arranging the transmitting surface 1011b of the transmitting unit 1011 and the receiving surface 1012b of the ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 so as to be inclined at a desired angle with respect to the surface 61a of the living body 61.

The cylinder 80 is provided, for example, so as to surround the periphery of the plate 20. The shape of the cylinder 80 may be any shape as long as it does not interfere with the transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves and reflected waves, but the end portion of the cylinder 80 on the side that comes into contact with the surface of the living body is It is preferably located on a virtual coplanar surface. The cylinder 80 may be integrally molded with the housing 10. Note that FIG. 6A is a perspective view of such a probe 101, and FIG. 6B is an upper surface when such a probe 101 is brought into contact with the surface 61a of the living body 61. The figure is shown. In such a case, if the transmitting surface 1011b of the ultrasonic transmitting unit 1011 and the receiving surface 1012b of the ultrasonic receiving unit 1012 do not come into contact with the surface 61a of the living body 61, the plate 20 may be omitted. good.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b), the housing 10 has unevenness formed by the transmission surface 1011b and the reception surface 1012b in place of the above-mentioned backing plate 20 or in addition to the backing plate 20. (For example, a substantially V-shaped groove) may be filled and a delay member 70 arranged so as to eliminate the unevenness of the contact surface of the probe 101 may be attached. The material of the delay material 70 is preferably a material having a low acoustic impedance and a small amount of ultrasonic attenuation, such as resin. 7 (a) is a perspective view of such a probe 101, and FIG. 7 (b) is an upper surface when such a probe 101 is brought into contact with the surface 61a of the living body 61. The figure is shown.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the ultrasonic observation device 2 of the second embodiment.
Further, FIG. 9 is a perspective view (FIG. 9 (a)) and a top view (FIG. 9 (b)) of the probe 201 of the ultrasonic observation device 2 of the second embodiment.

In the ultrasonic observation device 2 of the second embodiment, the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 in the ultrasonic observation device 1 of the above embodiment transmits ultrasonic waves in a pulse shape, and the ultrasonic reception unit 1012 transmits ultrasonic waves. While the unit 1011 transmits the ultrasonic pulse, the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave transmitted immediately before is received. The ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 1011 and the ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 transmit ultrasonic waves and receive reflected waves from the same transmitting / receiving surface arranged so as to be inclined with respect to the surface of the living body.

Specifically, by using one or more oscillators 1011a possessed by the ultrasonic transmitting unit 1011 as one or more oscillators 1012a possessed by the ultrasonic receiving unit 1012, the ultrasonic transmitting unit 1011 and the ultrasonic receiving unit 1012 are used. Also used as a common oscillator. That is, the probe 201 according to the second embodiment is not provided with one or more vibrators 1012a included in the ultrasonic receiving unit 1012 in the first embodiment, and the ultrasonic transmitting unit 1011 is pulsed. When transmitting the ultrasonic wave, the vibrator 1011a transmits the ultrasonic wave in a pulse shape, and the vibrator 1011a receives the reflected wave between the transmission of the ultrasonic pulse. In this case, the transmission surface 1011b of one or more oscillators 1011a also functions as a reception surface for the reflected wave.

In the ultrasonic observation device 2 of the second embodiment, since the oscillator 1011a is also used as the oscillator 1012a of the first embodiment, the oscillator 1011a is super-inclined with respect to the surface of the living body. It suffices to be attached to the probe 201 so as to transmit sound waves. Therefore, unlike the plate 20 of the first embodiment, the plate 21 is inclined in the front-rear direction, and the reflection of the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 is reflected on the rear surface of the plate 21. A transmission surface 1011b that also functions as a wave reception surface is attached. Here, an example in which the oscillator 1011a is the ultrasonic transmitting unit 1011 and the oscillator 1011a also functions as the ultrasonic receiving unit 1012 will be described.

