JPH0263445A - Insertion-into-body-opening type ultrasonic wave scanner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it easier to conduct insertion into a smaller diametered body opening by arranging effectively sizewise an ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving portion so that the outer diameter of a tip portion may be made to be small diametered. CONSTITUTION:An ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving portion 12 whose major constituent is an ultrasonic wave vibrator 10, is arranged on a center line which is the center portion of a protection cap 15, so this means that it is arranged at the diameter portion of the protection cap 15. Accordingly, the sufficient diameter of the protection cap 15 is the one that affords the diameter of the ultrasonic wave vibrator 10 plus the thickness of an ultrasonic wave vibrator retaining portion 8 or the like located at the perimeter of the ultrasonic wave vibrator and necessary for its retention, plus space enough to avoid contact with the protection cap 15. And, as a damper material 13 and the ultrasonic wave vibrator retaining portion 8 are provided at the perimeter of the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving portion 12 and within a semi-circle having a smaller radius than the inner diameter of the rearward protection cap 15, the diameter of the protection cap 15 is done with the minimum diameter necessary for covering the ultrasonic wave vibrator 10. Accordingly, the diameter of a tip portion 4 is effectively controlled to a necessary minimum.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides an ultrasonic transducer rotatably provided at the tip of an insertion section to be inserted into a human body cavity, and transmits ultrasonic waves around the lumen by inserting it into the human body cavity. The present invention relates to an ultrasonic scanner that can be inserted into a body cavity for performing an examination, and more specifically, it relates to a tip structure for downsizing the tip of a mechanical scan type ultrasound scanner that can be inserted into a body cavity.

[Prior Art] In recent years, intrabody cavity insertion type ultrasound scanners that are inserted into a human body cavity and perform ultrasound diagnosis of the inside and surroundings of the body cavity have been applied to medical diagnosis.

Among these ultrasonic scanners, there is a mechanical scanning type in which an ultrasonic transducer is provided at the tip of the insertion section and is rotated and scanned by IR mechanical means.

In the conventional mechanical scan type, Fig. 3 and B-
As shown in FIG. 4, which is a cross-sectional view of B, a rotating shaft 6 is provided at the center of the tip of the insertion portion along the long sleeve of the insertion portion, and an ultrasonic transducer holding portion 8 is attached to the tip of this rotating shaft 6. In addition, the ultrasonic transducer holding portion 8 is covered with a cylindrical protective cap 15 concentric with the rotating shaft 6. The ultrasonic transducer holding part 8 is formed by cutting out a certain range of the side circumferential surface of a cylindrical body concentric with the rotation axis 6, and has a plane 9 parallel to and spaced apart from the rotation axis 6 to some extent in the radial direction. An ultrasonic transceiver 12 consisting of an ultrasonic transducer 10 and an acoustic lens 11 or an acoustic matching layer is provided so as to open onto this plane 9. In other words, the ultrasonic transmitter/receiver 12 having the ultrasonic transducer 0 as its main component is provided at a position forming a chord of the inner diameter circle of the cylindrical protective cap 15 which is concentric with the rotating shaft 6. There is.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In an intrabody cavity insertion type ultrasound scanner that is inserted into a human body cavity, the insertion part, especially the distal end, should be made as thin as possible in order to reduce the pain caused to the patient and to make it possible to insert even a thin tube. It is desirable to make the diameter.

However, as mentioned above, in the conventional type, the ultrasonic transmitter/receiver is installed at a position that forms the chord of the inner circle of the cylindrical protective cap, which is concentric with the rotating shaft. The diameter of the protective can is regulated by the diameter of the ultrasonic transducer, which is the main component of the ultrasonic transmitter/receiver located at the string, and must not have a diameter that allows the length of the string. Therefore, it has to be much larger than the diameter of the ultrasonic transducer.In order to make the protective cap smaller in diameter, the ultrasonic transducer must be made smaller in diameter, which would make ultrasound diagnosis difficult. Performance deteriorates and good ultrasound diagnostic information cannot be obtained.

The present invention was invented in view of the above problems, and uses an ultrasonic transducer of an appropriate diameter without degrading ultrasonic diagnostic performance, and transmits and receives ultrasonic waves in order to reduce the outer diameter of the tip. The purpose of this invention is to provide an ultrasonic scanner that can be inserted into a body cavity and has a smaller diameter.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The feature of the intrabody cavity insertion type ultrasound scanner of the present invention is that an ultrasonic transmitter/receiver whose main component is an ultrasonic transducer is placed at the distal end of the insertion section, and the ultrasound scanner is arranged along the long axis of the insertion section. In an intrabody-cavity-insertable ultrasound scanner, which is rotatable around an axis along the direction of the body, and is surrounded by a cylindrical protective cap made of a material that allows ultrasonic waves to pass through and is installed concentrically with the axis. , the ultrasonic transmitter/receiver is arranged in the center of the protective cap, and the damper material and the ultrasonic vibrator holder are placed in a semicircle with a radius smaller than the inner diameter of the protective cap around and behind the ultrasonic transmitter/receiver. I tried to fit it in.

[Function] In the intra-body cavity insertion type ultrasound scanner of the present invention, the ultrasonic transmitter/receiver whose main component is an ultrasonic transducer is arranged in the center of the protective cap. Therefore, the diameter of the protective cap is determined by the diameter of the ultrasonic transducer, the wall thickness of the ultrasonic transducer holding part around the ultrasonic transducer necessary to hold it, and the thickness of the protective cap. The only restrictions will be on clearance to avoid contact with other people. The damper material and the ultrasonic transducer holding part are housed within a semicircle with a smaller radius than the inner diameter of the protective cap around and behind the ultrasonic transmitter/receiver, so the diameter of the protective cap is the same as that necessary to cover the ultrasonic transducer. A minimum diameter is required, and the diameter of the protective cap or tip can be effectively kept to the minimum necessary.

