JP6183891B2 - Ultrasonic probe, ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and shield - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe provided with an ultrasonic shield, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and a shield.

  In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a real-time ultrasonic image can be obtained for the cross section of the subject. Using such an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having real-time properties, a place to be excised by surgery is specified, or a place to perform a biopsy using a puncture needle is specified (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  An example of specifying a location using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus will be described. First, a target lesion is detected from an ultrasonic image. Next, a body surface at the center position in the azimuth direction in the housing of the ultrasonic probe is marked with a pen or the like to identify a range that is a target of a procedure such as surgery or puncture such as a resection range. .

JP 2011-172918 A (page 4)

  However, the center position in the azimuth direction in the housing of the ultrasonic probe may not match the center position in the width direction (the azimuth direction) in the ultrasonic image. Therefore, it is impossible to accurately mark the body surface to indicate the range that is the target of the procedure for the subject.

  One aspect of the invention made to solve the above-described problem is that an ultrasonic shield extending in the elevation direction is provided in a part of the ultrasonic transmission / reception surface in the azimuth direction. It is an acoustic probe.

  According to the above aspect of the invention, since the ultrasound image is shaded by the shield, it is possible to grasp which position in the ultrasound image the position where the shield is provided in the ultrasound probe corresponds. Can do. Therefore, the operator can mark the body surface with high accuracy by marking the body surface with a mark for indicating the range of the procedure for the subject with respect to the shadow and the shield.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of schematic structure of embodiment of the ultrasonic diagnosing device which concerns on this invention. It is an enlarged front view of the ultrasonic probe concerning the present invention. FIG. 3 is a side view of the ultrasonic probe shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the ultrasonic probe shown in FIG. 2. It is an enlarged view of a shield. It is a figure which shows the state which extended the side part of the shield. It is a figure which shows the display part on which the ultrasonic image was displayed. It is a figure explaining marking a point using the pen on the body surface. It is a figure which shows the body surface in which the point was written using the pen. It is a figure which shows the body surface in which the some point was described. It is a figure which shows the body surface in which the outline was described. It is a figure which shows the other example of a shield.

  Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of an ultrasonic probe, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and a shield according to the present invention will be described. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes an ultrasonic probe 2, a transmission / reception beam former 3, an echo data processing unit 4, a display control unit 5, a display unit 6, an operation unit 7, a control unit 8, and a storage unit 9.

  The ultrasonic probe 2 includes a plurality of ultrasonic transducers (not shown) arranged in an array in the azimuth direction, and transmits ultrasonic waves to the subject through the ultrasonic transducers. The echo signal is received.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the ultrasonic probe 2 extends in a part of the ultrasonic transmission / reception surface 2 a in the azimuth direction (X-axis direction in the drawing) in the elevation direction (Z-axis direction in the drawing). An ultrasonic shield 10 is detachably provided. This shield 10 is an example of an embodiment of a shield in the present invention.

  The shield 10 is provided at the center of the ultrasonic probe 2 in the azimuth direction. However, the center in the azimuth direction of the ultrasonic probe 2 is the center in the azimuth direction of the casing 2b constituting the ultrasonic probe 2, and does not coincide with the center of the array width of the ultrasonic transducers. .

  The shield 10 is long and has a substantially U-shape. The shield 10 includes a rod-shaped portion 11 and pad portions 12 and 12 provided at both ends of the rod-shaped portion 11. The rod-shaped portion 11 includes a bottom portion 11a having substantially the same length as the transmission / reception surface 2a in the elevation direction and side portions 11b and 11c erected on both sides of the bottom portion 11a. The pad portions 12 and 12 formed of an elastic body are provided at the end portions of the side portions 11b and 11c.

  The rod-like part 11 is formed of a material having an acoustic impedance different from that of a living tissue. The rod-shaped portion 11 is made of a material that prevents the propagation of ultrasonic waves, and is made of metal in this example.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the side portion 11b and the side portion 11c are formed such that the distance between the side portion 11b and the side portion 11c decreases toward the distal end side, as shown in FIG. When the force f is applied in the direction in which the distance between the side portions 11b and 11c increases, the side ends 11b and 11c expand as shown in FIG. Yes. Therefore, when the shielding body 10 is fitted to the side surface of the ultrasonic probe 2 located in the elevation direction of the housing 2b of the ultrasonic probe 2 by widening the gap between the side portions 11b and 11c, the side portions 11b and 11c The ultrasonic probe 2 is attached so as to be sandwiched between the pad portions 12 and 12 by an elastic force. Thus, the shield 10 attached to the ultrasonic probe 2 is in a state where the bottom 11a is in close contact with the transmitting / receiving surface 2a.

  On the other hand, the shield 10 attached to the ultrasonic probe 2 can be removed from the ultrasonic probe 2 by an operator applying the force f to widen the side portions 11b and 11c.

  Returning to the description of FIG. The transmission / reception beam former 3 supplies an electrical signal for transmitting an ultrasonic wave from the ultrasonic probe 2 under a predetermined scanning condition to the ultrasonic probe 2 based on a control signal from the control unit 8. The transmission / reception beamformer 3 performs signal processing such as A / D conversion and phasing addition processing on the echo signal received by the ultrasonic probe 2, and the echo data after the signal processing is sent to the echo data processing unit 4. Output to.

