CN221331245U - Wireless ultrasonic probe - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a wireless ultrasound probe, including a housing, an ultrasonic transducer, a magnetic sensor array, a mainboard, a battery, a button unit and an LED unit, wherein the magnetic sensor array has a plurality of three-axis magnetic sensors arranged in a rectangular manner, which can obtain a three-axis magnetic field vector and locate the puncture needle based on the magnetic anomaly generated by the magnetized puncture needle. The mainboard is used to control the operation, power supply and communication tasks of the wireless ultrasound probe, and can process the ultrasonic signal in real time and display high-quality ultrasonic images and puncture needle positioning results on a mobile terminal. The wireless ultrasound probe adopts a high space utilization arrangement to effectively reduce the size of the ultrasound probe. The wireless ultrasound probe has multiple functions of ultrasound imaging, wireless communication, and magnetic needle positioning. At the same time, the compact structural design makes the ultrasound probe smaller, so that the user has a better grip during use.

Description

Wireless Ultrasound Probe

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of medical devices, and in particular to a wireless ultrasound probe.

Background technique

Ultrasound imaging technology is a commonly used medical imaging technology. Traditional wired ultrasound probes need to be connected to a large terminal device that has functions such as transmitting and receiving data, signal processing, and image display. Wireless ultrasound probes integrate traditional ultrasound imaging equipment and do not need to be connected to terminal devices. They only need to communicate wirelessly with mobile terminals such as mobile phones or tablets to display ultrasound imaging results on mobile terminals. Compared with traditional ultrasound imaging equipment, wireless ultrasound probes are smaller and more convenient to use. Therefore, more doctors choose wireless ultrasound probes. In special conditions such as small clinics, hospitals in remote areas, and emergency treatment in complex environments in the wild, the advantages of wireless ultrasound probes are more obvious.

One of the important application scenarios of ultrasound probes is puncture guidance. In clinical diagnosis and treatment, patients often need to be punctured. Ultrasound imaging, as a real-time imaging technology, can display the patient's body image and puncture needle image in real time, helping doctors determine the relative position relationship between the puncture needle and the target site. However, if the puncture needle leaves the ultrasound imaging plane, the puncture needle image cannot be displayed on the ultrasound image. In order to solve this problem, optical positioning systems, electromagnetic positioning systems and other positioning systems are used to locate the puncture needle. However, the positioning devices used in the existing technology are relatively large in size, which contradicts the convenience of wireless ultrasound probes.

In summary, it is very necessary to design a highly portable and integrated wireless ultrasound probe with puncture needle positioning function.

Utility Model Content

In view of this, it is necessary to mention a wireless ultrasound probe to overcome the problem that the puncture navigation system is difficult to meet the portability requirements of the wireless ultrasound probe.

In order to solve the above technical problems, the present disclosure provides a wireless ultrasound probe, comprising:

The shell includes a handle shell and a sound head shell along its long axis, a plurality of mounting holes are provided on the handle shell, and a long strip opening is provided at the end of the sound head shell away from the handle shell;

An ultrasonic transducer, which is used to realize mutual conversion between electrical signals and ultrasonic waves, and is installed in the acoustic head housing to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves through the long strip opening;

A magnetic sensor array, the magnetic sensor array is installed in the acoustic head housing, and includes a plurality of three-axis magnetic sensors arranged in a rectangular manner, the three-axis magnetic sensor is used to measure a three-axis magnetic field vector;

A main board, which is installed in the handle housing and is used to control the operation, power supply and communication tasks of the wireless ultrasound probe;

A battery, which is used to power the wireless ultrasound probe and is installed in the handle housing;

A button unit, which is mounted on the handle housing through the mounting hole and generates a trigger signal when pressed and sends it to the mainboard;

A USB unit, which is mounted on the mainboard and connected to the data line through the mounting hole to achieve signal transmission and power transmission between the data line and the mainboard; and

LED unit, the LED unit is installed on the handle shell through the installation hole and is connected to the main board for communication, and displays corresponding patterns or texts by turning on and off different LEDs.

