4D ultrasonic catheter and 4D ultrasonic system

Abstract

The invention provides a 4D ultrasonic catheter and a 4D ultrasonic system. The 4D ultrasonic catheter comprises a catheter body, a torque conduction piece, a transmission assembly, a transducer assembly and an optical encoder assembly. The torque conduction piece, the transmission assembly and the transducer assembly are sequentially connected from the near end to the far end and arranged in the catheter body in a penetrating mode. The transmission assembly is used for converting the rotation around the axis of the torque conduction piece into reciprocating swing around the axis of the transducer assembly; the optical encoder assembly comprises a code disc and an optical fiber; the coded disc is connected with the transducer assembly and moves along with the transducer assembly; the far end of the optical fiber is located at the code disc, and the near end of the optical fiber extends and penetrates along the catheter body and is used for being connected with an in-vitro processing unit. The optical fiber is used for outputting light waves reflecting the motion state of the code disc to the processing unit, so that the processing unit obtains motion information of the code disc and the transducer assembly; the output image of the transducer assembly is configured to incorporate motion information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of medical devices, and in particular to a 4D ultrasound catheter and a 4D ultrasound system. Background Art

[0002] Ultrasound visualization catheters, such as intracardiac ultrasound (ICE) catheters, have ultrasound elements on their distal ends that help visualize specific parts of the cardiac anatomy. Conventional ultrasound catheters aim a two-dimensional fan-shaped beam at a portion of the anatomy to provide clinicians with visualization of the anatomy. Intracardiac ultrasound can be divided into 2D ultrasound catheters and 4D ultrasound catheters based on the images they provide, with the former providing two-dimensional images and the latter providing real-time three-dimensional rendering images.

[0003] In the prior art, the image quality of a 4D ultrasonic catheter with an external motor and reciprocating swinging motion is better than that of a 360° rotating ultrasonic catheter because its image area only covers the reciprocating swing range of the transducer.

[0004] However, in order to reduce the size of the catheter, the external motor must be equipped with a conversion structure that converts the rotation of the motor into the reciprocating swing of the transducer. The conversion of this conversion structure is often nonlinear, that is, the rotation of the motor and the reciprocating swing of the transducer are not in a nonlinear one-to-one relationship, resulting in uneven thickness of the ultrasound slices, unclear correspondence with time, and inability to accurately obtain images at a certain angle. Summary of the invention

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a 4D ultrasound catheter and a 4D ultrasound system to solve the problem of uneven slice thickness of the existing 4D ultrasound catheter.

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a 4D ultrasound catheter, which includes: a catheter body, a torque transmission component, a transmission component, a transducer component and an optical encoder component;

[0007] The torque transmission member, the transmission assembly and the transducer assembly are sequentially connected from the proximal end to the distal end and are inserted into the catheter body; the transmission assembly is used to convert the rotation of the torque transmission member around the axis into the reciprocating swing of the transducer assembly around the axis;

[0008] The optical encoder assembly includes a code disc and an optical fiber; the code disc is connected to the transducer assembly and moves with the transducer assembly; the distal end of the optical fiber is located at the code disc, and the proximal end of the optical fiber extends along the catheter body and is used to connect to an external processing unit;

[0009] The optical fiber is used to output a light wave reflecting the motion state of the code disk to the processing unit, so that the processing unit obtains the motion information of the code disk and the transducer assembly;

[0010] The output image of the transducer assembly is configured to incorporate the motion information.

[0011] Optionally, the optical fiber includes an incident optical fiber and an output optical fiber, and the optical encoder assembly further includes a reflector;

[0012] The code disc is perpendicular to the axis of the transducer assembly, and the code disc has a plurality of axially penetrating hollows, with a shielding portion between two adjacent hollows;

[0013] The distal ends of the incident optical fiber and the output optical fiber are both located at the proximal side of the code disk, and the reflector is located at the distal side of the code disk, and is used to change the direction of the light emitted from the distal end of the incident optical fiber to align with the distal end of the output optical fiber;

[0014] When the code disc moves with the transducer assembly, the hollow and the shielding portion are aligned with the optical path of the reflector in sequence to allow or shield the light emitted from the incident optical fiber to the output optical fiber;

[0015] The motion information of the code disk is obtained based on the output waveform of the light from the output optical fiber.

[0016] Optionally, the optical fiber includes two output optical fibers, the distal ends of the two output optical fibers are arranged in parallel around the axis of the code disk, and the plurality of hollows are evenly distributed along the circumference of the code disk; the projection of the distal end of the incident optical fiber is outside the circumferential contour range of the code disk, and the projections of the distal ends of the two output optical fibers are within the circumferential contour range of the code disk.

[0017] Optionally, the circumferential width of the hollow portion matches the parallel width of the distal ends of the two output optical fibers; and / or the circumferential width of the shielding portion matches the parallel width of the distal ends of the two output optical fibers.

