JP2953305B2 - Ultrasound endoscope device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope
Ultrasonic endoscope device with wave observation means
is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Among ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses used for medical purposes, etc., an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of a type to be inserted into a body cavity has an ultrasonic transducer attached to a distal end of an insertion portion into the body cavity. At the base end of the insertion section, a main body operation section that is grasped and operated by an operator is connected, and a probe unit with a code connected to the main body operation section and a cord in this probe unit are attached and detached. And an ultrasonic observation device that is connected as possible. The insertion part is inserted into an ultrasonic examination site in a body cavity, an ultrasonic pulse is transmitted from the ultrasonic transducer provided at the tip of the insertion part into the body, and a reflected echo from a tomographic part of the body tissue is reflected by the ultrasonic transducer. , The signal is transmitted to the ultrasonic observation apparatus via a code, and after performing predetermined signal processing with the ultrasonic observation apparatus, information on the body tissue is displayed on the monitor as an ultrasonic image. . And ultrasonic tiger
Ultrasonic observation means using transducers integrated with the endoscope
The built-in ultrasonic endoscope has been widely used
You.

There are mechanical scanning and electronic scanning methods for scanning the ultrasonic transducer in the ultrasonic endoscope. In the mechanical scanning method, the moving direction of the ultrasonic transducer is a linear direction and a rotating direction. There is. The operation of moving the ultrasonic transducer in the linear direction can be performed by manual operation.However, in the case of performing mechanical scanning in the rotation direction such as so-called mechanical radial scanning, a rotation driving unit such as a motor is used. Generally, the ultrasonic transducer is configured to be rotationally driven. If the motor is built in the distal end of the insertion section and the ultrasonic transducer is directly connected to the motor and directly driven, the diameter of the distal end of the insertion section becomes large. Therefore, a motor that is provided in the main body operation unit and is connected between the motor and the ultrasonic transducer by a flexible rotation transmitting unit has been widely used.

[0004]

The main body operation section is operated by an operator while holding it with one hand.
If the operation is performed for a long time, the fatigue becomes severe. For this reason, the main body operation unit is made as lightweight as possible to reduce the burden on the operator. However, as described above, if a motor for rotating and driving the ultrasonic transducer is incorporated in the main body operation unit, the main body operation unit becomes heavy correspondingly,
There is a disadvantage that the operability is deteriorated.

The present invention was made in view of the above problems, it is an object of one from the manipulation section
In this case, the weight of the main body operation section is reduced by arranging the means for driving the ultrasonic transducer to rotate outside the main body operation section.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an endoscope having a solid-state imaging device at the tip.
Ultrasound transducer for scanning in the direction of rotation with observation means
Insertion part provided with ultrasonic observation means including
Main unit operation unit connected to the base end of the unit
Ultrasonic with universal cord pulled out from
In the endoscope apparatus, the universal cord has few
And a light guide and a cable connected to the solid-state imaging device.
And connected to the ultrasonic transducer,
Adhesive coil for rotating ultrasonic transducer
The flexible shaft containing the
Inserted into the shaft and connected to the ultrasonic transducer.
This is connected to the ultrasonic signal cable
The universal code is a predetermined length subtracted from the main unit operation section.
At the extracted position, a branch is made to three branch codes.
Each branch cord has a light connected to the light source device.
Source connector and an electrical connector connected to the endoscope imaging device.
And an ultrasonic connector, and the ultrasonic connector is provided.
A rotating shaft having a plurality of electrodes; and a rotating shaft having a plurality of electrodes.
Connected to a drive unit having a drive motor and
The drive unit includes a rotary connector on the rotary shaft side.
And a fixed connected to the signal processing unit of the ultrasonic observation apparatus
It is characterized in that it is configured to be provided in connection with the side connector .