Further, here, when the probe 201 is brought into contact with the surface of the living body, the transmitting surface 1011b is tilted at a desired angle with respect to the surface of the living body, and the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the transmitting surface 1011b are emitted. The cylinder 81 is provided so that ultrasonic waves are transmitted in a direction inclined at a desired angle with respect to the surface of the living body. Similar to the cylinder 80 described in the first embodiment, the cylinder 81 is provided so as to surround the periphery of the plate 21 at least in front of the probe 201. However, the cylinder 81 may not be provided.

In the ultrasonic observation device 2 of the second embodiment, the transmitter 102 generates, for example, a signal for outputting ultrasonic waves in a pulse shape, and the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 which is the vibrator 1011a uses this signal. The point where the pulsed ultrasonic wave is transmitted accordingly, the point where the ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 which is the oscillator 1011a acquires a signal from the reflected wave received in the interval of transmitting the pulsed ultrasonic wave, and the point where the Doppler filter unit 104 acquires a signal. Similar to the ultrasonic observation device 1 of the first embodiment, except that the Doppler signal is extracted from one or two or more different desired range gates of the signal acquired and amplified between the pulses. Therefore, a detailed description will be omitted here.

It should be noted that the process of acquiring a Doppler signal for each of one or two or more different desired range gate signals among the signals acquired every interval between pulses is a known technique in an ultrasonic pulse Doppler device or the like. , Here, a detailed description will be omitted.

Next, the operation of the ultrasonic observation device 2 of the second embodiment will be described. When the transmitter 102 generates a signal for outputting ultrasonic waves in a pulse shape and transmits the generated signal to the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011, the vibrator 1011a of the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 transmits the pulsed ultrasonic waves. It transmits in a direction inclined with respect to the surface of the living body. The transmitted ultrasonic wave is reflected by one or more streaks or the like which are observation targets in the living body, and the reflected reflected wave is transmitted between the vibrator 1011a of the ultrasonic receiving unit 1012 and the ultrasonic pulse. Receive sequentially.

The amplification unit 103 amplifies the signal that the oscillator 1011a receives and outputs the reflected wave between pulses, and the Doppler filter unit 104 uses the amplified signal to doppler for each of one or more range gates. Extract the signal. One or more range gates may be predetermined, for example. Then, the AD conversion unit 105 A / D-converts the Doppler signal extracted by the Doppler filter unit 104 for each range gate. The acquisition unit 106 uses the Doppler signal acquired for each A / D-converted range gate to generate a sideband frequency band indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber, similar to the frequency band described in the above specific example. The signal is acquired for each range gate. The output unit 107 outputs a signal in the sideband frequency band acquired by the acquisition unit 106.

According to the ultrasonic observation device 2 of such an embodiment, an ultrasonic pulse Doppler observation device capable of appropriately and easily acquiring information that can be used for observing muscles in a living body by using ultrasonic waves. Can be provided.

Further, the ultrasonic observation device 2 acquires Doppler signals from two or more different range gates of the signals received between pulses, and each acquired Doppler signal is a side band indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber. When a signal in the frequency band is acquired and output, it can be used as a pulse Doppler system having two range gate regions. In this case, the ultrasonic observation device 2 can acquire information that can be used for observation of different muscles to be observed in the same living body.

As shown in FIG. 10, also in the second embodiment, the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 on the front side of the probe 201 has an angle other than 90 degrees with respect to the contact surface of the probe 201. A delay material 71 similar to the delay material 70 of the ultrasonic observation device 1 of the first embodiment may be attached to a portion that is attached so as to be inclined. For example, by attaching the delay member 71, the front surface of the probe 201 may be a contact surface perpendicular to the front-rear direction of the probe 201. In this case, the cylinder 81 may not be provided. Note that FIG. 10A is a perspective view of such a probe 201, and FIG. 10B is an upper surface when such a probe 201 is brought into contact with the surface 61a of the living body 61. The figure is shown.

