JP6437920B2 - Diagnostic imaging equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image diagnostic apparatus.

  Examples of an image diagnostic apparatus, particularly an apparatus for acquiring an image of a blood vessel lumen include an intravascular ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus (IVUS: IntraVascular Ultra Sound) and an optical coherence tomography diagnostic apparatus (OCT: Optical Coherence Tomography).

  In the above diagnostic imaging apparatus, an imaging core including a configuration for emitting ultrasonic waves or light and a configuration for receiving reflected waves or light from the blood vessel tissue is housed in a catheter sheath.

  OCT can obtain a high-resolution image with respect to the luminal surface of the blood vessel, but only an image from the luminal surface of the blood vessel to a relatively shallow tissue can be obtained. On the other hand, in the case of IVUS, the image resolution obtained is lower than that of OCT, but conversely, an image of vascular tissue deeper than that of OCT can be obtained. Therefore, recently, an image diagnostic apparatus combining an IVUS function and an OCT function (an image diagnostic apparatus including an ultrasonic transmission / reception unit capable of transmitting / receiving ultrasonic waves and an optical transmission / reception unit capable of transmitting / receiving light) is also proposed. (For example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  A liquid may be contained between the imaging core and the catheter sheath as a transmission medium for signals transmitted and received by the imaging core. For example, in the case of a diagnostic apparatus using optical interference, it is possible to easily design an optical member that is generally located at the distal end of the imaging core by storing a liquid between the imaging core and the catheter sheath. By storing liquid closer to the refractive index of the optical member or the catheter sheath than the refractive index of air, it is possible to reduce the light refraction at the interface between the optical member and the catheter sheath. This is because.

  Further, in addition to the attenuation of ultrasonic waves in the air, if there is air between the ultrasonic transducer and the subject, the ultrasonic waves are almost totally reflected at the interface and are not transmitted to the subject. Therefore, in the case of IVUS, in order to minimize ultrasonic attenuation and total reflection due to air, a liquid is filled between the imaging core and the catheter sheath to suppress a decrease in the efficiency of ultrasonic propagation to the subject. It is common.

  In order to easily fill the liquid between the imaging core and the catheter sheath, air (bubbles) between the imaging core and the catheter sheath can be easily discharged to the outside, that is, can be easily primed. Therefore, in general, a hole for venting air is provided at the distal end of the catheter sheath (the side where the imaging core exists). This is because when a liquid (generally physiological saline) is injected from the opposite end, the air in the catheter sheath can be discharged to the outside.

  Furthermore, provision of a hole for extracting air at the distal end of the catheter sheath may cause inconvenience. It is a problem of blood inflow into the catheter sheath in a pull-back process that can be performed after the tip of the catheter sheath is positioned in the blood vessel to be diagnosed. This problem is that in the pullback process, the imaging core is pulled along its rotation axis while rotating, so that the inside of the catheter sheath is likely to have a negative pressure relative to the outside of the catheter sheath. Blood flows from the hole into the catheter sheath. Blood is a liquid that is opaque and impedes the transmission of light. Accordingly, the inflow of blood into the catheter sheath hinders obtaining a clear image, particularly with an OCT diagnostic apparatus.

  The present applicant has already proposed a configuration in which a priming solution is injected into the catheter sheath during scanning in order to prevent blood from flowing into the catheter sheath (Patent Document 3).

JP 11-56752 A JP 2006-204430 A JP 2011-152274 A

  Patent Document 3 has a pump for injecting a priming liquid and a pump control device for controlling the pump. And at the time of pullback, a pump control apparatus is driven and a priming liquid is inject | poured in a catheter.

  Certainly, according to such a configuration, the inside of the catheter sheath is less likely to become negative pressure at the time of pullback, and although the effect of preventing the inflow of blood into the catheter sheath can be expected, the scale of the entire apparatus becomes large, leading to an increase in cost. There's a problem.

  The present inventor provides a technique that enables a stable image reconstruction by reducing or preventing the amount of blood flowing into the catheter sheath during scanning with a simpler configuration.

