JP4746076B2 - Intracavity ultrasound probe - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an intrabody cavity ultrasonic probe that is inserted into a body cavity of a subject and scans an ultrasound beam.

  The body cavity ultrasound probe is inserted into the human body through the mouth or anus of the human body and observed from inside the esophageal wall, intestinal wall, and the like. For this reason, various contrivances have been made for the curved portion that can be freely bent along the complicated shape of a tubular organ such as the intestine.

  First, as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2790253 (first conventional method), an ultrasonic transducer group in which a plurality of transducers performing ultrasonic transmission and reception are arranged in an array, and the ultrasonic transducer group at one end The electrode scanning lead for extracting a signal from each of the ultrasonic transducers is formed, and the electronic scanning includes a flexible printed circuit board formed with a predetermined angle with respect to the longitudinal direction of the transducer with respect to the ultrasonic transducer group Type ultrasonic probe.

  In the printed circuit board, a portion where the ultrasonic transducer group is disposed is formed in a rectangular shape, and an electrode lead portion provided to be connected to the rectangular portion has a surface electrode pattern of the ultrasonic transducer group. The printed circuit is formed at an angle with respect to the longitudinal direction. At the same time, the outer shape of the printed circuit is cut out at an angle similar to the pattern. The circuit board portion on which the ultrasonic transducer group is disposed is provided with adhesive portions at both ends thereof, and the adhesive portion is provided at one end of the circuit board portion on which the electrode pattern is formed. Furthermore, when the printed circuit is formed in a cylindrical shape and the respective adhesive portions are bonded with an adhesive, the electrode pattern is formed in a spiral shape, and the gap that can be formed in the bonded portion of the printed circuit board is also formed in a spiral shape. With such a configuration, the printed circuit board can be bent without being folded.

  In the printed circuit board, the ultrasonic transducer group is divided into blocks, and the electrode lead-out portion of the printed circuit board is led in the directions of θ, −θ, θ, and −θ for each block. Accordingly, when the ultrasonic transducer group and the printed circuit board are formed in a cylindrical shape, the printed circuit board is configured like a mesh. The processing of the end portion for connecting the lead wire of the printed circuit board is slightly shifted so that the position of the land portion to which the lead wire is attached when the printed circuit board is knitted does not overlap the land portion of the other printed circuit board. In addition, an adhesive part for adhering each printed circuit board is provided and fixed to the end part to which the lead wire is connected. In this way, it is possible to further bend the printed circuit board (one sheet that is not divided) by configuring the mesh.

  Next, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-13408 (second conventional method), an ultrasonic sensor is provided on the tip side of the bendable cylinder, and the flexible print circuit (FPC) The signal is transmitted to the cable on the end side. The FPC is provided with a plurality of slits along the length direction and rounded in the width direction. The surrounding area is surrounded by a coil slip ring to which the GND of the ultrasonic sensor is connected.

Japanese Patent No. 2790253 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-13408

  However, in the first conventional method, the printed circuit board is in the form of a single plate, or there is a step of bonding the printed circuit boards together even in the above prior art block division example, so printing is substantially performed. The circuit board is a single plate.

  Since the printed circuit board is a single plate in this way, the bending range of the body cavity probe is limited by the rigidity of the printed circuit board when inserted into the body cavity of the subject. In some cases, the intracavity probe cannot be sufficiently bent along a complicated curved tubular organ, and a part of the intracavitary ultrasound probe may be placed on the wall of the tubular organ. It was not considered that there was a risk of pain to the subject such as contact.

  Further, in the second conventional method, the FPC is provided with a plurality of slits along the length direction, which are surrounded by a coil spring. The probe could not satisfy the need to place the FPC in the space and to improve the bendability of the bend as long as the coil spring was placed.

  Furthermore, in the field of ultrasound, not only diagnosis but also, for example, irradiation of high-intensity ultrasound to cauterize and treat cancer cells is performed, and an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus adopting the present invention and an electronic device such as the treatment apparatus Are used together. At that time, it is required to consider noise countermeasures that enter the ultrasonic probe from the electronic device.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an intra-body-cavity ultrasonic probe that can cope with the reduction in diameter and the number of channels and that has improved bending properties of a bending portion.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an intracavity ultrasonic probe in consideration of noise countermeasures.

  The above-described object is to provide a transducer unit in which a plurality of transducer elements are arranged and transmit / receive ultrasonic waves, to each transducer element channel, to supply a transmission signal to the transducer element, and from the transducer element A body cavity ultrasonic probe comprising a flexible substrate printed with a signal line for extracting a received signal, wherein the flexible substrate forms at least two channel blocks obtained by dividing the plurality of channels, and each channel The block is spirally wound, and the wound channel block is achieved by an intracavity ultrasonic probe characterized by being configured to bend independently.

