Ultrasonic probe and ultrasonic diagnostic device comprising the same

• US 6,736,779 B1
• Filed: 07/10/2002
• Issued: 05/18/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Medical Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Medical Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Sano, Shuzo, Masuzawa, Hiroshi, Miwa, Yuichi, Kishimoto, Shinji, Osawa, Takaya, Sato, Yutaka, Kubota, Jun, Tamano, Satoshi, Shinomura, Ryuichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Jaworski, Francis J.
• Application Number:
  US10/088,120
• Time in Patent Office: 678 Days
• Field of Search: 600/437, 600/443, 600/447, 600/459, 736/25--26, 310/334
• US Class Current: 600/447
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/00 Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves imaging of objects using sonar G01S15/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/02 Measuring pulse or heart rate
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0866 involving foetal diagnosis; pre-natal or peri-natal diagnosis of the baby
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/14 Echo-tomography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4483 characterised by features of the ultrasound transducer
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4494 characterised by the arrangement of the transducer elements devices for short-range imaging using particular transducer elements arrangements under G01S15/8909; arrangements of transducers in generation of mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic or ultrasonic frequency B06B1/0607
• CPC Class Codes: B06B 1/0637 Spherical array
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8929 using a three-dimensional transducer configuration
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/5208 with integration of processing functions inside probe or scanhead
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/341 Circuits therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/346 using phase variation

Abstract

An ultrasonic probe in which two-dimensional array transducer elements are arrayed convexly both in one direction of the two-dimensional array and in the direction perpendicular to the former direction relative to the direction where an ultrasonic wave is transmitted. By switching a transducer element selecting switch circuit provided near the transducer elements, the shape of the diameter of the probe for transmitting and receiving of ultrasound and the position of the diameter are arbitrarily determined. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in which a fresnel ring is formed as an diameter by a control signal to a transducer element selecting switch circuit, the number of cables for connection between the probe and the main body is decreased by bundling the transducer elements in one ring and effecting the connection, the fresnel ring is moved every ultrasonic transmission/reception cycle by the control signal to the transducer element selection switching circuit, and an object is three-dimensionally scanned with an ultrasonic beam.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic probe comprising:

a plural number of transducer base members, each of which has;

a plural number of transducer elements arranged in a first direction with a first convex shape for ultrasound transmitting and receiving, and a plural number of switching members for selecting ones of the plural number of transducer elements;

wherein said plural number of transducer base members are arranged in a second direction transverse to the first direction, to form a convex shape in the second direction.

2. An ultrasonic probe as claimed in claim 1, comprising:

an element selecting switch circuit for selecting ones of the transducer elements for performing transmitting and receiving an ultrasound.

3. An ultrasonic probe as claimed in claim 2, wherein said element selecting switch circuit has an output line for selecting to each transducer element, input lines less in number than a total number of arranged transducer elements, and a control line for inputting a control signal for performing transducer selecting change.

4. An ultrasonic probe as claimed in claim 2, wherein a control signal given to said element selecting switch circuit selects arbitrary transducer elements from a two-dimensional array of the plural number of transducer elements to form an activated-transducer probe of a predetermined diameter for ultrasound transmitting and receiving, and said activated-transducer probe is movable to an arbitrary position in the two-dimensional array at each ultrasound transmitting and receiving cycle.

5. An ultrasonic probe as claimed in claim 4, wherein said activated-transducer probe is moved in two directions of the two-dimensional array in a predetermined order.

6. An ultrasonic probe as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transducer elements arranged in the two-dimensional array are arrayed in a radial direction in one direction of arrangement, and also in another direction.

7. An ultrasonic probe as claimed in claim 6, wherein an ultrasonic transmitting and receiving face of the ultrasonic probe is formed convexly with a radius of substantially 60 mm and with a circular angle of substantially 68 degrees in one direction of arrangement, and in another direction with a radius of substantially 32 mm and with a circular angle of substantially 48 degrees.

8. An ultrasonic probe as claimed in claim 1, wherein each transducer element arrayed two-dimensionally is arrayed radially in one direction, and arrayed parallel along a center axis of a circle in another direction.

9. An ultrasonic probe as claimed in claim 8, wherein said ultrasound transmitting and receiving face of the ultrasonic probe is arrayed radially with a diameter of substantially 60 mm and with a circular angle of substantially 68 degrees.

10. An ultrasonic probe comprising:

a plural number of transducer base members, each of which has;

a plural number of transducer elements arranged in a first direction for ultrasound transmitting and receiving, and a plural number of switching members for selecting ones of the plural number of transducer elements;

wherein said plural number of transducer base members are arranged in a second direction transverse to the first direction;

wherein said plural number of transducer elements is arrayed convexly to an ultrasound transmitting direction at least in one direction of the two dimensional array.

11. An ultrasonic probe as claimed in claim 10, comprising:

an element selecting switch circuit to select arbitrary transducer elements from a two-dimensional array of the plural number of transducer elements to form an activated-transducer probe of a predetermined size for ultrasound transmitting and receiving, wherein the predetermined size is smaller than a length of both sides of the two-dimensional array.

12. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising;

an ultrasonic probe having ultrasonic transducer elements in a two-dimensional array, by having a plural number of transducer base members, each of which has;

a plural number of transducer elements arranged in a first direction for ultrasound transmitting and receiving, and a plural number of switching members for selecting ones of the plural number of transducer elements;

wherein said plural number of transducer base members are arranged in a second direction transverse to the first direction;

an element selecting means for selecting ones of the transducer elements of the two-dimensional array to perform transmitting and receiving of ultrasound;

bundling means for supplying a bundling data to said element selecting means for bundling and connecting ones of the transducer elements to predetermined transducer groups;

delay means for controlling ultrasound to an object with predetermined transmitting delay time to each transducer group of the predetermined transducer groups;

beam forming means for beam forming each receiving signal output from said each bundling group of the predetermined transducer groups;

imaging means for image processing an output signal of said beam forming means, and

an image display means.

13. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein at least one bundling group of the predetermined transducer groups form a fresnel ring of concentric circles.

14. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein a difference of a maximum and a minimum distance between transducer elements forming a fresnel ring in each ring and an ultrasonic focus point, is less than a ⅛

wavelength of the ultrasound.

15. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus as claimed in claim 13, comprising means for controlling said beam forming means such that a receiving focus point is moved continuously on a center line of said fresnel ring without changing a form of said fresnel ring in a receiving period of an echo signal.

16. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus as claimed in claim 13, comprising means for changing a form of said fresnel ring corresponding to a depth of a receiving focus point.

17. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus as claimed in claim 16, comprising means for scanning a predetermined region of depth within the object at each form of said fresnel ring, and for composing an image from an echo signal acquired at each region of depth.

18. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising:

a two-dimensional array probe for transmitting and receiving ultrasound to an object, the two-dimensional array probe having a plural number of transducer base members, each of which has;

a plural number of transducer elements arranged in a first direction for ultrasound transmitting and receiving, and a plural number of switching members for selecting ones of the plural number of transducer elements;

wherein said plural number of transducer base members are arranged in a second direction transverse to the first direction;

a diagnostic apparatus for acquiring and displaying an ultrasonic image of a desired diagnosis part in an interior of the object by using an ultrasonic signal with said two-dimensional array probe,

a data transmitting part for inputting and outputting both a selecting data for selecting transducer elements and said ultrasonic signal, between said two-dimensional array ultrasonic probe and said diagnostic apparatus.