In order to achieve the above object, the diagnostic imaging apparatus according to the present invention has the following configuration. That is,
An imaging core having a transmission / reception unit for transmitting a signal toward the vascular tissue and for receiving a signal returned from the vascular tissue can be stored in a rotatable and movable manner along the rotation axis, and a predetermined liquid can be stored. In addition , an image diagnostic apparatus that reconstructs a blood vessel image based on a signal obtained by rotation and movement of the imaging core using a catheter having a hole at the tip,
Having a pull back portion for holding a rear end portion of the catheter;
The pullback part
A drive unit for moving the imaging core in the rotational axis direction;
Can accommodate a predetermined liquid, inside it has a internal communicable with cylinder of said catheter,
The cylinder has a plunger that pressurizes at least a part of the liquid in the cylinder by being moved by the force of the driving unit that moves the imaging core, and is movable integrally with the imaging core. And

  According to the specification of the present application, it is possible to reconstruct a stable image by reducing or preventing the inflow of blood into the catheter sheath at the time of scanning with a simpler configuration.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings, the same or similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The accompanying drawings are included in the specification, constitute a part thereof, show an embodiment of the present invention, and are used to explain the principle of the present invention together with the description.
It is a figure which shows the external appearance structure of the diagnostic imaging apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of an image diagnostic apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating the reconstruction process of a cross-sectional image. It is a figure which shows the example of the three-dimensional model data of the reconfigure | reconstructed blood vessel. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the catheter in embodiment. It is a figure which shows a part of structure of the pull back part in embodiment. It is a figure which shows a part of structure of the pull back part in 2nd Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described below are preferable specific examples of the present invention, and thus various technically preferable limitations are given. However, the scope of the present invention is particularly limited in the following description. Unless otherwise stated, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

[First Embodiment]
Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the diagnostic imaging apparatus in this specification will be described as having an IVUS function and an OCT function. Since the present invention can also be applied to a device having one of these two functions, the present invention is not limited in this respect.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an external configuration of an image diagnostic apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As illustrated in FIG. 1, the diagnostic imaging apparatus 100 includes a probe 101, a pullback unit 102, and an operation control device 103, and the pullback unit 102 and the operation control device 103 are connected to a signal line or a signal via a connector 105. They are connected by a cable 104 containing an optical fiber.

  The probe 101 is inserted directly into a blood vessel, transmits an ultrasonic wave based on a pulse signal and receives a reflected wave from the blood vessel, and transmitted light (measurement light). Is inserted into a blood vessel, and a catheter that houses an imaging core including an optical transmission / reception unit that continuously receives reflected light from the blood vessel is inserted. In the diagnostic imaging apparatus 100, the state inside the blood vessel is measured by using the imaging core.

  The scanner and pullback unit 102 is detachably attached to the probe 101, and operates in the axial direction and rotational direction in the blood vessel of the imaging core in the catheter inserted into the probe 101 by driving a built-in motor. Is stipulated. In addition, the scanner and pullback unit 102 acquires the reflected wave signal received by the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit in the imaging core and the reflected light received by the optical transmission / reception unit, and transmits them to the operation control device 103.

  The operation control apparatus 103 has a function for inputting various set values and a function for processing ultrasonic data and optical interference data obtained by the measurement and displaying various blood vessel images when performing measurement.

  In the operation control apparatus 103, reference numeral 111 denotes a main body control unit. The main body control unit 111 generates line data from an ultrasonic reflected wave signal obtained by measurement, and generates an ultrasonic cross-sectional image through interpolation processing. Further, the main body control unit 111 generates interference light data by causing interference between the reflected light from the imaging core and the reference light obtained by separating the light from the light source. Based on this, line data is generated, and a blood vessel cross-sectional image based on optical interference is generated through interpolation processing.

  Reference numeral 111-1 denotes a printer and a DVD recorder, which prints processing results in the main body control unit 111 or stores them as data. Reference numeral 112 denotes an operation panel, and the user inputs various setting values and instructions via the operation panel 112. Reference numeral 113 denotes an LCD monitor as a display device, which displays various cross-sectional images generated by the main body control unit 111. Reference numeral 114 denotes a mouse as a pointing device (coordinate input device).

  Next, the functional configuration of the diagnostic imaging apparatus 100 will be described. FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram of the diagnostic imaging apparatus 100. Hereinafter, the functional configuration of the wavelength sweep type OCT will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the figure, reference numeral 201 denotes a signal processing unit that controls the entire diagnostic imaging apparatus, and is composed of several circuits including a microprocessor. Reference numeral 210 denotes a non-volatile storage device represented by a hard disk, which stores various programs and data files executed by the signal processing unit 201. Reference numeral 202 denotes a memory (RAM) provided in the signal processing unit 201. A wavelength swept light source 203 is a light source that repeatedly generates light having a wavelength that changes within a preset range along the time axis.