  Further, the other object is that at least one of the shielding material provided on each of the two or more formed flexible substrates or the shielding material provided so as to cover the individual flexible substrates together is a shielding material. This is achieved by an intracavitary ultrasound probe characterized by being provided as:

  The present invention has an effect of providing an intra-body-cavity ultrasonic probe that can cope with the reduction in diameter and the number of channels and that has improved bending properties of the bending portion.

  In addition, there is an effect of providing an intracavity ultrasonic probe in consideration of noise countermeasures.

  The body cavity ultrasonic probe of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, an intracavity ultrasonic probe called a radial shape is taken as an example. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a connection relationship between a transducer part, a flexible substrate, and a cable of a radial body cavity ultrasonic probe.

  The transducer unit 1 is formed by arranging transducer elements in a plurality of channels. One end of the flexible substrate 2 is connected to each channel of the transducer element, and the other end is provided with a cable connecting portion 5 so that it can be connected to a cable for transmitting and receiving signal lines. The flexible substrate 2 is provided with a signal pattern 4 so that signals can be transmitted and received between the transducer element of the transducer unit 1 and the cable connection unit 5, and the signal patterns 4 are electrically insulated from each other. In addition, the flexible substrate 2 is not formed by a single substrate, but is formed by dividing the cut portion 3 into a portion of all the channels that are made into blocks. In addition, it is preferable to arrange the ground so as to sandwich the signal pattern 4 because crosstalk during signal transmission can be prevented.

  In addition, each of the divided flexible substrates 2 forms an angle θ with the vibrator portion 1 so that each of the flexible substrates 2 can be spirally wound.

  Next, FIG. 1 is a view showing a state in which the flexible substrate of the intracavity ultrasonic probe of the present invention is spirally wound.

  The transducer unit 1 is rounded and fixed as shown. In addition to bonding, a mold or the like can be fitted. The flexible substrate 2 is spirally wound so as to be separated by the inter-substrate gap g. Here, the gap g is determined by how much the cylinder covering the flexible substrate 2 is bent. Therefore, the principle will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a principle diagram for calculating the gap g. When the radius when the cylinder is bent into a circular arc is R, the thickness of the cylinder is d, and the width per flexible substrate is a, the gap g is expressed by the following equation (1).

g = a · d / R Formula (1)
In this way, the flexible substrate 2 with a determined gap is arranged on a cylinder called a flexible tube made of synthetic resin, synthetic rubber, or the like according to the number of divisions as shown in the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. . FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between a flexible tube that accommodates a flexible substrate or the like and a plurality of flexible substrates. Fig. 4 (a) is an example in which the flexible substrate is divided into two and each is wound spirally, Fig. 4 (b) is an example of three divisions, Fig. 4 (c) is an example of four divisions, Fig. 4 (d) is An example of five divisions is shown. 6 divisions or more should be the closest arrangement.

  Next, how the flexible substrate is curved will be described. FIG. 5 is a view showing a mode from the drawing of the flexible substrate to the bending. The flexible substrate is contracted as shown in FIG. 5 (a) when it is not necessary to bend. When it becomes necessary to bend, since it has a structure that expands as shown in FIG. 5 (b), it can be bent as shown in FIG. 5 (c).

  In addition to the radial type, the intracavity ultrasonic probe includes a convex type, a transesophageal type, and an abdominal type, and examples of their application will be given.

  6 is a diagram showing an example of application of the present invention to a convex ultrasound probe, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of application of the present invention to a transesophageal ultrasound probe, and FIG. 8 is an abdominal ultrasound. It is a figure which shows the example of application of this invention to a probe. The radial shape has a field of view in the cross-sectional direction of the inner surface of the tubular organ, whereas the convex shape has a rectangular field of the inner wall. Many transesophageal tracts have, for example, a circular field or a polygonal field as shown. In addition, the abdominal cavity has the same rectangular field as the convex shape, but this is not inserted into the subject along the tubular organ, but is inserted through a hole in the body surface of the subject. Since the portion gripped by the person is difficult to handle in the flexible tube 8, it is a hard portion 12.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 9 (a), each flexible substrate may be covered with a resin tube 13 in order to cope with bending stress. A cross-sectional view of the cylinder covered with the resin tube 13 is arranged as shown in FIG. 9 (b). In FIG. 9 (b), an example of five divisions is given.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the flexible substrate is composed of a two-layer printed circuit board, in which one signal line is arranged on one layer and a GND layer 14 is arranged on the entire surface of one layer on the other layer. . As a result, since the signal line pattern can be integrated in the signal line layer, it is effective in increasing the number of channels and also in eliminating crosstalk. A cross-sectional view of a cylinder on which two layers of flexible substrates are arranged is arranged as shown in FIG. 10 (b). In FIG. 10 (b), an example of five divisions is given.

