JP4053809B2 - Intracavity ultrasound probe - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an intracavity ultrasonic probe, and more particularly to an ultrasonic probe used in laparoscopic surgery.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In laparoscopic surgery, a tubular member (tracar) is inserted into the abdominal cavity through the epidermis, and the abdominal cavity is filled with carbon dioxide to expand the abdominal cavity. By inserting a surgical instrument such as a mirror (laparoscope) or forceps, the affected area is operated. In such an operation, an ultrasonic diagnosis is often performed in many cases, and an intracorporeal insertion type ultrasonic probe is used for that purpose. That is, the ultrasonic probe has a substantially rod-like form, is inserted into a cylindrical member, and transmits and receives ultrasonic waves in the body cavity.
[0003]
Thereby, a tomographic image or the like is displayed on the display, and the doctor observes the state or position of the affected area on the ultrasonic image. Then, as necessary, puncture is performed for tissue collection or drug injection. For this purpose, a needle groove for guiding the puncture needle is formed along the axial direction on the outer surface of the probe body.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
A rubber packing is provided inside the cylindrical member. This is because the gap between the outer surface and the inner surface of the cylindrical member is sealed in a state where an instrument such as an ultrasonic probe is inserted inside the cylindrical member, and the gas filled in the body cavity is thereby sealed. This prevents leakage outside the body. The rubber packing has a disk-like form having an opening at the center, and the opening is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the instrument to be inserted.
[0005]
However, when an ultrasonic probe having a needle groove is inserted into the cylindrical member (before the puncture needle is attached), the inner periphery of the rubber packing does not enter the needle groove so much, It becomes a leak passage. In that case, gas injection or the like must be performed again.
[0006]
An object of the present invention is to reduce and prevent gas leakage from a needle groove in an ultrasonic probe having a needle groove when no puncture needle is inserted in the needle groove.
[0007]
An object of the present invention is to reduce and eliminate gas leakage and to allow a puncture needle to be quickly inserted into a needle groove during puncture.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an ultrasonic probe that is inserted into a cylindrical member inserted into a body cavity and transmits / receives an ultrasonic wave, and includes an outer surface of a probe main body. A needle groove for guiding a puncture needle formed on the needle groove and entering the needle groove when the needle groove is not attached to the needle groove, and prior to attaching the puncture needle to the needle groove, the needle A sealing member removed from the groove, wherein the sealing member is provided at a position corresponding to a packing formed on the cylindrical member.
[0009]
According to the above configuration, since the space of the needle groove is closed or narrowed by the seal member, the leakage of gas through the needle groove can be prevented or reduced.
[0010]
Preferably, the seal member is provided on the proximal end side of the needle groove and has a shape extending along the needle groove. Since the packing is generally provided on the proximal end side of the cylindrical member, the seal member is also provided on the proximal end side of the needle groove correspondingly. If the seal member has a rod-like (or needle-like) form, even if the relative positional relationship between the tubular member and the probe body is shifted in the axial direction, that is, with respect to the probe body. The seal can be maintained even after packing.
[0011]
Preferably, it includes an attachment provided with the seal member and detachably provided at a proximal end portion of the probe body. According to this configuration, prior to the attachment of the puncture needle, the attachment can be removed and preparation for puncture can be made promptly. It is also possible to form means for closing the needle groove in the probe body itself.
[0012]
Preferably, a main body side engaging portion is formed at a proximal end portion of the probe main body, and the attachment has an attachment side engaging portion that engages with the main body side engaging portion.
[0013]
Preferably, the main body side engaging portion has at least one engaging groove, and the attachment side engaging portion has at least one engaging protrusion.
[0014]
Preferably, the attachment is inserted and removed in the axial direction of the probe body. In a state where the ultrasonic probe is inserted into the cylindrical member, the seal member is positioned inside the cylindrical member, and it is difficult to remove the seal member in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction. Therefore, it is desirable to insert and remove in the axial direction.
[0015]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an ultrasonic transducer which is inserted into a cylindrical member for laparoscopic surgery inserted into a body cavity and provided at the distal end of a probe body. An ultrasonic probe for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves at a needle groove for guiding a puncture needle formed on the outer surface of the probe body, and a puncture needle is not mounted in the needle groove Means for closing or closing the needle groove at a portion corresponding to the packing formed on the cylindrical member in a non-mounted state to prevent or reduce gas leakage from the body cavity via the needle groove. It is characterized by.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0017]
FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of a body cavity insertion type ultrasonic probe according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a use state thereof.
