JPH0690Y2 - Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial application] The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in a body cavity, and more particularly to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of reliably discharging bubbles remaining in a balloon together with deaerated water. is there.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus has been put into practical use, in which an ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving head is provided at the distal end portion of an endoscope insertion portion, and a body cavity wall is scanned with ultrasonic waves to create a tomographic image. In this ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the entire ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving surface is covered with a balloon, and a liquid such as deaerated water acting as an ultrasonic wave transmission medium is supplied into the balloon to create a clear tomographic image. .

In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having such a configuration, if a bubble remains in the balloon, a good tomographic image cannot be obtained,
It is necessary to supply degassed water and discharge the degassed water in the balloon together with the bubbles, and there is a strong demand for the development of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of reliably discharging the bubbles in the balloon together with the liquid.

As a conventionally proposed intracorporeal ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, for example, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus described in JP-A-58-65148 is known. In this known ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a communication groove communicating with the supply path and the discharge path of degassed water is formed on the rear end side of the ultrasonic transmission / reception surface (the side close to the operation part) over substantially the entire circumference. In addition, a plurality of short grooves communicating with the communication groove and extending in the axial direction are formed to surely supply and discharge deaerated water and discharge bubbles.

As another ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus described in JP-A-61-143033 is known. In this ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the width of the communication groove is made narrower than the width of the balloon mounting groove, a plurality of communication grooves are formed along the axial direction, and these communication grooves are made to communicate with each other.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In the known ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus described above, a communication groove extending over substantially the entire circumference is formed, and a plurality of recesses communicating with the communication groove and extending in the axial direction are formed, or Since the plurality of communication grooves that communicate with each other along the axial direction are formed, the hard support member located at the distal end of the insertion portion becomes long in the axial direction, causing a problem of causing pain to the patient. Further, before the liquid in the balloon is completely discharged, the balloon around the communication groove adheres to the periphery of the communication groove due to the suction force, and the liquid containing bubbles remains around the ultrasonic transmission / reception surface. However, there is a drawback in that the bubble removal work cannot be performed smoothly and the bubble removal work takes a long time. If air bubbles remain in the balloon, the ultrasonic waves will be attenuated or reflected at the air bubbles, causing problems such as loss or disturbance of the ultrasonic tomographic image. However, there is a problem in that the load is prolonged and the burden on the patient and the surgical object increases.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks and provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of quickly removing air bubbles in a balloon without lengthening a supporting member provided at the distal end of an insertion portion in the axial direction. It is a thing.

[Means for solving problems]

An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention includes a support member attached to a distal end of an insertion portion to be inserted into a body cavity, an ultrasonic probe incorporated in the support member, and an ultrasonic transmitting / receiving surface of the ultrasonic probe. A balloon mounted so as to cover the balloon, and a supply path that is formed in the support member and that supplies the ultrasonic transmission medium into the balloon and an exhaust path that discharges the ultrasonic transmission medium and bubbles inside the balloon, and communicates with the balloon. A communication groove that extends in a direction, and a discharge groove that is formed substantially on the back side of the ultrasonic transmission / reception surface of the support member and that communicates with the communication groove and that extends toward the tip direction of the insertion portion. Characterize.

[Action]

When the discharge groove that opens in the communication groove that communicates with the supply path and the discharge path and that extends toward the distal end is formed, even if the balloon comes into close contact with the edge portion of the communication groove by suction, the discharge groove still communicates with the communication groove. . Therefore, even if the balloon is brought into close contact with the periphery of the edge of the communication groove due to the suction force, the deaerated water containing bubbles on the tip side of the balloon is sucked and removed to the outside through the discharge passage, and as a result, the removal of bubbles in the balloon is performed. It can be performed more quickly and in a shorter time. In particular, since the discharge groove extends from the communication groove toward the distal end direction, the axial length of the rigid portion at the distal end does not become long, and the pain to the patient can be reduced.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention. This ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes an insertion part 1 in the body,
An auxiliary operation section 2 for performing an operation for sucking and discharging deaerated water and air bubbles, a main operation section 3 capable of performing a bending operation and the like, and an eyepiece section 4 being formed, and a main operation section 3 having an internal mirror connector. It comprises a universal cord 6 to be connected to 5, an electric cable cord 7 and an electric connector 8. Insertion part 1
The ultrasonic probe is incorporated and has a tip portion 11 on which the balloon 10 is mounted, a curved portion 12, and a flexible portion 13 having flexibility. An observation optical system is arranged in the insertion section 1 so that the inside of the body cavity can be observed at the eyepiece section 4. The rear end of the insertion section 1 is connected to the sub-operation section 2, and the sub-operation section 2 supplies the ultrasonic transmission medium liquid such as degassed water into the balloon 10 using a syringe or the like. And a suction operation valve 15 for performing an operation of suctioning and discharging deaerated water and bubbles in the balloon 10. A suction mouthpiece 16 is attached to the endoscope connector 5, the suction mouthpiece 16 is connected to a suction pump (not shown) via a tube, and the suction operation valve 15 is operated to discharge the deaerated water in the balloon 10. To do. Further, the endoscope connector 5 is connected to a light source device (not shown), and illumination light is sent toward the distal end portion 11 via the universal code and the illumination optical system in the insertion portion. Further, the electrical connector 8 is connected to an ultrasonic observation device (not shown), and the ultrasonic reception signal received by the tip portion 11 is supplied to the ultrasonic observation device to create an ultrasonic tomographic image.

