Ultrasound probe

Abstract

To provide an ultrasonic probe that is easy to grasp and compact, while still having a built-in battery. [Solution] The device comprises a housing (12) having a front end (12A) and a rear end (12B), a vibrator array (15) disposed inside the front end of the housing, and a flat-plate shaped battery (16) disposed inside the housing. The housing has an external shape that gradually thins from near the center of the center line (C1) extending from the front end to the rear end towards the front or rear end, and the battery is positioned at an angle to the center line so as to follow the inner surface of the housing.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe, and more particularly to a wireless connection type ultrasonic probe incorporating a battery.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in the medical field, ultrasonic diagnostic devices using ultrasonic images have been put into practical use. Generally, this type of ultrasonic diagnostic device includes an ultrasonic probe incorporating a vibrator array and a device main body connected to the ultrasonic probe. The ultrasonic probe transmits an ultrasonic beam toward a subject, receives an ultrasonic echo from the subject with the ultrasonic probe, and generates an ultrasonic image by electrically processing, for example, the received signal in the device main body. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

[0006] However, when attempting to integrate a battery into an ultrasound probe, it becomes necessary to secure space for the battery within the probe's casing. Furthermore, it is desirable to integrate circuits that drive the transducer array and process the received signals acquired by the transducer array, as well as wireless communication circuits that wirelessly transmit signals from the ultrasound probe to the main device, into the ultrasound probe itself. This presents a problem in that miniaturizing the ultrasound probe is difficult.

[0007] This invention was made to solve the problems of the conventional invention, and aims to provide an ultrasonic probe that is easy to grasp and can be made smaller while having a built-in battery. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The above objective can be achieved with the following configuration. [1] A battery-powered ultrasonic probe, A housing having a front end and a rear end, A transducer array located inside the front end of the housing, A flat-shaped battery is placed inside the casing. Equipped with, The housing has an external shape that gradually thins out from near the center of the center line towards the front or rear end, along a center line that extends from the front end to the rear end. The battery is positioned at an angle to the center line of the ultrasonic probe, following the inner surface of the housing. [2] The housing has an external shape that gradually becomes thinner from near the center of the center line towards the front end. The ultrasonic probe described in [1] has a battery positioned towards the front end inside the housing and tilted relative to the center line. [3] Equipped with a power receiving coil located inside the housing, The ultrasonic probe described in [2], wherein the transducer array, battery, and power receiving coil are arranged in that order from the front end to the rear end of the housing. [4] The center line passes through the oscillator array, The ultrasonic probe described in [3], wherein the receiving coil is positioned at an offset location from the center line and parallel to the center line. [5] The ultrasonic probe according to [4], comprising a circuit board located inside the housing and positioned off-center from the battery and the power receiving coil, and an integrated circuit mounted on the circuit board. [6] The ultrasonic probe described in [5], comprising a wireless communication circuit mounted on a circuit board. [7] The housing has an external shape that gradually becomes thinner from near the center of the center line towards the rear end. The ultrasonic probe described in [1] has a battery positioned towards the edge inside the housing and tilted relative to the center line. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] The device includes a housing having a front end and a rear end, and a flat-plate shaped battery disposed inside the housing. The housing has an external shape that gradually thins from near the center of the center line towards the front or rear end along a center line extending from the front end to the rear end, and the battery is positioned at an angle to the center line so as to follow the inner surface of the housing. This makes it possible to make the device easy to grip and miniaturize it while incorporating a battery. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view showing an ultrasonic probe according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a plan view showing an ultrasonic probe according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 3] This is a side view showing an ultrasonic probe according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 4] This is a cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of an ultrasonic probe according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 5] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasound diagnostic device equipped with an ultrasound probe according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 6]It is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the transmission / reception circuit of the ultrasonic probe in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 7] It is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the image generation unit of the ultrasonic probe in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 8] It is a side view showing the ultrasonic probe according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. [Figure 9] It is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus provided with the ultrasonic probe according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of this invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings. The description of the constituent elements described below is made based on typical embodiments of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to such embodiments. In this specification, a numerical range represented by "~" means a range including the numerical values described before and after "~" as the lower limit value and the upper limit value. In this specification, "identical" and "the same" are assumed to include the error range generally acceptable in the technical field.