[0018] Optionally, the transmission assembly includes an eccentric wheel, a rocker arm and a limiting mechanism;

[0019] The eccentric wheel is eccentrically connected to the torque transmission member;

[0020] The rocker arm comprises an arm body and a pulley, one end of the arm body is connected to the transducer assembly, the other end of the arm body extends perpendicularly to the axial direction of the transducer assembly, the pulley is arranged on the arm body, and the axis of the pulley is parallel to the axis of the transducer assembly;

[0021] When the eccentric wheel rotates around the axis of the torque transmission member, the pulley is configured to move along the circumferential direction of the eccentric wheel, and the pulley always keeps contact and cooperation with the eccentric wheel under the limitation of the limiting mechanism.

[0022] Optionally, the pulley is rotatably or slidably arranged around the outer periphery of the eccentric wheel.

[0023] Optionally, the limiting mechanism includes a coil spring, one end of which is connected to the catheter body, and the other end of which is connected to the transducer assembly, and the coil spring is used to apply circumferential potential force to the transducer assembly so that the pulley always maintains contact with the outer periphery of the eccentric wheel.

[0024] Optionally, the limiting mechanism includes a tension spring, one end of which is connected to the pulley, and the other end of which is connected to the torque transmission component, and the tension spring is used to apply tension to the pulley and the torque transmission component so that the pulley always maintains contact with the outer periphery of the eccentric wheel.

[0025] Optionally, the eccentric wheel has an annular groove opening toward the distal end, and the annular groove is arranged equidistantly offset inward along the outer circumference of the eccentric wheel; the pulley is clamped in the annular groove and rotates or slides in the annular groove.

[0026] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention further provides a 4D ultrasound system, which includes the 4D ultrasound catheter as described above, and also includes a driving unit, a processing unit and an ultrasound output unit;

[0027] The processing unit is connected to the optical fiber and is used to obtain the motion information of the code disk and the transducer assembly through the light waves emitted by the optical fiber;

[0028] The driving unit is connected to the torque transmission member and is used to drive the torque transmission member to rotate in combination with the motion information so as to make the transducer assembly move at a uniform speed;

[0029] The ultrasonic output unit is connected to the transducer assembly and is used to output the output image of the transducer assembly in combination with the motion information.

[0030] In summary, in the 4D ultrasound catheter and 4D ultrasound system provided by the present invention, the 4D ultrasound catheter includes a catheter body, a torque transmission component, a transmission assembly, a transducer assembly and an optical encoder assembly; the torque transmission component, the transmission assembly and the transducer assembly are connected in sequence from the proximal end to the distal end and are inserted into the catheter body; the transmission assembly is used to convert the rotation of the torque transmission component around the axis into the reciprocating swing of the transducer assembly around the axis; the optical encoder assembly includes a code disk and an optical fiber; the code disk is connected to the transducer assembly and moves with the transducer assembly; the distal end of the optical fiber is located at the code disk, and the proximal end of the optical fiber extends and penetrates along the catheter body for connection with an external processing unit; the optical fiber is used to output a light wave reflecting the motion state of the code disk to the processing unit, so that the processing unit obtains the motion information of the code disk and the transducer assembly; the output image of the transducer assembly is configured to be combined with the motion information.

[0031] With such configuration, based on the setting of the optical encoder assembly, the processing unit outside the body can obtain the motion information of the code disk and the transducer assembly, so that the output image of the transducer assembly can be combined with the motion information, so that the output image of the transducer assembly at any time can correspond to its current angle, speed and other information, so that the ultrasonic slices can correspond to time one by one. Further, based on the feedback of the motion information of the code disk and the transducer assembly, by adjusting the rotation speed of the torque transmission component, the transducer assembly can achieve uniform motion, thereby obtaining ultrasonic slices of uniform thickness, and allowing data resources to be evenly distributed within the reciprocating motion range of the transducer assembly, thereby improving imaging quality. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the drawings are provided for a better understanding of the present invention, but do not constitute any limitation on the scope of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a 4D ultrasound system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the distal part of the 4D ultrasound catheter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of ultrasonic slice scanning according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an optical encoder assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] Figure 5 is a top view of an optical encoder assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] Figure 6a to Figure 6dSchematic diagram of shielding changes of the output optical fiber according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of a limiting mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the limiting mechanism of the embodiment of the present invention from another angle.

[0041] Figure 9a to Figure 9d It is a schematic diagram of the movement change of the transmission component of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] Fig.10 Schematic diagram of a first alternative example of the limiting mechanism of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0043] Fig.11 2 is a schematic diagram of a second alternative example of the limiting mechanism of the embodiment of the present invention.

[0044] In the accompanying drawings: 1-4D ultrasonic catheter; 11-catheter body; 12-torque transmission member; 13-transmission assembly; 131-eccentric wheel; 1311-annular groove; 132-rocker arm; 1321-arm body; 1322-pulley; 133-limiting mechanism; 1331-coil spring; 1332-tension spring; 14-transducer assembly; 15-code disk; 151-hollow; 152-shielding part; 16-optical fiber; 161-incident optical fiber; 162-exit optical fiber; 17-reflector; 2-handle; 3-control device; 31-drive unit; 32-processing unit; 33-ultrasonic output unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] In order to make the purpose, advantages and features of the present invention clearer, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that the drawings are all in a very simplified form and are not drawn to scale, and are only used to conveniently and clearly assist in explaining the purpose of the embodiments of the present invention. In addition, the structure shown in the drawings is often a part of the actual structure. In particular, the emphasis of each drawing is different, and sometimes different scales are used.