2a to 2d show the detailed structure of the tip portion, FIG. 2a is a sectional view taken along a plane including the axis, and FIG. 2b is FIG.
2A is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 2A, and FIG. 2D is a side view showing the configuration on the back side of the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving surface. A supporting member 20 is attached to the tip portion 11, and an electronic sector type ultrasonic probe 22 having an ultrasonic transmitting / receiving surface 21 opened in one direction on the side surface of the supporting member 20 is incorporated. Balloon mounting grooves 23a and 23b for mounting the band portion of the balloon 10 are formed on the front end side (the side far from the operation part) and the rear end side (the side close to the operation part) of the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving surface 21, respectively. The balloon 10 is made of an elastic material such as latex or urethane resin.
It is attached to the tip 11 by attaching to 23a and 23b.
A communication groove 24 extending over the entire circumference in the circumferential direction is formed between the balloon mounting groove 23a on the rear end side and the ultrasonic probe 22. This communication groove 24 is a supply path 25 for supplying deaerated water into the balloon 10.
Also, the balloon 10 communicates with the discharge path 26 for discharging deaerated water and bubbles to the outside, the supply port of the supply unit 25 opens in a direction other than the ultrasonic transmission / reception surface 21, and the discharge ports of the discharge paths are compared. It is formed so that it becomes wide. The supply path 25 communicates with the liquid delivery mouthpiece 14 of the sub operation portion 2, and the discharge path 26 communicates with the suction mouthpiece 16 of the endoscope connector 5 via the suction operation valve 15. A discharge groove (27) extending from the communication groove (24) in the tip direction is formed on the back surface side of the ultrasonic transmission / reception surface (21) of the support member (20). The discharge groove 27 extends in the axial direction from the vicinity of the balloon mounting groove 23b on the distal end side, becomes gradually deeper, and becomes approximately the same depth as the depth of the communication groove at the position communicating with the communication groove 24. Form. The communication groove 24
And the edge of the discharge groove 27 is rounded with a chamfer,
10 and the wall of the body cavity are not scratched. Ultrasonic probe
22 has about 40 ultrasonic transducers and has a longitudinal ultrasonic tomographic range of about 90 °, and is connected with a signal line bundle 28 composed of a plurality of thin coaxial cables, and this signal line bundle is connected to the operation unit. After that, it is connected to the electrical connector 8.

At the time of imaging, a syringe (not shown) containing degassed water is connected to the liquid delivery mouthpiece 14 of the sub-operation unit 2, and the degassed water is injected into the balloon 10 through the supply passage 26 and the communication groove 24. The air retained in the supply path 25 due to the injection of degassed water is also sent into the balloon 10. After the injection is started, the suction operation valve 15 of the sub operation unit 2 is operated to suck and discharge the air and deaerated water in the balloon 10. In this case, in the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic equipment,
The suction force causes the balloon in the vicinity of the discharge port to come into close contact with the edge portion of the communication groove, making it difficult to quickly discharge deaerated water containing air. However, in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention, since the discharge groove 27 extending from the communication groove 24 along the distal direction is formed, even if the balloon 10 is in close contact with the communication groove 24, the discharge groove 27 communicates. It communicates with the groove 24, and degassed water containing bubbles on the tip side can be almost completely sucked and discharged through the discharge groove 27. Therefore, when suction and discharge progress and the balloon 10 comes into close contact with the vicinity of the discharge groove 27, the bubbles and deaerated water in the balloon 10 are completely discharged, and then the deaerated water is injected into the balloon 10 with a syringe. When this is done, no air bubbles will remain in the balloon. As described above, by forming the discharge groove communicating with the communication groove 24 and extending in the distal direction, the air in the balloon can be quickly removed in a short time.

