GB2124057A - Ultrasonic probe for use in ultrasonography - Google Patents
Ultrasonic probe for use in ultrasonography Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2124057A GB2124057A GB08220579A GB8220579A GB2124057A GB 2124057 A GB2124057 A GB 2124057A GB 08220579 A GB08220579 A GB 08220579A GB 8220579 A GB8220579 A GB 8220579A GB 2124057 A GB2124057 A GB 2124057A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- transducer elements
- ultrasonic transducer
- ultrasonic probe
- ultrasonic
- puncture needle
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
- 239000000523 sample Substances 0.000 title claims abstract description 25
- 238000002604 ultrasonography Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 7
- 238000001574 biopsy Methods 0.000 abstract description 6
- 238000003491 array Methods 0.000 description 3
- 239000004020 conductor Substances 0.000 description 2
- 210000000056 organ Anatomy 0.000 description 2
- 230000035945 sensitivity Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000012360 testing method Methods 0.000 description 2
- 210000000746 body region Anatomy 0.000 description 1
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000001419 dependent effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000003745 diagnosis Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000000007 visual effect Effects 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
- G01N29/00—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves; Visualisation of the interior of objects by transmitting ultrasonic or sonic waves through the object
- G01N29/22—Details, e.g. general constructional or apparatus details
- G01N29/24—Probes
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
- A61B8/00—Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves
- A61B8/08—Clinical applications
- A61B8/0833—Clinical applications involving detecting or locating foreign bodies or organic structures
Landscapes
- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Pathology (AREA)
- Biophysics (AREA)
- Biomedical Technology (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Immunology (AREA)
- Analytical Chemistry (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Nuclear Medicine, Radiotherapy & Molecular Imaging (AREA)
- Radiology & Medical Imaging (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Biochemistry (AREA)
- Heart & Thoracic Surgery (AREA)
- Medical Informatics (AREA)
- Molecular Biology (AREA)
- Surgery (AREA)
- Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
- Public Health (AREA)
- Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
- Ultra Sonic Daignosis Equipment (AREA)
Abstract
An ultrasonic probe for use in ultrasonography has a support 1 including a front end to be held against a human body, and a flat array of rectangular ultrasonic transducer elements 2 mounted on the front end. The support has a central groove 11 for guiding a puncture needle 10 used in biopsy. One or more ultrasonic transducer elements 20 adjacent the base of the groove 11 provide an image in a B-scan mode of a vertical line clear enough to enable the needle to be guided and a clear image of the needle end. <IMAGE>
Description
SPECIFICATION
Ultrasonic probe for use in ultrasonography
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe for use in biopsy, for example, in which a desired region of a body is penetrated with a puncture needle while an organ to be examined is being monitored by ultrasonography.
A conventional ultrasonic probe for use with a puncture needle has two separated arrays of ultrasonic transducers with a blank portion therebetween which is incapable of transmitting or receiving ultrasonic waves. Such a blank portion causes a vertical blank line to appear centrally on a sectional image displayed on a screen during a B-scan mode, making the displayed image of the puncture needle, especially its pointed end, less clear on the screen. Thus, the prior ultrasonic probe has a tendency to result in inaccurate biopsy.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic probe for use with a puncture needle in ultrasonography, which ultrasonic probe is simple in construction and is capable of generating both the image of a vertical line serving as a guide for allowing the puncture needle to penetrate a body region at a desired position and the clear image of the pointed end of the puncture needle.
According to the present invention, an ultrasonic probe for use with a puncture needle in ultrasonography comprises a support having an end and a groove defined in a side thereof and extending from said end for guiding the puncture needle, said groove opening at said end; and
an array of ultrasonic transducer elements successively mounted flatwise on said end, one or more of said ultrasonic transducer elements being located adjacent to the base of said groove opening at said end. Thus the one or more of the ultrasonic transducer elements located adjacent to the open end of the groove can be arranged to leave substantially no blank portion on the front end of the support.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of an example of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a conventional ultrasonic probe; and
Figure 2 is a perspective view of an ultrasonic probe embodying the present invention.
Fig. 1 illustrates a known ultrasonic probe which comprises a support 1 and two separated arrays of ultrasonic transducer elements 2 for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, the ultrasonic transducer elements 2 being each of a rectangular shape and lying flatwise on and joined to a front end of the support 1. The support 1 has in a side thereof a central groove 11 for guiding a puncture needle 10 to move therethrough. The groove 11 opens at the front end of the support 1, which will be held against a human body, and diverges or progressively increases in width away from the front end of the support.Thus the groove 11 is defined by wall surfaces extending substantially perpendicularly to the front end of the support 1 for guiding the puncture needle 10 to penetrate a desired region of the human body without the risk of being displaced out of an area in which ultrasonic energy is radiated. The groove 11 is substantially V-shaped, when viewed in side elevation, to permit the puncture needle 10 to be smoothly advanced in a certain range of puncture angles.
The ultrasonic probe 1 is electrically connected by a conductor wire 3 to an ultrasonographic diagnosing apparatus (not shown).
The conductor wire 3 is also electrically coupled with the ultrasonic transducer elements 2 within the support 1.
For effecting biopsy with the ultrasonic probe, the front end of the support 1 on which the ultrasonic transducer elements 2 are mounted is brought into abutment against a surface of a test body, and the ultrasonic transducer elements 2 are linearly scanned to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves. While an organ to be examined is being thus monitored, the puncture needle 10 is inserted through the guide groove 11 into the test body.
