JPH05245142A - Ultrasonic probe for blood flow measurement - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the ultrasonic probe for blood flow measurement of an intra-body indwelling type which can be easily detached from a blood vessel by pulling a cable. CONSTITUTION:The ultrasonic probe for blood flow measurement ms constituted of a blood vessel holder 32, the cable 34 and a vibrator 35. Ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received by the vibrator 35. The blood vessel holder 32 is constituted of a soft material and consists of a base 36 and an arm group 38 consisting of plural arms 38a. Pulling-off force is applied to a coupling end 34a when the cable 34 is pulled, by which the respective arms 38a are gradually removed from the blood vessel 30.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a blood flow measuring ultrasonic probe for measuring the flow velocity and flow rate of blood flow in a blood vessel during and after surgery.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for obtaining a tomographic image and a blood flow image of a living body by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves is known. In recent years, an ultrasonic probe is directly attached to a blood vessel to detect blood flow. An ultrasonic probe for measuring blood flow is used.

This ultrasonic probe for blood flow measurement is attached to a blood vessel exposed to the outside by an incision, for example, during blood vessel surgery of the heart to determine whether or not the blood flow is normal. Is used. It is also used when examining whether the artificial blood vessel is functioning normally.

FIG. 4 shows three examples (A), (B) and (C) of a conventional ultrasonic probe for blood flow measurement.

In the example shown in (A), the ultrasonic probe 1
0 itself has a hook function, and specifically, the probe is attached to the blood vessel 12 by hooking the blood vessel 12 on the tip of the ultrasonic probe 10 where the ultrasonic probe 10 is folded back. In this state, ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received by the ultrasonic transducer 14, and the blood flow velocity, the blood flow rate, etc. are measured using the so-called ultrasonic Doppler method.

In the example shown in (B), two needles 18 extending forward are provided at the tip of the ultrasonic probe 16.
The needle 18 is attached to the blood vessel wall (specifically, the fat layer that wraps the blood vessel).
The ultrasonic probe is attached to the blood vessel.

In the example shown in (C), the ultrasonic probe 20 is used.
Are fixed to the blood vessel 12 by an adhesive 22.

[0008]

However, in recent years, there has been a demand for continuous blood flow measurement of blood vessels in the body after surgery,
Therefore, a so-called indwelling ultrasonic probe for blood flow measurement has been demanded. That is, during operation, a blood flow measuring ultrasonic probe is attached to a blood vessel, suturing is performed with the cable of the ultrasonic probe outside the body, and then ultrasonic diagnosis is continued.

In addition to the above demands, there is a demand for an ultrasonic probe capable of taking out the ultrasonic probe placed inside the body by pulling the cable outside the body after use. That is, according to such an indwelling ultrasonic probe, the ultrasonic probe can be taken out of the body very easily by pulling the cable without reopening the sewn incision wound. It should be noted that the hole through which the cable was passed can be completely closed with a small amount of suture later.

However, in spite of the demand for the ultrasonic probe of the type to be placed in the body as described above, the conventional ultrasonic probe for blood flow measurement shown in FIG. There is a problem that the above-mentioned request cannot be met because the acoustic probe cannot be easily taken out of the body.
That is, in the example shown in (A), since the ultrasonic probe itself has a hook shape, if the cable is pulled inevitably, the blood vessel 12 will be greatly damaged, and
In the example shown in (B), the blood vessel itself is likely to be damaged, and in the example shown in (C), the blood vessel may be damaged as described above.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide an ultrasonic probe for blood flow measurement which can be placed in the body, and to pull a cable after use. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic probe for blood flow measurement that can be taken out of the body without damaging the blood vessel.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a blood flow measuring ultrasonic probe which is attached to a blood vessel in a living body and measures blood flow. A blood vessel holder that is detachably attached to the blood vessel holder, an ultrasonic transducer that is provided in the blood vessel holder to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves, and a flexible probe cable that has a signal line inside and one end of which is connected to the blood vessel holder, The blood vessel holder includes a holder base extending in the blood vessel axial direction from a connection point of the probe cable, and a plurality of holders extending from the holder base to the opposite side of the blood vessel along the outer peripheral surface of the blood vessel in one direction and the other direction. It is characterized by comprising an arm and.

[0013]

According to the above construction, the blood vessel holder consisting of the holder base and the plurality of holder arms is attached to the blood vessel in the living body, and in that state, blood flow can be measured by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves of the ultrasonic transducer. Executed. The other end of the probe cable is connected to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

When the other end of the probe cable is pulled out to the outside and the other end is pulled, a pulling force is applied to the connecting point of the probe cable, and as a result, the holder arm is sequentially disengaged from the blood vessel. Therefore,
By continuing to pull the other end of the probe cable as it is, the ultrasonic probe can be easily removed from the blood vessel and can be further taken out of the body.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an indwelling ultrasonic probe for blood flow measurement according to the present invention.

(A) is a view from above, and (B) is a view from below.

The ultrasonic probe of this embodiment is composed of a blood vessel holder 32 detachably attached to a blood vessel, a cable 34, and a transducer 35, which will be described in detail below. The blood vessel holder 32 includes a base 36 and left and right rib-shaped arm groups 38. The base 36 extends from the coupling end 34a of the cable 34 along the axial direction of the blood vessel 30, and each arm 38a extends from the base 36 along the extravascular circumference to the opposite side of the blood vessel in one direction and the other direction. There is. In this embodiment, six arms 38a are provided on each side, that is, a total of 12 arms 38a are provided.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the arm group 38 has a length such that the arms 38a on both sides facing each other when the blood vessel holder 32 is attached to the blood vessel 30 do not completely go around the blood vessel. It is desirable to set the tip so that it opens slightly. That is, as described later, the blood vessel holder 32 can be easily detached from the blood vessel 30 by pulling the cable 34. In this embodiment, the blood vessel holder 32 is made of a flexible material such as fluororesin that does not adversely affect the living body. As described above, the blood vessel holder 32
Has a group of rib-like arms 38, which allows the transducer 35 to come into close contact with the blood vessel 30 via a standoff material arranged in the opening of the base 36.