[0012] Embodiment 1 In FIGS. 1 to 3, an ultrasonic probe 11 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is shown. The ultrasonic probe 11 includes a housing 12, and the housing 12 has an overall elongated and wide flat shape in a defined direction. The housing 12 has a front end portion 12A disposed at one end in the extending direction, a rear end portion 12B disposed at the other end, and a grip portion 12C disposed between the front end portion 12A and the rear end portion 12B. The grip portion 12C is a portion that is gripped by a user when performing ultrasonic diagnosis using the ultrasonic probe 11.

[0013] Here, for convenience, the direction from the front end portion 12A toward the rear end portion 12B will be referred to as the +Y direction, the width direction of the wide flat housing 12 orthogonal to the Y direction will be referred to as the X direction, and the direction orthogonal to both the X direction and the Y direction will be referred to as the Z direction.

[0014] The housing 12 is formed from, for example, an insulating resin, and the grip portion 12C has a cylindrical shape surrounded by four side plate portions that extend along a center line C1, each extending from the front end 12A to the rear end 12B. The four side plate portions consist of a first side plate portion S1 oriented in the -Z direction, a second side plate portion S2 oriented in the +Z direction on the opposite side of the first side plate portion S1, a third side plate portion S3 connecting the first side plate portion S1 and the second side plate portion S2 and oriented in the +X direction, and a fourth side plate portion S4 connecting the first side plate portion S1 and the second side plate portion S2 and oriented in the -X direction.

[0015] As shown in Figure 3, when viewed from the X direction, the housing 12 has an external shape in which, although there are some undulating parts, the thickness in the Z direction gradually decreases from near the center in the Y direction towards the front end 12A along the center line C1. Furthermore, a projection 13 is formed on the +X direction side of the front end portion 12A to indicate the orientation of the ultrasonic probe 11, and a light-emitting portion 14 extending in the Y direction along the center line C1 is arranged on the outer surface of the third side plate portion S3.

[0016] Figure 4 shows the internal structure of the ultrasonic probe 11. A transducer array 15 is positioned inside the front end portion 12A of the ultrasonic probe 11, at a location through which the center line C1 passes. The transducer array 15 has multiple transducers arranged in the X direction, and the ultrasonic emission surface 15A of the transducer array 15 is exposed from the housing 12 and oriented in the -Y direction.

[0017] Inside the housing 12, a flat-shaped battery 16 is positioned along the inner surface of the housing 12, offset from the grip portion 12C towards the front end portion 12A. The battery 16 is positioned offset from the center line C1 in the -Z direction. As described above, the housing 12 has an external shape in which the thickness in the Z direction gradually decreases from near the center in the Y direction towards the front end 12A along the center line C1. Therefore, by positioning the battery 16 at a location biased toward the front end 12A side from the grip portion 12C and along the inner surface of the housing 12, the battery 16 is in an inclined state with respect to the center line C1.

[0018] The power receiving coil 17 is positioned on the +Y side of the battery 16 at a location offset to the -Z direction from the center line C1. The power receiving coil 17 has a flat plate shape that is thinner than the battery 16 and is positioned along the inner surface of the first side plate portion S1 of the grip portion 12C. Here, at least the region of the first side plate portion S1 in which the power receiving coil 17 is positioned has a planar inner surface and a planar outer surface, and the power receiving coil 17 is positioned in contact with the inner surface of the first side plate portion S1, or in very close proximity to the inner surface of the first side plate portion S1.

[0019] Furthermore, inside the housing 12, the circuit board 18 is positioned offset from the center line C1 to the side opposite to the battery 16 and the power receiving coil 17, that is, inside the second side plate portion S2 of the grip portion 12C. The circuit board 18 extends along the XY plane from the grip portion 12C to the vicinity of the oscillator array 15 at the front end portion 12A, and two integrated circuits 19 and 20 and a wireless communication circuit 21 are sequentially mounted on the surface of the circuit board 18 on the +Z side along the center line C1 in the +Y direction.

[0020] Furthermore, two temperature sensors 22, each connected to a circuit board 18, are located inside the housing 12. One of the two temperature sensors 22 is located between the two integrated circuits 19 and 20, and the other temperature sensor 22 is located between the integrated circuit 20 and the wireless communication circuit 21, both positioned close to the inner surface of the second side plate portion S2 of the grip portion 12C.

