JPH0451779Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an ultrasound probe balloon cartridge for attaching a balloon to an ultrasound probe of an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus.

[Prior Art] In an ultrasonic diagnostic device, in order to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves from a position closer to the examined part of a living body, an intrabody cavity insertion device is inserted into a body cavity of a living body and transmits and receives ultrasound beams from inside the body. probes are known.
In this type of ultrasound probe that can be inserted into a body cavity,
Ultrasound diagnosis in which a balloon is attached to the probe to improve its adhesion to the living body or to prevent the transmission of bacteria between patients, and the probe is covered with the balloon and inserted into the body cavity. method is being adopted. By replacing the balloon with each patient or each time the balloon is inserted into a body cavity, the transmission of bacteria through the probe is prevented.

The work of attaching the balloon to the probe is performed manually by inserting the probe through the probe receiving opening of the balloon and inserting the probe all the way to the tip of the balloon.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] As mentioned above, the balloon is attached to the probe manually, but when the balloon is attached to the probe, it is necessary to minimize the gap between the balloon and the probe. It is desirable that the probe has no inner diameter, and therefore cannot be formed with an inner diameter that is too large relative to the outer diameter of the probe. Therefore, it may not be possible to smoothly attach the balloon to the probe. Another method is to roll the balloon outward in advance with the probe receiving port facing toward the tip of the balloon, and then unwind it while attaching the balloon.
Since it is said to be about 25 cm to 25 cm, winding work cannot be performed easily. Therefore, the probe is attached by inserting the probe through the probe receiving port with the balloon extended and gradually pushing it toward the distal end, and the user must use both hands to perform this attachment process. There was a problem in that quick replacement work was difficult and inconvenient.

Furthermore, in order to perform this balloon attachment process smoothly, powder is attached to the inner surface of the balloon to improve slippage, but this powder also causes a problem in that it causes deterioration of ultrasound diagnostic images.

Purpose of the invention The present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to create a cartridge for a balloon for an ultrasound probe that has a simple structure and allows for easy attachment of the balloon to the probe. Our goal is to provide the following.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, a cartridge for an ultrasound probe balloon according to the present invention includes a balloon holding tube having one end open and the other end closed, and an opening of the balloon holding tube. A balloon with a probe receiving port expanded and attached to the end periphery, which is expanded within the balloon holding cylinder by creating a negative pressure in the space between the outer surface of the balloon and the inner side of the balloon holding cylinder. a balloon for an ultrasonic probe held in a state of It is characterized by containing.

[Function] According to the above configuration, the ultrasonic probe balloon is installed in the balloon holding tube by attaching the probe receiving port to the periphery of the open end of the balloon holding tube, and the The space between the outer surface of the sonic probe balloon and the inner surface of the balloon holding tube is in a negative pressure state, and the ultrasound probe balloon is in an expanded state within the balloon holding tube.

The balloon holding tube is provided with a ventilation means that can be operated from the outside at a predetermined location near the closed end of the balloon holding tube, and the negative pressure space inside the balloon holding tube is opened to the atmosphere by operating this ventilation means. be able to. That is, by operating the ventilation means, the pressure in the space between the outer surface of the ultrasound probe balloon and the inner surface of the balloon holding cylinder increases from a negative pressure state to a normal pressure state.

Due to this pressure increase, the ultrasound probe balloon contracts from the expanded state within the balloon holding cylinder and returns to its normal state.

Therefore, the space between the outer surface of the ultrasound probe balloon and the inner surface of the balloon holding cylinder is made into a negative pressure state, and the ultrasound probe is inserted into the balloon to a predetermined position while the ultrasound probe balloon is expanded. In this state, the balloon can be easily attached to the probe by operating the ventilation means to open the negative pressure space inside the balloon holding cylinder to the atmosphere and deflating the balloon.

As described above, in the ultrasound probe balloon cartridge according to the present invention, one ultrasound probe balloon is attached to one balloon holding tube, and this balloon holding tube can be made of synthetic resin or the like at low cost. Since it can be manufactured, it can be used as a disposable cartridge.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the cartridge for an ultrasound probe balloon according to the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show a first embodiment and a second embodiment, respectively, which are composed of a balloon holding cylinder 10 and a balloon 12 for an ultrasound probe. The balloon holding tube 10 is formed into a cylindrical shape, one end 10a is open and the other end 10a is open.
A bottom portion 10c is formed at b. A claw 14 serving as a ventilation means is formed on the bottom portion 10c.