In some embodiments, a plurality of buckles are provided at the connection between the acoustic head shell and the handle shell, and the edges of the handle shell are fixed by the buckles so that the handle shell and the acoustic head shell are plugged and fixed.

In some embodiments, the ultrasonic transducer is a linear array ultrasonic transducer, a convex array ultrasonic transducer, or a phased array ultrasonic transducer.

In some embodiments, the magnetic sensor array includes two magnetic sensor circuit boards, which are connected by pins, and each magnetic sensor circuit board includes eight of the three-axis magnetic sensors and one communication chip connected to the mainboard.

In some embodiments, the ultrasonic transducer is located between two of the magnetic sensor circuit boards.

In some embodiments, the main board is divided into a first main board and a second main board, the first main board and the second main board are placed in parallel along the short axis direction of the shell, the length of the first main board is greater than the length of the second main board, and the second main board is installed on the side of the handle shell away from the ultrasonic transducer; on the first main board, from close to the ultrasonic transducer to away from the ultrasonic transducer, a full digital beamformer, a power module and a USB module are arranged in sequence; on the second main board, a wireless communication module and an LED control interface are arranged.

In some embodiments, the all-digital beamformer includes a high-voltage multi-way switch, an analog front end, an FPGA and its supporting circuits.

In some embodiments, the battery is a rechargeable lithium battery and is located in the same plane as the second mainboard and is disposed close to the ultrasonic transducer.

In some embodiments, the button unit includes a button housing, a button circuit and a button connector. The button housing is located on the outside of the handle housing, and the button circuit and the button connector are located inside the handle housing. The button housing will move along the pressing direction under the constraint of the button connector and trigger the button circuit to generate a signal.

In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe also includes a connecting structure arranged in the shell, which is used to connect the mainboard with the ultrasonic transducer and the magnetic sensor array into a whole; the connecting structure includes a first connecting member fixedly connected to the ultrasonic transducer and the magnetic sensor array, a second connecting member fixedly connected to the mainboard, and a communication line for realizing a communication connection between the mainboard and the ultrasonic transducer and the magnetic sensor array, and the first connecting member and the second connecting member are fixed by fasteners.

The beneficial effects of the present disclosure are:

According to the wireless ultrasound probe of the above embodiment, the magnetic sensor array can obtain the three-axis magnetic field vector, and locate the puncture needle based on the magnetic anomaly generated by the magnetized puncture needle. The main board has modules such as a full digital beam former, a power module, a USB module, and a wireless communication module, which can process the ultrasonic signal in real time and display high-quality ultrasonic images and puncture needle positioning results on the mobile terminal. The wireless ultrasound probe adopts a high space utilization arrangement to effectively reduce the volume of the ultrasound probe. The connection structure enables the ultrasound probe to still work normally when the shell is missing, which is convenient for maintenance and debugging. The wireless ultrasound probe provided by the present disclosure has multiple functions such as real-time high-quality ultrasonic imaging, mobile terminal wireless communication, puncture needle positioning, etc., which meet the rescue needs under various special conditions. At the same time, the special structural arrangement makes the wireless ultrasound probe have a smaller volume, so that it has excellent portability and grip.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG1 is an exploded view of an embodiment of a wireless ultrasound probe provided by the present disclosure;

FIG2 is a side cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a wireless ultrasound probe provided by the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a magnetic sensor array provided by the present disclosure.

Detailed ways

The present application is further described in detail below by specific embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Wherein similar elements in different embodiments adopt associated similar element numbers. In the following embodiments, many detailed descriptions are for making the present application better understood. However, those skilled in the art can easily recognize that some features can be omitted in different situations, or can be replaced by other elements, materials, methods. In some cases, some operations related to the present application are not shown or described in the specification, this is to avoid the core part of the present application being overwhelmed by too much description, and for those skilled in the art, it is not necessary to describe these related operations in detail, they can fully understand the related operations according to the description in the specification and the general technical knowledge in the art.

