JP2003033354A - Ultrasonic wave probe in coelom - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ultrasonic wave probe in a coelom with improved bendability at a bending part as well as an adaptation to a narrow diameter and multi-channelization. SOLUTION: This probe has a vibration piece part 1 which is arranged in two or more channels, and transmits and receives an ultrasonic wave, a flexible base board 2 on which a signal line is printed, which is connected to each channel of the vibration piece part 1 to supply a transmission signal to the vibration piece part 1 as well as retrieves a reception signal from the vibration piece part 1. The flexible base board 2 forms at least two or more channel blocks into which the above several channels are divided and it is constituted by winding each channel block spirally.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a body cavity ultrasonic probe which is inserted into a body cavity of a subject and scans with an ultrasonic beam.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ultrasonic probe in a body cavity is to be inserted into the human body through the mouth or anus of the human body and to be observed from the inside of the esophageal wall, the intestinal wall and the like. Therefore, various ideas have been made as follows for a curved portion that can be freely bent along a complicated shape of a tubular organ such as an intestinal tract.

First, as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2790253 (first conventional method), an ultrasonic transducer group in which a plurality of transducers for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves are arranged in an array, and the ultrasonic transducer is provided at one end. An electrode lead-out lead for extracting a signal from each ultrasonic transducer of the transducer group is formed, and a flexible printed circuit board is formed at a predetermined angle with respect to the ultrasonic transducer group and a longitudinal direction of the transducer. There is an electronic scanning ultrasonic probe.

In the printed circuit board, the portion where the ultrasonic transducer group is arranged is formed in a rectangular shape, and the electrode pattern on the surface is connected to the rectangular portion and the electrode pattern on the surface is ultrasonically vibrated. It is formed at an angle with respect to the longitudinal direction of the child group, and at the same time, the outer shape of the printed circuit is cut out at an angle like the pattern. Adhesive portions are provided at both ends of the circuit board portion where the ultrasonic transducer group is arranged, and an adhesive portion is provided at one end of the circuit board portion where the electrode pattern is formed. Further, when the printed circuit is formed into a cylindrical shape and the respective adhesive portions are adhered with an adhesive, the electrode pattern is formed in a spiral shape, and the gap formed in the adhering portion of the printed circuit board is also formed in a spiral shape. With such a structure, the printed circuit board can be bent without being bent.

In the printed circuit board, the ultrasonic transducer group is divided into blocks, and the electrode lead-out portions of the printed circuit board are led out in the directions of θ, −θ, θ, and −θ for each block. Accordingly, when the ultrasonic transducer group and the printed circuit board are formed in a cylindrical shape, the printed circuit board is configured like a mesh. The processing of the end portion of the printed circuit board to which the lead wire is connected is slightly shifted so that the position of the land portion to which the lead wire is attached when the printed circuit board is braided does not overlap the land portion of another printed circuit board. In addition, an adhesive portion for adhering the printed circuit boards to each other is provided and fixed to the end portion to which the lead wire is connected. With such a mesh-like structure, the printed circuit board (which is not divided) can be further curved.

Next, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-13408 (second conventional method), an ultrasonic sensor is provided on the tip side of a bendable body, and ultrasonic waves are transmitted by a flexible print circuit (FPC). The signal from the sensor is transmitted to the cable on the terminal side.
The FPC has multiple slits along the length and is rounded in the width direction. Surrounding it is a coil slip ring connected to the GND of the ultrasonic sensor.

[0007]

However, in the first conventional method, the printed circuit boards are in the form of a single plate, or the printed circuit boards are bonded to each other even in the block divided example of the prior art. Since there are steps, the printed circuit board is substantially a single plate.

Since the printed circuit board has a single plate-like shape as described above, when the printed circuit board is inserted into the body cavity of the subject, the rigidity of the printed circuit board limits the bendable range of the body cavity probe. However, due to the limitation of the curvature, it may not be possible to sufficiently bend the intracavity probe along a complicatedly curved tubular organ, and a part of the intracavity ultrasonic probe may be a part of the tubular organ. No consideration was given to the possibility of causing pain to the subject such as contact with the wall.

In the second conventional method, the FPC is provided with a plurality of slits along the length direction, and these slits are surrounded by coil springs. However, the body cavity is required to have a smaller diameter and more channels. With the internal ultrasonic probe, it was not possible to satisfy the need to arrange the FPC in that space and to improve the bendability of the bending section, rather than to arrange the coil spring.

Further, in the field of ultrasonic waves, not only diagnosis but also, for example, irradiation of intense ultrasonic waves to cauterize and treat cancer cells is performed. A sound wave diagnostic device is also used. At that time, it is required to consider measures against noise that enters the ultrasonic probe from the electronic device.

