JP6238280B2 - Ultrasonic probe vibration device and ultrasonic elastography device for ultrasonic elastography - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vibration device that vibrates an ultrasonic probe of ultrasonic elastography and an ultrasonic elastography device .

  Ultrasonic elastography has been applied clinically. Ultrasonic elastography uses the correlation calculation of ultrasonic reception signals of two adjacent frames in time series by vibrating the ultrasonic transmission / reception surface of the ultrasonic probe on the body surface of the subject. This is a device for measuring the distortion by obtaining the displacement at each point of this, and further spatially differentiating the displacement to image this distortion data.

  Ultrasonic elastography has an excellent feature that cannot be obtained by a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, that is, elasticity modulus data of a living tissue can be visualized.

  Examples of such an ultrasonic device include those described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2.

JP-A-5-317313 JP 2000-60853 A

  In the conventional elastography apparatus, it is necessary to manually compress the tissue of interest. For this reason, it is difficult to keep pressing at a compression speed range suitable for high image quality at all points in a series of compression processes. For this reason, since the compression at each time is not constant, the plurality of elastic image data output as a result is discontinuous in time and becomes an image that varies between frames of the elastic image data, making image diagnosis difficult. There is a case.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to stably render a high-quality elastic image at an arbitrary time phase.

In order to achieve the above object, a vibration device for an ultrasonic probe for ultrasonic elastography according to the present invention comprises:
A support for supporting an ultrasonic probe for ultrasonic elastography;
A vibration unit that accepts designation of a predetermined vibration pattern and vibrates the support unit with the designated vibration pattern ;
Is provided.

Another ultrasonic probe vibration device for ultrasonic elastography of the present invention is:
A support for supporting an ultrasonic probe for ultrasonic elastography;
An excitation unit that vibrates the support unit in a predetermined vibration pattern;
A first mounting table for mounting a first living body part sandwiching a joint as a subject, and a second mounting table for mounting a second living body part;
A fixing member that supports the second mounting table in a swingable manner with respect to the first mounting table, and that is fixed at an arbitrary angular position;
Is provided.

  You may arrange | position the angle measurement part which measures the angle which the mounting surface of a said 1st mounting base and the mounting surface of a said 2nd mounting base make.

  The excitation unit includes, for example, a motor and control signal generation means for generating a control signal for the motor, and the control signal generation means is configured to vibrate the vibration pattern based on information specifying the vibration pattern. Is generated, and the generated control signal is supplied to the motor.

  For example, a position adjustment unit that adjusts the position of the support unit with respect to the subject is provided.

The excitation unit vibrates the support unit in a predetermined vibration pattern in a direction substantially perpendicular to a contact surface with which the ultrasonic probe for ultrasonic elastography contacts in a subject,
The vibration pattern may be a pattern in which the ultrasonic probe for ultrasonic elastography is vibrated by repeatedly moving up and down.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is an external appearance block diagram of the ultrasonic probe vibration apparatus for ultrasonic elastography which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (a) is a front view, (b) is a side view. It is a figure which shows the structure of an excitation mechanism. It is a block diagram which shows the circuit structure of a vibration excitation mechanism. It is a figure which shows a vibration (relationship between the position of an ultrasonic probe, and time), (a) is an example in which the vibration is a triangular wave, and (b) is an example in which the vibration is a uniform acceleration motion. It is a figure which illustrates the use condition of the ultrasonic probe vibration apparatus for ultrasonic elastography which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the data preserve | saved at a database. It is a figure for demonstrating the pushing amount of an ultrasonic probe. It is a block diagram of the example of composition which adjusts pushing depth appropriately using a contact sensor and a Z-axis motor. It is a figure which shows the example which memorize | stores the optimal value of indentation depth for every site | part.

  Hereinafter, an elastography apparatus including a vibration device (vibration device) according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  The elastography apparatus according to the present embodiment is an apparatus that uses a wrist as a subject and visualizes the elastic modulus of the subject, and includes a vibration device that vibrates (vibrates) an ultrasonic probe.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the vibration device 10 includes an arm placing table 11, a hand placing table 12, a hinge unit 13, a positioning table 14, a Z stage 15, and an excitation mechanism 20. Consists of

  The arm placing table 11 has a planar rectangular shape and a height that allows the subject to easily place the arm, and is installed almost horizontally. The arm mounting table 11 may include legs 11a and 11b as illustrated. Further, a fixing strap or the like for fixing the arm may be provided.