  The echo data processing unit 4 performs processing for creating an ultrasound image on the echo data output from the transmission / reception beamformer 3. For example, the echo data processing unit 4 performs B mode processing such as logarithmic compression processing and envelope detection processing to create B mode data.

  The display control unit 5 scan-converts the data input from the echo data processing unit 4 with a scan converter to create ultrasonic image data. For example, the display control unit 5 scans the B mode data to create B mode image data.

  Further, the display control unit 5 causes the display unit 6 to display an ultrasonic image based on the ultrasonic image data.

  The display unit 6 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, or the like. The operation unit 7 includes a keyboard and a pointing device (not shown) for an operator to input instructions and information.

  The control unit 8 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown). The control unit 8 reads the control program stored in the storage unit 9 and executes functions in each unit of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1.

  The storage unit 9 is an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a semiconductor memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) and a ROM (Read Only Memory).

  Next, transmission / reception of ultrasonic waves by the ultrasonic probe 2 to which the shield 10 is attached will be described. First, the operator performs transmission / reception of ultrasonic waves by bringing the transmission / reception surface 2a into contact with the body surface of the subject, and displays an ultrasonic image on the display unit 6. The operator searches for a lesion such as a tumor while looking at the displayed ultrasonic image.

  When the operator finds the lesioned part, he writes a contour line indicating the contour of the excision range with a pen on the body surface. explain in detail. When ultrasonic waves are transmitted / received by the ultrasonic probe 2 to which the shield 10 is attached, as shown in FIG. 7, an image 10 ′ of the shield 10 appears in the ultrasonic image UI, and the shield 10 The shadow S by Incidentally, the ultrasonic image UI is a B-mode image, and a symbol L indicates a lesioned part. The operator draws a contour line using the image 10 'and the shadow S. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the operator first places the ultrasonic probe 2 so that the shadow S is positioned at the excision site, as shown in FIGS. A point p is marked on the body surface BS near 10 using a pen 100 (not shown in FIG. 9). FIG. 9 is a view of the body surface BS as viewed from above, and the point p is written in the vicinity of both the side portion 11b and the side portion 11c (not shown in FIG. 9) of the shielding body 10.

  Next, the operator places the ultrasonic probe 2 at a place different from the above so that the shadow S is located at the excision site in the same manner as described above, and marks the point p using the pen 100. By repeating this a plurality of times, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, a plurality of points p are marked on the body surface BS.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 11, the operator writes a contour line Ol on the body surface BS using the pen 100 (not shown in FIG. 11) with the point p as a reference. For example, the contour line Ol may be drawn so as to connect the points p, or may be drawn so as to pass through the vicinity of the points p so as to form a smooth line. In the present invention, the contour line Ol is an example of an embodiment of a mark for indicating a range that is a target of a procedure for a subject.

  According to this example, since the shadow S is formed on the ultrasonic image UI by the shield 10, the position where the shield 10 is provided in the ultrasonic probe 2 corresponds to which position in the ultrasonic image UI. You can figure out what to do. Therefore, the operator writes the point p on the body surface BS with the shadow S and the shield 10 as a reference, and writes the contour line Ol based on the point p, whereby the position of the contour line Ol is determined. The accuracy is good.

  Further, conventionally, an operator has had to look at the ultrasonic probe and mark the body surface while taking into account the deviation between the central position of the casing in the azimuth direction and the central position of the ultrasonic image. However, according to this example, the point p can be easily marked by using the shield 10 as a reference.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated by the said embodiment, of course, this invention can be variously implemented in the range which does not change the main point. For example, the setting method of the point p and the contour line Ol is an example, and is not limited to the setting method described above.

  Moreover, the structure of the said shield 10 is only an example. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, when the step portion 2c is formed on the surface of the ultrasonic probe 2, the shield 10 has a locking portion 11d to be locked to the step portion 2c. Also good. The locking portion 11d is provided at the end of the side portions 11b and 11c (only the side portion 11b is shown in FIG. 12). Then, the shield 10 is detachably attached to the ultrasonic probe 2 by locking the locking portion 11d to the stepped portion 2c. The step 2c is an example of an embodiment of a locked portion in the present invention.

  The position where the shield 10 is provided is not limited to the center of the ultrasonic probe 2 in the azimuth direction. The shield 10 may be attached to a position desired by the operator in the azimuth direction of the transmission / reception surface 2a.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 2 Ultrasonic probe 2a Transmission / reception surface 2c Step part (locked part)
10 Shield

Claims (7)

An ultrasonic shield extending in the elevation direction is provided in a part of the ultrasonic transmission / reception surface in the azimuth direction ,
The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the shield serves as a reference for marking a mark on a body surface of a subject for indicating a range of a procedure for a subject that is a subject of ultrasound transmission / reception .   The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the shield extends on a side surface of the ultrasonic probe in the elevation direction.   The ultrasonic probe according to claim 2, wherein the shield is provided so as to sandwich the side surface by elasticity.   The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the shield is provided by being locked to a locked portion of the ultrasonic probe.   The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the shield is detachably provided.   An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising the ultrasonic probe according to claim 1. In the ultrasonic probe, a portion in the azimuth direction of the transmission and reception surface of the ultrasonic, a shield of the ultrasound that is provided so as to extend in the elevation direction, and subject of the procedure to the subject with an ultrasonic transmission and reception target A shield that serves as a reference for marking on the body surface of the subject a mark for indicating the range .