Ultrasound probe

Abstract

An ultrasonic probe, whose elastic shaft includes a main shaft section and an inclined shaft section, and the main shaft section and the inclined shaft section are connected as a whole. The main shaft section and the inclined shaft section have different minimum bending radii, and in particular, the minimum bending radius of the inclined shaft section is smaller than the minimum bending radius of the main shaft section, which can be achieved by setting the main shaft section and the inclined shaft section to different structures, materials or processes. The minimum bending radius of the main shaft section is relatively large, which can be used to ensure high transmission accuracy during long-distance rotation transmission, and can meet the bending requirements of the main shaft section. Since the rotation transmission of the entire elastic shaft is mainly based on the main shaft section, although the minimum bending radius of the inclined shaft section is relatively small, it will not have too much impact on the transmission accuracy of the entire elastic shaft. On the contrary, since the minimum bending radius of the inclined shaft section is relatively small, it can meet the demand for a smaller bending radius and can better meet the bending requirements of the inclined tube.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to a medical device, and in particular to an elastic shaft structure of an ultrasonic probe. Background Art

[0002] The ultrasonic probe is an important component of ultrasonic equipment (such as ultrasonic diagnostic imaging equipment). Its working principle is to use the piezoelectric effect to convert the excitation electrical pulse signal of the ultrasonic machine into an ultrasonic signal that enters the patient's body, and then converts the ultrasonic echo signal reflected by the tissue into an electrical signal, thereby realizing the detection of the tissue.

[0003] Among them, an ultrasonic probe can be inserted into the cavity of the human body or animal body for use, such as a transesophageal ultrasonic probe, etc. This type of ultrasonic probe mainly includes a handle assembly, an insertion tube assembly and a sound head assembly. The insertion tube assembly is connected between the handle assembly and the sound head assembly, and is used to transmit the rotational motion generated by the drive device in the handle assembly to the sound head assembly to control the rotation of the sound head. In order to facilitate the diagnostic operation, during the clinical operation, it is required that one end of the insertion tube assembly connected to the sound head assembly can be bent to a large extent so that the sound head assembly can change its position in a larger area, but excessive bending ability will lead to a decrease in the transmission efficiency of the insertion tube assembly to the rotational motion. Therefore, it is very important to use a suitable insertion tube assembly for this type of ultrasonic probe. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present application provides a novel ultrasonic probe for improving the transmission efficiency and accuracy of the rotational motion of the acoustic head.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present application, an ultrasonic probe is provided in one embodiment, comprising:

[0006] The acoustic head assembly includes an acoustic head for emitting and receiving ultrasonic signals

[0007] An insertion tube assembly, the insertion tube assembly comprises a tube sleeve for inserting into a cavity of a human body or an animal and an elastic shaft arranged in the tube sleeve, the tube sleeve comprises a main body and an angle tube connected to the main body, the part of the elastic shaft located in the main body is a main shaft section, the part of the elastic shaft located in the angle tube is an angle shaft section, the main shaft section and the angle shaft section are connected as one body, and the minimum bending radius of the angle shaft section is smaller than the minimum bending radius of the main shaft section;

[0008] And a handle assembly, the handle assembly has a driving device and a control device, the driving device is transmission-connected with the main shaft section to drive the elastic shaft to rotate, the inclination shaft section is transmission-connected with the sound head assembly to drive the sound head assembly to rotate, and the control device is connected with the driving device to control the driving device.

[0009] In one embodiment, the inclination shaft section is a first flexible steel wire shaft, and the first flexible steel wire shaft has at least one layer of steel wire rings.

[0010] In one embodiment, the first steel wire flexible shaft has more than two layers of steel wire rings, and the steel wire rings are distributed in concentric circles, and the steel wire rings located in the outer layer are wound around the outer side of the steel wire rings located in the inner layer.

[0011] In one embodiment, the main shaft section is a second steel wire flexible shaft, the second steel wire flexible shaft has at least two layers of steel wire rings, and in two adjacent layers of steel wire rings, the number of steel wire rings of the second steel wire flexible shaft is greater than the number of steel wire rings of the first steel wire flexible shaft.