An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic probe in a body cavity which can cope with a reduction in diameter and the number of channels and which has a high bendability of a bending portion.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic probe in a body cavity in consideration of measures against noise.

[0013]

Means for Solving the Problems The above-mentioned object is to provide transducers which are arranged in a plurality of channels and which transmit and receive ultrasonic waves, and which are connected to each channel of these transducers to supply a transmission signal to the transducers and from which the transducers are provided. In the intracorporeal ultrasonic probe including a flexible substrate on which a signal line for extracting the received signal is printed, the flexible substrate forms at least two or more channel blocks into which the plurality of channels are divided, and each channel block It is achieved by an ultrasonic probe in a body cavity, which is configured by spirally winding.

Another object is to provide a shield material on each of the two or more formed flexible substrates, or to provide at least one shield material for covering the individual flexible substrates in a group. Achieved by a featured intracavity ultrasound probe.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An intracorporeal ultrasonic probe of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, an intracavity ultrasonic probe called a radial type is taken as an example. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a connection relationship between a transducer part, a flexible substrate, and a cable of a radial body cavity ultrasonic probe.

The vibrator unit 1 is formed by arranging a plurality of vibrator elements in channels. The flexible substrate 2 has one end connected to each channel of the transducer element, and the other end is provided with a cable connection portion 5 so as to be connectable to a cable for transmitting and receiving a signal line. A signal pattern 4 is laid on the flexible substrate 2 so that signals can be transmitted and received between the vibrator element of the vibrator unit 1 and the cable connection unit 5.
The two are electrically insulated. Further, the flexible substrate 2 is not composed of a single substrate, but is formed by dividing a part of all channels into blocks and dividing into the notches 3. Further, it is preferable to dispose the grounds so as to sandwich the signal pattern 4 because crosstalk during signal transmission can be prevented. In addition, the divided flexible substrates 2 form an angle θ with the vibrator portion 1 so that each of the flexible substrates 2 can be spirally wound.

Next, FIG. 1 is a view showing a state in which the flexible substrate of the ultrasonic probe in the body cavity of the present invention is spirally wound. The vibrator part 1 is rolled and fixed as shown.
For this fixing, a form or the like can be fitted in addition to adhesion. The flexible substrate 2 is spirally wound so as to be separated by the inter-substrate gap g. Here, the gap g is determined by how much the body covering the flexible substrate 2 is bent. Therefore, the principle will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a principle diagram for calculating the gap g. If the radius is R, the thickness of the barrel is d, and the width of each flexible substrate is a, the gap g is
Becomes like the formula (1). g = a · d / R (1)

As described above, the flexible substrate 2 having the determined gap has a body called a flexible tube made of synthetic resin, synthetic rubber or the like, depending on the number of divisions, as shown in the sectional view of FIG. Will be placed. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between a flexible tube accommodating a flexible substrate and the like and a plurality of flexible substrates. Figure 4 (a) shows two flexible substrates.
An example of dividing and winding each in a spiral shape, FIG.
An example of division, FIG. 4C shows an example of four divisions, and FIG. 4D shows an example of five divisions. For 6 or more divisions, the closest arrangement should be made.

Next, how the flexible substrate is curved will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state from the drawing out to the bending of the flexible substrate. The flexible substrate is contracted as shown in FIG. 5A when it does not need to be curved. And when it becomes necessary to bend,
Since the structure is such as shown in FIG.
It can be curved like (c). In addition, since the intracavity ultrasonic probe includes a radial type, a convex type, a transesophageal type, and an abdominal type, application examples thereof will be given.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an application example of the present invention to a convex type ultrasonic probe, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an application example of the present invention to a transesophageal ultrasonic probe, and FIG. 8 is an abdominal cavity. It is a figure which shows the example of application of this invention to the ultrasonic probe for medical applications. The radial type has a visual field in the cross-sectional direction of the inner surface of the tubular organ, whereas the convex type has a rectangular visual field of the inner wall. Most transesophageal applications have, for example, a circular or polygonal field of view, as shown. Also, for the abdominal cavity, it has the same rectangular field of view as the convex shape, but this is not to be inserted into the subject along the tubular organ, but to insert it by making a hole in the body surface of the subject and inserting it. The portion gripped by the person is hard to handle with the flexible tube 8, and thus is a hard portion 12.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9A, the flexible board may be covered with a resin tube 13 in order to cope with bending stress. A sectional view of the body covered with the resin tube 13 is arranged as shown in FIG. 9B. In FIG. 9B, an example of 5 divisions is given. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the flexible substrate is composed of a two-layer printed circuit board, and the signal line is arranged on one of the first layers and the GND layer 14 is arranged on the entire surface of the other one layer. . As a result, the signal line pattern can be integrated on the signal line layer, which is effective for increasing the number of channels and also for eliminating crosstalk. A cross-sectional view of the body on which the two-layer flexible substrate is arranged is arranged as shown in FIG. In FIG. 10B, an example of 5 divisions is given.