[0021] Furthermore, a sheet-like heat dissipation member 23 is placed between the circuit board 18 and the inner surface of the second side plate portion S2 of the grip portion 12C, and the two integrated circuits 19 and 20 and the wireless communication circuit 21 mounted on the circuit board 18 are covered by the heat dissipation member 23. The heat dissipation member 23 is made of a resin sheet whose thermal conductivity has been improved by incorporating a highly thermally conductive filler, for example, and efficiently absorbs heat from the integrated circuits 19 and 20 and the wireless communication circuit 21, which become heat sources during operation, thereby preventing malfunctions and failures of the integrated circuits 19 and 20 and the wireless communication circuit 21. However, the heat dissipation member 23 has two openings 23A formed corresponding to the positions of the two temperature sensors 22, and the two temperature sensors 22 each face the inner surface of the second side plate portion S2 through the corresponding openings 23A of the heat dissipation member 23.

[0022] Next, Figure 5 shows the configuration of an ultrasound diagnostic device equipped with an ultrasound probe 11 according to Embodiment 1. The ultrasound diagnostic device comprises an ultrasound probe 11 according to Embodiment 1 and a device body 41, and the ultrasound probe 11 and the device body 41 are connected by wireless communication.

[0023] The ultrasonic probe 11 has a transmitting / receiving circuit 31 connected to a transducer array 15, to which an image generation unit 32 and a wireless communication circuit 21 are sequentially connected. An ultrasonic transmitting / receiving control unit 33 is also connected to the transmitting / receiving circuit 31. Furthermore, a communication control unit 34 is connected to the wireless communication circuit 21, a light emission control unit 35 is connected to the light emission unit 14, and a charging control unit 36 ​​is connected to the power receiving coil 17. In addition, a probe control unit 37 is connected to the temperature sensor 22, the ultrasonic transmitting / receiving control unit 33, the communication control unit 34, the light emission control unit 35, and the charging control unit 36. Here, the wireless communication circuit 21 and the probe control unit 37 are connected in a way that allows for bidirectional information exchange. Furthermore, the processor 38 on the ultrasonic probe 11 side is formed by the transmitting / receiving circuit 31, image generation unit 32, ultrasonic transmitting / receiving control unit 33, communication control unit 34, light emission control unit 35, charging control unit 36, and probe control unit 37.

[0024] The main unit 41 of the device is equipped with a wireless communication circuit 42, to which a display control unit 43 and a monitor 44 are sequentially connected. A communication control unit 45 is also connected to the wireless communication circuit 42, and the main unit control unit 46 is connected to the wireless communication circuit 42, the display control unit 43, and the communication control unit 45. An input device 47 is also connected to the main unit control unit 46. Here, the wireless communication circuit 42 and the main unit control unit 46 are connected in a way that allows for bidirectional information exchange.

[0025] Furthermore, the display control unit 43, the communication control unit 45, and the main unit control unit 46 form the processor 48 on the main unit 41 side of the device. Furthermore, the wireless communication circuit 21 of the ultrasonic probe 11 and the wireless communication circuit 42 of the device body 41 are connected in a way that allows for bidirectional information exchange, thereby connecting the ultrasonic probe 11 and the device body 41 via wireless communication.

[0026] The transducer array 15 of the ultrasonic probe 11 has multiple transducers arranged in one or two dimensions. Each of these transducers transmits ultrasound according to a drive signal supplied from the transmitting / receiving circuit 31 and receives ultrasound echoes from the subject and outputs a received signal. Each transducer is constructed by forming electrodes at both ends of a piezoelectric body made of, for example, a piezoelectric ceramic represented by PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate), a polymer piezoelectric element represented by PVDF (Poly Vinylidene Di Fluoride), or a piezoelectric single crystal represented by PMN-PT (Lead Magnesium Niobate-Lead Titanate).

[0027] The ultrasonic transmission / reception control unit 33 transmits an ultrasonic beam and receives an ultrasonic echo based on instructions from the probe control unit 37 by controlling the transmission / reception circuit 31.

[0028] The transmitting and receiving circuit 31 transmits ultrasonic waves from the transducer array 15 and generates a sound line signal based on the received signal acquired by the transducer array 15, under the control of the ultrasonic transmitting and receiving control unit 33. As shown in Figure 6, the transmitting and receiving circuit 31 has a pulser 51 connected to the transducer array 15, and an amplifier 52, an AD (Analog Digital) converter 53, and a beamformer 54 connected sequentially in series to the transducer array 15.