  The manual placement table 12 is a table on which a subject places his / her hand, and is pivotally connected to the longitudinal end of the arm placement table by a hinge portion 13. The manual placement table 12 can be tilted at an arbitrary angle and fixed at an arbitrary angle with respect to the arm placement table 11 by the hinge portion 13.

  The hinge unit 13 is swingably hinged to the hand placement table 12 and the arm placement table 11 and fixes the arm placement table 12 at an arbitrary inclination angle. For fixing, a fixing member 13b, for example, a locking hook or a fixing screw is arranged. The hinge unit 13 further includes a protractor 13a so that the inclination angle of the hand placement table 12 to the arm placement table 11 can be easily grasped. In addition, as the protractor 13a, an angle measuring device including a rotary encoder or the like may be arranged, and the measured angle may be notified to a vibration controller 40 or the like described later.

  The positioning table 14 is a frame that supports the vibration mechanism 20 and the like, and includes leg portions 14a and 14b disposed on both sides of the arm mounting table 11, and a top plate 14c that connects the upper ends of the leg portions 14a and 14b. Prepare. The legs 14a and 14b have a height that allows the arm of the subject to pass easily. The top plate 14c is bridged between the leg portions 14a and 14b. As a whole, the positioning table 14 has sufficient strength and rigidity to stably support the Z stage 15 and the vibration mechanism 20. The resonance frequency is set to a frequency other than an integral multiple of the frequency of vibration generated by the vibration mechanism 20.

  The Z stage 15 is installed on the top plate 14c of the positioning table 14, and moves the stage 15b in the Z-axis direction (vertical direction) and holds the stop position according to the operation of the position adjustment knob 15a by the user. The position set by the Z stage 15 is the zero point position of the ultrasonic probe.

  Next, the vibration mechanism 20 includes a rotary motor 21 fixed to the Z stage 15, a screw shaft 22, a ball nut 23, a slider 24, and a fixed portion 25.

  The rotary motor 21 is composed of a motor that can easily control the rotation angle, and is fixed to the upper end portion of the Z stage 15 with the rotation axis facing downward in the Z-axis direction. The rotary motor 21 is driven and controlled by a vibration controller 40 described later. There are stepping motors, AC servo motors, and the like as motors that can easily control the rotation angle. In the following description, however, stepping motors are assumed for easy understanding.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the screw shaft 22 is a shaft directly connected to the rotation shaft of the rotary motor 21, and male screws 22 a having a predetermined pitch P are formed.

  The ball nut 23 is formed with a female screw having a pitch P and is screwed with the male screw 22 a of the screw shaft 22. A pin 23a is disposed on the ball nut 23, and the rotation of the ball nut 23 is restricted by the pin 23a. For this reason, the ball nut 23 moves along the screw shaft 22 as the screw shaft 22 rotates. The moving speed of the ball nut 23 is proportional to the rotating speed of the screw shaft 22, and the moving direction is one direction when the screw shaft 22 of the male screw 22a is rotating forward, and the opposite direction when the screw shaft 22 is rotating backward. Become.

  With such a configuration, the rotation of the rotary motor 21 causes the screw shaft 22 to rotate forward once, and the ball nut 23 moves by one pitch P in one direction of the rotation axis of the screw shaft 22. A rotation-linear motion conversion mechanism (linear slider) in which the screw shaft 22 is rotated once and the ball nut 23 is moved by one pitch P in the other direction of the rotation shaft of the screw shaft 22 by one reversal of 21. Is done.

  The slider 24 is fixed to the pin 23a of the ball nut 23, is guided by a guide portion such as a rail or a guide while restricting the rotation of the ball nut 23, and slides in the Z-axis direction as the ball nut 23 moves. .

  The fixing unit 25 shown in FIG. 1 holds and fixes the elastography ultrasonic probe 30 with the ultrasonic transmission / reception surface protruding from the lower end of the slider 24. The gripping or fixing method itself is arbitrary, and may be screwed or fixed by an elastic body. The slider 24 and the fixed portion 25 function as a support portion that supports and vibrates the ultrasonic probe 30.

Vibration caused by the rotation of the rotary motor 21 is controlled by the vibration controller 40.
The vibration controller 40 includes a computer device, and includes an input unit 41, a display unit 42, a motor driver 43, and a control unit 44, as shown in FIG.

