JPS60158839A - Ultrasonic probe - 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 (a) Industrial application field The present invention is applicable to C mode or F
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe suitable for obtaining a mode diagnostic image.

(B) Prior Art In conventional ultrasound diagnostic equipment, a linear scanning probe is used to obtain C-mode and F-mode diagnostic images, and this probe is used to perform secondary scanning along the body surface. . in this case,
It is necessary to move the probe smoothly, so do not immerse the affected area in water or 1. Or they use waterbags. For this reason, there are problems in that the subject feels uncomfortable and the entire apparatus becomes bulky.

(C) Purpose The present invention solves the problems of the conventional technology, and enables C-mode and F-mode scanning without the need to two-dimensionally scan the entire ultrasound probe along the body surface.
The purpose is to eliminate the discomfort caused by soaking the affected area in water or using a water bag by making it possible to obtain a modal image.

(D) Configuration In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an array driving means for displacing a vibrator array formed by arranging a plurality of vibrator elements in an arc shape in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the vibrator elements are arranged. is installed on the ultrasonic probe.

(e) Examples Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the present invention is applied to a sector scanning type concave array vibrator.

FIG. 1 is a front sectional view of the ultrasonic probe of this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view. The ultrasonic probe 1 includes a casing 2, and a transducer array 6 in which a plurality of transducer elements 4 are arranged in an arc shape has a center of curvature O at the lower end of the casing 2. The ultrasonic wave emitting window 8 is arranged substantially in alignment with the position of the ultrasonic emission window 8 formed in the ultrasonic radiation window 8 . Further, a space within the housing 2 is filled with a medium 12 for impedance matching with the subject 10. 14 is the above-mentioned vibrator array 6
This is an array driving means for displacing the transducer elements 4 in an arc shape in a direction (direction of arrow Y in FIG. 2) perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the vibrator elements 4 (direction of arrow X in FIG. 1). This array driving means 1
Reference numeral 4 denotes an arc-shaped rail arm 16.1B attached to both ends of the transducer array 6 in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the transducer elements 4, a driving roller 20 for driving the rail arm 16, and a rail arm 16.1B. 18, a plurality of large and small auxiliary rolls 22, 24 that guide and support the drive roller 20, a gear 26 that is directly connected to the drive roller 20, and a gear 2B that meshes with this gear 26.
and a stepping motor 30 directly connected to the gear 28, and the center of curvature of the rail arm 16.18 is
It is formed to coincide with the center of curvature 6 of the vibrator array 6.

The ultrasonic probe 1 having the above configuration can be used in C mode or F mode.
To obtain a diagnostic image in this mode, first, a plurality of transducer elements 4 are set as one block, and this block is driven while sequentially shifting one transducer element 4 at a time in the arrangement direction of the transducer elements 4 to transmit and receive ultrasound waves. Do this. In that case, each scanning line 3 of the ultrasonic wave emitted from the transducer array 6
2 passes through its center of curvature ○. When sector scanning for one field is completed, the stepping motor 30 of the array driving means 14 is started to displace the rail arm 16, 18 together with the transducer array 6 by a predetermined amount. Then, at the displaced position, sector scanning for one field is performed in the same manner as described above. In this way, sector scanning is performed sequentially while changing the position of the vibrator array 6. Therefore, the trajectory of the scanning line due to sector scanning is as shown in FIG. In the figure, symbols AI, A2, etc. indicate the scanning plane in each field, and B indicates the body surface position of the subject. A1. A2... will be obtained.

In the above embodiment, a so-called concave array transducer in which a plurality of transducer elements 4 are arranged in an arc shape to perform sector scanning has been described as the transducer array 6, but other types of transducer arrays include a plurality of transducers. The present invention can also be applied to a device that performs linear scanning by arranging elements in a straight line, and a mechanical sector scanner that mechanically operates a vibrator.

(f) Effects As described above, according to the present invention, diagnostic images in C mode or F mode can be obtained with the ultrasound probe fixed at a point on the body surface, so unlike conventional methods, the affected area can be Since it is not necessary to attach the device to the patient or use a water bag, an excellent practical effect can be obtained in that ultrasonic diagnosis can be performed without causing discomfort to the subject.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the ultrasonic probe in the front direction, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the ultrasonic probe in the side direction, and FIG. It is an explanatory diagram of scanning of a sound wave. 1... Ultrasonic probe, 4... Transducer element, 6... Transducer array, 14...
...Array driving means. Applicant Shimadzu Corporation Representative Patent Attorney Kazuhide Okada

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In an ultrasonic probe equipped with a transducer array formed by arranging a plurality of transducer elements, an array drive that displaces the transducer array in an arc shape in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the transducer elements. An ultrasonic probe characterized by being provided with means.