JPH10118069A - Ultrasonograph - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance a higher safety by enabling accurate adaptation of a user as to a probe for a celom. SOLUTION: A probe 1 for a celom is connected to the body of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and provided with a temperature sensor 8 near a vibrator array 3 and a signal processing part is connected to the temperature sensor 8 to estimate the temperature of the surface of an acoustic lens 5, namely, transmitted and received wave fronts from the resulting detection signal. This enables almost accurately monitoring of the transmitted and received wave fronts the highest in temperature among surface parts of the probe 1 from an output of the signal processing section 10.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and more particularly, to a probe connected to its main body.
The present invention relates to a configuration for monitoring a surface temperature of a probe inserted into a body of a subject.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes a plurality of probes for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from a subject. Among these probes, there are intracavity probes inserted into the body of the subject, and one of them is a transesophageal probe.

A transesophageal probe is inserted into the esophagus and emits ultrasonic waves from within the esophagus mainly to obtain a tomographic image of the heart. According to this probe, since the ribs do not interfere with the ultrasonic waves, a clear tomographic image of the entire heart can be obtained.

It is desired that the transesophageal probe be as small as possible in diameter in order to facilitate insertion into the esophagus and reduce the burden on the subject. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, a sector scanning type transducer array 21 is provided at the tip of the probe 20.
This is because even if the sector scanning type transducer array 21 is short, it is possible to scan a wide range. By making the transducer array short, the distal end of the probe 20 has a small diameter. I have. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 22 denotes an acoustic lens.

[0005]

By the way, in the sector scanning type vibrator array 21, since the whole vibrators are driven simultaneously and continuously, compared with the linear scanning type vibrator array, Easy to generate fever. In the transesophageal probe 20 having such a transducer array 21, when the transmission and reception of the ultrasonic wave are continued, the surface of the acoustic lens 22 which is the transmission and reception surface of the ultrasonic wave is generated due to the heat generation of the transducer array 21. Temperature rises.

[0006] Since the surface of the acoustic lens 22 is also a surface that directly contacts the mucous membrane of the esophagus, there is a possibility that damage to the esophagus due to the temperature rise on this surface. Even if the surface temperature can be suppressed to about 40 ° C., if the state continues, a low-temperature burn will occur, which is a safety problem.

Of course, if the operation time of the probe 20 is reduced to a short time, such a problem does not occur. However, it is necessary to observe the movement of the heart in diagnosing the heart. In some cases, transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves may be continued for a relatively long period of time, and in this case, the operation time also becomes long.

In order to cope with such a situation, it has been attempted in some cases to provide a temperature sensor for a transesophageal probe so that the temperature of the probe tip can be detected by the temperature sensor. ing.

However, the above-described conventional probe only detects the temperature of the site where the temperature sensor is attached, and the temperature of the surface of the acoustic lens, which is the site to be monitored most, for a doctor who is a user. However, it is difficult to accurately understand the situation, and there is a possibility that an accident such as a low-temperature burn may occur.

If a temperature sensor is provided at a position where the temperature of the surface of the acoustic lens can be detected, transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves are hindered by the temperature sensor, and a clear image cannot be obtained. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has the highest temperature among the various parts of the surface of the intracavity probe without obstructing the transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves. An object of the present invention is to make it possible to monitor the temperature of a wavefront almost accurately, to enable an appropriate response by a user, and to enhance safety.

[0012]

According to the present invention, there is provided an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having an intracavity probe, wherein the intracavity probe includes a transducer array. A temperature sensor is provided in the vicinity, and a signal processing unit for estimating the transmitting and receiving surface temperature of the probe for a body cavity from the detection signal is connected to the temperature sensor.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described based on the illustrated embodiment. FIG. 1 shows a main part including a probe in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the configuration diagram, the tip of the probe is partially cut away.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a transesophageal probe, which is connected to a main body 2 via a cable (not shown). A vibrator array 3 made of a piezoelectric element is provided on a side surface of the tip of the probe 1. The vibrator array 3 is an array of sector scanning type vibrators, and two are arranged in a direction orthogonal to each other, as in the conventional example. A matching layer 4 and an acoustic lens 5 are provided on the oscillation side of the transducer array 3, and a backing layer 6 made of a sound absorbing material is provided on the back side. Reference numeral 7 denotes a casing of the probe 1.

A temperature sensor 8 such as a thermistor is mounted near the vibrator array 3. In the illustrated embodiment, the temperature sensor 8 is located at a position deviating from the acoustic lens 5 on an extension of one of the vibrator arrays 3. 5 as long as it is as close as possible and does not hinder the transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves. The number of the temperature sensors 3 is not limited to one, and a plurality of the temperature sensors 3 may be attached to detect the temperature at a plurality of positions.