[0029] The pulser 51 includes, for example, multiple pulse generators and supplies drive signals to multiple transducers of the transducer array 15, adjusting the delay amount, so that the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the transducers form an ultrasonic beam, based on a transmission delay pattern selected according to a control signal from the ultrasonic transmission / reception control unit 33. In this way, when a pulsed or continuous wave voltage is applied to the electrodes of the transducers of the transducer array 15, the piezoelectric material expands and contracts, generating pulsed or continuous wave ultrasonic waves from each transducer, and an ultrasonic beam is formed from the combined wave of these ultrasonic waves.

[0030] The transmitted ultrasonic beam is reflected by an object, such as a part of the subject, and the ultrasonic echo propagates toward the transducer array 15 of the ultrasonic probe 11. The ultrasonic echo propagating toward the transducer array 15 is received by each transducer that makes up the transducer array 15. At this time, each transducer that makes up the transducer array 15 expands and contracts upon receiving the propagating ultrasonic echo, generating a received signal which is an electrical signal, and these received signals are output to the amplification unit 52.

[0031] The amplification unit 52 amplifies the signals input from each transducer constituting the transducer array 15 and transmits the amplified signals to the AD conversion unit 53. The AD conversion unit 53 converts the signals transmitted from the amplification unit 52 into digital received data and transmits this received data to the beamformer 54. The beamformer 54 performs so-called receive focus processing by adding each received data converted by the AD conversion unit 53 with a corresponding delay, according to the sound velocity or sound velocity distribution set based on the reception delay pattern selected according to the control signal from the ultrasonic transmission / reception control unit 33. This receive focus processing generates a sound ray signal in which each received data converted by the AD conversion unit 53 is added in phase and the focus of the ultrasonic echo is narrowed. The sound ray signal thus generated is sent to the image generation unit 32.

[0032] As shown in Figure 7, the image generation unit 32 has a configuration in which a signal processing unit 55, a DSC (Digital Scan Converter) 56, and an image processing unit 57 are connected in series in sequence. The signal processing unit 55 applies distance-dependent attenuation correction to the sound line signal transmitted from the transmitting / receiving circuit 31 according to the depth of the ultrasonic reflection position, and then performs envelope detection processing to generate an image signal (B-mode image signal), which is tomographic image information about the tissue within the subject.

[0033] The DSC56 converts the image signal generated by the signal processing unit 55 into an image signal that follows the scanning method of a normal television signal (raster conversion). The image processing unit 57 generates an ultrasonic image signal by applying various necessary image processing, such as brightness correction, gradation correction, sharpness correction, and color correction, to the image signal input from the DSC 56. The ultrasonic image signal generated in this way by the image generation unit 32 is sent to the wireless communication circuit 21.

[0034] The wireless communication circuit 21 includes an antenna for transmitting and receiving radio waves and communicates wirelessly with the wireless communication circuit 42 of the main unit 41. In this process, the wireless communication circuit 21 modulates a carrier based on the image signal sent from the image generation unit 32 to generate a transmission signal, and wirelessly transmits the generated transmission signal to the wireless communication circuit 42 of the main unit 41. Examples of carrier modulation methods include ASK (Amplitude Shift Keying), PSK (Phase Shift Keying), QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying), and 16QAM (16 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation).

[0035] The communication control unit 34 controls the wireless communication circuit 21 so that the ultrasonic image signal is transmitted at the transmission radio wave intensity set by the probe control unit 37. The light emission control unit 35 controls the light emission of the light emission unit 14, which is located on the outer surface of the third side plate portion S3 of the housing 12, under the control of the probe control unit 37, to represent various states of the ultrasonic probe 11. When the ultrasonic probe 11 is placed in the charger described later, the charging control unit 36 ​​controls the charging of the battery 16 via the charging coil 17, which is built into the housing 12.

[0036] The temperature sensor 22, located inside the housing 12, detects the temperature inside the housing 12, particularly the temperature near the inner surface of the second side plate portion S2 of the grip portion 12C, and sends the information to the probe control unit 37. The battery 16 supplies power to various parts within the ultrasonic probe 11. The probe control unit 37 controls each part of the ultrasonic probe 11 based on a program or other data stored in advance.

