JPS6111024A - Protective cover of water tank for medical ultrasonic 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 removable protective cover for a medical ultrasound diagnostic apparatus which is frequently used for mammary gland diagnosis.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

Some medical ultrasound diagnostic equipment includes an ultrasound transmitter/receiver (hereinafter referred to as "
In order to prevent attenuation, reflection, etc. between the probe (referred to as "probe") and the living body, there are some in which an acoustic coupling agent is interposed between the probe and the living body. Water and the like, which are close to living tissue, are often used as the acoustic coupling agent.

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 essential.

By the way, in this type of medical ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the portion that comes into contact with the living body is formed of a thin film in consideration of adhesion to the living body. This thin film is easily damaged by external influences, so it is necessary to protect this thin film when not in use. Furthermore, water, which serves as an acoustic coupling agent, is stored inside this thin film, and the air mixed in with this used water becomes fine bubbles and floats in the water. Over time, these bubbles rise due to buoyancy and collect on the inner surface of the thin film. These bubbles in the water obstruct the propagation of ultrasonic waves and cause deterioration in the quality of echo images.

However, conventionally, no means has been provided for effectively discharging the bubbles collected or dispersed on the inner surface of the thin film to the outside of the aquarium.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a medical ultrasonic diagnostic device that can prevent damage to the thin film and effectively discharge air bubbles collected or dispersed on the inner surface of the thin film to the outside of the water tank. The purpose is to provide a protective cover for water tanks.

[Summary of the invention]

The outline of achieving the above object is as follows: an aquarium main body equipped with an acoustic coupling agent and a probe inside; a thin film that seals the upper opening of the aquarium main body and holds the acoustic coupling agent protruding from the upper part of the aquarium main body; A protective cover is removably disposed on a water tank for a medical ultrasonic diagnostic device and has a bubble removal tube that communicates with the thin film and removes air bubbles floating on the inner surface of the thin film, the protective cover being in contact with the outer surface of the thin film and removing air bubbles from the thin film. has a protective surface,
``The device is characterized in that the surface that comes into contact with the connecting portion with the bubble removing tube is formed to be inclined so as to be higher than other portions.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, a medical ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 1 to which the present invention is applied will be explained with reference to FIG.

In the figure, a water tank 11 that accommodates the probe 4 and the acoustic coupling agent 2 has a water tank body 11 provided with an opening 11a at the top and an inlet/outlet 11b at the bottom for injecting water into the tank. A thin film 12 having a cross-sectional shape of 100 mm is attached to the opening 11a. The lid 3 serves to prevent the water 2 as an acoustic coupling agent stored inside the water tank body 11 from leaking to the outside, and also serves to protect the subject 3. The bubble removing device includes a tube 15 which is a bubble removing tube. It consists of a valve 16° and a reserve tank 17. One end of the tube 15 is connected to an inlet/outlet 12a provided on the upper side of the thin film 12.
The other end is connected to a reserve tank 17, and a bubble release valve 16 is provided in the middle. This reserve tank 17 is provided with an air vent 18.

Next, the protective cover 20 that is removably arranged on the above-mentioned medical ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 1 will be explained with reference to FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, this protective cover 20 covers and protects the thin film 12 from a flat surface 21 and side surfaces 22.
It is composed of 23.24.25. A notch 26 provided at the end of the side surface 22 is a relief part for the tube 15. Further, the heights of the side surfaces 22 to 25 are different, with the height A near the relief portion 26 being the maximum height, and the height B located on the diagonal line of the relief portion 260.
The height of each side is set so that it is the lowest.

Therefore, when this protective cover 20 is attached to the aquarium main body 11, the plane 21 of the protective cover 20 is inclined.

The bubble removal effect when the protective cover 20 is placed on the aquarium body 11 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. When air bubbles are generated in the thin film 12, these air bubbles gather at the protruding portion of the thin film 12 because the thin film 12 is protruded from the main body of the water tank by a pressure control means (not shown). By the way, when the protective cover 20 is attached to this thin film 12, the thin film 12 comes into contact with the flat surface 21 of the protective cover 20, as shown in FIG. 3, and the shape of the thin film is regulated by the flat surface 21. . This plane 21
As mentioned above, when it is attached to the aquarium body 11, it is inclined.

The shape of the thin film 12 is regulated so that the vicinity of the connecting portion between the thin film 12 and the tube 15 is highest. As a result, the air bubbles 30 gathered on the inner surface of the thin film 12 move upward along the regulated shape of the thin film 12, and can be easily guided to the tube 15. Thereafter, the bubbles pass through the tube 15 and are collected in a reserve tank 17 attached to the other end of the tube 15. Spare tank 1
At '7, the water that has been washed away with the bubbles is collected at the bottom, and the air inside the bubbles is exhausted to the outside through the air vent 18. Therefore, although the reserve tank 17 is almost sealed, it can be used until it is full of water, which is useful for water reuse. Further, a cock 16 provided in the tube 15 controls the bubble removal device so that air does not flow back into the thin film 12.

In this way, when ultrasonic diagnosis is not being performed, air bubbles in the water can be easily discharged by attaching this protective cover 20 to the tank body 11. Moreover, this protective cover 20 can also have the function of protecting the thin film 12 from damage.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

Various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention.

For example, the flat surface 2 of the protective cover 20 may be made of a transparent material so that the flow of air bubble discharge can be visually observed from the outside.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, a medical ultrasonic diagnostic device is capable of protecting the thin film of the aquarium when the device is not in use, as well as regulating the shape of the thin film with the protective cup (-) to easily discharge air bubbles. A protective cover for a water tank can be provided.As a result, damage to the thin film is reduced, and air bubble removal can be performed effectively in a short period of time, making it possible to constantly prepare for diagnosis with improved image quality.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing an example of a medical ultrasound diagnostic device to which the present invention is applied, Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the protective force/(-), and Fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing the protective force/(-). It is a schematic explanatory view explaining bubble removal operation.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) An aquarium main body equipped with an acoustic coupling agent and a probe inside, a thin film that seals the upper opening of the aquarium main body and holds the acoustic coupling agent protruding from the upper part of the aquarium main body, and a thin film that is communicated with this thin film. A protective cover removably placed on a water tank for a medical ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a bubble removal tube for removing air bubbles floating on the inner surface, the protective cover having a surface that comes into contact with the outer surface of the thin film to protect the thin film, A protective cover for a water tank for a medical ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, characterized in that the surface that contacts the connection part with the air bubble removal tube is sloped so that it is highest than other parts. (2) The protective cover for a water tank for a medical ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contact surface with the outer surface of the thin film is formed of a transparent member.