[0046] As used in the present invention, the singular forms "a", "an", "one", and "the" include plural objects, the term "or" is generally used in a sense that includes "and / or", the term "several" is generally used in a sense that includes "at least one", and the term "at least two" is generally used in a sense that includes "two or more". In addition, the terms "first", "second", and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, the features defined as "first", "second", and "third" may explicitly or implicitly include one or at least two of the features, and "one end" and "the other end" as well as "proximal end" and "distal end" generally refer to two corresponding parts, which include not only the endpoints. The terms "proximal end" and "distal end" are defined herein relative to a 4D ultrasound catheter having an end for intervention in the human body and a manipulation end extending outside the body. The term "proximal end" refers to a position closer to the control end of the 4D ultrasound catheter extending out of the body, and the term "distal end" refers to a position closer to the end of the 4D ultrasound catheter that is inserted into the human body and therefore farther from the control end of the 4D ultrasound catheter. Optionally, in a manual or hand-operated application scenario, the terms "proximal end" and "distal end" are defined herein relative to an operator such as a surgeon or clinician. The term "proximal end" refers to a position closer to the operator, and the term "distal end" refers to a position closer to the 4D ultrasound catheter and therefore farther from the operator. In addition, as used in the present invention, "installed", "connected", "connected", and one element "set" to another element should be understood in a broad sense, usually only indicating that there is a connection, coupling, matching or transmission relationship between the two elements, and the connection, coupling, matching or transmission between the two elements can be direct or indirect through an intermediate element, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying the spatial position relationship between the two elements, that is, one element can be in any orientation such as inside, outside, above, below or on one side of another element, unless the content clearly indicates otherwise. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances. In addition, directional terms such as above, below, up, down, upward, downward, left, right, etc. are used with respect to the exemplary embodiments as they are shown in the figures, with the upward or upper direction toward the top of the corresponding figure and the downward or lower direction toward the bottom of the corresponding figure.

[0047] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a 4D ultrasound catheter and a 4D ultrasound system to solve the problem of uneven slice thickness of the existing 4D ultrasound catheter.

[0048] Please refer to Figure 1The embodiment of the present invention provides a 4D ultrasound system, which includes a 4D ultrasound catheter 1 for intervention in the human body, and a handle 2 and a control device 3 located outside the proximal body. The handle 2 is connected to the proximal end of the 4D ultrasound catheter 1, and the intervention of the 4D ultrasound catheter 1 can be controlled by the handle 2.

[0049] Please refer to Figure 2 The 4D ultrasound catheter 1 provided in an embodiment of the present invention is a mechanical reciprocating scanning ultrasound catheter, which comprises a catheter body 11, a torque transmission component 12, a transmission assembly 13, a transducer assembly 14 and an optical encoder assembly; the torque transmission component 12, the transmission assembly 13 and the transducer assembly 14 are sequentially connected from the proximal end to the distal end and are inserted into the catheter body 11; the transmission assembly 13 is used to convert the rotation of the torque transmission component 12 around the axis into the reciprocating swing of the transducer assembly 14 around the axis.

[0050] Furthermore, the control device 3 includes a driving unit 31, which is connected to the torque transmission member 12 and is used to drive the torque transmission member 12 to rotate. The driving unit 31 is arranged outside the proximal body, which is equivalent to placing the power mechanism outside, which helps to reduce the size of the 4D ultrasound catheter 1. At the same time, the driving force and speed will not be limited, which is conducive to improving the output frame rate of the 4D ultrasound image. In some embodiments, the outer diameter of the catheter body 11 of the 4D ultrasound catheter 1 can be controlled to be about 3 mm.

[0051] The torque transmission member 12 is driven by the driving unit 31 to rotate around its own axis. Through the conversion of the transmission assembly 13, the transducer assembly 14 can reciprocate around its own axis, thereby realizing ultrasonic slice scanning of a certain area, such as Figure 3 shown.

[0052] It is understandable that, since the torque transmission member 12 rotates around the axis under the drive of the driving unit 31, it is generally difficult to know its current rotation angle, and the torque transmission member 12 is generally a soft shaft to meet the intervention requirements, and its own rigidity is low and the diameter is thin, resulting in deviation and hysteresis between the distal transducer assembly 14 and the proximal driving unit 31. These factors may cause the angle of the transducer assembly 14 to be unknown. At a certain moment, it is impossible to find out the movement state of the transducer assembly 14, resulting in its output image being unable to accurately correspond to a slice at a certain angle in reality.

[0053] Furthermore, the reciprocating oscillation of the transducer assembly 14 around the axis is converted by the transmission assembly 13. The structural form of the transmission assembly 13 is not unique and is often not linear, that is, the driving force (rotation) of the driving unit 31 and the reciprocating oscillation of the transducer assembly 14 have a nonlinear one-to-one relationship.