[0018]
In FIG. 1, an intracavity ultrasonic probe (hereinafter simply referred to as a probe) is used in laparoscopic surgery, and is inserted into the trocar 13 shown in FIG. 1 when used. The
[0019]
The trocar 13 is a cylindrical member that is inserted into the abdominal cavity through the epidermis. The trocar 13 is roughly constituted by a base end portion 14 and an insertion tube 15. Here, the insertion tube 15 is a portion to be inserted into the body cavity. When the insertion tube 15 is inserted into the body cavity, the proximal end portion 14 is positioned outside the body. An insertion hole (not shown) is formed in the base end portion 14, and a packing 18 is provided in the insertion hole for preventing outflow of gas from the abdominal cavity. As shown in the figure, the packing 18 is provided inside a trocar 13 as a cylindrical member, and is formed of a ring-shaped rubber material or the like, and an opening is formed in the center thereof.
[0020]
The probe is roughly divided into a probe main body 11 and a cable 12. The cable 12 is connected to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus not shown. An array transducer (not shown) composed of a plurality of vibration elements is provided in the distal end portion 11A of the probe main body 11. When this array transducer is used to form an ultrasonic beam and the ultrasonic beam is electronically scanned, a scanning surface is formed. An ultrasonic image is formed based on the echo data captured on the scanning plane, and the ultrasonic image is displayed on the display.
[0021]
As shown in the figure, the base end portion 11B of the probe body 11 is bent in a square shape, and the base end portion 11B constitutes a gripping portion.
[0022]
The probe main body 11 is formed with a needle groove 20 extending along the axial direction thereof. As shown in FIG. 3, the needle groove 20 has a U-shaped cross section. A puncture needle (not shown) is inserted into the needle groove 20 when a drug is injected into the affected area or a tissue is collected.
[0023]
As shown in FIG. 1, the probe of the present embodiment has an attachment 24 that is detachably attached to the probe main body 11. The attachment 24 includes an attachment base 28 and a rod-shaped seal member 26 extending therefrom. The attachment base 28 is attached to the proximal end portion 11B of the probe main body 11. Specifically, the attachment 24 is inserted into the base end portion 11B along the central axis of the needle groove 20, and when the attachment 24 is removed, the attachment 24 is directly attached along the central axis of the needle groove 20. It is pulled out to the near side.
[0024]
The seal member 26 has a certain length L, that is, extends in the axial direction. For this reason, the inside of the needle groove 20 can be filled with the seal member 26 over a certain range on the proximal end side of the probe main body 11. The seal member 26 functions as a groove filling member or a plug member.
[0025]
The attachment base 28 is formed with a pair of arms depending on the left and right, and an engaging projection 34 is formed at the lower end thereof. The pair of engaging protrusions 34 mechanically engages with a pair of engaging grooves 32 formed on both side surfaces of the base end portion 11B when the attachment 24 is mounted on the base end portion 11B. In this state, the engagement groove 32 has a deeper groove that serves as a detent, so that the engagement state is maintained. On the other hand, when the attachment 24 is pulled out along the axial direction, the engagement groove 32 is engaged. The protrusion 34 is detached from the engagement groove 32. That is, the engagement protrusion 34 and the engagement groove 32 function together as attachment means for the attachment 24.
[0026]
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing a state in which the attachment 24 is attached to the base end portion 11B. 3 shows a state in which the seal member 26 fills the needle groove 20 when the attachment 24 is mounted. As shown in FIG. 3, since a cylindrical or rod-shaped seal member 26 is disposed in the U-shaped needle groove 20, the space in the needle groove 20 is almost filled with the seal member 26. . As a result, a gap existing between the inner peripheral surface of the packing 18 and the outer peripheral surface (especially the groove inner surface) of the probe body 11 is effectively eliminated by the contact of the seal member 26 with the inner peripheral surface of the packing 18. Has been. That is, the problem of gas flowing out from the abdominal cavity through the needle groove 20 due to such groove filling can be solved or reduced.
