JPS5814219B2 - Probe position detector for ultrasonic diagnostic equipment using a probe inserted into the body cavity - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a probe position detector for an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using a probe inserted into a body cavity, and particularly a probe position detector that allows a diagnostician to easily know the position of a probe inserted into a body cavity by visual inspection. Concerning vessels.

Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment that displays and observes organs deep within the body as ultrasound images by inserting a probe that transmits and receives ultrasound beams into a subject's body cavity, such as the esophagus or rectum, near the organ that requires diagnosis. is well known and has the advantage of being able to perform diagnosis in deep areas that cannot be obtained by transmitting and receiving ultrasound beams from the body surface with clear image display.

However, with this conventional ultrasonic diagnostic device, it is difficult to accurately determine the position of the probe inserted into the body cavity, and the conventional device predicts the probe position by measuring the insertion length of the cable. However, with this conventional method, it is difficult to accurately detect the probe position due to cable bends and other factors, it takes a lot of time to search for organs that require diagnosis, and it is difficult to predict the probe position. It has the disadvantage of causing misdiagnosis due to inaccuracy.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and its purpose is to provide a probe position detector that allows the probe position to be easily viewed from the outside in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using a probe inserted into a body cavity. It's about doing.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a sheet-like substrate that is flexible and can be placed in close contact with a relatively wide area of a subject; A large number of ultrasonic receiving elements that receive ultrasonic beams, and a large number of displays provided on a sheet-like substrate at positions corresponding to each ultrasonic receiving element to display a display corresponding to the received ultrasonic intensity of each ultrasonic receiving element. The device is characterized in that it is brought into close contact with the body surface of a subject into which the probe has been inserted into the body cavity, and displays the position of the probe within the subject.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an ultrasonic diagnostic state using the probe position detector according to the present invention, in which a radial scanning probe 12 is inserted into the body cavity of a subject 10, that is, the esophagus.
The external diagnostic device main body and the probe 12 are electrically connected by a cable 14.

In FIG. 1, a probe 12 is inserted into the stomach of a subject 10, and an ultrasound beam 16 is radially scanned from inside the stomach along a plane perpendicular to the body axis of the subject 10.

Therefore, a tomographic image obtained by slicing the subject 10 along the body axis from inside the stomach is displayed on the display section of the ultrasonic diagnostic device (not shown), making it possible to accurately diagnose organs and other organs located deep from the body surface. Can be done.

A characteristic feature of the present invention is that a probe position detector 18 is arranged in close contact with the surface of the subject 10, and the probe position detector 18 detects the probe position inside the subject 10.
The position of No. 2 can be detected accurately.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a state in which the probe position detector 18 is placed in close contact with the surface of the subject 10. In the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2, the probe position detector 18 is
is formed from a strip-shaped detector extending long along the body axis of the subject 10.

FIG. 3 shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of the probe position detector 18, which is connected to a flexible sheet-like substrate 20.
The sheet-like substrate 20 is made of an insulating substrate made of rubber, plastic, cloth, etc., and a surface protective layer 22 is laminated on one surface of the sheet-like substrate 20, as shown in FIG. And, as shown in FIG. 2, it is arranged in almost intimate contact with the surface of the subject 10.

The surface protection layer 22 is made of a material that has low attenuation to ultrasonic waves, has electrical insulation properties, and has good chemical stability, and is preferably made of a material such as rubber or plastic.

When the surface protection layer 22 is brought into close contact with the surface of the subject 10, it is preferable that a good transmission medium for ultrasound, such as echo jelly, be applied between the two.

On the sheet-like substrate 20, a large number of ultrasonic receiving elements 24 are finely arranged at substantially uniform density in positions adjacent to the surface protection layer 22.

The ultrasonic receiving elements 24 are composed of well-known acoustoelectric transducers, and their receiving surfaces are arranged toward the surface protective layer 22, and each ultrasonic receiving element 24 is provided electrically independent of each other. .

In the embodiment, the ultrasonic receiving elements 24 are arranged in two rows in the width direction of the sheet-like substrate 20, and about 20 in the length direction.