[0054] Since the transducer assembly 14 works uniformly in time (i.e., the transducer assembly 14 outputs images at a fixed period), and data resources are relatively tight. If the transducer assembly 14 swings back and forth non-uniformly, the tight data resources cannot be evenly distributed throughout the entire reciprocating motion range. The data resources corresponding to the slow-moving part of the transducer assembly 14 are concentrated, and the data resources corresponding to the fast-moving part of the transducer assembly 14 are sparse, resulting in poor final imaging quality. Therefore, there is a demand to make the transducer assembly 14 swing back and forth as uniformly as possible. However, based on the fact that the structural form of the transmission assembly 13 is not unique and not linear, it is generally necessary to monitor the motion state of the transducer assembly 14 in the distal region of the 4D ultrasound catheter 1 to adjust the driving speed of the drive unit 31 accordingly.

[0055] In conventional considerations, a sensor, such as a photoelectric sensor or a magnetic encoding sensor, may be provided at the distal end of the 4D ultrasound catheter 1 to monitor the motion state of the transducer assembly 14 and obtain information such as the angle and speed of the transducer assembly 14 at a certain moment. However, the sizes of these sensor chips are all in the millimeter level. Since the outer diameter of the catheter body 11 of the 4D ultrasound catheter 1 provided in this embodiment is very small, for example, controlled at about 3 mm, it is difficult to accommodate these sensor chips under this size limitation.

[0056] Based on the above research and objective conditions, please continue to refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The 4D ultrasound catheter 1 provided in this embodiment also includes an optical encoder component, and the control device 3 of the 4D ultrasound system also includes a processing unit 32. The optical encoder component includes a code disk 15 and an optical fiber 16; the code disk 15 is connected to the transducer component 14 and moves with the transducer component 14; the distal end of the optical fiber 16 is located at the code disk 15, and the proximal end of the optical fiber 16 extends and penetrates along the catheter body 11, and is used to connect with the processing unit 32 outside the body; the optical fiber 16 is used to output a light wave reflecting the movement state of the code disk 15 to the processing unit 32, so that the processing unit 32 obtains the movement information of the code disk 15 and the transducer component 14; the output image of the transducer component 14 is configured to be combined with the movement information.

[0057] The optical encoder assembly of this embodiment does not include electrical components such as sensor chips, but is a purely physical mechanical structure. Its size is not limited by the chip size, and it can be set to be relatively small and can be accommodated in the small catheter body 11, which is conducive to improving the passing performance of the 4D ultrasound catheter 1. Further, based on the setting of the optical encoder assembly, the processing unit 32 outside the body can obtain the motion information of the code disk 15 and the transducer assembly 14, so that the output image of the transducer assembly 14 can be combined with the motion information, so that the output image of the transducer assembly 14 at any time can correspond to its current angle, speed and other information, so that the ultrasound slice can correspond to time one by one. Further, based on the feedback of the motion information of the code disk 15 and the transducer assembly 14, the rotation speed of the torque transmission member 12 can be adjusted by the driving unit 31, so that the transducer assembly 14 can achieve uniform motion, form a closed-loop control, thereby obtaining ultrasound slices with uniform thickness, and evenly distribute data resources to the reciprocating motion range of the transducer assembly 14, thereby improving the imaging quality.

[0058] Please refer to Figure 4 and Figure 5 , and combined with reference Figure 7 and Figure 8 Optionally, the code disc 15 is perpendicular to the axis of the transducer assembly 14, and the code disc 15 has a plurality of axially through hollows 151, and a shielding portion 152 is provided between two adjacent hollows 151. The distal end portions of the light source and the optical fiber 16 are respectively disposed on both sides of the axial direction of the code disc 15. In the process of the code disc 15 following the swing of the transducer assembly 14 around the axis, the hollows 151 and the shielding portion 152 can be aligned with the distal end portion of the optical fiber 16 in sequence, so that the light from the light source can pass through the hollows 151 or be shielded by the shielding portion 152, forming a certain output waveform. The proximal processing unit 31 can calculate the motion information of the code disc 15 by analyzing the light output waveform of the optical fiber 16, and the motion information includes but is not limited to the angle, angular velocity, swing direction, etc. of the code disc 15.

[0059] In one embodiment, the light source may be built into the distal region of the 4D ultrasound catheter 1 (this solution is not shown in the figure, please refer to Figure 4 The reflector 17 is understood as a light source, for example, it is arranged at the far end of the code disk 15, and the light source can be a miniature LED or the like. However, considering the luminous intensity, volume, power consumption, heat generation and other factors of the light source, in other preferred embodiments, the light source can be configured to be external. When the light source is external, laser or the like can be selected.