The oscillator 35 transmits ultrasonic waves into the blood vessel 30 and receives a reflected wave reflected by blood or the like in the blood vessel, and is provided inside the cable 34 and is not shown. It is electrically connected to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body by a signal line. The transducer 35 of this embodiment is positioned so as to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves at an incident angle of 45 degrees with respect to the blood flow. That is, in order to measure the blood flow using the ultrasonic Doppler method, the direction of the ultrasonic beam is set to a certain angle with respect to the blood flow direction.

Although not shown, an opening is formed below the vibrator 35 of the base 36, and a rubber stand-off member for transmitting the ultrasonic beam is arranged in the opening. That is, one surface of the standoff material is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the blood vessel 30, and the other surface is joined to the front surface of the ultrasonic transducer 35.

Next, using the ultrasonic probe of this embodiment,
A specific operation example in the case of measuring blood flow will be described.

In FIG. 2A, the left and right arm groups 38 are closed to the inside when the blood vessel holder 32 is not attached to the blood vessel, and it is difficult to attach the blood vessel holder 32 to the blood vessel in this state. Therefore, in the ultrasonic probe of this embodiment, a mounting spacer 40 is prepared as an accessory. The spacer 40 is a thin, semi-cylindrical, boat-bottomed plate having the outer diameter of the blood vessel as its inner diameter, and has a softness that does not damage the blood vessel and the left and right arm groups 3
It has enough rigidity to open 8. Specifically, it is made of, for example, a hard fluororesin.
As shown in (A), the spacer 40 has a wide central portion, narrowed ends, and slightly curved outward.

Therefore, as shown in (A), the spacer 40 is inserted between the left and right arm groups 38, and the spacer 40 is inserted as shown in (B), and the blood vessel holder 32 is applied to the blood vessel 30. For example, the blood vessel holder 32 can be easily attached to the blood vessel 30. As shown in (B),
After mounting, the spacer 40 is pulled out from the end, and the blood vessel holder 32 is completely mounted on the blood vessel 30 as shown in (C).

In the state shown in (C), the other end of the cable 34 is exposed outside the body and is connected to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus via a relay cable. Therefore, the ultrasonic wave is measured by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves by the transducer 35 in the state shown in (C). It should be noted that such measurement is performed during or after surgery, and when such measurement is performed after surgery, it is performed with the incision wound sutured while leaving the ultrasonic probe inside the body.

When the ultrasonic probe left in the body is taken out of the body with only the other end of the cable 34 being out of the body, the other end of the cable 34 is pulled to As shown in (), the blood vessel holder 32 can be easily detached from the blood vessel 30, and if it is further pulled out as it is, the ultrasonic probe can be taken out of the body. Here, in the ultrasonic probe of the present embodiment, the base 36 is the cable 3
Since it extends from the connection point of 4 along the blood vessel axial direction,
When the cable 34 is pulled out, the blood vessel holder 32 is gradually disengaged from the connecting point, and the blood vessel 30 is prevented from being damaged.

By the way, when the cable is taken out of the body while the ultrasonic probe is left inside the body, the cable is twisted due to the routing of the cable and the movement of the living body, and the blood vessel holder 32 is disengaged from the blood vessel in the body. There is a risk. Therefore, in this embodiment, the connecting mechanism shown in FIG. 3 is provided in the middle of the cable. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the cable 34 is separated into one cable 34-1 and the other cable 34-2, and one cable 3
4-1 and the other cable 34-2 are provided with cylindrical hooks 50-1 and 50-2 having an L-shaped cross section with an open center. And this hook 50-
A bobbin-shaped connecting body 54 of a sewing machine is provided so as to be rotatable with respect to both of the connecting bodies 54, 50-2.
Various signal lines are passed through the openings formed in the axial direction of.

Therefore, according to the coupling mechanism shown in FIG. 3, even if one cable 34-1 rotates, the rotation is not transmitted to the other cable 34-2, and the above-mentioned detachment of the blood vessel holder 32, etc. Is prevented. Note that the signal lines in the cable 34 are not shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the hole through which the signal line passes is formed in the center of the connector 54, but the signal may be transmitted by electromagnetic coupling, for example. The cable 34 is manufactured on the assumption that it is pulled. Therefore, it is preferable that the signal line and the outer cover be made of a material or structure that is strong against pulling, or that the signal line and the outer cover be ordinary ones and that a wire that is strong against pulling be used as a core.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to configure an indwelling ultrasonic probe that can prevent damage to a blood vessel when the ultrasonic probe is removed from the blood vessel.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of an ultrasonic probe for blood flow measurement according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a usage example of the ultrasonic probe for blood flow measurement according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic cross section of a coupling mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a conventional blood flow measurement ultrasonic probe.

[Explanation of symbols]

 30 blood vessel 32 blood vessel holder 34 cable 36 base 38 arm group

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ultrasonic probe for blood flow measurement, which is attached to a blood vessel in a living body to measure blood flow, the blood vessel holder being detachable from the blood vessel, and provided on the blood vessel holder. An ultrasonic transducer for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, and a flexible probe cable having a signal line inside and having one end connected to the blood vessel holder, wherein the blood vessel holder is a blood vessel from a connection point of the probe cable. For blood flow measurement, comprising a holder base extending in the axial direction and a plurality of holder arms extending from the holder base to the opposite side of the blood vessel along the outer peripheral surface of the blood vessel in one direction and in the other direction. Ultrasonic probe.