  The light output from the wavelength swept light source 203 is incident on one end of the first single mode fiber 271 and transmitted toward the distal end side. The first single mode fiber 271 is optically coupled to the fourth single mode fiber 275 at an intermediate optical fiber coupler 272.

  The light incident on the first single mode fiber 271 and emitted from the optical fiber coupler 272 toward the tip side is guided to the second single mode fiber 273 via the connector 105. The other end of the second single mode fiber 273 is connected to the optical rotary joint 230 in the scanner and pullback unit 102.

  On the other hand, the probe 101 has an adapter 101 a for connecting to the scanner and the pullback unit 102. Then, the probe 101 is stably held by the scanner and the pullback unit 102 by connecting the probe 101 to the scanner and the pullback unit 102 by the adapter 101a. Furthermore, the end of the third single mode fiber 274 rotatably accommodated in the probe 101 is connected to the optical rotary joint 230. As a result, the second single mode fiber 273 and the third single mode fiber 274 are optically coupled. At the other end of the third single-mode fiber 274 (the head portion side of the probe 101), an optical transmission / reception unit composed of a mirror and a lens that emits light in a direction substantially perpendicular to the rotation axis (see FIG. 5 for details). An imaging core 250 is provided, which will be described with reference to FIG.

  As a result, the light emitted from the wavelength swept light source 203 passes through the first single mode fiber 271, the second single mode fiber 273, and the third single mode fiber 274 to the end of the third single mode fiber 274. It is guided to the provided imaging core 250. The optical transmission / reception unit of the image core 250 emits this light in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the fiber, receives the reflected light, and the received reflected light is led in reverse this time to the operation control device 103. returned.

  On the other hand, an optical path length adjustment mechanism 220 for finely adjusting the optical path length of the reference light is provided at the opposite end of the fourth single mode fiber 275 coupled to the optical fiber coupler 272. The optical path length variable mechanism 220 functions as an optical path length changing unit that changes the optical path length corresponding to the variation in length so that the variation in length of each probe 101 can be absorbed when the probe 101 is replaced. . Therefore, a collimating lens 225 located at the end of the fourth single mode fiber 275 is provided on a movable uniaxial stage 224 as indicated by an arrow 226 in the optical axis direction.

  Specifically, when the probe 101 is replaced, the uniaxial stage 224 functions as an optical path length changing unit having a variable range of the optical path length that can absorb variations in the optical path length of the probe 101. Further, the uniaxial stage 224 also has a function as an adjusting means for adjusting the offset. For example, even when the tip of the probe 101 is not in close contact with the surface of the living tissue, the optical path length can be minutely changed by the uniaxial stage so as to interfere with the reflected light from the surface position of the living tissue. Is possible.

  The optical path length is finely adjusted by the uniaxial stage 224, and the light reflected by the mirror 223 via the grating 221 and the lens 222 is again guided to the fourth single mode fiber 275, and the second optical fiber coupler 272 performs the second operation. Are mixed with light obtained from the single mode fiber 273 side and received by the photodiode 204 as interference light.

  The interference light received by the photodiode 204 in this manner is photoelectrically converted, amplified by the amplifier 205, and then input to the demodulator 206. The demodulator 206 performs demodulation processing for extracting only the signal portion of the interfered light, and its output is input to the A / D converter 207 as an interference light signal.

  The A / D converter 207 samples the interference light signal for 2048 points at 90 MHz, for example, and generates one line of digital data (interference light data). The sampling frequency of 90 MHz is based on the assumption that about 90% of the wavelength sweep cycle (25 μsec) is extracted as 2048 digital data when the wavelength sweep repetition frequency is 40 kHz. There is no particular limitation.

  The line-by-line interference light data generated by the A / D converter 207 is input to the signal processing unit 201 and temporarily stored in the memory 202. In the signal processing unit 201, the interference light data is subjected to frequency decomposition by FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) to generate data in the depth direction (line data), and this is coordinate-converted to obtain data at each position in the blood vessel. An optical section image is constructed and output to the LCD monitor 113 at a predetermined frame rate.