FIGS. 3a and 3b show the state of bundling the signal lines of the ultrasonic probe, FIG. 3a is a sectional view showing the structure of the signal line bundling body, and FIG. 3b is one bundling body. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of. Since the ultrasonic probe according to the present invention has a large number of ultrasonic transducers, it is necessary to bind the signal lines connected to each ultrasonic transducer so that they can be clearly identified. For this reason, in the present invention, the ultrasonic transducers that are continuously arranged are divided into blocks according to the arrangement order, and the signal line of each block is a signal with a different coat color according to the arrangement order of the ultrasonic transducers. The wires are divided by using lines and bound by the binding tape, and the binding tapes are color-coded by using different colored tapes. In this example, 42
An example will be described in which 49 ultrasonic signals are bound by using one ultrasonic transducer. 42 ultrasonic transducers are divided into 7 blocks according to the arrangement order. The signal lines of each block are seven signal lines including one grounding conductor, and the signal lines of the colors of the jacket are white, red, blue, orange, yellow, green and black according to the arrangement order of the transducers. Then, the seven signal lines 30a to 30g are bound by the binding tape 31. Then, for each block, white, red, blue, orange, yellow, and green binding tapes 31a to 31g are bound together, and these seven signal line bundles are protected by a protective tube 32 composed of a silicon tube or a Teflon heat shrink tube.
Unite with. According to this structure, even if a large number of ultrasonic transducers are used, a large number of signal lines can be clearly identified, so that the efficiency of signal line connection work can be improved and erroneous connection can be avoided. it can. In particular, by dividing into 7 blocks, one signal bundle can be arranged at the center and 6 signal bundles can be arranged around it to form a hexagonal signal bundle. It can be extremely efficient.

4a and 4b show a modified example of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 4a is a sectional view taken along a plane including the axis, and FIG. 2b is an E of FIG. 4a. It is a -E line sectional view. In this example, an example applied to a mechanical scanning ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is shown. The single transducer 40 is attached to the tip, and the ultrasonic transmission medium above the single transducer 40 is attached.
A reflection mirror 43 connected to the rotary drive shaft 42 is arranged in the unit 41 to perform ultrasonic scanning. Attach a cap 44 of polyethylene or the like to seal the ultrasonic transmission medium 41, and
An ultrasound transmitting / receiving surface 45 is defined that spans an angle of 0 °. Three discharge grooves 47a, 47b and 47c which communicate with the communication groove 46 and extend toward the tip are formed on the back side of the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving surface 45.
The balloon 48 is fixed to the distal end portion by two thread restrictors 49a and 49b, and degassed water is supplied into the balloon 48 by a supply path 50 communicating with the communication groove 46 and the balloon 48 is discharged by a discharge path 51.
Drain the air and deaerated water inside. Furthermore, the observation optical system 52,
Illumination optical systems 53a and 53b, an air / water supply conduit 54, and a forceps channel 55 are formed. In this way, by forming three discharge grooves extending from the communication groove 46 toward the tip on the back side of the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving surface 45, the bubbles in the balloon 48 can be sucked and discharged more quickly. . The number of discharge grooves is
Any number can be used as long as it does not affect the transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications can be made. For example, although a balloon having elasticity is used in the above-described embodiment, a folding balloon having no elasticity may be used.

[Effect of device]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the discharge groove that communicates with the communication groove and extends toward the front end is formed, even if the balloon is brought into close contact with the periphery of the communication groove by suction and discharge, bubbles are generated by the discharge groove. The deaerated water contained therein can be surely sucked and discharged, and the work of removing the bubbles in the balloon can be performed more quickly in a short time.

In addition, since the discharge groove is formed on the back side of the ultrasonic transmitting / receiving surface and extends toward the distal end direction of the endoscope insertion portion, it is possible to make the axial length of the distal end rigid portion relatively short. The patient's pain can be further reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2a to 2d are sectional views taken along a plane including an axis showing a detailed configuration of a tip portion, and sectional views taken along line AA. , BB line cross-sectional view and side view, FIG. 3 a and b are cross-sectional views and perspective views showing the speed-up state of the signal line, and FIGS. 4 a and b are modified examples of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention. It is sectional drawing which shows a structure. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Balloon 20 ... Supporting member 21 ... Ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving surface 22 ... Ultrasonic probe 24 ... Communication groove 25 ... Supply path 26 ... Discharge path 27 ... Discharge groove

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A support member attached to a distal end of an insertion section to be inserted into a body cavity, an ultrasonic probe incorporated in the support member, and an ultrasonic transmitting / receiving surface of the ultrasonic probe. And a balloon attached to the support member, which communicates with a supply path for supplying the ultrasonic transmission medium into the balloon and an exhaust path for discharging the ultrasonic transmission medium and bubbles inside the balloon, and extends in a substantially circumferential direction. The present invention is characterized by including a communication groove that exists and a discharge groove that is formed substantially on the back surface side of the ultrasonic transmission / reception surface of the support member and that communicates with the communication groove and that extends toward the tip direction of the insertion portion. Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment.