JP4270630B2 - Ultrasonic probe - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe, and more particularly to prevention of multiple reflections.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In the ultrasonic probe, an ultrasonic transducer is built in a contact portion that contacts the living body, one or more matching layers are provided on the living body side, and an acoustic lens is further provided on the living body side. . The surface of the acoustic lens functions as a wave transmitting / receiving surface, which is in contact with the surface of the living body.
[0003]
As is well known, ultrasonic waves have the property of being reflected and scattered at the boundary surfaces with different acoustic impedances. From these properties, the ultrasonic waves are reflected between each boundary surface inside the probe, the living body surface, and the nearby organ surface. Multiple reflection occurs. When the level of multiple reflection is large, the image quality of the ultrasonic image is greatly deteriorated, and a lot of noise appears particularly in the vicinity of the ultrasonic probe.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Conventionally, in order to prevent and reduce multiple reflections inside the probe, acoustic impedance is adjusted by selecting the matching material and acoustic lens material as described above. It was only a device.
[0005]
According to the study by the present inventors, as shown in FIG. 1, when the ultrasonic probe main body 10 is brought into contact with the living body surface 100 and the ultrasonic wave 101 is transmitted into the living body in this state, for example, the organ 14 In addition to the echo 102 that returns to the probe again, there are a considerable number of side echoes 103 that arrive around the contact portion. The side echo 103 has a very large difference in acoustic impedance between the living body surface 100 and the atmosphere, and is reflected again by the living body surface 100 (104), which can be a major factor of multiple reflection. That is, when the side echo reflected by the living body surface 100 around the contact portion is reflected again inside the living body and reaches the wave transmitting / receiving surface 10A this time, it causes multiple reflections and degrades the image quality of the ultrasonic image. No matter how sharp the ultrasonic beam is, the ultrasonic wave is scattered and reflected in the living body, and therefore, it seems that the side echo component exists to a large extent in the echo.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and an object thereof is to eliminate and reduce the problem of multiple reflection due to side echo.
[0007]
Another object of the present invention is to address the problem of multiple reflections due to side echoes while considering operability.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a probe main body that transmits / receives ultrasonic waves via a transmission / reception surface of a contact portion that comes into contact with a living body, and a part around the contact portion or A side-echo absorber that is provided on all surfaces, is in close contact with the surface of the living body, and has a function of absorbing side echoes coming from the inside of the living body to the periphery of the transmission / reception surface, and the side-echo absorber is attached to and detached from the probe body. possess engaging means for freely fixing the said side-echo absorber is composed of a pair of the absorbing member provided on one side and the other side of the probe body, the pair of the absorbing member, the upper The engagement means has a band that elastically connects the pair of absorbing members to each other, and the band is expanded and contracted to the probe body. The pair of absorbent members are attached and detached. , Characterized in that.
[0009]
According to the above configuration, the side echo from the inside of the living body is absorbed and attenuated by the side echo absorber, and the component reflected on the surface of the living body in the side echo can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the multiple reflection due to the side echo and improve the image quality of the ultrasonic image.
[0010]
Preferably, an array transducer is built in the contact portion, the contact portion has a rectangular shape extending in the element arrangement direction of the array transducer when viewed from the living body side, and the side echo absorber is It is provided at least on the longitudinal side of the contact portion. In the probe main body, electronic focusing of ultrasonic waves is usually performed along the longitudinal direction of the contact portion, while focusing of ultrasonic waves by an acoustic lens is performed in the short direction. In general, the latter action is weaker than the former action. Therefore, it is presumed that more side echoes arrive around the long side of the probe body. Therefore, it is necessary to attenuate and absorb the side echo particularly for that part.
[0011]
Desirably, the thickness of the side echo absorber is gradually reduced from the side closer to the contact portion to the side farther from the contact portion. The above configuration is desirable from the operability of the ultrasonic probe.
[0012]
Preferably, the side echo absorber is configured separately from the probe main body, and the side echo absorber can be attached as necessary. For example, when the side echo is not a problem, or when the side echo absorber is obstructive depending on the diagnosis site or the contact angle, it is desirable to be able to remove the side echo absorber.
[0013]
Of course, the shape of the side echo absorber may be varied according to the contact angle while maintaining the close contact with the living body surface.
[0014]
Preferably, the side echo absorber has a skirt shape that extends toward the living body. If a slope is formed in the aid of the echo absorber and the ultrasonic wave that has entered the slope is reflected obliquely, it is possible to prevent the ultrasonic wave from being reflected inside the side echo absorber and entering the living body again. That is, it becomes possible to confine the ultrasonic wave in the side echo absorber.
[0015]
Preferably, the side echo absorber has a structure in which the acoustic impedance changes continuously or stepwise in the thickness direction. According to this configuration, the absorption efficiency of ultrasonic waves can be increased by an effective damping action.
[0016]
Desirably, a plurality of types of side echo absorbers having different shapes are prepared, and the side echo absorber is selectively used in accordance with ultrasonic diagnostic conditions.
[0017]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0018]
FIG. 2 shows a preferred embodiment of the ultrasonic probe according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram thereof.
[0019]
The ultrasonic probe according to this embodiment includes a main body 10 and an absorber 12. The main body 10 corresponds to a conventional ultrasonic probe itself, and an ultrasonic transducer to be described later is built in the contact portion. 10 A of contact surfaces of the main body 10 are contact | abutted by the biological body surface 100, and the transmission / reception of an ultrasonic wave is performed in the state.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 2, the absorber 12 is provided on the whole or a part of the periphery of the main body 10, and in this embodiment, provided on the longitudinal side of the contact portion having a longitudinal shape particularly when viewed from the living body side. It has been. As shown in FIG. 2, the two absorbent bodies 12 have a skirt shape in cross section, that is, a shape that gradually spreads from the upper side of the main body 10 to the surface of the living body. The absorbent body 12 is composed of a member having an acoustic impedance similar to that of the living body at least on the living body surface 100 side, and specifically composed of, for example, silicone rubber. The absorbent body 12 may be formed of a single member, but of course, the absorbent body 12 may be formed by overlapping a plurality of members.
[0021]
As shown in FIG. 2, when an ultrasonic wave is emitted from the main body 10, the ultrasonic wave is transmitted to the inside of the living body via the contact surface 10 </ b> A. For example, the ultrasonic wave 101 reflected from the surface of the organ 14 is again transmitted to the main body 10. Is received. On the other hand, as described above, the side echo 103 reflected from the surface of the organ 14 arrives around the contact portion. The side echo 103 is effectively absorbed and attenuated by the absorber 12, and as a result, multiple reflections by the side echo 103 are suppressed. Thereby, the image quality of an ultrasonic image can be remarkably improved.
[0022]
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the ultrasonic probe according to the present embodiment. As described above, the pair of absorbers 12 are provided on both sides of the main body 10. The absorbers 12 are elastically connected to each other by a band 16 or the like, that is, the pair of absorbers 12 can be fixed to the main body 10 by the band 16 having such a stretching action. . Of course, the absorber 12 may be detachably attached to the main body 10 using other engagement means without using such a band. If the absorber 12 can be removed from the main body 10, there is an advantage that the operability can be improved without the absorber 12 becoming an obstacle in ultrasonic diagnosis of, for example, a narrow part. On the other hand, for example, in the diagnosis of the abdomen or the like, there is an advantage that the absorber 12 is attached to the main body 10 and ultrasonic diagnosis can be performed under good measurement conditions with reduced side echo.
[0023]
FIG. 4 shows an ultrasonic probe according to another embodiment. In this embodiment, the absorber 12 has a multilayer structure. The acoustic impedance changes continuously or stepwise from the living body side to the upper portion, and the acoustic impedance of the bottom layer in contact with the living body side is set substantially equal to the acoustic impedance of the living body. Thereby, reflection of the ultrasonic wave at the boundary surface can be effectively prevented, and the ultrasonic wave can be smoothly taken into the absorber 12. The captured ultrasonic waves are gradually scattered and absorbed by the action of each layer changing stepwise or continuously, and finally disappear. In this case, as described above, the absorber 12 has a skirt shape, that is, an inclined surface is formed from the lower part to the upper part, so that it is possible to confine ultrasonic waves in the absorber 12 using the inclined surface. . Here, when such a slope is, for example, a flat upper surface, it is considered that the ultrasonic wave is reflected again on the face and the ultrasonic wave proceeds to the inside of the living body. According to the above, it is possible to confine the ultrasonic waves as described above.
[0024]
Incidentally, in the main body 10, an acoustic lens 20 is provided in the case 18. The surface on the living body side of the acoustic lens 20 constitutes the contact surface 10A described above. A matching layer 22 is provided on the back side of the acoustic lens 20, an array transducer 24 is provided on the back side of the matching layer, and a backing material 26 is provided on the back side. This structure itself is the same as that of a conventional ultrasonic probe.
[0025]
In FIG. 5, an array transducer 24 is provided as an ultrasonic transducer in the contact portion 10B, and the array transducer 24 is composed of a plurality of transducer elements 24A. As described above, the absorbent body on the long side of the contact portion is provided, but of course, the absorbent body may be provided on the short side. That is, it is possible to selectively use various absorbers according to the diagnostic site and diagnostic conditions. Here, reference numerals 201 to 203 denote outer shapes of various absorbers.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the problem of multiple reflection due to side echo can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a cause of occurrence of a side echo.
FIG. 2 is a view showing an absorbent body according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the ultrasonic probe of the present embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an ultrasonic probe according to another embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a diagram conceptually showing the outer shapes of various absorbers.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 body, 12 absorber, 14 organs.

Claims (4)

A probe main body that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves via the transmitting and receiving surface of the abutting portion that abuts on the living body; and
A side echo absorber provided on a part or all of the periphery of the abutting portion, closely contacting the surface of a living body, and having an action of absorbing side echoes coming from the inside of the living body to the periphery of the transmission / reception surface;
Engagement means for detachably fixing the side echo absorber to the probe body;
I have a,
The side echo absorber is composed of a pair of absorbing members provided on one side and the other side of the probe body,
The pair of absorbing members has a skirt shape that gradually spreads from the upper side to the living body surface side,
The engaging means has a band for elastically connecting the pair of absorbing members to each other,
The pair of absorbing members is attached to and detached from the probe body by expansion and contraction of the band.
An ultrasonic probe characterized by that. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1,
An array transducer is built in the contact portion, and the contact portion has a rectangular shape extending in the element arrangement direction in the array transducer as viewed from the living body side,
The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the side echo absorber is provided at least on a longitudinal side of the contact portion. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1,
The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the side echo absorber has a structure in which acoustic impedance changes continuously or stepwise in a thickness direction. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1,
A plurality of different types of side echo absorbers are prepared,
An ultrasonic probe in which the side echo absorber is selectively used according to ultrasonic diagnostic conditions.

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