  The signal processing unit 201 is further connected to an optical path length adjustment driving unit 209 and a communication unit 208. The signal processing unit 201 controls the position of the uniaxial stage 224 (optical path length control) via the optical path length adjustment driving unit 209.

  The communication unit 208 incorporates several drive circuits and communicates with the scanner and the pullback unit 102 under the control of the signal processing unit 201. Specifically, an encoder unit for supplying a drive signal to a radial scanning motor for rotating the third single-mode fiber by an optical rotary joint in the scanner and pull-back unit 102, and detecting a rotational position of the radial motor. Signal reception from 242 and supply of a drive signal to the linear drive unit 243 for pulling the third single mode fiber 274 at a predetermined speed.

  Note that the above processing in the signal processing unit 201 is also realized by a predetermined program being executed by a computer.

  In the above configuration, when the probe 101 is positioned at a blood vessel position (such as a coronary artery) to be diagnosed by a patient, a transparent flush liquid is released into the blood vessel through a guiding catheter or the like toward the tip of the probe 101 by a user operation. . This is to exclude the influence of blood. When the user inputs an instruction to start scanning, the signal processing unit 201 drives the wavelength swept light source 203 to drive the radial scanning motor 241 and the linear driving unit 243 (hereinafter, the radial scanning motor 241 and the linear driving unit). (Light irradiation and light reception processing by driving 243 is called scanning). As a result, the wavelength swept light is supplied from the wavelength swept light source 203 to the imaging core 250 through the path as described above. At this time, since the imaging core 250 at the distal end position of the probe 101 rotates and moves along the rotation axis, the imaging core 250 rotates while moving along the blood vessel axis. Light is emitted to the blood vessel lumen surface and its reflected light is received.

  Here, a process for generating one optical cross-sectional image will be briefly described with reference to FIG. This figure is a diagram for explaining the reconstruction processing of the cross-sectional image of the lumen surface 301 of the blood vessel in which the imaging core 250 is located. During one rotation (360 degrees) of the imaging core 250, the measurement light is transmitted and received a plurality of times. With one transmission / reception of light, data of one line in the direction of irradiation with the light can be obtained. Accordingly, 512 line data extending radially from the rotation center 302 can be obtained by transmitting and receiving light 512 times, for example, during one rotation. These 512 line data are dense in the vicinity of the rotation center position and become sparse with each other as the distance from the rotation center position increases. Therefore, the pixels in the empty space of each line are generated by performing a known interpolation process, and a two-dimensional cross-sectional image that can be seen by humans is generated. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, a three-dimensional blood vessel image 402 can be obtained by connecting the generated two-dimensional cross-sectional images 401 to each other along the blood vessel axis. Note that the center position of the two-dimensional cross-sectional image coincides with the rotation center position of the imaging core 250, but is not the center position of the blood vessel cross section. In addition, although it is weak, light is reflected by the lens surface of the imaging core 250, the surface of the catheter, etc., so that several concentric circles are generated with respect to the rotation center axis as indicated by reference numeral 303 in the drawing.

  Next, a configuration related to image formation using ultrasonic waves and its processing contents will be described.

  Scanning using ultrasonic waves is performed simultaneously with the above-described scanning of optical interference. That is, while scanning and rotating the imaging core 250 while moving in the catheter sheath of the probe 101, the ultrasonic wave is emitted from the ultrasonic wave transmission / reception unit accommodated in the imagen core 250 and the reflected wave is transmitted. Perform detection. For this reason, it is necessary to generate a drive electric signal for driving the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit accommodated in the imagen core 250 and to receive an ultrasonic detection signal output from the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit. The ultrasonic transmission / reception control unit 232 performs transmission of the drive signal and reception of the detected signal. The ultrasonic transmission / reception control unit 232 and the imaging core 250 are connected via signal line cables 281, 282, and 283. Since the imaging core 250 rotates, the signal line cables 282 and 283 are electrically connected via the slip ring 231 provided in the scanner and the pullback unit 102. In the figure, the signal line cables 281 to 283 are shown as being connected by a single line, but actually they are accommodated by a plurality of signal lines.