A linearization circuit 9 is connected to the temperature sensor 8. The level of the detection signal of the temperature sensor 8 and the actual temperature generally have a non-linear relationship, and the linearization circuit 9
The level of the detection signal of the temperature sensor 8 is linearized with respect to the temperature.

The linearization circuit 9 includes a signal processing unit 10
Is connected. The signal processing unit 10 estimates and calculates the surface temperature of the acoustic lens 5 which is the wave transmitting / receiving surface of the transesophageal probe 1 from the linearized detection signal.

The temperature sensor 8 detects only the temperature in the vicinity of the acoustic lens 5, but there is some correspondence between the detected temperature and the surface temperature of the acoustic lens 5. It should be possible to estimate the value of the surface temperature of the acoustic lens 5 by performing an appropriate process on the detection signal of (1). Specifically, as the processing,
The temperature near the acoustic lens 5 is detected by the temperature sensor 8, the actual temperature of the surface of the acoustic lens 5 at that time is measured, and a large number of these data are collected and stored in a memory as a reference table. The value of the surface temperature of the acoustic lens 5 may be read from the value of the detected temperature via the memory.

Alternatively, the relationship between the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 8 and the actually measured temperature of the surface of the acoustic lens 5 is represented by a mathematical expression, and the value of the detected temperature is calculated based on the mathematical expression. The temperature may be calculated. Such arithmetic processing can be performed by providing a required program to the computer of the control unit 11. In such a configuration, the signal processing unit 10 as an independent circuit is not required, and the control unit 11 is not required. 11 functions as the signal processing unit 10.

The output of the signal processing unit 10 is provided to a control unit 11 that controls the operation of each unit of the device. The value of the surface temperature of the acoustic lens 5 obtained by the signal processing unit 10
1 and is sent to the display 12 and displayed on the display 12. In this case, the display 12 may not only display the temperature value, but also emit a warning signal by blinking when the temperature exceeds a predetermined temperature. Alternatively, this high-temperature warning can be output as a sound signal using a sounding device.

In the above configuration, when the probe 1 is inserted into the esophagus of the subject and the vibrator array 3 at the tip is operated, the entire vibrator array 3 is continuously driven by sector scanning. , Heat is generated early, and the temperature of the surface of the acoustic lens 5 in contact with the human body increases accordingly. If the driving of the vibrator array 3 is continued for a long time, the surface of the acoustic lens 5 becomes a high temperature exceeding the body temperature of the human body.

At this time, the temperature sensor 8 detects the temperature of the portion near the acoustic lens 5, and there is a correspondence between the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 8 and the surface temperature of the acoustic lens 5. Since the signal processing unit 10 performs processing according to the correspondence, an estimated value of the surface temperature of the acoustic lens 5 is obtained from the detection signal from the temperature sensor 8, and the value is displayed on the display 12.

In this case, since the temperature sensor 8 is located at a position separated from the vibrator array 3 and the acoustic lens 5, a clear image can be obtained as before without obstructing the transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves.

By displaying the temperature on the display 12, the doctor as a user can almost accurately recognize the temperature of the surface of the acoustic lens 5 which becomes the highest temperature among the various parts of the surface of the probe 1, and accurately. Response is possible.

In the above embodiment, a transesophageal probe having a sector scanning type transducer array has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to other types of intracavity probes. Needless to say, this can also be implemented.

[0026]

According to the present invention, the user can handle the probe while almost accurately recognizing the temperature of the surface of the transmitting and receiving surface, which is the highest temperature, among the surface portions of the probe for the body cavity. It can be used accurately without depending on the actual temperature of the transmitting and receiving surface, and can be used without danger and has high safety.

Further, since the temperature sensor may be provided in the vicinity of the vibrator array, the transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves are not hindered by the temperature sensor, and there is no problem in generating an ultrasonic image.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a main part including a probe of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the tip of the probe is partially cut away.

2A and 2B are views showing a conventional transesophageal probe, wherein FIG. 2A is a plan view and FIG. 2B is a side view.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Transesophageal probe, 3 ... Transducer array, 5 ... Acoustic lens, 8 ... Temperature sensor, 10 ... Signal processing part.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a probe for use in a body cavity, wherein the probe for use in a body cavity is provided with a temperature sensor in the vicinity of a transducer array thereof, and a detection signal is provided to the temperature sensor. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, wherein a signal processing unit for estimating a transmitting / receiving surface temperature of a probe for a body cavity is connected to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.