[0037] The wireless communication circuit 42 of the main unit 41 includes an antenna for transmitting and receiving radio waves, and communicates wirelessly with the wireless communication circuit 21 of the ultrasonic probe 11. In this process, the wireless communication circuit 42 of the main unit 41 receives, for example, a transmission signal wirelessly transmitted from the wireless communication circuit 21 of the ultrasonic probe 11 via the antenna, and outputs an ultrasonic image signal by demodulating the received transmission signal. The wireless communication circuit 42 of the main unit 41 then sends the ultrasonic image signal output in this manner to the display control unit 43.

[0038] The display control unit 43, under the control of the main unit control unit 46, performs predetermined processing on the ultrasonic image signal transmitted from the wireless communication circuit 42 and displays the ultrasonic image on the monitor 44. The monitor 44 displays the ultrasound image under the control of the display control unit 43 and has a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL display (Organic Electroluminescence Display).

[0039] The communication control unit 45 controls the wireless communication circuit 42 of the main unit 41 so that it receives the transmission signal from the wireless communication circuit 21 of the ultrasonic probe 11. The main control unit 46 controls each part of the main body 41 of the device based on a pre-stored program and user operations via the input device 47. The input device 47 is for the user to perform input operations and consists of devices such as a keyboard, mouse, trackball, touchpad, and touch sensor placed on top of the monitor 44.

[0040] Here, the processor 38 on the ultrasonic probe 11 side, which has a transmitting / receiving circuit 31, an image generation unit 32, an ultrasonic transmitting / receiving control unit 33, a communication control unit 34, a light emission control unit 35, a charging control unit 36, and a probe control unit 37, and the processor 48 on the device body 41 side, which has a display control unit 43, a communication control unit 45, and a main unit control unit 46, may each be composed of one or more hardware components, and the type of hardware is not limited. For example, the processor can be composed of hardware such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), an FPGA (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a dedicated circuit for executing specific processing, a GPU (Graphic Processing Unit), or an NPU (Neural Processing Unit). The processor also has various units or means that execute the various processing in this embodiment. Furthermore, the type of hardware may be a combination of different types of hardware. When multiple hardware components are configured to execute one or more processing of a certain processor, these multiple hardware components may be located in physically separate devices or in the same device. Furthermore, in any embodiment, the order of each process performed by the processor is not limited to the order described above and may be changed as appropriate. The hardware is composed of electrical circuits and the like, which are made up of circuit elements such as semiconductor elements.

[0041] In this embodiment 1, the processor 38 on the ultrasonic probe 11 side is composed of two integrated circuits 19 and 20 shown in Figure 4.

[0042] Furthermore, this embodiment may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, microcode, or a combination thereof. The software, firmware, and microcode are composed of a program. The program may also be, for example, a group of program modules, each of which may be implemented by a processor configured to perform its respective function. The program may be program code or multiple code segments stored on one or more non-temporary computer-readable media (e.g., storage media or other storage). The program may be divided and stored on multiple non-temporary computer-readable media located on devices that are physically separated from each other. The program code, or code segment, can represent any combination of procedures, functions, subprograms, routines, subroutines, modules, software packages, classes, or instructions, data structures, or program statements. The program code, or code segment, may be connected to other code segments or hardware circuits by sending and receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents.

[0043] When performing an ultrasound diagnosis using the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus shown in Figure 5, first, under the control of the ultrasound transmission / reception control unit 33 of the ultrasound probe 11, an ultrasound beam is transmitted into the subject from multiple transducers of the transducer array 15 according to a drive signal from the transmission / reception circuit 31. The ultrasound echo from the subject is received by multiple transducers of the transducer array 15, and the received signal, which is an analog signal, is output from the multiple transducers to the transmission / reception circuit 31. The received signal is amplified by the amplification unit 52 of the transmission / reception circuit 31, converted to AD by the AD conversion unit 53, and then subjected to reception focus processing in the beamformer 54 to generate an acoustic ray signal, which is sent from the transmission / reception circuit 31 to the image generation unit 32.

[0044] Furthermore, the signal processing unit 55 of the image generation unit 32 applies attenuation correction due to distance corresponding to the depth of the ultrasonic reflection position and envelope detection processing to the sound line signal, thereby generating an image signal which is tomographic image information of the tissue within the subject. This is then converted into an image signal following the scanning method of a normal television signal by the DSC 56, and further, various necessary image processing such as gradation processing is performed by the image processing unit 57 to generate an ultrasonic image signal. The ultrasonic image signal generated in this manner is wirelessly transmitted from the wireless communication circuit 21 of the ultrasonic probe 11 to the main unit 41 of the device, received by the wireless communication circuit 42 of the main unit 41, and then the ultrasonic image is displayed on the monitor 44 via the display control unit 43.