In the ultrasonic observation device 2 of the second embodiment, the Doppler filter unit 104 extracts Doppler signals indicating temporal changes at two or more different range gates of the reflected waves received between pulses. .. The acquisition unit 106 acquires a signal in the sideband frequency band indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber from one or more Doppler signals extracted by the Doppler filter unit 104. The output unit 107 has a sideband frequency band signal acquired by the acquisition unit 106 for each of the range gates of 1 or more, and a sideband frequency band signal obtained by the acquisition unit 106 among the Doppler signals extracted by the Doppler filter unit 104. One or more Doppler signals other than the acquired Doppler signal may be output. The output of the Doppler signal here may be the output of the information acquired by using the Doppler signal, which is the same as the information acquired by using the signal of the sideband frequency band described above.

According to such a modification, in the ultrasonic observation device 2, the signal of the sideband frequency band acquired by the acquisition unit 106 causes a minute muscle of the observation position corresponding to the range gate corresponding to this signal in the living body. You can observe the movement. Further, the ultrasonic observation device 2 is a living body at a position different from the range gate corresponding to the signal in the sideband frequency band due to the Doppler signal other than the Doppler signal obtained by the acquisition unit 106 in the sideband frequency band. You can observe the movement.

For example, as shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 11, the ultrasonic observation device 2 has a pulse from the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 of the probe 201 in an oblique direction other than the front direction due to oblique angle incident from the abdominal wall 90 of the pregnant woman. Sends ultrasonic waves. The ultrasonic beam 91 for observation is obliquely incident on the uterine muscle 92, which is the primary object, and a part of the incident ultrasonic beam 91 is reflected by the uterine muscle 92, and the reflected wave is reflected by the ultrasonic receiving unit 1012. Receives. Further, the ultrasonic beam 91 for observation, which was not reflected by the uterine muscle 92, is incident on the fetal heart 93 in the uterus, which is the second purpose, and a part thereof is reflected, and the reflected wave is ultrasonically transmitted. The ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012, which is also used as the unit 1011, receives.

Then, the Doppler filter unit 104 extracts the Doppler signal of the observation range gate 94 corresponding to the uterine muscle 92 of the signal received by the ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012. By using the sideband frequency band signal acquired by the acquisition unit 106 from the Doppler signal of the observation range gate 94 corresponding to the uterine muscle 92 and output by the output unit 107, the ultrasonic observation device 2 moves the uterine muscle. For example, it is possible to observe labor pains.

Further, by using the ultrasonic observation device 2, the observation range gate 95 corresponding to the fetal heart in the womb, which is extracted by the Doppler filter unit 104 from the signal received by the ultrasonic reception unit 1012 and output by the output unit 107. The Doppler signal makes it possible to simultaneously monitor the movement of the fetal heart (eg, heartbeat, etc.). As in such a modification, under the irradiation of one transmitting ultrasonic beam, a signal corresponding to a minute vibration of the uterine muscle is transmitted from the echo from the short distance, and the fetus is transmitted from the echo from the inside or the long distance. A fetal heartbeat labor pain observation device can be provided by configuring each signal corresponding to the heartbeat so as to detect each of them. Since the technique of observing the fetal heart with a Doppler signal is a known technique, detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 12 is a perspective view (FIG. 12 (a)) and a top view (FIG. 12 (b)) of the probe 301 of the ultrasonic observation device 3 of the third embodiment.

The ultrasonic observation device 3 of the present embodiment replaces the probe 101 in the ultrasonic observation device 1 shown in the first embodiment with a plurality of ultrasonic transmission units 1011 that transmit ultrasonic waves in different directions. The probe 301 has a plurality of ultrasonic wave receiving units 1012 and a plurality of ultrasonic wave receiving units 1012, each of which receives the reflected waves of the ultrasonic waves transmitted by each of the plurality of ultrasonic wave transmitting units 1011. The Doppler filter unit 104 extracts a Doppler signal indicating a temporal change in the reflected wave received by each of the plurality of ultrasonic wave receiving units 1012, and the acquisition unit 106 extracts the Doppler signal from the Doppler signal extracted by the Doppler filter unit 104. A signal in the sideband frequency band indicating a minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber is acquired. Hereinafter, a case where the ultrasonic observation device 3 has two ultrasonic transmission units 1011 and two ultrasonic reception units 1012 will be described as an example.