[0060] Please refer to Figure 4 and Figure 5, corresponding to the scheme of external light source, the optical fiber 16 includes an incident optical fiber 161 and an output optical fiber 162, and the optical encoder assembly also includes a reflector 17; the distal ends of the incident optical fiber 161 and the output optical fiber 162 are both located on the proximal side of the code disk 15, and the reflector 17 is located on the distal side of the code disk 15, and is used to change the direction of the light emitted from the distal end of the incident optical fiber 161 to align it with the distal end of the output optical fiber 162; when the code disk 15 moves with the transducer assembly 14, the hollow 151 and the shielding portion 152 are aligned with the optical path of the reflector 17 in turn, so as to allow or block the light emitted from the incident optical fiber 161 to the output optical fiber 162; the movement information of the code disk 15 is obtained based on the output waveform of the light of the output optical fiber 162.

[0061] In one embodiment, the processing unit 31 includes a light source, such as a laser tube. When the proximal end of the optical fiber 16 is connected to the processing unit 31, the light emitted by the light source can be incident on the proximal end of the incident optical fiber 161. The arrangement of the incident optical fiber 161 and the reflector 17 is equivalent to replacing the arrangement of the light source in the distal region of the 4D ultrasound catheter 1. Since the diameter of the optical fiber 16 is generally very small, it can meet the requirements of this embodiment.

[0062] Optionally, the optical fiber 16 includes two output optical fibers 162, the distal ends of the two output optical fibers 162 are arranged in parallel around the axis of the code disk 15, and the plurality of hollows 151 are evenly distributed along the circumference of the code disk 15; the projection of the distal end of the incident optical fiber 161 is located outside the circumferential contour range of the code disk 15, and the projection of the distal ends of the two output optical fibers 162 is located within the circumferential contour range of the code disk 15. Preferably, the circumferential width of the hollow 151 matches the parallel width of the distal ends of the two output optical fibers 162; and / or, the circumferential width of the shielding portion 152 matches the parallel width of the distal ends of the two output optical fibers 162.

[0063] The scheme of arranging two output optical fibers 162 in parallel can form two light wave output channels. The processing unit 32 can calculate and analyze the motion information such as the stroke limit, swing direction, angle and angular velocity of the code disk 15 by monitoring the two light wave output channels. Of course, the scheme of arranging two output optical fibers 162 in parallel is not a limitation on the optical fiber 16. In some other embodiments, only a single optical fiber 162 can be provided, and by providing a characteristic hollow 151 or a shielding portion 152 on the code disk 15, the motion information such as the stroke limit, swing direction, angle and angular velocity of the code disk 15 can be analyzed.

[0064] Please refer to Figures 6a to 6d, the two output optical fibers 162 correspond to channels A and B respectively, and the code disk 15 rotates through one hollow 151 and one shielding portion 152 for one cycle. Figure 6a As the code disk 15 rotates counterclockwise, channel A receives light 1 / 4 cycle earlier than channel B. Figure 6b As shown, at this time, the output signal of channel A is recorded as +, while channel B is still blocked by the blocking portion 152, and its output signal is recorded as -. The code disk 15 continues to rotate counterclockwise until both channel A and channel B are aligned with the hollow 151, as shown in FIG. Figure 6c As shown, the output signals of channel A and channel B are both +. As the code disk 15 continues to rotate counterclockwise, channel A is blocked 1 / 4 cycle earlier than channel B, as shown in FIG. Figure 6d As shown, at this time, the output signal of channel A is -, and the output signal of channel B is +.

[0065] Similarly, Figure 6a As the beginning, when the code disk 15 rotates clockwise, channel B receives light before channel A. Therefore, the current swing direction of the code disk 15 can be known through the order of positive and negative changes in the output signals of channels A and B. The number of hollows 151 on the code disk 15 × 4 is the counting resolution of the encoder. It can be understood that since the code disk 15 reciprocates around the axis with the transducer assembly 14, it has a reciprocating stroke limit. It only takes one complete reciprocating swing for the code disk 15 to detect the output signals of channels A and B to know the stroke limit of the code disk 15 (i.e., the position of the code disk 15 commutation). Furthermore, by analyzing the output signals of channels A and B, the current angular velocity and the current angle of the code disk 15 can be calculated, that is, the motion information of the code disk 15 and the transducer assembly 14 can be obtained.

[0066] Furthermore, the driving unit 31 is used to drive the torque transmission member 12 to rotate in combination with the motion information, so that the transducer assembly 14 moves at a uniform speed. Since the structure of the transmission assembly 13 does not change after the design, manufacture and assembly of the 4D ultrasonic catheter 1 is completed, the output waveform of the light of the output optical fiber 162 obtained by the complete reciprocating swing of the code disk 15 can be obtained based on the kinematic equation of the transmission assembly 13. Based on this conversion relationship, the driving unit 31 can be controlled to drive the torque transmission member 12 to rotate in a non-uniform manner, so that the transducer assembly 14 moves at a uniform speed.

[0067] As mentioned above, since the outer diameter of the catheter body 11 of the 4D ultrasound catheter 1 provided in this embodiment is quite small and is controlled at about 3 mm, many existing technologies cannot be applied under this size limitation. In particular, the transmission component 13 is a mechanical conversion component, and it is required to be able to convert the rotation of the torque transmission member 12 around the axis into the reciprocating swing of the transducer component 14 around the axis in a space of less than 3 mm. This places high demands on the mechanical connection method of the transmission component 13, and the common connection methods such as shaft-hole matching in the field are difficult to achieve due to size limitations.

