JPH0369535B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe for obtaining ultrasonic images such as intraoral ultrasonic tomographic images.

There has never been an example of an ultrasonic probe designed for the purpose of intraoral diagnosis, particularly diagnosis using tomographic images of teeth, gums, etc. Almost all conventional ultrasonic probes have been mostly used in devices for diagnosing relatively large organs in the human body, such as the abdomen, chest, neck, upper and lower limbs, and abdominal cavity. Therefore, these ultrasonic probes are large in shape and mainly target soft tissues, so
It was impossible to use it for intraoral examinations. There have also been attempts to measure the thickness of tooth dentin using ultrasound, but no diagnosis has been made using ultrasound tomographic images of teeth. The present invention solves these problems seen in the conventional example, and includes providing an acoustic window that can transmit ultrasonic waves on one main surface of the convex part of the toothless housing, and providing the acoustic window with an acoustic window that can transmit ultrasonic waves. Correspondingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic probe that enables intraoral tomographic image diagnosis by housing a piezoelectric vibrator having a concave ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving surface.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a side sectional view of an embodiment of the ultrasonic probe of the present invention. In the figure, 10 is a probe housing, 11 is a piezoelectric vibrator, 12 is a rotating shaft, and 13
is the vibration prime mover, 14 is the vibrator lead wire, 14'
is the vibration motor lead wire, 16 is the membrane,
17 is a filling liquid, 18 is an object to be examined such as a tooth, 1
9 is an ultrasonic beam.

The probe housing 10 has a toothbrush-like shape, and a membrane 16 is interposed in a portion 10' of the housing 10 corresponding to the bristles of a toothbrush, and a membrane 16 is interposed between the probe housing 10 and the object to be examined 18 such as teeth and gums. Keeping in touch. Handle portion 1 of probe housing 10
0' has an L-shaped rotating shaft 12 at the main shaft part 1.
A vibration motor 13 that rotates back and forth around 2' is housed, and a connecting wire 1 is connected through a lead wire 14'.
5, it is connected to an external power supply. Furthermore, a piezoelectric vibrator 11 is attached to the tip shaft portion 12'' of the rotating shaft 12.
is mounted, and the piezoelectric vibrator 11 is driven by the vibration motor 13 to move the rotating shaft 12 to the main shaft portion 12'.
The object to be tested 1
The ultrasonic beam 19 can be scanned through the 8. As shown in the figure, the piezoelectric vibrator 11 is formed into a bowl shape so that both side sections are concave, and the ultrasonic beam 19 is directed near the surface of the object to be examined 18, for example, at a place approximately 1 mm deep from the surface. It is designed so that the focus is on Therefore, the piezoelectric vibrator 11 performs fan-shaped scanning when viewed from the front of the portion of the probe housing 10 corresponding to the tip of the hair. Focusing near the surface of the test object 18 is as follows:
It is very effective in detecting the accumulation of phlegm inside the gums. The hair tip portion 10' of the probe housing 10 is filled with a filling liquid 17 having approximately the same acoustic impedance as the human body, such as mineral oil. Ultrasonic waves are transmitted through the membrane 16 without attenuation.

Next, the operation of the ultrasonic probe according to the present invention will be explained based on FIG. An examiner such as a dentist or a laboratory technician holds the handle 10'' of the probe housing 10, which has a toothbrush-like structure, in one hand and inserts the bristled portion 10' of the probe housing 10 into the subject's oral cavity.
is inserted, the membrane 16 is brought into direct contact with the object to be examined 18 such as teeth or gums, and the external power is turned on to drive the vibration motor 13. The piezoelectric vibrator 11 is connected to the main body of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and an ultrasonic beam 19 is emitted into the object to be examined 18 in response to a drive signal from the main body. Scanning is performed in a fan shape. The reflected beam reflected from an abnormal part such as a lesion in the object to be examined 18 is converted into an electric signal by the ultrasonic transducer 11 again, and is sent via the lead wire 14 to the connecting wire 15 to the main body of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus. The data is sent to the server and the reception process is performed.

A side sectional view of a second embodiment of the ultrasonic probe of the present invention is shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the same parts as in the first embodiment are given the same numbers as in FIG. The difference from the first embodiment is the probe housing 21. As shown in FIG. 2, in the case of the second embodiment, a part of the portion 10'' corresponding to the handle of the toothbrush is curved to form a curved portion 2.
0 is formed. The curved portion 20 is provided to facilitate application when the present probe is applied to the inner surface of a tooth or the inner side of a gum. In the second embodiment, the parts other than the probe housing 10 are completely the same as in the first embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted.

A side sectional view of a third embodiment of the ultrasonic probe of the present invention is shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, the same parts as in the first and second embodiments are given the same numbers as in FIGS. 1 and 2. The difference from the first and second embodiments is the rotating shaft and the prime mover for the vibrator, and in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, a bending type vibrator is used in place of these parts. In Figure 3,
The bending type vibrator 30 is, for example, a bimorph type piezoelectric vibrator, and has one end fixed by a stator 32, and receives driving power introduced from the connection line 15 via the bending vibrator lead wire 31. This allows the other end of the vibrator 30 to bend and vibrate. A piezoelectric vibrator 11 is attached to the end of the vibrator 30 , and the piezoelectric vibrator 11 is attached to the end of the vibrator 30 .
The ultrasonic beam 19 is designed to cause a vertical swinging motion, and accordingly, the ultrasonic beam 19 can be scanned in a fan-shaped manner. In the case of this embodiment, fan-shaped scanning is performed from side to side toward the drawing.

As explained above, according to the present invention, a piezoelectric vibrator having a concave wave transmitting and receiving surface for ultrasonic waves is housed in a toothed housing in which an acoustic window through which ultrasonic waves can pass is formed in a portion corresponding to the tip of the hair. Since it is equipped with a drive machine that makes it reciprocate, it has a small, lightweight, and inexpensive structure, and it can make complete contact with the object to be examined and obtain tomographic images of teeth and gums in the oral cavity. .

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an ultrasonic probe according to a first embodiment of the invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing an ultrasound probe according to a third embodiment of the invention. It is a sectional view showing an example. 10... Probe housing, 11... Piezoelectric vibrator, 12... Rotating shaft, 13... Vibrator prime mover,
14...Lead wire for vibrator, 14'...Motor lead wire for vibrator, 15...Connection wire, 16...Membrane, 17...Filling liquid, 18...Test object, 19...Super Sound wave beam, 20...curved part,
30...Bending type vibrator, 31...Lead wire for bending type vibrator, 32...Stator for bending type vibrator.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A toothless housing having a convex part expanded at the tip of the handle, and an ultrasonic wave transmission provided on one principal surface of the convex part corresponding to the bristles of the toothlike housing. a piezoelectric vibrator provided corresponding to the acoustic window and having a concave wave transmitting/receiving surface for ultrasonic waves, and a drive machine mechanically coupled to the piezoelectric vibrator and giving reciprocating vibration. An ultrasonic probe characterized by: