JPH0736645Y2 - Endoscope having ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to an endoscope having a built-in ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving device.

[Conventional technology]

There is a device for ultrasonically diagnosing a subject by incorporating an ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving device in an endoscope, and as a conventional device therefor, there is JP-A-55-94.
There are technologies of 231 and JP-A-58-67248.

In these devices, a reflector is arranged so as to face an ultrasonic transducer installed inside the tip of an endoscope, and the subject is scanned by rotating this reflector.

Therefore, as a means of rotating the reflector, the former fixes the tip of the wire to the reflector, rotates the wire in the handle of the endoscope, and transmits this rotation to the reflector to rotate the reflector. There is.

The latter has a structure in which a reflector is pivotally supported and the shaft is rotated by a mode mechanism.

[Problems to be solved by the device]

However, according to these conventional techniques, the former has a wire passing through a long flexible tube of an endoscope, and for example, when the wire is bent and inserted into a body cavity, the wire is also bent.
It is very difficult to rotate such a bent wire at the handle and smoothly transmit the rotation to the tip, and there is a problem that accurate scanning cannot be performed.

In addition, the latter has a problem that it is not preferable for an endoscope that requires a small diameter because the diameter of the tip becomes large because a motor mechanism must be provided at the tip.

Furthermore, ultrasonic transducers generate a considerable amount of heat during operation, and the problem is how to dissipate the heat. However, because the heat dissipating structure is inside the small tip of the endoscope, only natural heat dissipation is possible. It has been pointed out that there is a problem due to the heating.

[Means for solving the problem]

According to the present invention, an ultrasonic transducer and a reflecting mirror are arranged opposite to each other in a rigid portion of an endoscope, and ultrasonic waves generated by the ultrasonic transducer are shaken by a rotating reflecting mirror to scan a subject for inspection. In an endoscope having an ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving device for performing the above, a fin is formed on the back surface of the reflecting mirror, and liquid conducting means for applying a rotational force to the fin is provided, and the ultrasonic transducer between the ultrasonic transducer and the reflecting mirror is provided. It is characterized in that the liquid used for rotating the fins is caused to flow into the liquid layer and then sequentially flowed out.

[Action]

According to the above configuration, since the rotation of the reflecting mirror is performed by the fluid force of the fluid, even if the endoscope is bent in a complicated manner, the reflecting mirror can always be driven to rotate reliably and smoothly. Then, the ultrasonic transducer and the like can be cooled by sequentially flowing the liquid used for this rotation.

〔Example〕

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

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a first embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is an ultrasonic transducer, which is attached via a damper 2 in the tip hard portion.

The output end of the ultrasonic transducer 1 is connected to the display means 6 such as a video monitor through the amplifier circuit 3, the detection circuit 4, and the signal processing circuit 5, and the input end is connected to the pulse generation circuit 7. .

Reference numeral 8 denotes a reflecting mirror, which is rotatably supported by a rotary shaft 10 at an angle of 45 ° so as to face the observation window 9 and the ultrasonic transducer 1, and fins 11 are provided on the back surface in a radiation-proof manner. It is provided.

Reference numerals 12 and 13 denote liquid conducting holes, which are open toward the fins 11 of the reflecting mirror 8 and communicate with each other through the inflow chamber 14.

Reference numeral 15 is a liquid introduction pipe, and 16 is a liquid discharge pipe.

A liquid chamber 17 is filled with a liquid and forms a liquid layer between the ultrasonic transducer 1 and the reflecting mirror 8. By forming this liquid layer, unlike the air layer, the propagation path of ultrasonic waves is made closer to the specific gravity of the human body where 90% or more of the subject is water and the difference in intrinsic acoustic impedance between each other is reduced. This is to improve the propagation and to cool the ultrasonic transducer and the like.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a pump, which connects the liquid introduction pipe 15 and the liquid discharge pipe 16 so that the liquid is circulated and used. However, the liquid does not necessarily have to be circulated and used by such a pump, and new liquid may be sequentially sent and sequentially discharged.