  The ultrasonic transmission / reception control unit 232 operates under the control of the signal processing unit 201, drives the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit accommodated in the imaging core 250, and generates ultrasonic pulse waves. The ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 232 converts the reflected wave from the vascular tissue into an electric signal and supplies the electric signal to the ultrasonic transmission / reception control unit 232. The ultrasonic transmission / reception control unit 232 outputs the received ultrasonic signal to the amplifier 233 for amplification. Thereafter, the amplified ultrasonic signal is supplied to the signal processing unit 201 as ultrasonic data through the detector 234 and the A / D converter 235 and temporarily stored in the memory 202. The A / D converter 235 samples the ultrasonic signal output from the detector 454 for 200 points at 30.6 MHz to generate one line of digital data (ultrasound data). Here, 30.6 MHz is assumed, but this is calculated on the assumption that 200 points are sampled at a depth of 5 mm when the sound speed is 1530 m / sec. Therefore, the sampling frequency is not particularly limited to this.

  The signal processing unit 201 generates an ultrasonic cross-sectional image at each position in the blood vessel by converting the ultrasonic data stored in the memory 202 into a gray scale.

  Next, the structure of the catheter that accommodates the imaging core 250 in the probe 101 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The code | symbol 500 of FIG. 5 is the catheter in embodiment. In the vicinity of the rear end of the catheter 500 (the end connected to the scanner and the pullback unit 102), injection ports 501 and 502 for injecting a transparent liquid 550 (such as physiological saline) into the catheter sheath are provided. It has been. The injection port 501 is used for injecting the liquid 550 during priming into the catheter 500 before the operation. When the catheter 500 is inserted into the blood vessel of the patient, the injection port is plugged, and the liquid-tight Keep state. The injection port 502 will be described later.

  The catheter 500 accommodates the already described third single mode fiber 274 and the signal line cable 283, but the rear end of the catheter 500 has a shield structure (reference numeral 503 in the figure) so that the liquid 550 does not leak. have.

  A priming hole 520 for discharging bubbles when the catheter sheath is filled with the liquid 550 is provided at the distal end portion of the catheter 500. The catheter sheath 510 of the catheter 500 is made of a transparent material, and accommodates an imaging core 250 that is rotatable and movable along the catheter 500. The imaging core 250 includes an ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 511, an optical transmission / reception unit 512, and a housing 513 that houses the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 511. The housing 513 is supported by the drive shaft 514. The drive shaft 514 is made of a material that is flexible and can transmit rotation well. For example, the drive shaft 514 includes a multi-layered close contact coil made of a metal wire such as stainless steel. A signal line cable 283 and a third single mode fiber 274 are accommodated in the drive shaft 514.

  The housing 513 has a notch in a part of a cylindrical metal pipe. The ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 511 and the optical transmission / reception unit 512 transmit and receive ultrasonic waves and light through the notch.

  The ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 511 emits ultrasonic waves toward the arrow 571a shown in the figure according to the pulse signal applied from the signal line cable 283, detects the reflected wave from the vascular tissue indicated by the arrow 571b, and electrically converts it. The signal is output onto the signal line cable 283 as a signal.

  The optical transmission / reception unit 512 is provided at the end of the third single mode fiber 274 and has a hemispherical shape in which a sphere is cut at an angle of approximately 45 degrees with respect to the vertical plane of FIG. The part is formed. In addition, the optical transmission / reception unit 512 has a hemispherical shape, and thus has a lens function. The light supplied via the third single mode fiber 274 is reflected by this mirror part and emitted toward the vascular tissue along the arrow 572a shown in the drawing. Then, the reflected light from the vascular tissue indicated by the arrow 572b shown in the figure is received, reflected by the mirror portion, and returned to the third single mode fiber 274.

  As described above, at the time of scanning, the scanner and the pullback unit 102 drive the radial scanning motor 241 and the linear drive unit 243, so that the drive shaft 514 rotates along the arrow 573 and the arrow 574. Move along. As a result, the imaging core 250 performs emission of ultrasonic waves and detection of reflected waves, and emission of light and detection of reflected light while performing rotation and movement in the axial direction.

  The catheter sheath 510 is subjected to a priming operation before the operation, that is, an operation of filling the catheter sheath 510 with the liquid 550 by injecting the liquid 550 from the liquid inlet 501 and discharging the internal air from the priming hole 520. .