The probe 301 of the ultrasonic observation device 3 receives two ultrasonic transmission units 1011 that transmit ultrasonic waves in different directions and reflected waves of ultrasonic waves transmitted by these two ultrasonic transmission units, respectively. It has a plurality of ultrasonic receiving units 1012. Hereinafter, the two ultrasonic transmission units 1011 will be referred to as a first ultrasonic transmission unit 10111 and a second ultrasonic transmission unit 10112. The ultrasonic receiving unit 1012 that receives the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave transmitted by the first ultrasonic transmitting unit 10111 is set as the first ultrasonic receiving unit 10121, and the ultrasonic wave transmitted by the second ultrasonic transmitting unit 10112 is used. The ultrasonic receiving unit 1012 that receives the reflected wave is referred to as a second ultrasonic receiving unit 10122.

In the probe 301, for example, on the front side of the probe 301, the first ultrasonic transmission unit 10111 and the second ultrasonic transmission unit 10112 are 90 in the front-rear direction of the probe 301. They are arranged at an angle so that they form different angles other than degrees. Further, the first ultrasonic wave receiving unit 10121 is located on the front side of the probe 301 at a position where the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave transmitted by the first ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 10111 is input by the observation target in the living body. Have been placed. The second ultrasonic wave receiving unit 10122 is arranged at a position on the front side of the probe 301 where the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave transmitted by the second ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 10112 is input by the observation target in the living body. ing.

Specifically, in the first ultrasonic transmission unit 10111 and the first ultrasonic wave reception unit 10121, the transmission surface 1011b and the reception surface 1012b are formed in a virtual plane parallel to the front-rear direction of the probe 301. It is attached to the front side of the probe 301 so as to be plane-symmetrical. Further, the transmission surface 1011b and the reception surface 1012b are inclined with respect to the above virtual plane so that the transmission surface 1011b and the reception surface 1012b are located behind the probe 301 toward the portion closer to the virtual plane.

In the second ultrasonic transmission unit 10112 and the second ultrasonic reception unit 10122, the transmission surface 1011b and the reception surface 1012b are plane-symmetrical with respect to a virtual plane parallel to the front-back direction of the probe 301. It is attached to the front side of the probe 301 so as to be. Further, in the second ultrasonic transmission unit 10112 and the second ultrasonic reception unit 10122, the transmission surface 1011b and the reception surface 1012b are located behind the probe 301 so that the portion closer to the virtual plane is closer to the transmission surface 1011b and the reception surface 1012b. The receiving surface 1012b is attached so as to be inclined with respect to the above virtual plane.

Further, the angle formed by the transmission surface 1011b of the first ultrasonic wave transmission unit 10111 and the transmission surface 1011b of the second ultrasonic wave transmission unit 10112 with respect to the above virtual plane is different. As a result, the reflected wave transmitted and reflected from the first ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 10111 and the reflected wave transmitted and reflected from the second ultrasonic wave transmitting unit 10112 are different observation sites in the same living body ( For example, it is designed to be a reflected wave at observation sites with different depths.

More specifically, on the front side of the probe 301, a plate 22 having a shape in which the left and right sides are bent forward at different angles so that the central portion is convex toward the rear is provided. ing. The transmission surface 1011b of the first ultrasonic wave transmission unit 10111 and the reception surface 1012b of the first ultrasonic wave reception unit 10121 are attached to the left and right behind one of the portions of the plate 22 that are bent at different angles. There is. Further, on the inside of the other side of the portion of the plate 20 that is bent at different angles, the transmission surface 1011b of the second ultrasonic transmission unit 10112 and the reception surface 1012b of the first ultrasonic reception unit are attached to the left and right. ing.

