STANDARDIZED ANGLE HOLDING AND SCANNING DEVICE FOR BIDDV RECTAL ULTRASOUND PROBE

Abstract

The solution is a device for holding and scanning a standardized angle arc for a two-dimensional transrectal ultrasound probe. The device consists of a support structure, a rotating shaft defining the scanning axis, a probe holder, a fine-tuning mechanism, a locking mechanism, and an angle sensor coupled to the rotating shaft. The holder includes a support rail, a front-to-back slider, a tilting hinge, and a retaining element, with independent two-stage fine-tuning. After fine-tuning, the locking mechanism fixes the degrees of freedom, so that during the first scanning mode, the probe holder and the probe held within rotate around the axis of rotation; the angle sensor provides angular data. The device may have an initial reference point, boundary limits, passive damping, and a second scanning mode around the longitudinal axis with a second sensor.