[0068] Please refer to Figure 7 and Figure 8 Based on the above requirements, in the 4D ultrasonic catheter 1 provided in this embodiment, the transmission assembly 13 includes an eccentric wheel 131, a rocker arm 132 and a limiting mechanism 133; the eccentric wheel 131 is eccentrically connected to the torque transmission member 12; the rocker arm 132 includes an arm body 1321 and a pulley 1322, one end of the arm body 1321 is connected to the transducer assembly 14, the other end of the arm body 1321 is perpendicular to the axial extension of the transducer assembly 14, the pulley 1322 is arranged on the arm body 1321, and the axis of the pulley 1322 is parallel to the axis of the transducer assembly 14; when the eccentric wheel 131 rotates around the axis of the torque transmission member 12, the pulley 1322 is configured to move along the circumferential direction of the eccentric wheel 131, and the pulley 1322 always maintains contact and cooperation with the eccentric wheel 131 under the limitation of the limiting mechanism 133.

[0069] The axis of the torque transmission member 12 is fixed, and the axis of the transducer assembly 14 is also fixed, that is, the torque transmission member 12 and the transducer assembly 14 are restricted in freedom except rotation. The eccentric wheel 131 is eccentrically connected to the torque transmission member 12, which means that the axis of the torque transmission member 12 does not pass through the centroid of the eccentric wheel 131, so that when the torque transmission member 12 rotates around its own axis, the eccentric wheel 131 will form an eccentric motion. Based on the setting of the limiting mechanism 133, the pulley 1322 and the eccentric wheel 131 are always in contact and matching. In this way, the eccentric motion of the eccentric wheel 131 will drive the transducer assembly 14 to form a reciprocating swing around its axis through the rocker arm 132. Due to the setting of the limiting mechanism 133, the pulley 1322 and the eccentric wheel 131 are in contact and matching, avoiding the need for a large-sized shaft hole matching connection, which is conducive to improving the matching connection accuracy and improving the accuracy of the motion conversion of the torque transmission member 12 and the transducer assembly 14. Optionally, the eccentric wheel 131 may be a circular wheel, an elliptical wheel, or even an irregular wheel in some embodiments, which is not limited in this embodiment. The shape of the eccentric wheel 131 affects the conversion relationship between the torque transmission member 12 and the transducer assembly 14.

[0070] Optionally, the pulley 1322 is rotatably or slidably arranged around the outer periphery of the eccentric wheel 131. In some embodiments, the pulley 1322 can be configured to be rotatably arranged on the arm body 1321, and the outer periphery of the pulley 1322 is in rolling contact with the outer periphery of the eccentric wheel 131. It can be understood that such a setting is conducive to reducing the movement resistance of the pulley 1322. Considering that the 4D ultrasonic catheter 1 product is a disposable consumable and is limited by the volume, the pulley 1322 can also adopt a fixed wheel solution, that is, the pulley 1322 is configured to be fixedly arranged on the arm body 1321, so that there is sliding friction between the pulley 1322 and the eccentric wheel 131. Since the use time of the 4D ultrasonic catheter 1 is generally not more than 8 hours, the wear between the pulley 1322 and the eccentric wheel 131 can be ignored, and the pulley 1322 is fixedly arranged on the arm body 1321 to further reduce the volume.

[0071] As mentioned above, the function of the limiting mechanism 133 is to limit the pulley 1322 so that it always keeps in contact with the eccentric wheel 131. There are many possibilities for the specific structure of the limiting mechanism 133. The following is an example of several embodiments.

[0072] Please refer to Figures 9a to 9d , and combined with Figure 7 and Figure 8 In one embodiment, the limiting mechanism 133 includes a coil spring 1331, one end of the coil spring 1331 is connected to the catheter body 11, and the other end of the coil spring 1331 is connected to the transducer assembly 14, and the coil spring 1331 is used to apply circumferential potential force to the transducer assembly 14 so that the pulley 1322 always maintains contact with the outer periphery of the eccentric wheel 131.

[0073] Please refer to Figure 9a , which shows a state in which the distance between the pulley 1322 and the torque transmission member 12 (referring to the axial distance between the two) is the smallest in one rotation cycle of the eccentric wheel 131. The coil spring 1331 can be configured to be in a relaxed state in this state, that is, the coil spring 1331 is in an initial state without potential energy. Please refer to Figure 9b to Figure 9c As the eccentric wheel 131 rotates eccentrically clockwise around the axis of the torque transmission member 12, the pulley 1322 is gradually pushed away. At the same time, the transducer assembly 14 is restricted to rotate only around its own axis, so it rotates counterclockwise. The coil spring 1331 is driven by the transducer assembly 14 to store circumferential potential energy. Fig.9c In the state of , the distance between the pulley 1322 and the torque transmission member 12 is the largest, at this time the circumferential potential energy stored in the coil spring 1331 also reaches the maximum, and the transducer assembly 14 also reaches the limit position of the counterclockwise rotation stroke. Figure 9d, the eccentric wheel 131 continues to rotate clockwise, and the coil spring 1331 begins to release its stored circumferential potential energy, driving the pulley 1322 to move against the periphery of the eccentric wheel 131, driving the transducer assembly 14 to rotate clockwise until reaching Figure 9a state, completing a rotation cycle of motion.