[0045] As shown in Figure 4, the housing 12 of the ultrasonic probe 11 has an external shape in which the thickness in the Z direction gradually decreases from near the center in the Y direction towards the front end 12A along the center line C1, and the flat-shaped battery 16 is positioned inside the housing 12 at a location biased toward the front end 12A side from the grip portion 12C and is inclined with respect to the center line C1 so as to follow the inner surface of the housing 12.

[0046] If we were to position the flat-shaped battery 16 along the center line C1 without tilting it, it would need to be positioned inside the cylindrical grip portion 12C rather than off-center towards the front end 12A from the grip portion 12C. As a result, the battery 16 would be moved further towards the +Y direction than in the state shown in Figure 4, and consequently the power receiving coil 17 would also be moved towards the +Y direction, causing the housing 12 to become longer along the center line C1.

[0047] In other words, by positioning the battery 16 off-center from the grip portion 12C towards the front end portion 12A and at an angle to the center line C1, it becomes possible to miniaturize the ultrasonic probe 11 while housing a large number of components such as the transducer array 15, battery 16, power receiving coil 17, circuit board 18, integrated circuits 19 and 20, wireless communication circuit 21, and temperature sensor 22 inside the housing 12.

[0048] Furthermore, the outer surface of the second side plate portion S2, which is located on the opposite side of the first side plate portion S1 from the first side plate portion S1 across the center line C1 among the first to fourth side plate portions S4 surrounding the grip portion 12C, has at least a part of its curved shape, thus realizing an ultrasonic probe 11 that is easy for the user to grasp the grip portion 12C of the housing 12. In addition, the housing 12 has an external shape in which the thickness in the Z direction gradually decreases from near the center in the Y direction along the center line C1 towards the front end portion 12A where the transducer array 15 is located, so that the user can easily scan the ultrasonic emission surface 15A of the transducer array 15 along the body surface of the subject while grasping the grip portion 12C with one hand, and the ultrasonic probe 11 has excellent operability.

[0049] Furthermore, since the projection 13 is formed on the +X side of the front end 12A of the ultrasonic probe 11, when the user grasps the grip portion 12C, the presence of the projection 13 makes it easy to grasp the orientation of the ultrasonic probe 11, thereby improving operability.

[0050] Furthermore, since the ultrasonic probe 11 has a light-emitting unit 14 located on the outer surface of the third side plate portion S3 of the grip portion 12C, various states of the ultrasonic probe 11 can be indicated by changing the way light is emitted from the light-emitting unit 14 under the control of the light emission control unit 35. for example, • Startup status of the ultrasonic probe 11 • Wireless connection status between the ultrasonic probe 11 and the main unit 41 of the device • Battery level 16 • Battery 16 charge status Error state • Software update status of the ultrasound probe 11 However, the notification is given by changing the color and pattern of the light emission.

[0051] Furthermore, the temperature near the inner surface of the second side plate portion S2 of the grip portion 12C, detected by the two temperature sensors 22, is sent to the probe control unit 37, and under the control of the light emission control unit 35, the heating state of the ultrasonic probe 11 can be indicated by light emission from the light emission unit 14. Generally, the surface temperature of an ultrasonic probe is limited to a temperature specified by safety standards. However, by changing the way the light-emitting part 14 emits light according to the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 22, the user can easily and intuitively grasp the surface temperature of the ultrasonic probe 11. Furthermore, the user can use the way the light-emitting part 14 emits light to determine if the surface temperature of the ultrasonic probe 11 has exceeded a predetermined temperature, and use this as a guideline to temporarily suspend the use of the ultrasonic probe 11.

[0052] Furthermore, if the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 22 reaches a predetermined threshold, the ultrasonic transmission / reception control unit 33 can adjust the drive signal supplied from the transmission / reception circuit 31 to the transducer array 15 to reduce the frame rate of the ultrasonic imaging, stop the ultrasonic imaging, or take other measures to lower the surface temperature of the ultrasonic probe 11.