In addition, the features, operations or characteristics described in the specification can be combined in any appropriate manner to form various implementations. At the same time, the steps or actions in the method description can also be interchanged or adjusted in a manner that is obvious to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the various sequences in the specification and the drawings are only for the purpose of clearly describing a certain embodiment and are not meant to be a required sequence, unless otherwise specified that a certain sequence must be followed.

The wireless ultrasound probe provided by the present disclosure can be applied to both human body and various animals.

The present disclosure provides a wireless ultrasonic imaging probe. In conjunction with Figures 1 and 2, Figure 1 is a disassembled view of an embodiment of the wireless ultrasonic probe provided by the present disclosure, and Figure 2 is a side sectional view of an embodiment of the wireless ultrasonic probe provided by the present disclosure, including a housing 100, an ultrasonic transducer 200, a magnetic sensor array 300, a connecting structure 400, a mainboard 500, a battery 600, a button unit 700, a USB unit 800 and an LED unit 900.

The housing 100 has a mounting cavity, which has enough space for mounting all other components of the wireless ultrasonic probe of this embodiment. The housing 100 is divided into two parts along its long axis: a handle housing 110 and a sound head housing 120. The connection between the two parts is plug-in. There are multiple buckles at the connection of the sound head housing 120, which can be tightly fixed with the connection of the handle housing 110. There is no gap between the connection part of the handle housing 110 and the sound head housing 120, so that the ultrasonic probe has excellent sealing. The outside of the handle housing 110 has a hand-held area. The user can hold the hand-held area with his hand to control the movement and steering of the ultrasonic probe. Since the handle housing 110 is a single part, the surface is smooth and there is no connection gap, which improves the user's grip feel. There are mounting holes at three positions on the handle housing 110, at the end away from the sound head housing 120, at the front away from the sound head housing 120, and at the center of the front, which are used to install the USB unit 800, the LED unit 900 and the button unit 700 respectively. The acoustic head shell 120 has a long strip opening at the end away from the handle shell 110, i.e., the head of the acoustic head shell 120, so that the ultrasonic transducer 200 can directly contact the scanning object. The side of the acoustic head shell 120 has a convex feature 121 to provide directional information of the ultrasonic image and help the user understand the relative position relationship between the puncture needle and the ultrasonic image.

The ultrasonic transducer 200 uses a commercially available super-energy transducer, including structures such as a lens, a matching layer, a piezoelectric chip, and a backing material, which can convert electrical signals into ultrasonic waves and transmit them in a specified direction, and convert the ultrasonic waves received and transmitted back into electrical signals. In one embodiment provided in the application, a linear array ultrasonic transducer is used. In addition, a convex array ultrasonic transducer or a phased array ultrasonic transducer can also be used. When ultrasonic imaging of a target is performed, the lens portion of the ultrasonic transducer 200 directly contacts the target surface through the long strip opening at the head of the sound head housing 120, so that the ultrasonic transducer 200 transmits ultrasonic waves into the target and receives ultrasonic waves reflected back from the target.