  According to the embodiment described above, the limitation of the bendable range in which the flexible substrate (printed circuit board) is a single plate is released, and the degree of bending can be appropriately secured, and the coil spring is not disposed. Therefore, it is possible to cope with a smaller diameter and a larger number of channels.

  In addition, the flexible substrate may be divided evenly, although the channels may be divided equally.

  In addition, since the gap is set to an appropriate value, disconnection of the signal line in the flexible substrate is difficult to occur.

  Further, it goes without saying that combinations of the embodiments, such as the flexible substrate being covered with a resin tube or the flexible substrate being formed by a multilayer pattern of two or more layers, are also applied to the present invention.

  Next, an embodiment of a shield measure will be described.

  11 and 12 show examples of structures in which the FPC is covered with a shield material.

  First, as shown in FIG. 11, the vibrator unit 1 is formed into a cylindrical shape, and the FPC 2 is further processed into a spiral shape. Each FPC 2 is insulated from each other by a resin tube 13. A shield material 20 such as a conductive tape is attached to the exterior of the resin tube 13. As the shield material, a conductive spiral tube or cross tube having excellent flexibility and a high shielding effect is used.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 12, the set of FPCs assembled in FIG. For the shield material 21 that covers the outside of the cable, the same material as the shield material 20 may be used, or an offset shield or the like used in a coaxial cable or the like may be used. Since both the shield material 20 and the shield material 21 are conductive materials, they are electrically connected by arranging them so as to contact each other. By connecting the shield material 20 and the shield material 21, the shield property is further improved.

  Moreover, you may vapor-deposit metal powder of gold | metal | money, silver, and copper on the resin-made tube surfaces which are protecting the helical flexible board | substrate, without using a shielding material.

  Although not described in detail, it can be applied to all intracavitary ultrasound probes including the convex ultrasound probe described in FIG. 6 and the transesophageal ultrasound probe described in FIG. Needless to say.

  In this way, when a signal is extracted from the transducer to the ultrasonic probe, it has a structure in which the spiral flexible substrate is shielded using a material having a shielding effect, so that it can be used simultaneously with other electronic devices and medical devices. When used, it is possible to provide a clear ultrasonic image because electromagnetic noise generated by these devices, which has an influence on the ultrasonic image, can be blocked.

The figure which shows the state which wound the flexible substrate of the ultrasonic probe in a body cavity of this invention helically. The figure which shows the connection relation of the vibrator | oscillator part of the ultrasonic probe in a body cavity of this invention, a flexible substrate, and a cable. The figure which shows the aspect of a curve of the probe in a flexible body cavity which accommodates a flexible substrate. The figure which shows the arrangement | positioning relationship of the flexible tube which accommodates a flexible substrate etc., and a plurality of flexible substrate. The figure which shows the aspect from drawer | drawing-out of a flexible substrate to a curve. The figure which shows the example of application of this invention to a convex-shaped ultrasonic probe. The figure which shows the example of application of this invention to the transesophageal ultrasonic probe. The figure which shows the example of application of this invention to the ultrasound probe for abdominal cavity. The figure which shows an aspect when a flexible substrate is covered with the resin-made tubes. The figure which shows an aspect when a flexible substrate is used as a 2 layer board | substrate. The figure which shows the example which covered the shielding material to each flexible substrate. FIG. 12 is a view showing an example in which a shield material and a flexible substrate are electrically connected to a flexible tube containing FIG. 11;

Explanation of symbols

  1 Transducer, 2 Flexible substrate (FPC), 5 Cable connection, 20, 21 Shield material

Claims (5)

A transducer unit in which a plurality of transducer elements are arranged to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves, and a transmission signal connected to each channel of these transducer elements and a reception signal from the transducer element are taken out An ultrasonic probe in a body cavity comprising a flexible substrate printed with a signal line, wherein the flexible substrate forms at least two channel blocks obtained by dividing the plurality of channels, and each channel block is independent. An ultrasonic probe in a body cavity, wherein the wound channel block is configured to be curved independently. 2. The intra-body-cavity ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein each of the channel blocks has a predetermined interval between a connection point with the transducer element and a point at which winding starts .   The intra-body-cavity ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein each of the divided flexible substrates is spirally wound so as to be spaced apart with a predetermined inter-substrate gap. Wherein each of the divided flexible substrate, celiac ultrasonic probe according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it is housed in a flexible tube. The shield material provided on each of the two or more formed flexible substrates, or at least one of the shield materials provided so as to cover the individual flexible substrates in a collective state is provided as a shield material, The intra-body-cavity ultrasonic probe according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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