[0027]
In the above description, the attachment 24 is mounted by the combination of the pair of engaging protrusions 34 and the pair of engaging grooves 32. Of course, other mechanisms may be employed as the mounting means of the attachment 24. In the present embodiment, the attachment 24 is detached from the probe main body 11 prior to the subsequent attachment of the puncture needle. However, a mechanism for filling the inside of the needle groove 20 may be provided in the probe main body 11. In this embodiment, the seal member 26 having a circular cross section is used. However, in order to more effectively eliminate the gap, the seal member 26 having a U-shaped cross section is used. May be. Since the seal member 26 has a certain length, even if the probe body 11 moves to some extent in the axial direction with respect to the trocar 13, it is possible to maintain the above sealed state as it is.
[0028]
Next, a method for using the probe according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. First, in S101, the trocar 13 shown in FIG. 1 is inserted into the body cavity, and preparations necessary for using the trocar 13 are made. In S <b> 102, the probe to which the attachment 24 is attached is inserted into the trocar 13.
[0029]
In S103, ultrasonic diagnosis is executed using the inserted probe. Specifically, an ultrasonic image is formed based on a reception signal obtained by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, and the ultrasonic image is displayed on a display. Therefore, the user can confirm the position of the affected part, the orientation of the probe, and the like by observing the ultrasonic image.
[0030]
In S104, the attachment 24 is removed from the probe prior to puncturing. In this state, the needle groove 20 forms a leak path. However, if the puncture needle is quickly inserted into the needle groove 20 immediately after the attachment 24 is removed, such a leak does not cause a problem.
[0031]
In S106, the puncture needle is withdrawn from the needle groove 20 along the axial direction. Thereafter, ultrasonic diagnosis is executed again as necessary, and then the probe is pulled out from the trocar 13 in S107.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce or prevent gas leakage from the needle groove when no puncture needle is inserted in the needle groove.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of a body cavity insertion type ultrasonic probe according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of the configuration shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a seal member is inserted into a needle groove.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a usage example of an intracorporeal-insertion type ultrasonic probe.
[Explanation of symbols]
11 probe body, 12 cable, 13 trocar, 20 needle groove, 24 attachment, 26 seal member, 32 engagement groove, 34 engagement protrusion.

Claims (4)

An ultrasonic probe that is inserted into a cylindrical member inserted into a body cavity and transmits / receives ultrasonic waves,
A needle groove for guiding a puncture needle formed on the outer surface of the probe body;
An attachment comprising a seal member that enters the needle groove when the puncture needle is not attached to the needle groove and is removed from the needle groove prior to attachment of the puncture needle to the needle groove. An attachment provided at a proximal end of the probe main body,
Including
The sealing member is provided at the base end side of the needle groove, and has a shape elongated along the needle groove, of the tubular member when it is provided on the proximal side of the needle grooves Provided at a position that contacts the inner peripheral surface of the packing formed inside ,
A main body side engaging portion is formed at the base end portion of the probe main body,
The attachment has an attachment side engaging portion that engages with the main body side engaging portion,
The body cavity insertion type ultrasonic probe, wherein the attachment state of the attachment is maintained by the engagement of the main body side engaging portion and the attachment side engaging portion. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1,
The main body side engaging portion has at least one engaging groove,
The attachment-side engaging portion has at least one engaging protrusion, and is inserted into a body cavity ultrasonic probe. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1,
The intra-body cavity insertion type ultrasonic probe, wherein the attachment is inserted and removed in an axial direction of the probe main body. An ultrasonic probe that is inserted into a cylindrical member for laparoscopic surgery inserted into a body cavity, and that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves with an ultrasonic transducer provided at the distal end of the probe body Because
A needle groove for guiding a puncture needle formed on the outer surface of the probe body;
When the puncture needle is not attached to the needle groove, the needle groove is closed at a portion corresponding to the packing formed on the inner side of the cylindrical member, and the needle groove from inside the body cavity is passed through the needle groove. As a means for preventing or reducing gas leakage, an attachment detachably provided at the proximal end of the probe body,
Including
The attachment includes a seal member that enters the needle groove when the puncture needle is not attached to the needle groove and is removed from the needle groove prior to attachment of the puncture needle to the needle groove,
The seal member is provided at a position on the proximal end side of the needle groove and in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the packing , and has a shape extending along the needle groove,
A main body side engaging portion is formed at the base end portion of the probe main body,
The attachment has an attachment side engaging portion that engages with the main body side engaging portion,
The body cavity insertion type ultrasonic probe, wherein the attachment state of the attachment is maintained by the engagement of the main body side engaging portion and the attachment side engaging portion.

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