A large number of display elements 26 are provided on the other surface of the sheet-like substrate 20 at positions corresponding to the respective ultrasonic receiving elements 24, and each ultrasonic receiving element 24 and display element 26 are connected by a connecting plug 28. ing.

The display element 26 in the embodiment is composed of a light emitting diode, the light emitting surface of which is exposed from the sheet-like substrate 20, and can display a brightness corresponding to the intensity of the ultrasonic waves received by the ultrasonic receiving element 24.

Each ultrasonic receiving element 24 and each display element 26 are electrically connected within a connection plug 28, and each element 24.2
6 are connected to lead wires 30 embedded in a matrix in the sheet-like substrate 20, and connected to an external power supply and processing circuit, and the ultrasonic beam 16 transmitted from the probe 12 to the subject 10 is After being converted into an electrical signal by the sound wave receiving element 24, electrical processing such as detection and amplification is performed by an external processing circuit, and each display element 26 is excited by this electrical excitation signal.

Therefore, each display element 26 can display a luminance corresponding to the received ultrasonic intensity of the ultrasonic receiving element 24 provided correspondingly.

The structure of the present invention consists of the above structure, and its operation will be explained below.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, when a radially scanned ultrasound beam 16 is transmitted from the probe 12, a portion of this ultrasound beam is emitted from the body surface to the outside and crosses the probe position detector 18.

Therefore, at this time, the ultrasonic receiving element 24 of the probe position detector 18 placed across the area of the ultrasonic beam outputs a detection signal corresponding to the ultrasonic intensity, and as a result, the probe position detector 18 Display element 2 exposed on the surface
6 will emit light.

The light emitting display element 26 changes the number of light emitted or the light emission brightness depending on the intensity or spread of the ultrasonic beam 16, but as shown in the figure, the transmission position of the ultrasonic beam 16 is determined by the position of the light emitting display element 26. can know,
From this, it becomes possible to know the position of the probe 12 inserted into the body cavity of the subject 10 extremely accurately from the outside.

Each time the probe 12 moves, the position of the display element 26 that emits light also moves, making it possible to visually observe the state of movement of the probe 12 within the body cavity with great accuracy.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which the probe position detector 18 has a wide planar area different from the embodiment of FIG. It is suitable for detecting the position of a probe that transmits and receives with a fixed single beam.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the structure of the probe position detector 18 is the same as that shown in FIG. 3, and is connected to the power source and the processing section 32.

In each of the embodiments described above, the display element 26 is formed from a light emitting diode, but as the display element 26,
Other examples can be formed from liquid crystals or any other display element.

As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to visually determine the position of a probe inserted into a body cavity extremely accurately from the outside, and it is possible to quickly search for a necessary diagnostic site and to make an error. It becomes possible to perform ultrasonic diagnosis without fear of diagnosis.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing an ultrasonic diagnostic state in which the probe position detector according to the present invention is used, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the main part of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a diagram of FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a main part of the probe position detector shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the probe position detector according to the present invention. 10... Subject, 12... Probe, 16... Ultrasonic beam, 18... Probe position detector, 20... Sheet-like substrate, 22... Surface protective layer, 24... Ultrasonic receiving element,
26...Display element.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A sheet-like substrate that is flexible and can be placed in close contact with a relatively wide area of a subject, and ultrasonic beams arranged on the sheet-like substrate with a substantially uniform density and each of which is individually irradiated with an ultrasonic beam. A large number of ultrasonic receiving elements that receive ultrasonic waves, and a large number of display elements that are provided on a sheet-like substrate at positions corresponding to each ultrasonic receiving element and display a display corresponding to the intensity of ultrasonic waves received by each ultrasonic receiving element. 1. A probe position detector for an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus using a body cavity insertion probe, characterized in that the probe is brought into close contact with the body surface of a subject into which the probe is inserted into the body cavity, and displays the position of the probe within the subject. 2. A probe position detector for an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using a body cavity insertion probe in the apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each display element is formed of a light emitting diode. 3. A probe position detector for an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using a probe inserted into a body cavity, in the apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each display element is formed of liquid crystal.