[0012] In one embodiment, the wire rings of the second steel wire flexible shaft are distributed in concentric circles, and the wire rings located in the outer layer are wound around the outer sides of the wire rings located in the inner layer.

[0013] In one embodiment, the main shaft section has a core steel wire, which is located in the middle of the innermost steel wire ring in the second steel wire flexible shaft, and the innermost steel wire ring is wound around the core steel wire.

[0014] In one embodiment, the wire ring is formed by spirally winding at least one steel wire.

[0015] In one embodiment, the outer circumference of at least one of the inclination shaft section and the main shaft section is coated with an outer coating.

[0016] In one embodiment, the outer coating is a self-lubricating material.

[0017] In one embodiment, the outer coating is wrapped onto the outer circumference of the inclination shaft section and / or the main shaft section by extrusion, spraying or coating.

[0018] In one embodiment, the main shaft section adopts a solid elastic shaft.

[0019] In one embodiment, the main shaft section adopts a solid elastic shaft, and the inclination shaft section adopts a solid elastic shaft whose minimum bending radius is smaller than the minimum bending radius of the main shaft section.

[0020] In one embodiment, the main shaft section and the inclination shaft section are fixedly connected by at least one of welding, bonding and riveting.

[0021] According to the ultrasonic probe of the above embodiment, its elastic shaft includes a main shaft section and an inclined shaft section, and the main shaft section and the inclined shaft section are connected as a whole. Among them, the main shaft section and the inclined shaft section have different minimum bending radius, especially, the minimum bending radius of the inclined shaft section is smaller than the minimum bending radius of the main shaft section, which can be achieved by setting the main shaft section and the inclined shaft section to different structures, materials or processes. The minimum bending radius of the main shaft section is larger, which can be used to ensure higher transmission accuracy during long-distance rotation transmission, and can meet the bending requirements of the main shaft section. Since the rotation transmission of the entire elastic shaft is mainly based on the main shaft section, although the minimum bending radius of the inclined shaft section is smaller, it will not have too much impact on the transmission accuracy of the entire elastic shaft. On the contrary, since the minimum bending radius of the inclined shaft section is smaller, it can meet the demand for a smaller bending radius and can better meet the bending requirements of the inclined tube. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a partial structure of an ultrasound probe in an embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the connection between the two ends of the elastic shaft and the corresponding transmission mechanism in one embodiment of the present application;

[0024] Figure 3a and 3b This is a schematic diagram of the bending state of the angled tube in one embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 4 This is a schematic structural diagram of a main shaft section and an inclination shaft section in an embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figure 5 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a main shaft section and an inclined shaft section in one embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Figure 6 This is a schematic structural diagram of a main shaft section and an inclination shaft section in another embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 7 This is a structural schematic diagram of a motor connected to an elastic shaft through a gear transmission mechanism in an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 8 This is a schematic structural diagram of an inclination shaft section in one embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Fig. 9 This is a structural schematic diagram of a main shaft section in an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Fig.10 for Figure 5 A partial enlarged view of the cross-sectional view shown;

[0032] Fig.11A schematic diagram of a main pipe body and an angled pipe of a pipe sleeve in one embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Fig.12 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the angle tube in one embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Fig.13 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the main tube in one embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The present invention is further described in detail below by specific embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Wherein similar elements in different embodiments adopt associated similar element numbers. In the following embodiments, many detailed descriptions are for making the present application better understood. However, those skilled in the art can easily recognize that some features can be omitted in different situations, or can be replaced by other elements, materials, methods. In some cases, some operations related to the present application are not shown or described in the specification, this is to avoid the core part of the present application being overwhelmed by too much description, and for those skilled in the art, it is not necessary to describe these related operations in detail, and they can fully understand the related operations according to the description in the specification and the general technical knowledge in the art.