Although not shown in the above structure, a general guide member for an endoscope, such as a light guide, an image guide, an air / water supply pipe, a suction pipe, and a forceps guide pipe, is built in as necessary. .

According to the above configuration, the DC pulse generated by the pulse generation circuit 7 is input to the ultrasonic transducer 1 and the ultrasonic transducer 1 generates ultrasonic waves.

On the other hand, the liquid is supplied to the liquid introducing pipe 15 at a constant pressure, the liquid is ejected from the opening of the liquid conducting hole 12 and hits the fin 11, the reflecting mirror 8 is rotated at a predetermined speed, and the rotated liquid is the liquid. The liquid chamber 17 sequentially flows into the liquid chamber 17 through the conduction hole 13,
The liquid in 17 is sequentially discharged by the liquid discharge pipe 16,
The liquid in 17 will flow in and out repeatedly without staying.

Therefore, the ultrasonic wave generated by the ultrasonic transducer 1 is swung by the rotating reflecting mirror 8 and passes through the liquid chamber 17 to scan the subject through the observation window 9.

The echo signal reflected by the subject is returned to the ultrasonic transducer 1 by the reflecting mirror 8 and input to the amplification circuit 3, and the logarithmically compressed echo signal is detected by the detection circuit 4 and input to the signal processing circuit 5. .

The signal processing circuit 5 can perform signal processing such as STC and AGC on the echo signal and input these signals to the display means 6 for display.

[Effect of device]

According to the present invention described in detail above, the ultrasonic transducer and the reflecting mirror are arranged to face each other in the rigid portion of the endoscope, and the ultrasonic wave generated by the ultrasonic transducer is shaken by the rotating reflecting mirror. In an endoscope having an ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving device for scanning an object to be inspected, a fin is formed on the back surface of the reflecting mirror, and a liquid conducting means for giving a rotational force to the fin is provided, so that Since the rotation is performed by the fluid force of the fluid, even if the endoscope is bent in a complicated manner, the reflecting mirror can always be rotated reliably and smoothly, which has the effect of enabling accurate scanning. This has the effect that the rotating mechanism can be formed in a small size and the tip rigid portion of the endoscope is not made large.

In addition, by forming a liquid layer between the ultrasonic transducer and the reflecting mirror, the space between the ultrasonic transducer and the reflecting mirror is different from the air layer, and the ultrasonic wave propagation path is 90% or more that of the subject. It has the effect of improving the propagation of ultrasonic waves by reducing the difference in their inherent acoustic impedances by bringing them closer to the human body, which is water.

In addition, the liquid from the liquid introduction pipe flows into the liquid chamber, and the liquid in the liquid chamber sequentially flows out from the liquid discharge pipe, thereby having the effect of cooling the inside of the ultrasonic vibrator and the tip rigid portion, which are heating elements.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an essential part showing an embodiment of the present invention. 1 ... Ultrasonic transducer 3 ... Amplifying circuit 6 ... Display means 7 ... Pulse generating circuit
8 ... Reflecting mirror 9 ... Observation window 11 ... Fin 12, 13 ... Liquid passage hole 14 ... Inflow chamber 17 ... Liquid chamber 18 ... Pump

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An ultrasonic transducer and a reflecting mirror are arranged to face each other in a rigid portion of a distal end of an endoscope, and ultrasonic waves generated by the ultrasonic transducer are swung by the reflecting mirror to scan a subject. In an endoscope having an ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving device for inspection, a fin is directly attached to the back surface of the reflecting mirror, and a fluid flow means is provided to give a rotational force to the fin and to generate a liquid flow on the surface of the ultrasonic transducer. And an ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving device, wherein a fluid layer is formed between the ultrasonic transducer and the reflecting mirror by the liquid from the fluid conducting means.