According to the above-described embodiment, the limit of the bendable range in which the flexible substrate (printed circuit board) is a single plate is released, the degree of bending can be properly secured, and the coil spring can be used. Since it is not arranged, it is possible to cope with a further reduction in diameter and the number of channels.

The flexible substrate may be divided into channels evenly, but may be divided into non-uniformly. Further, since the gap is set to an appropriate value, disconnection of the signal line in the flexible board is less likely to occur.
Also, the flexible substrate is covered with a resin tube,
It goes without saying that a combination of the embodiments, such as a flexible substrate formed by a multilayer pattern of two or more layers, is also applicable to the present invention.

Next, an embodiment of a shield measure will be described. 11 and 12 show an example of a structure in which the FPC is covered with a shield material. First, as shown in FIG. 11, the vibrator part 1 is formed into a cylindrical shape, and the FPC 2 is further processed into a spiral shape. The FPCs 2 are insulated from each other by a resin tube 13. A shield material 20 such as a conductive tape is attached to the exterior of the resin tube 13.
As the shield material, a conductive spiral tube, cross tube, or the like having excellent flexibility and a high shield effect is used.

Next, as shown in FIG. 12, the FPC set assembled in FIG. 11 is housed in the flexible tube 5. The shield material 21 that covers the outside of the cable may be made of the same material as the shield material 20, or may be a shielded shield or the like used in a coaxial cable or the like. Shield material 20 and shield material 21
Since both are conductive materials, they are electrically connected by disposing them in contact with each other. Shield material 2
By connecting 0 and the shield material 21, a structure having a further improved shield property is obtained.

Further, without using a shield material, metal powder of gold, silver or copper may be vapor-deposited on the surface of the resin tube protecting the spiral flexible substrate. Further, although detailed description is omitted, the present invention can be applied to all body cavity ultrasonic probes including the convex ultrasonic probe described in FIG. 6 and the transesophageal ultrasonic probe described in FIG. 7. Needless to say.

As described above, when a signal is extracted from the transducer to the ultrasonic probe, the spiral flexible substrate is shielded by using a material having a shielding effect, so that other electronic devices and medical equipment can be used. When used at the same time as the device, it is possible to block the electromagnetic noise generated by these devices, which has had an influence on the ultrasonic image, so that a clear ultrasonic image can be provided.

[0028]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention has an effect of providing an ultrasonic probe in a body cavity in which the bending property of a bending portion is improved while coping with reduction in diameter and increase in number of channels.

Further, there is an effect of providing an ultrasonic probe in a body cavity in consideration of noise countermeasures.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a state in which a flexible substrate of an ultrasonic probe in a body cavity of the present invention is spirally wound.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a connection relationship between a transducer portion, a flexible substrate, and a cable of the ultrasonic probe in the body cavity of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a bending mode of a probe in a flexible body cavity for accommodating a flexible substrate and the like.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an arrangement relationship between a flexible tube accommodating a flexible substrate and the like and a plurality of flexible substrates.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a mode from drawing out of the flexible substrate to bending.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an application example of the present invention to a convex type ultrasonic probe.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of application of the present invention to a transesophageal ultrasonic probe.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an application example of the present invention to an ultrasonic probe for abdominal cavity.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a mode in which a flexible substrate is covered with a resin tube.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a mode in which the flexible substrate is a two-layer substrate.

FIG. 11 is a view showing an example in which each flexible substrate is covered with a shield material.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example in which a flexible tube accommodating FIG. 11 is electrically connected to a shield material and a shield material to a flexible substrate.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Transducer part, 2 ... Flexible substrate (FPC), 5 ... Cable connection part, 20, 21 ... Shielding material

Continued front page    F term (reference) 4C301 BB03 BB06 EE13 FF04 FF09                       GA04 GB04 GB06 GB08 GB33                       JA17                 5D019 AA24 CC09 EE02 FF04 GG10                       GG11

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A transducer for arranging a plurality of channels to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves, and a signal line connected to each channel of these transducers for supplying a transmission signal to the transducer and extracting a reception signal from the transducer. In a body cavity ultrasonic probe including a printed flexible substrate, the flexible substrate is formed by forming at least two or more channel blocks into which the plurality of channels are divided, and spirally winding each channel block. An ultrasonic probe in a body cavity, which is characterized in that: 2. A shield material is provided on each of the two or more formed flexible substrates, or at least one shield material for covering the individual flexible substrates together is provided. The ultrasonic probe in the body cavity according to 1.