[0036] In addition, the features, operations or characteristics described in the specification can be combined in any appropriate manner to form various implementations. At the same time, the steps or actions in the method description can also be interchanged or adjusted in a manner that is obvious to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the various sequences in the specification and the drawings are only for the purpose of clearly describing a certain embodiment and are not meant to be a required sequence, unless otherwise specified that a certain sequence must be followed.

[0037] The serial numbers of the components in this document, such as "first", "second", etc., are only used to distinguish the objects described and do not have any order or technical meaning. The "connection" and "coupling" mentioned in this application, unless otherwise specified, include direct and indirect connections (couplings).

[0038] This embodiment provides an ultrasound probe, which is used as a component of an ultrasound device. The ultrasound probe is a type of probe that can be inserted into a human or animal cavity, such as a transesophageal ultrasound probe.

[0039] In one embodiment, please refer to Figure 1The ultrasonic probe includes an acoustic head assembly 100, an insertion tube assembly 200, and a handle assembly 300. The acoustic head assembly 100 includes an acoustic head for emitting and receiving ultrasonic signals. Of course, the acoustic head assembly 100 may also include other related components, such as an acoustic head rotation function module, so that the acoustic head can rotate. These structures can be implemented using existing structures or other deformed structures, and are not described or limited in detail in this embodiment.

[0040] Please refer to Figure 1 and 2 The insertion tube assembly 200 includes a tube sleeve 210 for inserting into a cavity of a human body or an animal and an elastic shaft 220 ( Figure 2 The sleeve 210 is omitted). The handle assembly 300 has a driving device 310 and a control device 320. The driving device 310 may generally have a motor to provide driving power. The elastic shaft 220 is connected between the driving device 310 and the sound head assembly 100, and transmits the rotational motion output by the driving device 310 to the sound head, driving the sound head to rotate. The elastic shaft 220 and the driving device 310 and the sound head can be respectively connected to each other through corresponding transmission mechanisms (such as a gear transmission mechanism 311 and a sound head reduction transmission mechanism 110), and these transmission mechanisms can also be implemented using existing structures or other deformed structures, which are not described or limited in detail in this embodiment.

[0041] Specifically, please refer to Figure 1 The pipe sleeve 210 has a main body 211 and an angled pipe 212 connected to the main body 211. The angled pipe 212 refers to: Figure 3a and 3b As shown, this section can be bent in multiple directions, for example, in four directions. Figure 1 As shown, the main body 211 is the part connected between the handle assembly 300 and the inclination tube 212, which mainly plays the role of assisting operation. The main body 211 can be a flexible tube, including but not limited to a hose or a memory tube. The elastic shaft 220 is arranged along the axial direction of the tube sleeve 210, wherein, please refer to Figure 4-6 The part of the elastic shaft 220 located in the main body 211 is the main shaft section 221, and the part of the elastic shaft 220 located in the angled tube 212 is the angled shaft section 222. The main shaft section 221 can be bent together with the main body 211, and the angled shaft section 222 can be bent together with the angled tube 212 of the sleeve 210. The main shaft section 221 and the angled shaft section 222 are connected as one body, and the two can transmit rotational motion, which includes the two being manufactured separately and fixedly connected, and also includes the two being manufactured as one body.

[0042] The main shaft section 221 and the angle shaft section 222 have different minimum bending radii. In particular, the minimum bending radius of the angle shaft section 222 is smaller than the minimum bending radius of the main shaft section 221. This can be achieved by setting the main shaft section 221 and the angle shaft section 222 to different structures, materials or processes.

[0043] Since the minimum bending radius of the main shaft section 221 is relatively large, it can be used to ensure high transmission accuracy during long-distance rotation transmission, and can also meet the bending requirements of the main shaft section 221. Since the rotation transmission of the entire elastic shaft 220 is mainly based on the main shaft section 221, although the minimum bending radius of the angled shaft section 222 is relatively small, it will not have a significant impact on the transmission accuracy of the entire elastic shaft 220. On the contrary, since the minimum bending radius of the angled shaft section 222 is relatively small, it can meet the requirements of a smaller bending radius and can better meet the bending requirements of the angled tube 212.