The magnetic sensor array 300 is used to obtain the magnetic field vector, and the position information of the puncture needle can be calculated according to the magnetic anomaly generated by the magnetized puncture needle (the specific calculation process adopts the calculation method known in the art and does not belong to the protection scope of this application). In conjunction with Figure 3, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an embodiment of the publicly provided magnetic sensor array, and the magnetic sensor array 300 includes two parallel magnetic sensor circuit boards 310, which are connected by pins 320, and the relative positions of the two magnetic sensor circuit boards 310 are fixed and the communication connection between them is realized at the same time, and there is a space between the two magnetic sensor circuit boards 310 for placing and fixing the ultrasonic transducer 200. Specifically, the ultrasonic transducer 200 is placed in the space formed between the two magnetic sensor circuit boards 310, and the two magnetic sensor circuit boards 310 are clamped and fixed to the ultrasonic transducer 200 by tightening the pins 320, thereby realizing the assembly of the ultrasonic transducer 200 and the two magnetic sensor circuit boards 310. The ultrasonic transducer 200 and the magnetic sensor array 300 are both installed in the mounting cavity in the acoustic head housing 102, so as to ensure that the puncture needle is located within the sensing range of the magnetic sensor array 300 during the puncture process. On the side of each magnetic sensor circuit board 310 away from the ultrasonic transducer 200, there are 8 three-axis magnetic sensors 311 and 1 communication chip 312. Each three-axis magnetic sensor 311 can obtain a three-axis magnetic sensor vector. In one embodiment of the present application, a magnetic impedance magnetic sensor is used. The communication chip 312 is used to control the communication between the three-axis magnetic sensor 311 and the main board 500. On the magnetic sensor circuit board 310, the 8 three-axis magnetic sensors 311 are arranged in a rectangular manner. This arrangement can effectively improve the space utilization rate. A larger number of magnetic sensors 311 can be placed around the ultrasonic transducer 200 while ensuring that there is a sufficient distance between adjacent magnetic sensors 311, so that higher accuracy is obtained in the subsequent calculation of magnetic field characteristics, which is conducive to improving the accuracy of positioning the puncture needle.

The connection structure 400 connects and fixes the ultrasonic transducer 200, the magnetic sensor array 300 and the main board 500, and the connection structure 400 includes a first connection member 410, a second connection member 420 and a communication line 430. The first connection member 410 is connected and fixed to the ultrasonic transducer 200 and the magnetic sensor array 300, and the first connection member 410 is fixed to the end of the magnetic sensor array 300 facing the main board 500; the second connection member 420 is fixedly connected to the end of the main board 500 facing the magnetic sensor array 300, and the first connection member 410 and the second connection member 420 are connected by bolts; the communication line 430 is responsible for the communication connection between the main board 500 and the ultrasonic transducer 200 and the magnetic sensor array 300, and the communication line 430 should have sufficient bandwidth to meet the transmission requirements of the control signal and ultrasonic electrical signal generated by the main board 500. The connection structure 400 enables the ultrasonic transducer 200 , the magnetic sensor array 300 and the main board 500 of the ultrasonic probe to still work normally without the housing 100 , thereby facilitating maintenance and debugging.

The main board 500 is located in the mounting cavity in the handle housing 110. The main board 500 is divided into a first main board 510 and a second main board 520. The first main board 510 and the second main board 520 are placed in parallel along the short axis direction of the housing 100. The length of the first main board 510 is about twice the length of the second main board 520. The second main board 520 is installed in the handle housing 110 at the end away from the ultrasonic transducer 200. On the first main board 510, from the direction close to the ultrasonic transducer 200 to the direction away from the ultrasonic transducer 200, a full digital beam former, a power module and a USB module are arranged in sequence; wherein the full digital beam former includes a high-voltage multi-way switch, an analog front end, an FPGA and its supporting circuits to realize 32-channel or 62-channel ultrasonic signal processing; the power module includes a power chip and its supporting circuits to supply power to other circuit modules; the USB module includes a USB chip and its supporting circuits to realize USB communication and power transmission. On the second mainboard 520, there are arranged a wireless communication module and an LED control interface; the wireless communication module includes a Wifi chip and its supporting circuits to achieve wireless communication connection with an external mobile terminal; the LED control interface is used to achieve control of the LED unit 900. This circuit arrangement can effectively improve the space utilization rate and reduce the size of the ultrasound probe. At the same time, the use of a variety of high-speed integrated chips (all commercially available products) to form a digital signal circuit can improve the signal transmission efficiency, thereby improving the quality of ultrasound imaging and achieving real-time display of ultrasound images and puncture needle positioning results on the mobile terminal.