The front end of the support 1 has a central blank portion 12 by which the two arrays of ultrasonic transducer elements 2 are separated. Since the blank portion 12 has no ultrasonic transducer elements thereon, it is incapable of transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves. In a B-scan mode, the central blank portion 12 appears as a vertical blank line centrally on a sectional image displayed on a screen, with the result that the displayed image of the puncture needle, especially its pointed end, is rendered less clear on the screen. Therefore, inaccurate biopsy tends to result from the prior ultrasonic probe.
The present invention will now be described with reference to Fig. 2. An ultrasonic probe according to the present invention differs from that shown in Fig. 1 in that one or more ultrasonic transducer elements 20 are located adjacent to the base of the open end of the guide groove 11. The ultrasonic transducer elements 20 are shorter than the other ultrasonic transducer elements 2, and are capable of transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves.
The ultrasonic transducer elements 20 are positioned in successive relation to the ultrasonic transducer elements 2 so that there is no blank portion on the front end of the support 1.
When the ultrasonic transducer elements 2 and 20 are linearly scanned, a central portion of a displayed sectional image is relatively dark and less clear as the ultrasonic transducer elements 20 are of lower sensitivity than that of the ultrasonic transducer elements 2. However, an echo image of the pointed end of the puncture needle 10 can be displayed more clearly than when the conventional ultrasonic probe is used to display the puncture needle 10. With the ultrasonic probe according to the present invention, the central vertical black line on the screen can be lightened sufficiently, but remains effective as a marking or guide for positioning the puncture needle 10 upon puncture. Such a lightened central vertical line allows a portion of the sectional image to be displayed thereon.
The ultrasonic transducer elements 20 may be of a different width than the width of the other ultrasonic transducer elements 2. A receiver circuit for the ultrasonic transducer elements 20 may be adjusted in gain such that all of the ultrasonic transducer elements 2 and 20 will be of the same sensitivity for ultrasonographic diagnosis. The gain of such a receiver circuit may also be changed dependent on whether the puncture needle 10 is to be inserted or not.
With the ultrasonic probe shown in Fig. 2, one or more less sensitive ultrasonic transducer elements are located adjacent to the central needle guide groove, so that an array of uninterrupted ultrasonic transducer elements is mounted on the front end of the support. This arrangement allows the pointed end of the puncture needle to be displayed as a clearer echo image than when the prior ultrasonic transducer probe is employed. A central vertical line remains on a displayed image with a sufficient darkness to serve as a visual guide to position the puncture needle, but to fail to obscrure the image on the vertical line. Accordingly, the ultrasonic probe of the present invention is of great practical advantage in that it can effect accurate biopsy.
Although a certain preferred embodiment has been shown and described, it should be understood that many changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the appended claims.
Claims (4)
1. An ultrasonic probe for use with a puncture needle in ultrasonography, comprising:
a support having an end and a groove defined in a side thereof and extending from said end for guiding the puncture needle, said groove opening at said end; and
an array of ultrasonic transducer elements successively mounted flatwise on said end, one or more of said ultrasonic transducer elements being located adjacent to the base of said groove opening at said end.
2. An ultrasonic probe according to Claim 1, wherein said groove diverges as a Vshaped configuration away from said end and has a constant depth.
3. An ultrasonic probe according to claim 1 1 or Claim 2, wherein said one or more of said ultrasonic transducer elements are equal in width to other ultrasonic transducer elements, and different therefrom in length in a direction normal to the direction in which said array of ultrasonic transducer elements is arranged.
4. An ultrasonic probe substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Fig.
2 of the accompanying drawings.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB08220579A GB2124057B (en) | 1982-07-15 | 1982-07-15 | Ultrasonic probe for use in ultrasonography |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB08220579A GB2124057B (en) | 1982-07-15 | 1982-07-15 | Ultrasonic probe for use in ultrasonography |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB2124057A true GB2124057A (en) | 1984-02-08 |
| GB2124057B GB2124057B (en) | 1985-10-30 |
Family
ID=10531704
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB08220579A Expired GB2124057B (en) | 1982-07-15 | 1982-07-15 | Ultrasonic probe for use in ultrasonography |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| GB (1) | GB2124057B (en) |
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4671292A (en) * | 1985-04-30 | 1987-06-09 | Dymax Corporation | Concentric biopsy probe |
| US20140187945A1 (en) * | 2011-11-03 | 2014-07-03 | University Of Dundee | Ultrasound Probe |
Citations (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB1462147A (en) * | 1973-11-27 | 1977-01-19 | Akad Tekn Videnskaber | Apparatus for pulse-echo ultrasonic exploration |
| GB2073418A (en) * | 1980-03-31 | 1981-10-14 | Univ Toronto | Apparatus and method for examination of the gastro intestinal tract |
-
1982
- 1982-07-15 GB GB08220579A patent/GB2124057B/en not_active Expired
Patent Citations (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB1462147A (en) * | 1973-11-27 | 1977-01-19 | Akad Tekn Videnskaber | Apparatus for pulse-echo ultrasonic exploration |
| GB2073418A (en) * | 1980-03-31 | 1981-10-14 | Univ Toronto | Apparatus and method for examination of the gastro intestinal tract |
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4671292A (en) * | 1985-04-30 | 1987-06-09 | Dymax Corporation | Concentric biopsy probe |
| US20140187945A1 (en) * | 2011-11-03 | 2014-07-03 | University Of Dundee | Ultrasound Probe |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB2124057B (en) | 1985-10-30 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE20 | Patent expired after termination of 20 years |
Effective date: 20020714 |