[0074] Please refer to Fig.10 In another alternative embodiment, the limiting mechanism 133 includes a tension spring 1332, one end of which is connected to the pulley 1322, and the other end of which is connected to the torque transmission member 12. The tension spring 1332 is used to apply tension to the pulley 1322 and the torque transmission member 12, so that the pulley 1322 always keeps in contact with the outer periphery of the eccentric wheel 131. In this alternative embodiment, the tension spring 1332 can be used to replace the coil spring 1331 in the above embodiment, and the circumferential potential force can be replaced by applying tension, which can also ensure that the pulley 1322 always moves against the outer periphery of the eccentric wheel 131 during the rotation of the eccentric wheel 131.

[0075] It can be understood that in addition to using elastic potential energy parts such as coil springs 1331 or tension springs 1332, magnetic potential energy parts can also be used in some embodiments. For example, one of the eccentric wheel 131 and the pulley 1322 is configured as a permanent magnet, and the other of the eccentric wheel 131 and the pulley 1322 is configured to be able to be magnetically attracted, for example, made of iron-nickel material. In this way, during the rotation of the eccentric wheel 131, the eccentric wheel 131 and the pulley 1322 are attracted to each other by magnetic attraction to ensure that the pulley 1322 always moves against the periphery of the eccentric wheel 131.

[0076] In other embodiments, the limiting mechanism 133 may not use a potential energy member, but a mechanical engaging member to limit the pulley 1322. Fig.11 In an alternative embodiment, the eccentric wheel 131 has an annular groove 1311 opening toward the distal end, and the annular groove 1311 is arranged equidistantly inwardly along the outer circumference of the eccentric wheel 131; the pulley 1322 is clamped in the annular groove 1311 and rotates or slides in the annular groove 1311. Optionally, the radial width of the annular groove 1311 is adapted to the outer diameter of the pulley 1322, so that the pulley 1322 can only move along the extension direction of the annular groove 1311. It can be understood that at this time, the annular groove 1311 constitutes a limiting mechanism 133, which enables the pulley 1322 to always keep in contact with the eccentric wheel 131 and move along the circumference of the eccentric wheel 131. In this configuration, as the eccentric wheel 131 rotates, the transducer assembly 14 can also achieve reciprocating swing around its own axis through the pulley 1322.

[0077] Please refer to Figure 1 Based on the 4D ultrasound catheter 1 described above, the control device 3 of the 4D ultrasound system further includes a processing unit 32 and an ultrasound output unit 33. The processing unit 32 is connected to the optical fiber 16 and is used to obtain the motion information of the code disk 15 and the transducer assembly 14 through the light wave emitted by the optical fiber 16. The driving unit 31 is connected to the torque transmission member 12 and is used to drive the torque transmission member 12 to rotate in combination with the motion information so that the transducer assembly 14 moves at a uniform speed; the ultrasound output unit 33 is connected to the transducer assembly 14 and is used to output the output image of the transducer assembly 14 in combination with the motion information.

[0078] In summary, in the 4D ultrasound catheter and 4D ultrasound system provided by the present invention, the 4D ultrasound catheter includes a catheter body, a torque transmission component, a transmission assembly, a transducer assembly and an optical encoder assembly; the torque transmission component, the transmission assembly and the transducer assembly are connected in sequence from the proximal end to the distal end and are inserted into the catheter body; the transmission assembly is used to convert the rotation of the torque transmission component around the axis into the reciprocating swing of the transducer assembly around the axis; the optical encoder assembly includes a code disk and an optical fiber; the code disk is connected to the transducer assembly and moves with the transducer assembly; the distal end of the optical fiber is located at the code disk, and the proximal end of the optical fiber extends and penetrates along the catheter body for connection with an external processing unit; the optical fiber is used to output a light wave reflecting the motion state of the code disk to the processing unit, so that the processing unit obtains the motion information of the code disk and the transducer assembly; the output image of the transducer assembly is configured to be combined with the motion information. With such configuration, based on the setting of the optical encoder assembly, the processing unit outside the body can obtain the motion information of the code disk and the transducer assembly, so that the output image of the transducer assembly can be combined with the motion information, so that the output image of the transducer assembly at any time can correspond to its current angle, speed and other information, so that the ultrasonic slices can correspond to time one by one. Further, based on the feedback of the motion information of the code disk and the transducer assembly, by adjusting the rotation speed of the torque transmission component, the transducer assembly can achieve uniform motion, thereby obtaining ultrasonic slices of uniform thickness, and allowing data resources to be evenly distributed within the reciprocating motion range of the transducer assembly, thereby improving imaging quality.

