JPS60249943A - Water tank for medical ultrsonic diagnostic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a water tank for a medical ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that is frequently used for mammary gland diagnosis and the like.

[Technical Background of the Invention] When a living body II is irradiated with ultrasound, the ultrasound is reflected from the interface between different tissues.

By converting the strength of the reflected wave into an electrical signal and displaying it on a monitor, biological 11#! tomographic images can be obtained.

By the way, acoustic coupling agents are used to prevent attenuation 1 reflection between the ultrasonic transmitter/receiver (hereinafter referred to as 1-probe) and the living body, but the material used for this is often water, etc., which is close to living tissue. It is used. In particular, compared to electronic scanning, mechanical scanning has difficulty in coming into close contact with the living body, and an ice bag or water tank is indispensable.

Hereinafter, conventional examples of ice bags and water tanks for medical ultrasonic diagnostic equipment will be explained.

FIG. 1 shows a water bag 1 used for scanning a relatively narrow range in detailed inspections, etc., and water 2 is generally used as an acoustic coupling agent.

Then, the water bag 1 is brought into contact with the subject 3, and the water bag 1 is brought into contact with the subject 3.
A tomographic diagram of the subject 3 can be obtained by scanning the probe 4 housed inside in the direction of the arrow in the figure.

Further, it is generally possible to change the position of the fault plane by shifting the plane 0-14 in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the arrow in the figure and parallel to the water surface.

FIG. 2 shows a conventional aquarium 5. The aquarium 5 shown in the figure has an opening 6 in its upper part, and stores water 2 as an acoustic coupling agent inside. Probe 4 is installed inside.

This water tank 5 is used for scanning a relatively wide range, and unlike the case of the water bag 1 shown in FIG.
Subject 3 is located below water 2 due to the large amount of water.
FIG. 3 shows a water tank 7 as an example of the conventional example. This water tank 7 is different from the water tank 5 shown in FIG. This is because a flexible thin film 8 having acoustic characteristics close to those of the living tissue of No. 3 and having good adhesion to the subject 3 is provided.

This water tank 7 is also used for the same purpose as the water tank 5.

Water bag mentioned above 1. Among the water tanks 5 and 7, the characteristics of the water tank 5.7 will be mainly described below.

In the water tank 5, the subject 3 and the water 2 are in direct contact, so it is easy to obtain relatively good image quality using current ultrasound technology.

In the water tank 7, especially when diagnosing flexible biological tissues such as mammary glands, the opposite surface of the subject 3 is compressed by the thin film 8 and approaches perpendicular to the direction of ultrasound propagation, so there is less reflection of the ultrasound waves and improved sensitivity. , artifacts can be reduced, and the depth of field can be improved.

In other words, as shown in FIG. 4, the propagation of the ultrasonic wave is caused by the fact that the range of S, where the sound flux of the ultrasonic wave emitted from the probe 4a is narrowed down, has relatively good resolution, but the range of S is short. ,
The shallower the biological field of view, the better. In the figure, Y indicates the spread of the sound flux.

[Problem 1 in the prior art: The water 15.7 has the above-mentioned characteristics, but in the water tank 5, the subject 3 and the water 2 come into direct contact, so the subject 3 gets wet. Also, there are problems such as foreign matter getting mixed into the water 2, which causes image deterioration of the tomographic plane due to ultrasonic waves.

Furthermore, it is difficult to obtain high-quality images due to the movement of living tissue due to breathing of the subject 3.

On the other hand, in the case of the water tank 7, wrinkles may form in the thin film 8, and air may enter between the subject 3 and the thin film 8, causing deterioration of image quality.
The area around the armpit of the breast is also important, but this area has a thin film 8
There is a problem in that air tends to get trapped between the two and the expected field of view cannot be obtained. In addition, since am is recessed relative to the tank body, depending on the size of the breast, adhesion to the Wj membrane may be poor, which may affect the depth of field of view mentioned above and also affect the breathing of subject 3, as in the case of tank 5. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain high-quality images. In addition, the thin membrane must be easily attached and detached from the aquarium body for cleaning, replacement, etc.
Adhesive sealing methods are inappropriate. In order to make attachment and detachment possible, it is possible to use an O-ring, but with this method, the sealing parts are in two places, above and below the Q-ring, and the top surface of the water tank requires full machining for the O-ring. There are drawbacks such as:

The various drawbacks mentioned above are noticeable in cases such as mass medical examinations where a large number of subjects 3 are handled in one day and failure in data collection is unacceptable.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it facilitates the replacement of the thin film, improves the adhesion between the thin film and the water tank, prevents water leakage, and provides high-quality tomographic images. It is an object of the present invention to provide a water tank for a medical ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can contribute to obtaining the following results.