[0044] Of course, in the insertion tube assembly 200, the final bending capacity of the main tube section (including the main tube body 211, the main shaft section 221 and other components installed in the main tube body 211) and the inclination section (including the inclination tube 212, the inclination shaft section 222 and other components installed in the inclination tube 212, such as the snake tube) is related to the overall structure. The structure of the main shaft section 221 and the inclination shaft section 222 provided in this embodiment not only enables the main shaft section 221 and the inclination shaft section 222 to meet the bending requirements of the corresponding main tube section and the inclination section, but also ensures the requirements of the entire insertion tube assembly 200 for the transmission of rotational motion.

[0045] The driving device 310 is in driving connection with the main shaft section 221 to drive the elastic shaft 220 to rotate. Figure 2 and 7 As shown, the driving device 310 can be connected to the elastic shaft 220 through a corresponding transmission mechanism, such as a gear transmission mechanism 311. The angle shaft section 222 is connected to the acoustic head assembly 100 to drive the acoustic head assembly 100 to rotate. Figure 2 As shown, the inclination shaft section 222 can be connected to the acoustic head reduction transmission mechanism 110, and then be connected to the acoustic head through the acoustic head reduction transmission mechanism.

[0046] Please refer to Figure 1 and 2, the control device 320 is connected to the driving device 310 to control the driving device 310. The control device 320 may have various command input modules such as buttons and touch screens to control the driving device 310, such as a motor, so as to control the rotation of the acoustic head. In addition, the control device 320 may also be used to control the bending angle of the front end of the insertion tube, etc., so that there is no need to set up a bending angle control device separately, that is, the control of the rotation of the acoustic head and the control of the front end of the insertion tube (such as the inclination tube 212) are integrated on the same control device 320. Of course, in some embodiments, the control of the rotation of the acoustic head and the control of the front end of the insertion tube (such as the inclination tube 212) can also be achieved by using different control devices 320 respectively.

[0047] In order to make the minimum bending radius of the main shaft section 221 and the inclined shaft section 222 different, the main shaft section 221 and the inclined shaft section 222 can be set to different structures, materials or processes.

[0048] Please refer to Figure 4-6 as well as Figure 8 In one embodiment, the angled shaft section 222 adopts a first steel wire flexible shaft, and the first steel wire flexible shaft has at least one layer of steel wire ring 2221. The first steel wire flexible shaft formed by at least one layer of steel wire ring 2221 has good bending properties, especially when the steel wire ring 2221 is one layer, the minimum bending radius of the angled shaft section 222 can be made relatively small to meet the bending requirements of the front end of the insertion tube (angled tube 212).

[0049] For the inclination shaft section 222 of the first steel wire flexible shaft structure, the main shaft section 221 adopts a structure with a smaller bending capacity, for example, please refer to Figure 4 and 5 In one embodiment, the main shaft section 221 can also use a second steel wire flexible shaft, and the second steel wire flexible shaft has at least two layers of steel wire rings 2211. The number of steel wire rings 2211 of the main shaft section 221 is greater than the number of steel wire rings 2221 of the inclination shaft, thereby improving the torsion resistance of the second steel wire flexible shaft, so as to ensure that the minimum bending radius of the inclination shaft section 222 is smaller than the minimum bending radius of the main shaft section 221.

[0050] Please refer to Figure 5 , 9 In one embodiment, the wire rings 2211 of the second steel wire flexible shaft are distributed in concentric circles, and the wire rings 2211 located in the outer layer are wound around the outer side of the wire rings 2211 located in the inner layer. The outer wire rings 2211 can be attached to the inner wire rings 2211. In addition, in other embodiments, the wire rings 2211 of each layer of the second steel wire flexible shaft can also be assembled in other ways, not limited to the concentric circle distribution.

[0051] Further, in order to improve the bending resistance of the main shaft section 221, please refer to Fig. 9 and 10 In one embodiment, the main shaft section 221 has a core steel wire 2212, and the core steel wire 2212 is located in the middle of the innermost steel wire ring 2211 in the second steel wire flexible shaft. The innermost steel wire ring 2211 is wound around the core steel wire 2212.

