CN102908165A - Probe device for ultrasonic elastic imaging and scanning method of probe device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a probe device for ultrasonic elastic imaging and a scanning method of the probe device. The device comprises an ultrasonic probe, an acoustical transmission plastic bag, a conduit and an ultrasonic coupling agent; the conduit is connected with the acoustical transmission plastic bag, the ultrasonic coupling agent is injected to the acoustical transmission plastic bag via the conduit; and the probe end of the ultrasonic probe is soaked in the ultrasonic coupling agent of the acoustical transmission plastic bag. According to the probe device disclosed by the invention, the pressure stressed by a detected tissue is changed by changing the volume of the ultrasonic coupling agent in the acoustical transmission plastic bag in a scanning process, in this way, the elastic imaging is realized, the detected tissue is under even and constant pressure; in addition, the surface of the acoustical transmission plastic bag is relatively soft, so that the weak and sensitive detected tissue is protected to a certain extent.

Description

Probe device and scanning method for ultrasonic elastography

technical field

The invention belongs to the technical field of medical ultrasonic imaging, and in particular relates to a probe device for ultrasonic elastic imaging and a scanning method thereof.

Background technique

The basic principle of ultrasound elastography is to apply different pressures to the tissue of interest through the probe, and obtain corresponding ultrasound echo signals respectively. Correlation calculation of the two echo signals is used to obtain the corresponding tissue elastic strain. A key technique of ultrasound elastography is how to use the ultrasound probe to apply different pressures to the detection area to obtain tissue strain under different uniform pressures. Generally speaking, the pressure of the detected tissue, the speed of movement and the scanning direction of the probe during scanning will all have a certain impact on the elastography.

In the traditional quasi-static elastography method, the probe is generally pressed directly on the tissue to be tested, and the force applied to the probe is changed. Obviously, such a test has great disadvantages. If the operator applies too much pressure, even if The elastic modulus of the tissue is not very large, and a large strain will also be generated, which will bring a large error when using the strain to reconstruct the image, and affect the imaging effect. The mechanical scanning of the probe brings great convenience to ultrasonic elastography, and the pressure in the detection area is also uniform and constant. However, due to the size of the probe itself, the pressure on the detection tissue is also different during scanning. The pressure will gradually decrease from the central area to the surrounding area.

Most of the existing ultrasonic elastography probes are rigid, and the surface of the probe is relatively hard. If the hard probe directly presses on the fragile and sensitive tissue, it will also cause certain damage to the tissue. Therefore, the use of traditional probes to scan tissues will bring relatively large defects to ultrasound elastography, which will affect the imaging effect.

Contents of the invention

The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages and deficiencies of the prior art, and provide a probe device that applies uniform and constant pressure to the detected tissue during ultrasonic elastography and protects sensitive and fragile tissues to a certain extent.

Another object of the present invention is to use the above-mentioned device to implement a scanning method for the detected tissue.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned first purpose, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions: a probe device for ultrasonic elastography, comprising an ultrasonic probe, a sound-transmitting plastic bag, a catheter and an ultrasonic coupling agent, the catheter and the sound-transmitting plastic bag The ultrasonic coupling agent is injected into the sound-permeable plastic bag through the catheter; the probe end of the ultrasonic probe is immersed in the ultrasonic coupling agent in the sound-permeable plastic bag.

Preferably, the sound-transmitting plastic bag is provided with a small hole, and the conduit communicates with the sound-transmitting plastic bag through the small hole.

Preferably, the small hole is provided with a stopper for preventing the ultrasonic coupling agent from overflowing the small hole.

Preferably, the ultrasonic coupling agent is water.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned second purpose, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions: a scanning method of a probe device for ultrasonic elastography, comprising the following steps:

Step 1: Inject ultrasonic coupling agent into the sound-transmissive plastic bag through the catheter, confirm that the probe end of the ultrasonic probe used to emit ultrasonic signals is immersed in the ultrasonic coupling agent, and attach the sound-transparent plastic bag to the tissue to be tested. Perform the first scan to obtain the ultrasonic echo signal;

Step 2: re-inject the ultrasonic coupling agent into the sound-transparent plastic bag through the catheter, and the capacity of the ultrasonic coupling agent in the sound-transparent plastic bag will increase, that is, the volume of the sound-transparent plastic bag will increase, and the pressure exerted on the detected tissue will increase, thereby The detected tissue is deformed, and the ultrasonic probe performs a second scan to obtain ultrasonic echo signals;

Step 3: after the scanning is completed, elastic calculation and imaging are performed on the detected tissue according to the ultrasonic echo signals acquired in the two scannings.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages and effects:

(1) The present invention exerts pressure on the detected tissue through the gravity of the ultrasonic coupling agent in the sound-transmitting plastic bag, which overcomes the uneven pressure applied to the surface of the detected tissue when the rigid ultrasonic probe scans in the traditional quasi-static elastography method The disadvantages brought about by this method can obtain a more accurate and clear elastic image; at the same time, the present invention closely adheres the sound-permeable plastic bag containing the ultrasonic coupling agent to the detected tissue, thereby exerting pressure on the detected tissue. The sound-permeable plastic bag of the agent is relatively soft, so it has a certain protective effect on some fragile and sensitive tissues to be tested.