An ultrasound probe balloon 12 is attached to the open end 10a of the balloon holding cylinder 10. FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of this ultrasonic probe balloon 12, which is generally made of thin material such as synthetic rubber that is stretchable and easily adheres to the ultrasonic probe. The length from the probe receiving port 12a to the tip 12b of this balloon 12 is approximately 20 to 25 cm so that it can cover the probe part inserted into the body cavity, and its diameter is set to It is said to have a slightly larger diameter than the probe. It is desirable that this diameter be slightly smaller than the diameter of the probe in order to make it fit tightly against the ultrasound probe, but it is made slightly larger than the diameter of the ultrasound probe in order to ensure ease of removing the balloon after use. There is.

This ultrasonic probe balloon 12 has its tip 12b side accommodated in the balloon holding tube 10, and the probe receiving port 12a is attached to the periphery of the open end 10a of the balloon holding tube 10 in a stretched and expanded state. There is.

In the balloon holding tube 10, a sealed space 10d formed between the outer surface of the ultrasound probe balloon 12 and the inner surface of the balloon holding tube 10 is a closed space 10d where the ultrasound probe balloon 12
The negative pressure is maintained at a level necessary to maintain the expanded state within the balloon holding tube 10.

The claw 14 is provided as a ventilation means for forming a vent in the balloon holding tube 10 by operating from the outside of the balloon holding tube 10 and opening the space 10d to the atmosphere.

FIG. 3A shows the action of the pawl 14, which is this ventilation means, by bending the pawl 14 by applying an external force, for example, a force from the lateral direction, and forming the balloon holding cylinder as shown in FIG. 3B. A vent hole 16 can be formed in the bottom part 10c of 10. In order to ensure that the claw 14 functions as a ventilation means, the claw 1 on the bottom 10c of the balloon holding tube 10 is
It is preferable to make the portion 4 easily breakable by making it thin or the like.

When the claw 14 is broken, outside air flows into the space 10d inside the balloon holding tube 10 through the vent 16, and the air pressure in the space 10d increases to normal pressure. As a result, the expanded ultrasound probe balloon 12 can be returned to its normal size within the balloon holding tube 10.

The second embodiment shown in FIG.
This shows an example of a configuration different from the claw 14 in Figure A, and the other components are as shown in Figure 1 in Figure 1A.
This is exactly the same as the example.

That is, in this second embodiment, the ventilation means is provided with a projecting pipe 18 that communicates with the inside of the balloon holding cylinder 10 on the circumferential wall of the balloon holding cylinder 10 at a position near the bottom part 10c, and a cap 20 is placed over the projecting pipe 18 to prevent the balloon holding. It is designed to maintain a negative pressure state in the space 10d inside the cylinder.

4A and 4B show the operation of the ventilation means of this second embodiment; FIG.
is placed over the protruding tube 18, and the balloon holding tube 10
This shows a state in which the negative pressure state of the inner space 10d is maintained. Then, as shown in Figure 4B,
When the cap 20 is removed from the protruding tube 18 by applying an external force to the cap 20, the space 10d inside the balloon holding cylinder 10 is opened to the atmosphere by the protruding tube 18, and air flows in from the protruding tube 18. As a result, the inside of the space 10d becomes normal pressure, and the ultrasound probe balloon 12 is deflated to its normal state. In this way, also in the second embodiment, the balloon holding cylinder 10
By a simple external operation, a vent can be formed near the bottom 10c of the balloon holding tube 10, and the ultrasound probe balloon 12 can be easily deflated from the expanded state to the normal state. can.

Next, the operation of attaching the ultrasound probe balloon 12 to the ultrasound probe using the ultrasound probe balloon cartridge of the first embodiment will be described.

5A to 5D show each stage of the mounting operation.

First, FIG. 5A shows a state in which the ultrasonic probe 24 is inserted into the cartridge of the ultrasonic probe balloon according to this embodiment. That is,
A state in which the ultrasonic probe 24 is inserted into the probe receiving opening 12a of the ultrasonic probe balloon 12 expanded within the balloon holding tube 10 to a predetermined position is shown.