  The input unit 41 inputs various data to the control unit 44. In this embodiment, in particular, the amplitude, frequency (or period), and waveform shape of the vertical movement of the ultrasonic probe 30 are input. The input unit 41 notifies the control unit 44 of the input data.

The display unit 42 displays information indicating the vibration of the ultrasound probe 30, such as amplitude, frequency, and waveform, on the screen.
The motor driver 43 performs phase switching control and the like according to the control of the control unit 44, and outputs a drive signal (phase switching signal) for driving the rotary motor 21 configured by a stepping motor.

  The control unit 44 includes a processor, a memory, etc., detects the phase switching timing in order to give the ultrasonic probe 30 the vibration instructed from the input unit 41, and sends a control signal necessary for the phase switching to the motor driver 43. To give.

An example of a procedure for generating a control signal by the control unit 44 will be described.
Here, the number of steps per rotation of the stepping motor constituting the rotary motor 21 is N, and the pitch of the male screw formed on the screw shaft 22 is P.

  In this case, each time the rotor of the rotary motor 21 advances one phase (step), the ultrasonic probe 30 moves by P / N. The control unit 44 controls the control signal so that the rotor of the rotary motor 21 advances by one step every time the ultrasonic probe 30 (that is, the ball nut 23) should move by P / N according to the instructed vibration. Should be generated.

  For example, if the vibration to be applied to the ultrasonic probe 30 is a triangular wave (constant speed movement) shown in FIG. 4A, the ultrasonic probe 30 is in a half cycle (T / 2). Then, the peak moves from peak to peak by 2 · A (A is the amplitude). Therefore, the time required for the P / N movement is T / (4 · A). Therefore, the control unit 44 outputs a control signal for switching the drive signal so that the rotor of the rotary motor 21 advances one step every time the period T / (4 · A) elapses.

  For example, when the vibration to be applied to the ultrasound probe 30 is a uniform acceleration motion, the position of the ultrasound probe 30 in the Z direction is represented by the graph shown in FIG. Here, in the period of 0 to T / 4 and 3T / 4 to T of one cycle T, the acceleration α is a negative constant value, and in the period of T / 4 to 3T / 4, the acceleration α is a positive constant value. . The controller 44 controls the minute times Δt0, Δt1, Δt2,... Required for the ultrasonic probe 30 to move by P / N. . . Are sequentially obtained for one cycle from the rotation start time t = 0 and stored. The control unit 44 outputs a control signal for phase switching to advance the rotary motor 21 by one step each time the stored minute time Δt elapses. The same control is repeated every time the control for one cycle is completed.

  In this way, the ultrasonic probe 30 vibrates with the amplitude, frequency, and waveform specified by the user. In this embodiment, the vibration direction of the vibration generated by the vibration mechanism 20 is substantially perpendicular to the ultrasonic transmission / reception surface of the ultrasonic probe 30 and the body surface of the subject.

  Note that, depending on the vibration waveform, Δt for ¼ period or ½ period may be obtained and repeated control may be performed.

  The detection signal of the ultrasonic probe 30 is output to a normal elastography apparatus. The elastography apparatus gives a signal for oscillating an ultrasonic wave to the ultrasonic probe 30 and processes the reflected wave detected by the ultrasonic probe 30, thereby causing elasticity at each position of the cross section of the subject. The rate is obtained, imaged, and displayed on the display screen.

  The amplitude A is preferably 0.2 mm to 1 mm, more preferably about 0.3 to 0.7 mm.

Next, a diagnostic procedure using the elastography apparatus having the above configuration will be described.
The subject puts his hand between the positioning table 14 and the arm placing table 11 so that the wrist joint is positioned on the hinge part 13. Further, the angle of the hand placing table 12 is adjusted so that the ultrasonic probe 30 can easily come into contact with the wrist. This state is illustrated in FIG. Here, if necessary, the arm and the hand are fixed with a fixing strap.

Subsequently, the position adjustment knob 15a of the Z stage 15 is operated to lower the position of the ultrasonic probe 30 and bring it into contact with the wrist.
In addition, the amount of pushing in the surface of the wrist can be adjusted as appropriate.

On the other hand, information defining the vibration applied to the ultrasonic probe 30, that is, amplitude, frequency (period), and waveform are input to the control unit 44 via the input unit 41 of the vibration controller 40. As described above, the control unit 44 obtains data for specifying the phase switching timing based on the input data, and stores it in the internal memory.
Subsequently, the user starts diagnosis by the elastography apparatus from the input unit 41 and instructs the control unit 44 to start vibration.