[0053] In the above embodiment 1, the projection 13 is formed to protrude from the front end 12A of the ultrasonic probe 11 on the +X side, but this is not the only possible configuration. The projection 13 can also be formed to protrude from the front end 12A of the ultrasonic probe 11 on the -X side. Similarly, in the above embodiment 1, the light-emitting part 14 is arranged on the outer surface of the third side plate portion S3 of the grip portion 12C facing the +X direction, but it is not limited to this, and the light-emitting part 14 may also be arranged on the outer surface of the fourth side plate portion S4 of the grip portion 12C facing the -X direction.

[0054] Embodiment 2 The ultrasonic probe 11 according to Embodiment 1 has an external shape in which the housing 12 gradually becomes thinner in the Z direction from near the center in the Y direction towards the front end 12A along the center line C1, but is not limited to this.

[0055] Figure 8 shows the ultrasonic probe 61 according to Embodiment 2. The ultrasonic probe 61 comprises a housing 62, which extends in the Y direction and has a front end 62A located at the -Y direction end, a rear end 62B located at the +Y direction end, and a grip portion 62C located between the front end 62A and the rear end 62B. The housing 62 also has an external shape in which the thickness in the Z direction gradually decreases from near the center in the Y direction towards the rear end 62B along a center line C2 extending from the front end 62A to the rear end 62B. Furthermore, at least a portion of the outer surface of the grip portion 62C has a curved shape.

[0056] The housing 62 houses numerous components, similar to the ultrasonic probe 11 of Embodiment 1, including a transducer array 15, a battery 16, a power receiving coil 17, a circuit board 18, integrated circuits 19 and 20, a wireless communication circuit 21, and a temperature sensor 22. However, the front end 62A of the housing 62 where the transducer array 15 is located is thicker in the Z direction than the rear end 62B, allowing the use of a transducer array 15 with a relatively large ultrasonic emission surface, such as a two-dimensional transducer array or a linear transducer array.

[0057] Inside the housing 62, the flat-shaped battery 16 is positioned off-center from the grip portion 62C towards the rear end portion 62B, and is inclined with respect to the center line C2 so as to follow the inner surface of the housing 62. Therefore, the ultrasonic probe 61 according to Embodiment 2, like the ultrasonic probe 11 of Embodiment 1, can be miniaturized while housing a large number of components inside the housing 62.

[0058] Furthermore, since at least a portion of the outer surface of the grip portion 62C has a curved shape, it is easier for the user to grasp the grip portion 62C of the housing 62, resulting in an ultrasonic probe 61 with excellent operability.

[0059] Embodiment 3 The ultrasonic probe 11 according to Embodiment 1 has an image generation unit 32, as shown in Figure 5, and the ultrasonic image signal generated by the image generation unit 32 is wirelessly transmitted from the wireless communication circuit 21 of the ultrasonic probe 11 to the main body of the device 41, but is not limited to this. Figure 9 shows the configuration of an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus equipped with an ultrasound probe 11A according to Embodiment 3. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus comprises the ultrasound probe 11A according to Embodiment 3 and a main unit 41A, and the ultrasound probe 11A and the main unit 41A are connected by wireless communication.

[0060] The ultrasonic probe 11A is the same as the ultrasonic probe 11 of Embodiment 1 shown in Figure 5, but with the image generation unit 32 removed and the wireless communication circuit 21 directly connected to the transmitting / receiving circuit 31, and a probe control unit 37A used instead of the probe control unit 37. The other configurations are the same as the ultrasonic probe 11 of Embodiment 1. Furthermore, the ultrasonic probe 11A has the same housing 12 as the ultrasonic probe 11 of Embodiment 1. The main unit 41A is the same as the main unit 41 in Embodiment 1 shown in Figure 5, but with an image generation unit 32 newly connected between the wireless communication circuit 42 and the display control unit 43, and a main unit control unit 46A connected to the display control unit 43, the communication control unit 45 and the image generation unit 32 instead of the main unit control unit 46. The other configurations are the same as the main unit 41 in Embodiment 1.

[0061] In the ultrasonic probe 11A, the ultrasonic probe 11A-side processor 38A is formed by the transmitting / receiving circuit 31, ultrasonic transmitting / receiving control unit 33, communication control unit 34, light emission control unit 35, charging control unit 36, and probe control unit 37A. Furthermore, in the main body 41A of the device, the image generation unit 32, the display control unit 43, the communication control unit 45, and the main body control unit 46A form the processor 48A on the main body 41A side.

