JPH0331057B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is used in an ultrasonic blood flow meter, and is an ultrasonic probe that is held so as to be in contact with a body surface or an organ at a predetermined angle. The present invention relates to a holder for a probe for a blood flow meter, and particularly to a holder for a probe for an ultrasonic blood flow meter that is formed so as to maintain stable contact with an organ that moves rapidly, such as the heart.

An ultrasonic blood flow meter is a device in which an ultrasonic probe is brought into contact with a predetermined point to be measured at a predetermined angle, and the velocity of blood flow inside the subject is obtained by the ultrasonic waves sent and received by the ultrasonic probe. be.

When performing this measurement, it is important to first make sure that the ultrasonic probe can be moved freely over the body surface or organ in order to locate the blood vessels.

Furthermore, during measurement, it is necessary to hold the ultrasonic probe in contact with the previously set position at a predetermined angle. This measurement is sometimes performed on organs that move rapidly, such as the coronary arteries of the heart, and even in this case, there has been a desire for a holder that does not change the position and holding angle of the abutting portion.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, such an ultrasonic probe has been held as shown in the side view of FIG.

The ultrasonic probe 1 has a matching layer 4, a piezoelectric element layer 3, and a backing layer 5 laminated inside a case 2, and signals are sent and received to each electrode of the piezoelectric element layer 3 via a cable 6. It is designed to take place.

Therefore, during measurement, the case 2 is held between the hands 8 and held at a predetermined angle θ so that the distal end of the case 2 is in contact with the blood vessel 9 of the subject 7. Measurement is performed by filling the ultrasonic propagation liquid 10 such as .

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, if it is held by hand 8 in this way, the position of the contact part may shift during measurement, or the holding angle θ
In particular, when measuring an organ that moves rapidly such as the heart, the measurement position changes and stable measurements cannot be performed.

[Means for solving problems]

The problem mentioned above is that the ultrasonic blood flow meter probe, which transmits and receives ultrasound waves, is held so that it comes into contact with a predetermined location on the subject at a predetermined angle. The child holder has a disc-shaped holding part that comes into contact with the subject, and a protrusion that has a built-in ultrasonic probe and is held between fingers, and the holding part has a notch. The problem is solved by the probe holder for an ultrasonic blood flow meter of the present invention, wherein the holding part is made of an elastic material and has a hardness lower than that of the protruding part. .

[Effect]

That is, by bringing the disc-shaped holding part into contact with the subject, fluctuations in the holding angle θ can be reduced, and by holding the protrusion between the fingers, the ultrasonic probe can be held on the body surface.
Alternatively, the finger can be moved freely over the organ, and the rapid movement of the heart or the like can be absorbed by the finger's tracking ability. Furthermore, by providing grooves and suction holes on the subject side of the disk-shaped holding part, slippage on the surface of the subject such as the heart is reduced and the measurement position is stabilized.

Therefore, compared to traditional hand holding,
Displacement of the abutting portion and fluctuation of the holding angle are no longer caused, and stable holding can be achieved and reliability can be improved.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be explained in detail below with reference to an embodiment shown in FIG. A is a perspective view, b is a sectional view, and c is a plan view of a viewed from below, and the same reference numerals indicate the same objects throughout the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the probe holder for an ultrasonic blood flow meter is formed of a disc-shaped holding part 11 and a protrusion part 12 that come into contact with a subject 7 such as the heart.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the ultrasonic probe 1 is built into the projection 12 and forms an angle θ with the lower surface of the holding portion 11. When the ultrasonic probe 1 is assembled into the holder, a stopper 15 is installed to prevent it from coming into contact with the subject.
is provided. This stopper 15 is not necessary when the ultrasonic probe 1 is used by being fixed to a holder by adhesive or the like.

The holes 16 are for emitting ultrasonic waves, and are filled with a liquid for propagating ultrasonic waves, such as ultrasonic gel, when in use. However, the hole 16 can be filled with any solid material that has low attenuation of ultrasonic waves.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, relatively hard plastic is used as the material. Therefore,
Providing a groove 14 in the holding portion 11 as shown in FIG. 1c for anti-slip purposes is highly effective. Groove 14
At the same time, it also has the effect of not compressing blood vessels existing on the surface of the subject.

Furthermore, the holding portion is provided with a notch 13, which has the effect of making it easier to apply ultrasound to blood vessels, especially when measuring blood vessels present on the surface of a subject.

How to use the holder constructed in this way will be explained with reference to a in FIG. Pointer finger 8A on protrusion 12
and the middle finger 8B touches the pinch holder at the position to be measured. If the blood vessel 9 is present on the surface of the subject 7, such as a coronary artery of the heart, it can be easily positioned using the notch 13. When the positions match, blood flow is detected as Doppler sound. It is easy to fix the holder in that position by lightly pressing the holding part 11 with your finger. Even if the object to be examined moves violently, such as the heart, the movement can be followed by the fingers, so the position will not shift. In addition, by lightly pressing the disk portion 11 with your finger, the probe 1 is moved at an angle θ with respect to the surface of the object.
maintain.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which a rubber material such as silicone rubber is used as the material of the holder. A is a perspective view, and b is a plan view of a viewed from below. The difference from FIG. 1 is that as shown in FIG.
This is the point where the number 7 was set. The holding part 11 is made of a rubber material having elasticity, and the disc part 11 is pressed with a finger.
By pressing down, the air in the hole 17 escapes to the outside. When the force applied to the finger is released, the elasticity of the rubber creates a negative pressure inside the hole, and the holder is pressed against the subject and fixed. If the holder shown in FIG. 2 is used, there is no need to place a finger during measurement, thereby facilitating measurement.

Here, since the protrusion 12 does not require elasticity, a hard rubber material or plastic can be used. By making the protrusion 12 hard, it is possible to eliminate deviations in angle θ due to bending of the protrusion 12 with respect to the disk portion 11.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize an ultrasonic probe holder that can be easily fixed even on fat on the body surface and the heart surface and can perform stable scanning.
The surface of the human heart, especially the elderly, is covered with fat, which not only makes blood vessels invisible, but also makes it very slippery. In addition, it must move smoothly until it locates a blood vessel, and once it has located it, it must be fixed to make it difficult to move. Also, many organs and body surfaces are curved rather than flat, so when you locate a blood vessel, you must be able to press along the curves of the body surface with your fingertips. Also, the angle of the sensor part must be fixed. That is, the present invention satisfies all of the above points at the same time, and has very large effects. The probe is held in such a way that there is no displacement of the probe relative to the subject and no variation in the holding angle.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, in which a is a perspective view, b is a sectional view, and c is a plan view of a seen from below.
FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which a is a perspective view and b is a plan view of a viewed from below. Also the third
The figure shows a conventional example. In the figure, 1 is an ultrasound probe, 7 is a subject, 9 is a blood vessel, 11 is a disc, and 12
13 indicates a protrusion, 13 indicates a notch, and 14 indicates a groove.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ultrasonic blood flow meter probe that is held so that the probe for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves is brought into contact with a predetermined location of a subject at a predetermined angle. A disc-shaped holding part 11 that is a probe holder and comes into contact with the subject.
and a protrusion 12 that contains the ultrasound probe 1 and is held between fingers, and the holding part 11 has a notch 13 and the hardness of the holding part 11 is lower than the hardness of the protrusion. A probe holder for an ultrasonic blood flow meter characterized by a low flow rate. 2. The probe holder for an ultrasonic blood flow meter according to claim 1, characterized in that a suction hole 17 is provided on the subject side of the holding portion 11.