The battery 600 is responsible for providing power for the operation of various components within the wireless ultrasound probe. In one embodiment of the present application, a rechargeable lithium battery is used. The battery 600 is located in the mounting cavity within the handle housing 110 , is fixedly connected to the first main board 510 , is located in the same plane as the second main board 520 , and is close to the ultrasonic transducer 200 .

The button unit 700 is installed at the front center of the grip housing 110 for user interaction. The user operates the button in different ways to control the wireless ultrasound probe to complete different tasks, such as power on and off. The button unit 700 includes three parts: a button housing 710, a button circuit 720, and a button connector 730. The button housing 710 is located outside the grip housing 110, and the button circuit 720 and the button connector 730 are fixed in the mounting cavity inside the grip housing 110. The outside of the button housing 710 is a pressing area, and the user can press the outside of the button housing 710. The central area inside the button housing 710 has a convex portion, which contacts the key element 721 of the button circuit 720 through the mounting hole on the grip housing 110. When the button housing 710 is pressed, the button housing 710 moves in the pressing direction, so that the key element 721 on the button circuit 720 is triggered, and the button circuit 720 generates a trigger signal and sends it to the power module of the first mainboard 510. The button connector 730 is bolted to fix the button circuit 720 inside the handle shell 110. The button shell 710 is not completely fixed, and can move a small distance along the normal direction of the handle shell 110 area where it is located. The direction is the same as the pressing direction, and the distance is the same as the trigger distance of the key element 721. The movement direction constraint of the button shell 710 is achieved through the button connector 730. There are two cylindrical pairs connected in the same direction but different positions between the button shell 710 and the button connector 730, so that the button shell 710 can only move in a straight line.

The USB unit 800 provides a USB interface, so that the wireless ultrasound probe can be connected to a data cable from the outside for data transmission or charging. The USB unit 800 is installed in the end of the handle housing 110 away from the sound head housing 120, including a USB port 810 and a USB connector 820. The USB port 810 is controlled by the USB module in the second mainboard 520, including a USB interface and other circuit components. The USB interface 810 can be connected to the data cable through the mounting hole of the handle housing 110 to realize information communication between the data cable and the second mainboard 520. In one embodiment of the present application, a USB Type-C interface is used; the USB connector 820 connects and fixes the USB port 810 to the first mainboard 510.

The LED unit 900 is fixedly mounted on the outside of the grip housing 110, and is connected to the LED control interface in the second main board 520 through the mounting hole of the grip housing 110 to receive the control signal sent by the second main board 520. The LED unit 900 includes a plurality of LEDs of different colors, and the on and off states of the LEDs are controlled to make the LED unit 900 display corresponding patterns or texts, providing feedback information to the user, so that the user can judge the state of the ultrasound probe.

The disclosure above provides many different embodiments or examples to realize the different structures of the present application. In order to simplify the disclosure of the present application, the parts and settings of specific examples are described above. Of course, they are only examples, and the purpose is not to limit the present application. In addition, the present application can repeat reference numerals and/or reference letters in different examples, and this repetition is for the purpose of simplification and clarity, which itself does not indicate the relationship between the various embodiments and/or settings discussed. In addition, the various specific processes and material examples provided by the present application, but those of ordinary skill in the art can be aware of the application of other processes and/or the use of other materials.

The wireless ultrasound probe can accurately locate the magnetized puncture needle using the magnetic sensor array, and can send image data and positioning data to the mobile terminal using the wireless communication module in the mainboard to achieve real-time navigation display. The USB port allows wired communication methods to be used, providing a more stable data transmission method. The wireless ultrasound probe has good portability and the function of locating the puncture needle. At the same time, the compact structural layout does not significantly increase the size of the ultrasound probe, and the grip portion provides a gripping area, so that users have a better grip when using the wireless ultrasound probe.

In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "illustrative embodiments", "examples", "specific examples", or "some examples" means that the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiments or examples are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. In this specification, the schematic representation of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner.