[0062] The sound line signal generated by the transmitting / receiving circuit 31 of the ultrasonic probe 11A is wirelessly transmitted from the wireless communication circuit 21 to the main unit 41A of the device. The wireless communication circuit 42 of the main unit 41A receives the sound line signal, and the image generation unit 32 performs attenuation correction and envelope detection processing on it to generate an ultrasonic image signal. The ultrasonic image is then displayed on the monitor 44 via the display control unit 43. In this way, the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus equipped with the ultrasound probe 11A according to Embodiment 3 can also display ultrasound images on the monitor 44, just as the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus equipped with the ultrasound probe 11 according to Embodiment 1.

[0063] Furthermore, the ultrasonic probe 11A has the same housing 12 as the ultrasonic probe 11 of Embodiment 1, and inside the housing 12, the battery 16 is positioned off-center from the grip portion 12C towards the front end portion 12A and is inclined with respect to the center line C1. Therefore, the ultrasonic probe 11A according to Embodiment 3 can be miniaturized while housing a large number of components inside the housing 12, similar to the ultrasonic probe 11 of Embodiment 1. Furthermore, since at least a portion of the outer surface of the grip portion 12C of the housing 12 has a curved shape, it is easier for the user to grasp the grip portion 12C of the housing 12, resulting in an ultrasonic probe 11A with excellent operability.

[0064] In addition, in the ultrasonic probe 61 according to Embodiment 2, similar to the ultrasonic probe 11A of Embodiment 3, the image generation unit 32 can be removed and the wireless communication circuit 21 can be directly connected to the transmitting / receiving circuit 31, so that the main unit of the device wirelessly connected to the ultrasonic probe 61 has the image generation unit 32.

[0065] In Embodiment 1, the main unit 41 of the device, and in Embodiment 3, the main unit 41A of the device, for example, can be a portable, thin computer known as a tablet, or a stationary computer. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0066] 11,11A,61 Ultrasonic probe, 12,62 Housing, 12A,62A Front end, 12B,62B Rear end, 12C,62C Grip part, 13 Projection, 14 Light-emitting part, 15 Transducer array, 15A Ultrasonic emission surface, 16 Battery, 17 Power receiving coil, 18 Circuit board, 19,20 Integrated circuit, 21,42 Wireless communication circuit, 22 Temperature sensor, 23 Heat dissipation member, 23A Opening, 31 Transmit / receive circuit, 32 Image generation unit, 33 Ultrasonic transmit / receive control unit, 34,45 Communication control unit, 35 Light emission control unit, 36 Charging control unit, 37,37A Probe control unit, 38,38A,48,48A Processor, 41,41A Main unit, 43 Display control unit, 44 Monitor, 46,46A Main unit control unit, 47 Input device, 51 Pulser, 52 Amplifier section, 53 AD conversion section, 54 beamformer, 55 signal processing section, 56 DSC, 57 image processing section, C1, C2 centerline, S1 first side plate section, S2 second side plate section, S3 third side plate section, S4 fourth side plate section.

Claims

1. A battery-powered ultrasound probe, A housing having a front end and a rear end, A vibrator array disposed inside the front end of the housing, A flat-shaped battery and Equipped with, The housing has an external shape that gradually thins out from near the center of the center line towards the front or rear end, along a center line extending from the front end to the rear end. The battery is an ultrasonic probe positioned at an angle with respect to the center line so as to follow the inner surface of the housing.

2. The housing has an external shape that gradually becomes thinner from near the center of the center line towards the front end, The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the battery is located at a position biased toward the front end side inside the housing and is inclined with respect to the center line.

3. The housing is equipped with a power receiving coil located inside the housing, The ultrasonic probe according to claim 2, wherein the transducer array, the battery, and the power receiving coil are arranged in that order from the front end to the rear end of the housing.

4. The aforementioned center line passes through the oscillator array, The ultrasonic probe according to claim 3, wherein the power receiving coil is positioned at a location offset from the center line and parallel to the center line.

5. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 4, further comprising a circuit board positioned inside the housing and offset with respect to the center line from the battery and the power receiving coil, and an integrated circuit mounted on the circuit board.

6. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 5, comprising a wireless communication circuit mounted on the circuit board.

7. The housing has an external shape that gradually becomes thinner from near the center of the center line towards the rear end, The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the battery is located at a position biased toward the end side inside the housing and is inclined with respect to the center line.

Images