[0052] Of course, in one embodiment, the first steel wire flexible shaft may also have more than two layers of steel wire rings 2221. In this case, the steel wire rings 2221 are distributed in concentric circles (such as the structure shown in the above-mentioned second steel wire flexible shaft), and the steel wire rings 2221 located in the outer layer are wound around the outer side of the steel wire rings 2221 located in the inner layer.

[0053] Whether it is the first steel wire flexible shaft or the second steel wire flexible shaft, please refer to Figure 8 and 9 Each layer of wire rings 2211, 2221 can be formed by spirally winding at least one steel wire, thereby forming a cylindrical structure of the wire ring 2211. This method of forming the wire ring 2211 is simple and low in cost.

[0054] When there are more than two layers of wire rings 2211 and 2221, the wire rings 2211 and 2221 of adjacent layers may be arranged in spirals in opposite directions. Fig. 9 As shown, the wire rings 2211 of adjacent layers can be arranged one clockwise and one counterclockwise.

[0055] Of course, this is not the only way to form the wire rings 2211, 2221. For example, the wire rings may also be formed by weaving a wire mesh in a fishing net manner, and then bending the wire mesh into a cylindrical shape to form the wire rings.

[0056] Further, in one embodiment, the outer peripheral surface of at least one of the inclination shaft section 222 and the main shaft section 221 is wrapped with an outer coating. Please refer to 8-10, especially, when at least one of the inclination shaft section 222 and the main shaft section 221 adopts a steel wire flexible shaft structure, the unsprayed steel wire flexible shaft will first compensate for the internal steel wire gap at the beginning of the forward and reverse torsion, and then start to transmit torque and displacement, which will cause the front and rear backlash of the flexible shaft to bounce and other phenomena (i.e., the transmission synchronization accuracy is not high). After the outer coating 223 is set, the outer coating 223 can penetrate into the gaps between the steel wires, fill the internal gaps of the steel wires, reduce the backlash, and improve the transmission synchronization accuracy.

[0057] In addition, the outer coating 223 can also protect the inclination shaft section 222 and the main shaft section 221. Further, in one embodiment, the outer coating 223 is a self-lubricating material, for example, the self-lubricating material can be made of POM or nylon. In this case, the outer coating 223 can reduce friction and lubrication on the flexible shaft, reducing the rotation resistance in the forward and reverse directions.

[0058] In one embodiment, the outer coating 223 is wrapped onto the outer circumferential surface of the inclination shaft section 222 and / or the main shaft section 221 by using an extrusion, spraying or coating process.

[0059] In another embodiment, please refer to Figure 6 When the inclination shaft section 222 adopts the first steel wire flexible shaft, the main shaft section 221 may also adopt a solid elastic shaft, and the minimum bending radius of the solid elastic shaft is greater than the minimum bending radius of the inclination shaft section 222. Moreover, compared with the multi-layer first steel wire flexible shaft, the solid shaft has better rigidity and better torsion resistance, which can further improve the transmission accuracy during long-distance rotation transmission.

[0060] In addition, in one embodiment, both the main shaft section 221 and the angle shaft section 222 may be made of solid elastic shafts. However, the solid elastic shafts of the two may be made of different materials or structures, so that the main shaft section 221 and the angle shaft section 222 have different minimum bending radii.

[0061] Alternatively, in one embodiment, the elastic shaft 220 is a solid elastic shaft as a whole. However, the material properties can be changed in terms of process, so as to achieve different hardness and anti-torsion accuracy of the main shaft section 221 and the inclination shaft section 222.

[0062] The main shaft section 221 and the inclination shaft section 222 can be manufactured separately and then fixedly connected. This fixed connection can be achieved by various fixing methods that can achieve rotational motion transmission. For example, in one embodiment, Fig.10 As shown, the main shaft section 221 and the inclination shaft section 222 are fixedly connected by at least one of welding, bonding and riveting, and reference numeral 240 is the connection between the two.