(2) The present invention changes the pressure on the detected tissue by changing the volume of the ultrasonic coupling agent in the sound-transmitting plastic bag, so as to obtain the ultrasonic echo signals of the tissue under different pressures. The operation is simple, convenient and fast.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 is a probe device for ultrasonic elastography according to the present invention.

Detailed ways

The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the embodiments and the accompanying drawings, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

Example

As shown in Figure 1, a probe device for ultrasonic elastography in this embodiment includes an ultrasonic probe 1, a sound-transmitting plastic bag 2, an ultrasonic coupling agent 3 and a catheter 4, and a small hole is left on the sound-transmitting plastic bag. The catheter communicates with the sound-transmitting plastic bag 2 through a small hole, and the ultrasonic coupling agent 3 is injected into the sound-transmitting plastic bag through the small hole and the catheter 4; There is a plug on the small hole of the sound-transparent plastic bag. When the ultrasonic couplant is injected into the sound-transparent plastic bag, unplug the catheter connected to the small hole, and then use the plug to block the small hole to prevent the ultrasonic couplant from Spill hole. The ultrasonic coupling agent used in this embodiment is water.

In this embodiment, the sound-transparent plastic bag filled with water is closely attached to the detected tissue, and the pressure on the detected tissue is changed by increasing or decreasing the volume of water in the sound-transparent plastic bag. The ultrasonic signal emitted by the ultrasonic probe passes through the ultrasonic coupling agent, penetrates the sound-transmitting plastic bag, and then is incident on the tissue to be detected.

In this embodiment, the gravity of the water in the sound-transmitting plastic bag exerts pressure on the detected tissue, so that the pressure received by the detected tissue is uniform and constant, thereby improving the clarity and accuracy of the elastic image. In this embodiment, the sound-transparent plastic bag is in direct contact with the detected tissue. Since the surface of the sound-transparent plastic bag filled with ultrasonic coupling agent is relatively soft, it can protect some fragile and sensitive tissues to a certain extent.

The scanning steps of the probe device used for ultrasonic elastography in this embodiment are as follows:

Step 1: Inject water into the sound-transparent plastic bag through the catheter, confirm that the probe end of the ultrasonic probe used to emit ultrasonic signals is immersed in the water, attach the sound-transparent plastic bag to the tissue to be tested, and perform the first scan with the ultrasonic probe. Obtain an ultrasonic echo signal;

Step 2: Inject water into the sound-transmitting plastic bag again through the catheter, and the volume of water in the sound-transmitting plastic bag will increase, that is, the volume of the sound-transmitting plastic bag will increase, and the pressure exerted on the tissue to be tested will increase, thereby causing the tissue to be detected Deformation, the ultrasonic probe performs a second scan to obtain ultrasonic echo signals;

Step 3: after the scanning is completed, elastic calculation and imaging are performed on the detected tissue according to the ultrasonic echo signals acquired in the two scannings.

The above-mentioned embodiment is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the embodiment of the present invention is not limited by the above-mentioned embodiment, and any other changes, modifications, substitutions, combinations, Simplifications should be equivalent replacement methods, and all are included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims (5)

1. a probe apparatus that is used for ultrasonic elastograph imaging comprises ultrasonic probe, it is characterized in that also comprise entrant sound poly-bag, conduit and ultrasonic coupling agent, described conduit is connected with the entrant sound poly-bag; Described ultrasonic coupling agent is injected into the entrant sound poly-bag by conduit; The sound end of described ultrasonic probe is dipped in the interior ultrasonic coupling agent of entrant sound poly-bag.

2. the probe apparatus for ultrasonic elastograph imaging according to claim 1 is characterized in that, is provided with an aperture on the described entrant sound poly-bag, and described conduit is communicated with described entrant sound poly-bag by described aperture.

3. the probe apparatus for ultrasonic elastograph imaging according to claim 2 is characterized in that, is provided with stopper on the described aperture, is used for preventing that ultrasonic coupling agent from overflowing aperture.

4. the probe apparatus for ultrasonic elastograph imaging according to claim 1 is characterized in that, described ultrasonic coupling agent is water.

5. the scan method based on each the probe apparatus that is used for ultrasonic elastograph imaging in the claim 1 to 4 is characterized in that, may further comprise the steps:

The first step: in the entrant sound poly-bag, inject ultrasonic coupling agent by conduit, confirm that ultrasonic probe is used for the sound end immersion ultrasonic coupling agent of emission ultrasonic signal, entrant sound poly-bag and detected tissue tight are fitted, and ultrasonic probe carries out the scanning first time, obtains ultrasound echo signal;

Second step: in the entrant sound poly-bag, re-inject ultrasonic coupling agent by conduit, the capacity of ultrasonic coupling agent increases in the entrant sound poly-bag, be that entrant sound poly-bag volume becomes greatly, the detected applied pressure of organizing is increased, thereby produce deformation so that detect tissue, ultrasonic probe carries out the scanning second time, obtains ultrasound echo signal;

The 3rd step: the end of scan, the ultrasound echo signal that obtains according to twice sweep carries out elasticity calculating and imaging to detected tissue.

Images