Next, FIG. 5B shows that in the state shown in FIG. 5A, degassed water is discharged from the degassed water extraction port 24a provided in the ultrasound probe 24, and a predetermined amount is stored in the ultrasound probe balloon 12. It shows the condition. This deaerated water is extracted when air accumulates between the ultrasound probe 24 and the ultrasound probe balloon 12 when the balloon is attached to the ultrasound probe 24.
This is done to eliminate such air pockets since they have a negative effect on the transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5C, by breaking the claw 14, the space 10 inside the balloon holding cylinder 10
By changing d from a negative pressure state to a normal pressure state,
The ultrasonic probe balloon 12 is deflated with degassed water stored therein, resulting in the state shown in the figure.

Then, the unnecessary water accumulated in the ultrasonic probe balloon 12 is discharged, and the probe receiving port 12a of the balloon is removed from the balloon holding cylinder 10, thereby completing the balloon mounting operation. The state at the end of this mounting operation is shown in FIG. 5D.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, after the ultrasonic probe 24 is inserted into the cartridge 22 of the ultrasonic probe balloon according to the present embodiment and the extraction operation of deaerated water is performed, the claw 14 serving as the ventilation means is inserted. By the simple action of folding the ultrasonic probe 24
The ultrasound probe balloon 12 can be attached to the balloon 12. That is, the user can hygienically and quickly perform the balloon mounting operation without directly touching the ultrasound probe balloon 12.

In order to prevent dirt from entering the ultrasonic probe balloon 12 mounted inside the balloon holding tube 10, a cap is provided on the open end 10a side of the balloon holding tube 10, and the probe receiving opening 12a of the balloon is closed. It is also possible to cover it. Further, by configuring such a cap to be able to seal the probe receiving port 12a of the balloon, it is possible to keep degassed water stored in the ultrasound probe balloon 12 from the beginning. By storing degassed water in the ultrasound probe balloon 12 in advance, there is no need to perform the step of extracting the degassed water after inserting the ultrasound probe 24 into the cartridge, making the process faster. It is possible to carry out balloon attachment work. Furthermore, the balloon holding tube 10 also has the function of covering the outer surface of the ultrasound probe balloon 12, so that the outer surface of the ultrasound probe balloon 12 is not exposed to the outside air until it is attached to the ultrasound probe 24. protected. Further, since the balloon holding tube 10 can be manufactured at low cost from synthetic resin or the like, it can be made into a disposable case that is used for each ultrasound probe balloon.
Convenient and hygienic.

[Effects of the invention] As explained above, according to the ultrasound probe balloon cartridge according to the invention, the ultrasound probe balloon is held in an expanded state in the balloon holding cylinder in advance, so that it can be easily used. A person can easily attach the balloon to the ultrasonic probe by inserting the ultrasonic probe into the cartridge and operating the ventilation means formed in the balloon holding cylinder from the outside.

This eliminates the need for the conventional and time-consuming balloon attachment work, and enables rapid balloon attachment during diagnosis or medical treatment.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1A and 1B are perspective views showing a first embodiment and a second embodiment, respectively, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a general balloon for an ultrasound probe, and FIGS. FIGS. 5A to 5D, explanatory views of the operation of the ventilation means in the example, are explanatory views of the balloon attachment operation according to the example. 10...Balloon holding tube, 12...Balloon for ultrasound probe, 14...Claw, 16...Vent hole,
18... protruding pipe, 20... cap.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A balloon holding tube with one end open and the other end closed, and a balloon with a probe receiving port expanded and attached to the periphery of the open end of the balloon holding tube, which is attached to the outer surface of the balloon. an ultrasonic probe balloon held in an expanded state within the balloon holding cylinder by creating a negative pressure state in the space between the inner surface of the balloon holding cylinder; and a position near the closed end of the balloon holding cylinder; 1. A cartridge for a balloon for an ultrasound probe, comprising: a ventilation means provided in the balloon holding cylinder for venting the negative pressure space in the balloon holding cylinder to the atmosphere by an operation from the outside.