In response to the instruction, the control unit 44 obtains and determines the passage of the minute time Δt, and indicates the phase switching timing for advancing the rotor of the rotary motor 21 by one step each time the minute time Δt has passed. The operation of outputting a signal is repeated. The motor driver 43 switches the drive signal and advances the rotor of the rotary motor 21 by one step each time phase switching is instructed. And every time half-cycle T / 2 passes, the rotation direction of the rotary motor 21 is reversed.
In addition, the control unit 44 displays a vibration parameter, a vibration waveform, and the like that specify the currently applied vibration on the display unit 42.

  Thereby, the rotary motor 21 rotates while reversing the rotation direction every half cycle T / 2, and accordingly, the ball nut 23 is alternately moved upward and downward, and is connected to the ball nut. The ultrasonic probe 30 fixed to the slider 24 also moves (vibrates) up and down.

  When the ultrasonic probe 30 vibrates, vibration is applied substantially perpendicularly to the body surface of the wrist that is the subject.

  The ultrasonic probe 30 emits ultrasonic waves to the wrist while receiving vibrations on the wrist, receives reflected waves, and supplies them to the elastography apparatus. The elastography apparatus processes this and displays a tomographic image showing the elastic modulus distribution of the wrist portion.

  As described above, when this apparatus is used, the vibration mechanism 20 vibrates the ultrasonic probe 30 with a predetermined vibration pattern, which is suitable for improving image quality continuously in a series of compression processes. It is possible to continue to compress within the range of compression speed. For this reason, a high-quality elastic image can be stably depicted in an arbitrary time phase.

  Further, if the positions of the forearm and the probe of the subject are fixed, the examiner only needs to pay attention to the rendered image, and the recording and measurement of the image can be performed more easily and objectively. In addition, it is possible to objectively evaluate elastography of muscles, tendons, nerves, ligaments, and the like in the wrist joints, which have been difficult to render with a conventional method.

  Note that the elastography apparatus, the vibration controller 40, etc. are connected to a medical database via a network, and the patient ID, date, angle measured with a protractor, and vibration waveform data (amplitude, The image data obtained together with the period, waveform, etc.) may be registered. Further, it may be stored in association with data obtained by other modality devices to be useful for the next inspection.

In the above embodiment, the initial position in the Z direction of the ultrasound probe 30 is left to the operator's operation. On the other hand, the inventor of the present application has found that there is an appropriate indentation depth in order to obtain a good observation result depending on the observation target.
For example, in the case of the median nerve of the wrist, as shown by a broken line in FIG. 7, it is pressed and pressed from the contact position indicated by the solid line (pushing depth 0) by about 3 to 5 mm, preferably about 3.5 to 4.5 mm. I found that the measurement results were better. Therefore, the configuration illustrated in FIG. 8 may be adopted to automatically adjust the push-in depth. In FIG. 8, a contact sensor 51 including a pressure sensor or the like is arranged on the Z stage 15 (or the ultrasonic probe 30 or the like). A Z-axis motor 52 is arranged on the Z stage 15.
In the control unit 44 of the vibration controller 40, an optimum pushing depth is stored in advance for each part as shown in FIG. When the vibration controller 40 determines from the detection of the contact sensor 51 that the ultrasonic probe 30 has come into contact with the sample, the vibration controller 40 drives the Z-axis motor 52 and pushes in the Z stage 15 in advance. Push in. Note that information specifying a part is input to the control unit 44.
The indentation depth may vary depending on the age, sex, individual differences, etc. even at the same site. For this reason, you may enable it to customize the pushing depth for every patient ID. That is, register patient (examinee) ID, part ID, push-in depth, optimum inclination angle (angle formed by the two placement units), past data, acquisition date and conditions, etc. in the medical database (DB). In addition, at the time of measurement, the DB may be referred to obtain an optimal pushing depth for each patient and part, and the position may be adjusted.

  When it is desired to compare the current measurement data with the previous measurement data, the previous data registered in the medical DB is referred to, the angle of the manual placement unit 12 is the same as the previous angle, and The vibration pattern may be the same as the previous time. By doing so, an image with good reproducibility and appropriately comparable can be obtained.