[0079] It should be noted that the above embodiments can be combined with each other. The above description is only a description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and does not limit the scope of the present invention. Any changes and modifications made by ordinary technicians in the field of the present invention based on the above disclosure are within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A 4D ultrasound catheter, characterized in that: include: The catheter body, the torque transmission component, the transmission assembly, the transducer assembly and the optical encoder assembly; The torque transmission member, the transmission assembly and the transducer assembly are sequentially connected from the proximal end to the distal end and are inserted into the catheter body; the transmission assembly is used to convert the rotation of the torque transmission member around the axis into the reciprocating swing of the transducer assembly around the axis; The optical encoder assembly includes a code disc and an optical fiber; the code disc is connected to the transducer assembly and moves with the transducer assembly; The distal end of the optical fiber is located at the code disk, and the proximal end of the optical fiber extends and penetrates along the catheter body to be connected to an external processing unit; The optical fiber is used to output a light wave reflecting the motion state of the code disk to the processing unit, so that the processing unit obtains the motion information of the code disk and the transducer assembly; The output image of the transducer assembly is configured to incorporate the motion information.

2. The 4D ultrasound catheter according to claim 1, characterized in that: The optical fiber includes an incident optical fiber and an output optical fiber, and the optical encoder assembly also includes a reflector; The code disc is perpendicular to the axis of the transducer assembly, and the code disc has a plurality of axially penetrating hollows, with a shielding portion between two adjacent hollows; The distal ends of the incident optical fiber and the output optical fiber are both located at the proximal side of the code disk, and the reflector is located at the distal side of the code disk, and is used to change the direction of the light emitted from the distal end of the incident optical fiber to align with the distal end of the output optical fiber; When the code disc moves with the transducer assembly, the hollow and the shielding portion are aligned with the optical path of the reflector in sequence to allow or shield the light emitted from the incident optical fiber to the output optical fiber; The motion information of the code disk is obtained based on the output waveform of the light from the output optical fiber.

3. The 4D ultrasound catheter according to claim 2, characterized in that: The optical fiber includes two output optical fibers, the distal ends of the two output optical fibers are arranged in parallel around the axis of the code disk, and the plurality of hollows are evenly distributed along the circumference of the code disk; the projection of the distal end of the incident optical fiber is outside the circumferential contour range of the code disk, and the projections of the distal ends of the two output optical fibers are within the circumferential contour range of the code disk.

4. The 4D ultrasound catheter according to claim 3, characterized in that: The circumferential width of the hollow portion matches the parallel width of the distal ends of the two output optical fibers; and / or the circumferential width of the shielding portion matches the parallel width of the distal ends of the two output optical fibers.

5. The 4D ultrasound catheter according to claim 1, characterized in that: The transmission assembly includes an eccentric wheel, a rocker arm and a limiting mechanism; The eccentric wheel is eccentrically connected to the torque transmission member; The rocker arm comprises an arm body and a pulley, one end of the arm body is connected to the transducer assembly, the other end of the arm body extends perpendicularly to the axial direction of the transducer assembly, the pulley is arranged on the arm body, and the axis of the pulley is parallel to the axis of the transducer assembly; When the eccentric wheel rotates around the axis of the torque transmission member, the pulley is configured to move along the circumferential direction of the eccentric wheel, and the pulley always keeps contact and cooperation with the eccentric wheel under the limitation of the limiting mechanism.

6. The 4D ultrasound catheter according to claim 5, characterized in that: The pulley is rotatably or slidably arranged around the outer periphery of the eccentric wheel.

7. The 4D ultrasound catheter according to claim 6, characterized in that: The limiting mechanism includes a coil spring, one end of which is connected to the catheter body, and the other end of which is connected to the transducer assembly. The coil spring is used to apply circumferential potential force to the transducer assembly so that the pulley always maintains contact with the outer periphery of the eccentric wheel.

8. The 4D ultrasound catheter according to claim 6, characterized in that: The limiting mechanism includes a tension spring, one end of which is connected to the pulley, and the other end of which is connected to the torque transmission member. The tension spring is used to apply tension to the pulley and the torque transmission member so that the pulley always maintains contact with the outer periphery of the eccentric wheel.

9. The 4D ultrasound catheter according to claim 5, characterized in that: The eccentric wheel has an annular groove opening toward the distal end, and the annular groove is arranged inwardly and equidistantly along the outer circumference of the eccentric wheel; the pulley is clamped in the annular groove and rotates or slides in the annular groove.

10. A 4D ultrasound system, characterized in that: The 4D ultrasound catheter according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a driving unit, a processing unit and an ultrasound output unit; The processing unit is connected to the optical fiber and is used to obtain the motion information of the code disk and the transducer assembly through the light waves emitted by the optical fiber; The driving unit is connected to the torque transmission member and is used to drive the torque transmission member to rotate in combination with the motion information so as to make the transducer assembly move at a uniform speed; The ultrasonic output unit is connected to the transducer assembly and is used to output the output image of the transducer assembly in combination with the motion information.

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