[Implementation f! l’l] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of the insertion section and the distal end of the insertion section of the intrabody cavity insertion type ultrasound scanner of the present invention.

The insertion section is composed of a long flexible tube section 2, a curved section 3 connected to the distal end thereof, and a distal end section 4 further connected to the distal end thereof.

The distal end portion 4 has a base 5, and a rotating shaft 6 is supported by a bearing 7 at the center thereof along the long sleeve direction of the insertion portion. An ultrasonic transducer holding section 8 is connected to the tip side of the rotating shaft 6. This ultrasonic transducer holding part 8 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, which is an i-plane view, it has a substantially semicircular cross-sectional shape, which is obtained by dividing a cylindrical body concentric with the rotating shaft 6 and having a smaller diameter than the inner diameter of a protective cap 15, which will be described later, into two from approximately the center.

That is, the plane 9, which is the dividing surface, is located approximately on an extension of the center 17 of the rotating shaft 6.

An ultrasonic transducer 10 is placed on the plane 9 side of the ultrasonic transducer holding part 8.
The ultrasonic transmitter/receiver 12 consisting of an acoustic lens 11 or an acoustic matching layer provided on the surface thereof is located at the center 17 of the rotation axis 6.
It is arranged so that it is located almost on an extension line of. A damper material 13 is bonded to the back side of the ultrasonic transducer 10, and the surface of the damper material 13 opposite to the surface to which the ultrasonic transducer is bonded is along the approximately semicircular cross-sectional shape of the ultrasonic transducer holding portion 8. The ultrasonic transducer holder 8 has a curved surface and a substantially semicircular cross section. 14 is a signal cable for driving the ultrasonic transducer and transmitting echo signals.

The outer side of the ultrasonic transducer holding part 8 holding the ultrasonic transmitting/receiving part 12 has a diameter smaller than the diameter of the ultrasonic transducer holding part 8 to ensure clearance so that it does not come into contact with the ultrasonic transducer holding part 8 when it rotates. A cylindrical protective cap 15 made of a material with a thick inner diameter that allows ultrasonic waves to pass through is connected to the rotating shaft 6.
It is provided concentrically with the ultrasonic transducer holding part 8 and covers the periphery of the ultrasonic transducer holding part 8 in a watertight manner. The inside of the protective cap 15 is filled with a liquid 16 as an ultrasound transmission medium.

This device configured as shown below-E includes an ultrasonic transducer 10
Since the ultrasonic transmitter/receiver 12 whose main components are arranged on the center line, which is the central part of the protective cap 15, it is arranged on the diameter part of the protective cap 15, so the diameter of the protective caps 1 and 5 is , is limited only by the diameter of the ultrasonic transducer 10, the wall thickness of the ultrasonic transducer holding part 8, etc. around the ultrasonic transducer necessary to hold it, and the clearance to avoid contact with the protective cap 15. It turns out. Since the damper material 13 and the ultrasonic transducer holding part 8 are provided in a semicircle with a radius smaller than the inner diameter of the protective cap 15 around and behind the ultrasonic transmitter/receiver part 12, the diameter of the protective cap 15 is smaller than the diameter of the ultrasonic vibrator. 10, and the diameter of the protective cap 15, that is, the tip 4, can be effectively suppressed to the necessary minimum.

In the above embodiment, an ultrasonic scanner that can be inserted into a body cavity is used exclusively for ultrasonic examinations, but it may also be used as a so-called ultrasonic endoscope that has an endoscope function at the tip of the insertion section. It can be used as a large-diameter ultrasonic endoscope.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail below, in the intrabody cavity insertion type ultrasonic scanner of the present invention, an ultrasonic transmitting/receiving unit having an ultrasonic transducer as a main component is disposed in the center of the protective cap, Since the damper material and the ultrasonic transducer holding part are contained within a semicircle with a radius smaller than the inner diameter of the protective cap around and behind the ultrasonic transmitting/receiving part, the diameter of the protective cap is the minimum required to cover the ultrasonic transducer. The diameter of the protective cap, that is, the tip, can be effectively suppressed to the necessary minimum.

This allows us to use an ultrasonic transducer with an appropriate diameter without using an ultrasonic transducer with an unreasonably small diameter that would degrade ultrasound diagnostic performance, and reduce the outer diameter of the tip to the necessary minimum diameter. By reducing the diameter of the insertion portion, the patient's pain during insertion into the human body can be reduced, and insertion into narrow lumens is also possible.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of an insertion section and a distal end of the insertion section according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2I2I is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the insertion section and the distal end of the insertion section of a conventional ultrasonic scanner. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 3. 6 Rotating shaft 8 Ultrasonic transducer holding section 10 Ultrasonic transducer 12 Ultrasonic transmitting/receiving section 15 Protective cap

Claims (1)

[Claims] An ultrasonic transmitter/receiver whose main component is an ultrasonic transducer is provided at the tip of the insertion section to be inserted into a body cavity, and is rotatable around an axis along the longitudinal direction of the insertion section. In an intrabody cavity insertion type ultrasound scanner covered with a cylindrical protective cap made of a material capable of transmitting ultrasound and provided concentrically with the shaft, the ultrasound transmitting/receiving unit is arranged in the center of the protective cap, An ultrasonic scanner for insertion into a body cavity, characterized in that a damper material and an ultrasonic transducer holding section are housed within a semicircle having a radius smaller than the inner diameter of the protective cap around and behind the ultrasonic transmitting/receiving section.