  In addition, as a means for adjusting the position of the ultrasonic probe 30, the Z stage 15 that is manually adjusted is illustrated. For example, when the configuration shown in FIG. 9 is adopted and the user gives an instruction to the input unit 41, the Z-axis motor 52 is driven and the Z stage 15 is moved until the contact sensor 51 detects contact. The position may be adjusted by the Z-axis motor 52 until it moves and the ultrasound transmitting / receiving surface of the ultrasound probe 30 contacts the body surface of the specimen. In this case, also when separating the ultrasound probe 30 from the specimen, for example, in response to an instruction to the input unit 41, the control unit 44 drives the Z-axis motor 52 to remove the ultrasound probe 30 from the specimen. Move away from the home position.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation and application are possible.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the slider 24 is exemplified as the support portion that supports the ultrasonic probe 30, but the ultrasonic probe 30 is stably supported (gripped / fixed) and vibrated. If possible, the structure is arbitrary.

In the above embodiment, the subject is the wrist, and the arm placing table 11 and the hand placing table 12 are arranged in accordance with the subject. The examination targets are the elbow, the finger joint, the knee, the ankle, the chest, the abdomen, and the waist. Etc. are optional. In this case, the size, position, strength, material, and the like of the two mounting tables are also adjusted in accordance with the size of the part to be measured and the direction of bending. In either case, the first biological part sandwiching the joint as the subject (examination object) is placed on the first mounting table, the second biological part is placed on the second mounting table, and the first The second mounting table is swingably supported with respect to one mounting table by a hinge mechanism, and can be fixed at an arbitrary angular position. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to apply vibration with the ultrasonic probe 30 while fixing the subject without forcing the subject to take an unreasonable posture.
The structure is not limited to the mounting table having such a configuration, and any structure can be used as long as the subject can be stably fixed without difficulty and the ultrasonic probe 30 can be brought into contact therewith.

  Further, for example, when a mammary gland or the like is used as a subject, for example, the mounting table is removed, and the positioning table 14 is placed on the bed or a nearby table at a height that allows the subject to lie on the bed, and the thymus from above. The ultrasonic probe 30 may be brought into contact with and vibrated in the vicinity.

As an example of vibration applied to the ultrasonic probe 30 by the vibration unit, that is, the vibration mechanism 20 and the vibration controller 40, FIG. 4 shows an example of triangular wave vibration and equal acceleration vibration, but is not limited thereto. For example, sinusoidal vibration may be used. For ultrasonic elastography, uniform acceleration vibration as illustrated in FIG. 4B is most preferable.
Moreover, in the said embodiment, the example which an examiner etc. input and designates an amplitude, a frequency, and a waveform from the input part 41 to the control part 44 as a parameter which specifies vibration was shown. For example, the control unit 44 stores in advance a vibration waveform, for example, a triangular wave shape, a sawtooth wave shape, a constant acceleration motion shape, a sine wave shape, and the like. One of them may be designated and selected, and only other amplitude and frequency parameters may be designated.
Furthermore, the control unit 44 may store a set of parameters that specify vibration in advance, and an examiner or the like may designate or select any parameter from the input unit 41.
Furthermore, the vibration pattern may be fixed.

  For ease of understanding, the rotary motor 21 has been described as a stepping motor. However, as described above, any rotary motor may be used as long as the rotational position can be controlled. For example, an AC servo motor having a function of detecting a rotation angle and a rotation speed of a motor shaft (rotation shaft) and performing feedback control may be used. When a servo motor is used as the rotary motor 21, the vibration controller 40 transmits, for example, a control signal indicating the rotation angle of the rotor specified by the vibration parameter to the rotary motor 21, and the rotary motor 21 is instructed by the control signal. Control (servo control) is performed so that the position of the rotor coincides with the position. A part of the function of the vibration controller 40 may be incorporated in the servo mechanism.

  Further, although a power conversion mechanism that converts the rotation of the rotary motor 21 into a linear motion of the ball nut 23 is employed, any configuration may be employed as long as the rotation of the rotary motor 21 can be converted into a linear reciprocating motion. . Further, the movement of the slider 24 may be directly controlled using a linear motor.

  In addition, the structure of the vibration mechanism 20 that constitutes the vibration unit is such that the support unit that supports the ultrasonic probe has a predetermined vibration pattern (parameter) or a vibration pattern (parameter) designated by the examiner. If it can vibrate stably, it can be changed arbitrarily.