As a result, the pair of the first ultrasonic transmitting unit 10111 and the first ultrasonic receiving unit 10121 attached to the bent portions of the plate 22 at different angles, and the second ultrasonic transmitting unit 10112 and the second. The ultrasonic waves and their reflected waves transmitted and received by each of the pair with the second ultrasonic wave receiving unit 10122 are irradiated to different observation target muscles in the living body (for example, muscles located at different depths from the body surface). It is a pair of ultrasonic waves and their reflected waves. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the information used for observing two different observation target muscles can be acquired by using one probe 301.

Regarding the configuration other than the probe 301 of the ultrasonic observation device 3, the transmitter 102 transmits a signal for generating an ultrasonic wave to each of a plurality of ultrasonic transmission units 1011, and the amplification unit 103 and Doppler The above-described embodiment, respectively, in order of the filter unit 104, the AD conversion unit 105, the acquisition unit 106, and the output unit 107 for the signals received and output by the plurality of ultrasonic wave receiving units 1012, respectively. Except for the fact that the processing as described in 1 is performed, the configuration is the same as that of the ultrasonic observation device 1 of the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof will be omitted here. The ultrasonic observation device 3 has two configurations similar to those of the ultrasonic observation device 1 as shown in FIG. 1, and the ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 and the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 1011 possessed by the respective probes 301. The sound wave receiving unit 1012 may be attached as one probe 301 to the same housing 10 so that the transmission / reception directions of ultrasonic waves are different.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the information used for observing two different observation target muscles can be acquired by using one probe 301. Thereby, for example, it is possible to provide a CW Doppler system having two cross-section sensitive regions (for example, a region where the transmission transmission direction and the reception direction of ultrasonic waves intersect) by two receiving beams.

In the above description, the case where the probe 301 has two sets of the ultrasonic transmitting unit 1011 and the ultrasonic receiving unit 1012 has been described, but the probe 301 has ultrasonic waves in different directions. There may be a pair of three or more ultrasonic wave transmitting units 1011 for transmitting the above and three or more ultrasonic wave receiving units 1012 for receiving these reflected waves, respectively.

Further, in the ultrasonic observation device 3 of the third embodiment, even if the Doppler filter unit 104 extracts a Doppler signal indicating a temporal change in the reflected wave received by each of the plurality of ultrasonic wave receiving units 1012. good. The acquisition unit 106 may extract a signal in the sideband frequency band indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber from a part of the plurality of Doppler signals extracted by the Doppler filter unit 104. The output unit 107 is the first Doppler from which the acquisition unit 106 has acquired the sideband frequency band signal among the signal in the sideband frequency band acquired by the acquisition unit 106 and the plurality of Doppler signals extracted by the Doppler filter unit 104. A second Doppler signal other than the signal may be output.

For example, in the schematic diagram of FIG. 11, the ultrasonic observation device 3 having the probe 301 of the present embodiment may be used. In this case, the cross-section sensitive region of the CW transmission beam of the first ultrasonic transmission unit 10111 and the reception beam of the first ultrasonic reception unit 10121 corresponds to the above-mentioned observation range gate 94 of the uterine muscle 92. The cross-section sensitive region of the CW transmission beam of the second ultrasonic transmission unit 10112 and the reception beam of the second ultrasonic reception unit 10122 corresponds to the above-mentioned observation range gate 95 of the fetal heart. It may be an area to be used.

Regarding the Doppler signal extracted by the Doppler filter section 104 from the signal output by the first ultrasonic receiving section 10121, the output section outputs a signal in the sideband frequency band indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber acquired by the acquisition section 106. As for the Doppler signal extracted by the Doppler filter unit 104 from the signal output by the 107 and output by the second ultrasonic receiving unit 10122, the output unit 107 may output the signal as it is. With such a configuration, it is possible to observe minute vibrations of the muscle fibers of the uterine muscle related to labor by the signal of the sideband frequency band obtained from the signal received by the first ultrasonic receiving unit 10121. From the Doppler signal obtained from the signal received by the second ultrasonic receiving unit 10122, it becomes possible to observe the heartbeat of the fetus and the like. This makes it possible to provide a fetal heartbeat labor pain observing device capable of simultaneously observing labor pain and fetal heart using one probe 301.