[Summary of the Invention] The outline of the present invention for achieving the above object is to provide a medical ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus which is provided with an l membrane at the frontage provided at the upper part of the water tank body, and which is provided with an acoustic coupling agent and a probe therein. The aquarium is characterized in that the thin film protrudes from the aquarium body.

Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that a protrusion is provided around the thin film, and the protrusion is pressed onto the aquarium body.

Embodiments of the present invention] Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. In the figure, the aquarium 10 has an opening 11a at the top, and three entrances and exits 1lb at the side and bottom.
It has an aquarium main body 11 provided with 11c and 11d. The opening 11a has a convex cross section i1! l! 12 is attached by an annular lid 13. From the viewpoint of adhesion to the subject 3, the material of this thin film 12 is preferably silicone rubber, and its thickness is preferably 0.5vn or less.

The lid body 13 is formed by having a net body 13b inside and covering the periphery with a flexible elastic body 13a, so that water 14 as an acoustic coupling agent stored inside the aquarium body 11 does not leak to the outside. In addition to covering the subject 3, it also serves to protect the subject 3.

A probe 4 is installed in the water tank body 11, and a tomographic image of the subject 3 is obtained by scanning the probe 4 in the direction of the arrow.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a heat-retaining means, ie, a heater, which is placed facing the inside of the water tank body 11, and is designed to maintain the temperature of the water 14 close to body temperature.

Next, the operation of the water tank 10 having the above configuration will be explained. Aquarium body 1
A thin film 12 is applied to the water tank 1 and water 14 is fed into the tank body 11 to raise the thin film 12 above the lid 13.

The breast 3 is pressed against this raised thin film 12, and information about the living body is obtained by ultrasonic waves from the ultrasonic probe 4 inside the water tank.

6 and 7 show other examples of the embodiment of the present invention, and parts having the same functions as those shown in FIG. Omitted.

A thin film 12 having a convex cross section is attached to the opening 11a with a mat 16 via a film holding plate 8. In order to prevent the membrane 12 from being damaged, the outer surface of the membrane holding plate 18 is preferably made of a flexible elastic body.

The flange portion 12a of the thin film 12 is provided with a continuous protrusion 17 over the entire circumference of the flange.

By pressing the flange portion 12a with the mat 16 via the holding plate 18, the protrusion 17 is in close contact with the soil surface of the water tank 11 to form a seal.

This makes it possible to prevent water from leaking between the water tank body 11 and the thin film 12.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above,
It goes without saying that various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention described in detail above, by making the thin film protrude beyond the main body of the water tank, it is possible to improve the adhesion to the subject, improve the incident angle of ultrasonic waves and the depth of field of view, and prevent the occurrence of wrinkles in the fill. etc., and furthermore, a protrusion is provided on the flange part of the H membrane,
By bringing this protrusion into close contact with the aquarium body, it is possible to prevent water from leaking from the joint between the aquarium and the SS, and since no special processing is required on the top surface of the aquarium, the aquarium can be manufactured at low cost. .

Furthermore, by press-fitting this thin film to the aquarium body using a member covered with a flexible elastic material, it is possible to prevent damage to the I-film.
Therefore, it is possible to provide a water tank for a medical ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can contribute to obtaining high-quality ultrasonic images, such as having a long membrane life and easy membrane replacement.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing a conventional ice bag, Fig. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing a conventional aquarium, Fig. 3 is a schematic sectional view showing another example of a conventional aquarium, and Fig. 4 is a schematic sectional view showing a conventional aquarium. , showing the focusing and spreading of ultrasound waves'? 5 is a schematic sectional view showing an embodiment of the aquarium of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view showing the embodiment of the aquarium of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged sectional view of an example. 3...Subject, 4...Probe, 1
0...Aquarium, 11...Aquarium body; 1
2...3N membrane, 13...lid body, 14
...Water as an acoustic coupling agent, 15...
Heat retention means, 16... Mat, 17...
・Protrusion, 18...Volatilization plate. Agent Patent Attorney Masayoshi Misawa Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) A thin film is provided in the opening provided at the top of the aquarium body,
1. A water tank for a medical ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising an acoustic coupling agent and a probe therein, wherein the thin film is made to protrude beyond the main body of the water tank. (2) The medical ultrasonic diagnosis 1f according to claim 1, wherein the thin film is attached to the water tank body by being crimped with a lid covered with a flexible elastic body.
Water tank for Ji equipment. (3) providing a continuous protrusion on the flange portion of the thin film;
This protrusion is attached to the aquarium body, and the membrane holding plate allows
The water tank for a medical ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the water tank is attached to the water tank body. (4) The water tank for a medical ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the material of the thin film is silicone rubber. (5) The water tank for a medical ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the membrane holding plate is a member covered with a flexible elastic body.