  Further, although the Z stage 15 is illustrated as a position adjustment unit that adjusts the position of the support unit that supports the ultrasound probe 30 with respect to the subject, for example, in addition to the Z stage 15 on the positioning table 14 An X-axis stage, a Y-axis stage, etc. may be arranged. In this way, the position of the ultrasound probe 30 and the position of the subject can be adjusted more accurately.

  As a preliminary study, we created a phantom simulating a wrist joint using this device and measured the known strain. The measurement was performed under three conditions: a state in which the probe phantom was in contact with the phantom surface (0 mm) and a state in which pressure was pressed at 2 mm and 4 mm. An ultrasonic device manufactured by Hitachi Medical Corporation was used. A coupler (jelly) having a distortion value serving as a reference was placed on the ultrasonic probe 30 and measured in an elastography mode. A vertical movement of 0.4 to 0.6 mm was applied to the ultrasonic probe by an automatic vibration device, and the strain value was observed within a range of 0.7 or less. The distortion ratio between the coupler and the fan was determined, and the compression condition closest to the known distortion ratio was investigated. As a result, the strain ratio of the median nerve phantom was 1.03, 0.80, and 0.55 under the compression conditions 0, 2, and 4 mm, respectively. Since the strain ratio of the fan and the coupler is 0.45, it was found that the compression condition of 4 mm is optimum for measuring the strain of the median nerve in the deep part.

Next, the strain of the median nerve was measured at the joints of both hands for 15 healthy women (27-62 years old). Measurement was carried out in the same manner as phantom measurement, and an average value of 5 times was obtained. Two examiners (A, B) were measured for the same subject group. Examiner A measured the same subject again one week after the initial measurement. The intra-examiner reliability of A and the inter-examiner reliability of A and B were evaluated.
As a result, the average of the distortion ratios was examiner A: 1.69 for the first time, 1.65 for the second time, and examiner B: 1.56. The intra-examiner reliability of A was 0.91, and the inter-examiner reliability of A and B was 0.72 and 0.78 for the first and second rounds of A. From the above, it was confirmed that good reproducibility can be obtained in ultrasonic elastography using this apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vibration apparatus 11 Arm mounting base 11a, 11b Leg part 12 Manual mounting base 13 Hinge part 13a Protractor 13b Fixing member 14 Positioning table 14a, 14b Leg part 14c Top plate 15 Z stage 15a Position adjustment knob 15b Stage 20 Excitation mechanism 21 Rotation Motor 22 Screw shaft 22a Male screw 23 Ball nut 23a Pin 24 Slider 25 Fixed part 30 Ultrasonic probe 40 Vibration controller 41 Input part 42 Display part 43 Motor driver 44 Control part 51 Contact sensor 52 Z-axis motor

Claims (7)

An ultrasonic probe vibration device for ultrasonic elastography,
A support for supporting an ultrasonic probe for ultrasonic elastography;
A vibration unit that accepts designation of a predetermined vibration pattern and vibrates the support unit with the designated vibration pattern;
A vibration device comprising: An ultrasonic probe vibration device for ultrasonic elastography,
A support for supporting an ultrasonic probe for ultrasonic elastography;
An excitation unit that vibrates the support unit in a predetermined vibration pattern;
A first mounting table for mounting a first living body part sandwiching a joint as a subject, and a second mounting table for mounting a second living body part;
A fixing member that supports the second mounting table in a swingable manner with respect to the first mounting table, and that is fixed at an arbitrary angular position;
A vibration device comprising: The vibration device according to claim 2, further comprising: an angle measuring unit that measures an angle formed by the mounting surface of the first mounting table and the mounting surface of the second mounting table. The excitation unit includes a motor and control signal generation means for generating a control signal for the motor,
The control signal generating means generates a control signal for generating vibration of the vibration pattern based on information for specifying the vibration pattern, and supplies the generated control signal to the motor. 4. The vibration device according to any one of items 1 to 3.   The vibration apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a position adjustment unit that adjusts a position of the support unit with respect to the subject. The excitation unit vibrates the support unit in a predetermined vibration pattern in a direction substantially perpendicular to a contact surface with which the ultrasonic probe for ultrasonic elastography contacts in a subject,
The vibration pattern is a pattern that repeats the vertical movement of the ultrasonic probe for ultrasonic elastography and vibrates.
The vibration device according to claim 1, wherein the vibration device is a vibration device. An ultrasonic elastography apparatus including the vibration device according to claim 1.