In addition, in this embodiment, in order to fill the unevenness of the contact surface of the same cylinder as the cylinder 80 as described in the first embodiment and the contact surface of the probe 101 as described in the first embodiment. Needless to say, the same delay material as the delay material 70 may be provided.

Further, in the ultrasonic observation device 3 of the third embodiment, the probe 301 in the ultrasonic observation device 1 shown in the first embodiment has a plurality of ultrasonic transmission units that transmit ultrasonic waves in different directions. Although it has a 1011 and a plurality of ultrasonic receiving units 1012 that receive the reflected waves of the ultrasonic waves transmitted by each of the plurality of ultrasonic transmitting units 1011, the configuration is not limited to this. The ultrasonic observation device 3 replaces the probe 201 in the ultrasonic observation device 2 shown in the second embodiment, and is used as a plurality of ultrasonic waves that are also used as an ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012 for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves in different directions. A probe having a transmitter 1011 may be used.

In this case, the transmitter 102 transmits a signal for transmitting pulsed ultrasonic waves to the plurality of ultrasonic transmission units 1011 respectively, the Doppler filter unit 104, and the plurality of ultrasonic transmission units 1011 described above. A Doppler signal is acquired for one or more range gates of the signal extracted from the reflected wave received in the interval of transmitting a pulse, and the acquisition unit 106 obtains a minute amount in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber from the Doppler signal extracted by the Doppler filter unit 104. A signal in the sideband frequency band indicating vibration may be acquired.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 13, the ultrasonic observation device 3 is attached to the contact surface of the probe at a different angle other than 90 degrees, for example, instead of the probe 201. The probe 401 may have a plurality of ultrasonic transmission units 1011 that are also used as the unit 1012. Note that FIG. 13 is a perspective view (FIG. 13 (a)) and a top view (FIG. 13 (b)) showing an example of the probe 401 of the ultrasonic observation device 3 of such a modified example. Here, an example is shown in which there are two ultrasonic wave transmitting units 1011 that are also used as the ultrasonic wave receiving unit 1012. Further, here, each ultrasonic transmission unit 1011 shows an example in which the plate 23 having slopes having different slopes is attached to different slopes.

In each of the above embodiments, each process (each function) performed by the transmitter 102, the amplification unit 103, the Doppler filter unit 104, the AD conversion unit 105, the acquisition unit 106, the output unit 107, and the like is a single device. It may be realized by centralized processing by (system), or may be realized by distributed processing by a plurality of devices.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, each component may be configured by dedicated hardware, or a component that can be realized by software (for example, AD conversion unit 105, acquisition unit 106, output unit 107, etc.). ) May be realized by executing a program. For example, each component can be realized by reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory by a program execution unit such as a CPU. At the time of execution, the program execution unit may execute the program while accessing the storage unit (for example, a recording medium such as a hard disk or a memory).

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the appearance of a computer that executes a program as described above. The above embodiment can be realized by computer hardware and a computer program executed on the computer hardware.

In FIG. 14, the computer system 900 includes a computer 901 including a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) drive 905, a keyboard 902, a mouse 903, and a monitor 904.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the internal configuration of the computer system 900. In FIG. 15, in addition to the CD-ROM drive 905, the computer 901 is connected to an MPU, (MicroProcessingUnit) 911, a ROM 912 for storing a program such as a bootup program, and an application program instruction. A RAM (RandomAccessMemory) 913 that temporarily stores data and provides a temporary storage space, a hard disk 914 that stores application programs, system programs, and data, and a bus 915 that interconnects the MPU 911, ROM 912, etc. And. Note that the computer 901 may include a network card (not shown) that provides a connection to the LAN.

The program for causing the computer system 900 to execute the functions of the ultrasonic observation device and the like according to each embodiment may be stored in the CD-ROM 921, inserted into the CD-ROM drive 905, and transferred to the hard disk 914. Alternatively, the program may be transmitted to the computer 901 over a network (not shown) and stored on the hard disk 914. The program is loaded into RAM 913 at run time. The program may be loaded directly from the CD-ROM921 or the network.