Claims (10)

1. A wireless ultrasound probe, comprising:

The sound head comprises a shell, wherein the shell comprises a handle shell and a sound head shell along the long axis direction of the shell, a plurality of mounting holes are formed in the handle shell, and a strip opening is formed in the end part, far away from the handle shell, of the sound head shell;

The ultrasonic transducer is used for realizing the mutual conversion of electric signals and ultrasonic waves, is arranged in the sound head shell and transmits and receives the ultrasonic waves through the strip opening;

A magnetic sensor array mounted within the sound head housing, comprising a plurality of tri-axial magnetic sensors arranged in a rectangular manner for measuring tri-axial magnetic field vectors;

The main board is arranged in the grip shell and used for controlling the operation, power supply and communication tasks of the wireless ultrasonic probe;

the battery is used for supplying power to the wireless ultrasonic probe and is arranged in the handle shell;

The button unit is arranged on the handle shell through the mounting hole, and generates a trigger signal to be sent to the main board after being pressed;

The USB unit is arranged on the main board and is connected with the data line through the mounting hole, so that signal transmission and power supply transmission between the data line and the main board are realized; and

The LED unit is arranged on the handle shell through the mounting hole, is in communication connection with the main board, and displays corresponding patterns or characters through the on and off of different LEDs.

2. The wireless ultrasonic probe of claim 1, wherein a plurality of buckles are arranged at the connection part of the sound head shell and the handle shell, and the edges of the handle shell are fixed through the buckles, so that the handle shell and the sound head shell are fixed in a plugging manner.

3. The wireless ultrasound probe of claim 1, wherein the ultrasound transducer is a linear array ultrasound transducer, a convex array ultrasound transducer, or a phased array ultrasound transducer.

4. The wireless ultrasound probe of claim 1, wherein the magnetic sensor array comprises 2 magnetic sensor circuit boards, the 2 magnetic sensor circuit boards are connected by pins, and each magnetic sensor circuit board comprises 8 triaxial magnetic sensors and 1 communication chip connected with the main board.

5. The wireless ultrasound probe of claim 4, wherein the ultrasound transducer is located between 2 of the magnetic sensor circuit boards.

6. The wireless ultrasonic probe of claim 1, wherein the main board is divided into a first main board and a second main board, the first main board and the second main board are placed in parallel along the short axis direction of the housing, the length of the first main board is longer than that of the second main board, and the second main board is arranged on one side of the grip housing far from the ultrasonic transducer; on the first main board, from the direction close to the ultrasonic transducer to the direction far away from the ultrasonic transducer, a full digital beam forming device, a power supply module and a USB module are sequentially arranged; and the second main board is provided with a wireless communication module and an LED control interface.

7. The wireless ultrasound probe of claim 6, wherein the all-digital beamformer comprises a high voltage multi-way switch, an analog front end, an FPGA and its associated circuitry.

8. The wireless ultrasound probe of claim 6, wherein the battery is a rechargeable lithium battery and is co-planar with the second motherboard and disposed proximate the ultrasound transducer.

9. The wireless ultrasonic probe of claim 1, wherein the button unit comprises a button housing, a button circuit, and a button connector, the button housing being located outside of the grip housing, the button circuit and the button connector being located within the grip housing, the button housing being movable in a pressing direction under the constraint of the button connector and triggering the button circuit to generate a signal.

10. The wireless ultrasound probe of any of claims 1-9, further comprising a connection structure disposed within the housing for connecting the motherboard integrally with the ultrasound transducer and the magnetic sensor array; the connecting structure comprises a first connecting piece fixedly connected with the ultrasonic transducer and the magnetic sensor array, a second connecting piece fixedly connected with the main board, and a communication line for realizing communication connection between the main board and the ultrasonic transducer and between the magnetic sensor array, wherein the first connecting piece and the second connecting piece are fixed through a fastener.