  Now, when the tip of the probe 101 is inserted until it is positioned at the affected part (coronary artery) to be diagnosed by the patient, the user scans the operation panel 112 and inputs an instruction to start scanning. When this instruction input is detected, the signal processing unit 201 drives the wavelength swept light source 232 to generate light, supplies measurement light to the optical transmission / reception unit 512 in the imaging core 250, and the ultrasonic transmission / reception control unit 232. In response to this, a drive command signal is generated to cause the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 511 to oscillate and receive ultrasonic waves. Further, the signal processing unit 201 drives the radial motor 241 and the linear drive unit 243 in the scanner and pullback unit 102 to perform a scanning process (a process of rotating the imaging core 250 and pulling at a predetermined speed). As a result, the optical interference data and the ultrasonic data are stored in the memory 202, and the above-described blood vessel tomographic image difference calibration process is performed. This point is the main point of the present invention. Since it is not a point to do, detailed description here is abbreviate | omitted.

  When the scanning process is started, the imaging core 250 is rotated along the arrow 573 in FIG. 5 and moved along the arrow 574 by driving the scanner and the pullback unit 102. To do. Then, the imaging core 250 and the drive shaft 514 just function as pistons, and the inside of the catheter 500 becomes negative pressure. As a result, a situation in which blood easily flows into the catheter 500 from the priming hole 520 is created.

  In the scanning process using optical interference, in general, in order to reduce the influence of blood, a transparent flush liquid is released into the blood vessel from the tip of the probe 101 through a guiding catheter or the like during scanning. However, it is not always possible to exclude blood, and some blood often flows into the catheter 500. In particular, when the affected part is scanned several times, the possibility is high. Since blood is an opaque liquid, when blood flows into the catheter 500, an image reconstructed using optical interference becomes unclear. Therefore, it can be said that the smaller the amount of blood flowing into the catheter 500, the better.

  In this embodiment, in addition to preventing blood from flowing into the catheter 500 or reducing the amount of inflow, the configuration for that is realized with a simpler structure.

  FIG. 6 shows a structure around the linear drive unit 243 and the optical rotary joint 230 in the scanner and pullback unit 102. For simplification of illustration, the structures of the radial scanning motor 241, the encoder unit 242, and the slip ring are omitted. The catheter 500 is fixed and maintained on the scanner and the pullback unit 102 by being sandwiched between the locking members 610. The liquid inlet 501 is sealed with a stopper 612.

  The linear drive unit 243 accommodates, for example, a motor (not shown) inside, and meshes with a hard rod 602 through a number of gears on the rotation drive shaft. At the time of scanning, the motor is driven according to the drive signal from the communication unit 208, and the linear drive unit 243 pushes the rod 602 toward the illustrated arrow 621 at a predetermined speed.

  The optical rotary joint 230 is mounted on a mounter 230a that is slidable along an arrow 622 shown in the figure. The optical rotary joint 230 fixes the drive shaft 514 to the rotating shaft and optically connects the third single mode fiber 274 and the second single mode fiber 273 in the drive shaft 514. Then, the optical rotary joint 230 rotates the drive shaft 514 of the radial scanning motor 241, and as a result, the third single mode fiber 274 rotates along the arrow 573 in FIG. Further, the mounter 230a is fixed to the rod 602. Therefore, when the rod 602 is pushed out by the linear drive unit 243, the mounter 230a fixed to the rod 602 also moves to the arrow 622 shown in the figure. Therefore, the optical rotary joint 230 provided in the mounter 230a also moves along the arrow 622 shown in the figure while rotating. As a result, the drive shaft 514 is moved in the direction of the arrow 574 in FIG.

  Now, the cylinder 600 filled with the liquid 550 is connected to another liquid inlet 502 provided in the vicinity of the rear end of the catheter 500 in the embodiment (the side connected to the scanner and the pullback unit 102). The cylinder 600 is fixed to the scanner and the pullback unit 102 and does not move. However, a plunger 601 that can move the inner surface of the cylinder 500 while keeping the cylinder 500 in a liquid-tight state is disposed at one end of the cylinder 600. The plunger 601 is connected to a U-shaped hard arm 602 a and the other end of the arm 602 a is fixed to the rod 602.