The program does not necessarily have to include an operating system (OS), a third-party program, or the like that causes the computer 901 to execute the function of the ultrasonic observation device according to each embodiment. The program may contain only a portion of instructions that call the appropriate function (module) in a controlled manner to obtain the desired result. It is well known how the computer system 900 works, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist thereof. be. For example, all or part of the device can be functionally or physically distributed / integrated in any unit. Also included in the embodiments of the present invention are new embodiments resulting from any combination of the plurality of embodiments. The effect of the new embodiment produced by the combination has the effect of the original embodiment together.

As described above, the ultrasonic observation device or the like according to the present invention is suitable as a device or the like used for observing a living body, and is particularly useful as a device or the like used for observing a living body by using ultrasonic waves. Is.

1, 2, 3 ... Ultrasonic observation device, 10 ... Housing, 2, 3 ...

Ultrasonic observation device

101, 201, 3, 01, 401 ...

Detectors

20, 21, 22 , 23 ... This plate, 80, 81 ... Cylinder, 70, 71 ... Delay material, 1011 ... Ultrasonic transmitter, 102 ... Transmitter, 1012 ... Ultrasonic receiver, 102 ... Transmitter, 103 ... Amplification section, 104 ... Doppler filter section, 105 ... AD conversion section, 106 ... Acquisition section, 107 ...

Output section

1011a, 1012a ... Vibration Child, 1011b ... Transmitting surface, 1012b ... Receiving surface, 10111 ... First ultrasonic transmitting unit, 10112 ... Second ultrasonic transmitting unit, 10121 ... First ultrasonic receiving unit Unit, 10122 ... Second ultrasonic receiver