[0063] For further information, please refer to Figure 11-13 In one embodiment, a specific structure of a sleeve 210 is shown, wherein: Fig.12 and 13 Each layer structure is cut in a step-like manner to show each layer structure. The inclination tube 212 of the tube sleeve 210 includes a rubber tube 2121, the inclination shaft section 222 is arranged in the rubber tube 2121, and a snake tube 2123 is provided on the outer surface of the inclination shaft section 222, and a braided mesh 2122 can be provided on the outer surface of the snake tube 2123. The snake tube 2123 can be bent in a set direction under the pulling of a traction line (such as a steel wire rope), thereby driving the inclination shaft section 222 and the sound head assembly 100 to bend together. The bending radius of the inclination part of the insertion tube assembly 200 (including the inclination tube 212 and the inclination shaft 222) is mainly affected by the node ring structure of the snake tube 2123.

[0064] Please refer to Fig.11 and 13The main body 211 includes a braided mesh 2111, an outer coating 2112 is provided on the outer side of the braided mesh 2111, and an inner coating 2113 is provided on the inner side of the braided mesh 2111. A spring tube 2114 is provided inside the inner coating 2113, and various internal organs are installed inside the spring tube 2114, such as the main shaft section 221 of the elastic shaft 220, cables, and a traction line (such as a steel wire rope) for controlling the snake tube 2123.

[0065] The above specific examples are used to illustrate the present invention, which is only used to help understand the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. For those skilled in the art, according to the concept of the present invention, some simple deductions, modifications or substitutions can be made.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic probe, characterized in that: include: An acoustic head assembly, the acoustic head assembly comprising an acoustic head for emitting and receiving ultrasonic signals; An insertion tube assembly, the insertion tube assembly comprising a tube sleeve for inserting into a cavity of a human body or an animal and an elastic shaft arranged in the tube sleeve, the tube sleeve having a main body and an angled tube connected to the main body, the part of the elastic shaft located in the main body being a main shaft section, the part of the elastic shaft located in the angled tube being an angled shaft section, the main shaft section and the angled shaft section being connected as one body, and the minimum bending radius of the angled shaft section being smaller than the minimum bending radius of the main shaft section; and a handle assembly, the handle assembly having a driving device and a control device, the driving device is transmission-connected with the main shaft section to drive the elastic shaft to rotate, the inclination shaft section is transmission-connected with the acoustic head assembly to drive the acoustic head assembly to rotate, and the control device is connected with the driving device to control the driving device; The inclination shaft section is a first steel wire flexible shaft, and the first steel wire flexible shaft has at least one layer of steel wire rings; the main shaft section is a second steel wire flexible shaft, and the second steel wire flexible shaft has at least two layers of steel wire rings, and the number of steel wire rings of the second steel wire flexible shaft is greater than the number of steel wire rings of the first steel wire flexible shaft; The outer circumferential surface of at least one of the inclination shaft section and the main shaft section is wrapped with an outer coating, and the outer coating penetrates into the gaps between the steel wires of the wire ring.

2. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first steel wire flexible shaft has more than two layers of steel wire rings, and the steel wire rings are distributed in concentric circles, and the steel wire rings located in the outer layer are wound around the outer side of the steel wire rings located in the inner layer.

3. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wire rings of the second steel wire flexible shaft are distributed in concentric circles, and in two adjacent layers of wire rings, the wire rings located in the outer layer are wound around the outer side of the wire rings located in the inner layer.

4. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main shaft section has a core steel wire, the core steel wire is located in the middle of the innermost steel wire ring in the second steel wire flexible shaft, and the innermost steel wire ring is wound around the core steel wire.

5. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wire ring is formed by winding at least one steel wire in a spiral shape.

6. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer coating is a self-lubricating material.

7. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer coating is wrapped onto the outer circumference of the inclination shaft section and / or the main shaft section by using extrusion, spraying or coating technology.

8. The ultrasonic probe according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The main shaft section and the inclination shaft section are fixedly connected by at least one of welding, bonding and riveting.

Images