  As a result, at the time of scanning, the linear drive unit 243 pushes the rod 602 toward the arrow 621 at a predetermined speed, so that the optical rotary joint 230 mounted on the mounter 230a also moves along the arrow 622, and the drive shaft 514 Is pulled along the arrow 574 in FIG. At this time, the arm 602 a also moves along the arrow 621 together with the rod 602, so that the plunger 601 moves along the arrow 623. As a result, the liquid 550 stored in the cylinder 600 is pressurized. Since the cylinder 600 is connected to the liquid inlet 502 of the catheter 500, the pressurized liquid 550 in the cylinder 600 flows between the catheter 500 and the drive shaft 514 through the liquid inlet 502 of the catheter 500. . In other words, the liquid 550 between the probe 500 and the drive shaft 514 is pressurized. The drive shaft 514 is accommodated over almost the entire length of the probe 500. As a result, even if the imaging core 250 and the drive shaft 514 are moved along the arrow 574 by the scanner and the pull back unit 102, the liquid 550 between the catheter 500 and the imaging core 250 can hardly become negative pressure, and the catheter priming port 520 Inflow of blood into 500 can be prevented or the amount of inflow can be suppressed.

  It should be noted that the plunger 601 in the cylinder 600 may be moved using the force that the optical rotary joint 230 moves to act so as to increase the pressure of the liquid in the cylinder 600. Absent. In the case where the linear drive unit 243 has a structure that pulls the rod 602, a structure that increases the pressure in the cylinder 600 by using the pulling force may be used.

  As can be seen from the above description, according to the embodiment, the driving force at the time of scanning for causing the linear motion of the optical rotary joint 230 in the scanner and the pullback unit 102 is used to drive the scanner 500 and the catheter 500 in the pullback unit 102. It has a structure for pressurizing the liquid filled between the shafts 514. It is possible to suppress the internal pressure of the head portion of the catheter 500 from becoming a negative pressure at the time of scanning, and as a result, it is possible to prevent or reduce the inflow amount of blood into the catheter 500. Moreover, according to the embodiment, the signal processing unit 201 only needs to control the scanner and the pullback unit 102 as before, and it is not necessary to provide a special drive circuit.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, an example in which the pressure in the cylinder 600 is increased by using the pushing force of the rod of the linear drive unit 243 as the force to push the plunger 601 in the cylinder 600 has been described. Instead of the structure of FIG. 6, it may have the structure shown in FIG. In the drawing, the linear drive unit 243 is configured to pull the rod, and the rod is pulled from the right end of the cylinder 600 via the liquid shield unit 603. Even in the illustrated structure, the liquid 550 in the cylinder 600 is pressurized during scanning, and the same operational effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. In the first embodiment, the liquid 550 to be injected at the time of priming is assumed to be physiological saline, and the liquid 550 in the cylinder 600 is also assumed to be physiological saline. However, the liquid is not limited to this, and the liquid is injected at the time of priming. The liquid to be stored and the liquid stored in the cylinder 600 may be different from each other. For example, a contrast agent may be used. Furthermore, the liquid injected during priming may be physiological saline, and the liquid stored in the cylinder 600 may be a contrast agent. By doing so, since a contrast medium is automatically injected at the time of scanning, more reliable image diagnosis can be performed.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, in order to make the scope of the present invention public, the following claims are attached.

  This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-201407 filed on September 27, 2013, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Claims (4)

An imaging core having a transmission / reception unit for transmitting a signal toward the vascular tissue and for receiving a signal returned from the vascular tissue can be stored in a rotatable and movable manner along the rotation axis, and a predetermined liquid can be stored. In addition , an image diagnostic apparatus that reconstructs a blood vessel image based on a signal obtained by rotation and movement of the imaging core using a catheter having a hole at the tip,
Having a pull back portion for holding a rear end portion of the catheter;
The pullback part
A drive unit for moving the imaging core in the rotational axis direction;
Can accommodate a predetermined liquid, inside it has a internal communicable with cylinder of said catheter,
The cylinder has a plunger that pressurizes at least a part of the liquid in the cylinder by being moved by the force of the driving unit that moves the imaging core, and is movable integrally with the imaging core. Diagnostic imaging device. The diagnostic imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plunger is connected to an arm integrated with a rod for moving the imaging core along a rotation axis of the imaging core.   The diagnostic imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging core includes an optical transmission / reception unit that transmits and receives light.   The diagnostic imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the imaging core is provided with an ultrasonic transmission / reception unit that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves.

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