Claims

A probe having an ultrasonic transmitter that transmits ultrasonic waves in a direction inclined with respect to the surface of a living body and an ultrasonic receiver that receives reflected waves of ultrasonic waves transmitted by the ultrasonic transmitter.
A Doppler filter section that extracts a Doppler signal indicating the Doppler component of the reflected wave received by the ultrasonic receiving section, and a Doppler filter section.
An acquisition unit that acquires a signal in the sideband frequency band indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber in the living body from the Doppler signal extracted by the Doppler filter unit.
An output unit that outputs a signal in the sideband frequency band acquired by the acquisition unit, and an output unit.
Ultrasonic observation device equipped with.
The probe has a housing and
The ultrasonic transmitting unit and the ultrasonic receiving unit are attached to the housing.
The ultrasonic transmission unit is arranged so that the transmission surface is inclined with respect to the surface of the living body.
In the ultrasonic receiving unit, the receiving surface is inclined with respect to the surface of the living body so that the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the ultrasonic transmitting unit and reflected by the muscle fibers in the living body is incident. Arranged as
The ultrasonic observation device according to claim 1.
The ultrasonic transmission unit is arranged so that the transmission surface is inclined with respect to the surface of the muscle fiber to be observed in the transmission direction of the ultrasonic wave.
The ultrasonic wave receiving unit is arranged so that the receiving surface is perpendicular to the reflection direction of the ultrasonic wave reflected by the muscle fiber to be observed.
The ultrasonic observation device according to claim 2.
The ultrasonic wave transmitting unit is arranged so that the transmitting surface is inclined with respect to the surface of the uterine muscle to be observed in the ultrasonic wave transmitting direction.
The ultrasonic receiving unit is arranged so that the receiving surface is perpendicular to the reflection direction of the ultrasonic waves reflected by the uterine muscle.
The ultrasonic observation device according to claim 3.
The probe is
Multiple ultrasonic transmitters that transmit ultrasonic waves in different directions,
A plurality of ultrasonic receivers that receive the reflected waves of ultrasonic waves transmitted by the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters, respectively.
Have and
The Doppler filter unit extracts a plurality of Doppler signals indicating Doppler components of reflected waves received by the plurality of ultrasonic receivers, respectively.
The acquisition unit acquires a signal in the sideband frequency band indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber from the plurality of Doppler signals extracted by the Doppler filter unit.
The ultrasonic observation device according to any one of claims 2 to 4.
The probe is
Multiple ultrasonic transmitters that transmit ultrasonic waves in different directions,
A plurality of ultrasonic receivers that receive the reflected waves of ultrasonic waves transmitted by the plurality of ultrasonic transmitters, respectively.
Have and
The Doppler filter unit extracts a plurality of Doppler signals indicating Doppler components of reflected waves received by the plurality of ultrasonic receivers, respectively.
The acquisition unit acquires a signal in the sideband frequency band indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber from a part of the plurality of Doppler signals extracted by the Doppler filter unit.
The output unit is a second Doppler signal other than the sideband frequency band signal acquired by the acquisition unit and the first Doppler signal obtained by the acquisition unit among the plurality of Doppler signals. And output,
The ultrasonic observation device according to any one of claims 2 to 4.
The ultrasonic transmission unit transmits ultrasonic waves in a pulse shape and transmits ultrasonic waves in a pulsed manner.
The ultrasonic receiving unit receives the reflected wave while the ultrasonic transmitting unit transmits an ultrasonic pulse, and the ultrasonic receiving unit receives the reflected wave.
The ultrasonic transmitting unit and the ultrasonic receiving unit receive ultrasonic waves and reflected waves from the same transmitting / receiving surface arranged so as to be inclined with respect to the surface of a living body.
The ultrasonic observation device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
The Doppler filter unit acquires Doppler signals for two or more different range gates of the reflected waves received by the ultrasonic wave receiving unit while the ultrasonic wave transmitting unit transmits an ultrasonic pulse.
The acquisition unit acquires a signal in the sideband frequency band indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber from the Doppler signal extracted by the Doppler filter unit.
The output unit outputs a signal in the sideband frequency band acquired by each acquisition unit.
The ultrasonic observation device according to claim 7.
The Doppler filter unit
The Doppler signal is acquired for each of two or more different range gates of the reflected wave received by the ultrasonic receiver while the ultrasonic transmitter transmits the ultrasonic pulse.
The acquisition unit acquires a signal in the sideband frequency band on the low frequency side indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber from the Doppler signal extracted by the Doppler filter unit for one or more range gates.
The output unit is the first of the sideband frequency band signals acquired by the acquisition unit for each of the one or more range gates and the plurality of Doppler signals extracted by the Doppler filter unit. Outputs one or more second Doppler signals other than one Doppler signal,
The ultrasonic observation device according to claim 7.
The sideband frequency band signal acquired by the acquisition unit is a signal in the frequency band from 5 Hz to 100 Hz.
The ultrasonic observation device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.
The acquisition unit acquires a signal in the sideband frequency band for the Doppler signal acquired by the Doppler filter unit for the range gate corresponding to the uterine muscle.
The output unit outputs a signal in the sideband frequency band acquired by the acquisition unit and the Doppler signal extracted by the Doppler filter unit for a range gate corresponding to the fetal heart in the womb.
The ultrasonic observation device according to claim 9.
A probe having an ultrasonic transmitter that transmits ultrasonic waves in a direction inclined with respect to the surface of a living body and an ultrasonic receiver that receives reflected waves of ultrasonic waves transmitted by the ultrasonic transmitter, and a transmitter. It is an ultrasonic observation method performed by using a device having a Doppler filter unit, an acquisition unit, and an output unit.
A step in which the transmitter causes the probe to transmit ultrasonic waves in a direction inclined with respect to the surface of the living body.
A step in which the Doppler filter unit extracts a Doppler signal indicating a Doppler component of a reflected wave on the surface of the ultrasonic wave.
A step in which the acquisition unit acquires a signal in the sideband frequency band indicating minute vibration in the traveling direction of the muscle fiber in the living body from the Doppler signal.
A step in which the output unit outputs a signal in the sideband frequency band,
Ultrasonic observation method with.