[0007]

With this configuration, since the rotary driving means such as the motor for rotating the ultrasonic transducer is not mounted on the main body operation section, the main body operation section is reduced in weight, and the surgeon or the like is operated. However, the burden when gripping and operating the main body operation unit is reduced, and the operability is improved. Then, the endoscope insertion hand
Since the stage and ultrasonic observation means are provided,
For connecting to the light source device and the endoscope image device
Then, the light guide and signal cable are pulled out,
In addition, the rotation drive of the ultrasonic transducer
From this ultrasonic transducer
Signal cable and rotation transmission connected to the drive unit
Need means. Connect the universal cord to the console
By integrating a predetermined length from the
The structure for pulling out cords from can be simplified,
Further, the operability of the main body operation unit is improved.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an ultrasonic endoscope apparatus.
Is shown .

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an ultrasonic endoscope, which comprises an operation section 2 and an insertion section 3 for insertion into a body cavity. Most of the length from the portion connected to the operation unit 2 is composed of a flexible portion 3a, and the flexible portion 3a has an angle portion 3b and an angle portion 3b.
, A distal end hard portion 3c is sequentially provided. As is well known, the distal end rigid portion 3c has, on its distal end surface, an illumination window 4 for irradiating illumination light into the body cavity and an observation window 5 for observing the interior of the body cavity under the illumination. Is mounted, and a treatment tool insertion channel 6 for leading out a forceps and other treatment tools is opened. Further, a cap 7 made of a member having excellent acoustic characteristics is provided from the distal end hard portion 3c.
The ultrasonic transducer 8 constituting the ultrasonic observation means is mounted in the cap 7. An ultrasonic transmission medium such as liquid paraffin is sealed in the cap 7 in order to suppress the attenuation of the ultrasonic transmission / reception signal.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a light source device, 1
Reference numeral 1 denotes an endoscope image device including a processor 11P and a monitor 11M, and reference numeral 12 denotes an ultrasonic observation device including a signal processing unit 12P and a monitor 12M. A universal cord 9 extends from the main body operation unit 2 of the ultrasonic endoscope 1, and a distal end portion of the universal cord 9 has three branch cords 9.
a to 9c. Each branch code 9a
9c are connected to a light source connector unit 13 connected to the light source device 10, an electric connector unit 14 connected to the processor 11P of the endoscope imaging device 11, and a signal processing unit 12P of the ultrasonic observation device 12. The ultrasonic connector 15 is provided continuously.

The ultrasonic transducer 8 performs a mechanical radial scan. For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 2, a rotating body 20 is provided in the cap 7 connected to the distal end hard portion 3c. The ultrasonic transducer 8 is fixed to the rotating body 20. In order to rotationally drive the ultrasonic transducer 8, a connecting portion 20 a extends from the rotating body 20, and the tip of a close contact coil 21 is fixed to the connecting portion 20 a, and the close contact coil 21
Is rotated about the axis, the rotating body 20 is driven to rotate, and the ultrasonic transducer 8 is displaced in the radial direction. One end of the close contact coil 21 extends through a holding tube 22 threadedly inserted into the distal end hard portion 3 c, and the distal end of a flexible sleeve 23 serving as an outer tube of the close contact coil 21 is fixed to the holding tube 22. I have. Therefore, the flexible shaft 24 is constituted by the flexible sleeve 23 and the close contact coil 21 inserted therein. An ultrasonic signal cable 25 is connected to the ultrasonic transducer 8, and the ultrasonic signal cable 25 is inserted inside the close contact coil 21.

A flexible shaft 24 composed of a tight coil 21 and a flexible sleeve 23 in which an ultrasonic signal cable 25 is inserted is introduced from the insertion section 3 through the main body operation section 2 to the branch cord 9c from within the universal cord 9. And extended into the ultrasonic connector section 15. The ultrasonic connector unit 15 includes a drive unit 30 and a connection unit 50. As shown in FIG. 3, the drive unit 30 has a housing 31, and the outer skin of the branch cord 9 c is connected to a base 32 screwed into a connection tube 31 a protruding from the housing 31. A connection ring 33 is screwed into the inner surface of the connection tube 31a, and the end of the flexible sleeve 23 is connected to the connection ring 33. Further, a rotating shaft 34 is rotatably mounted inside the connection tube 31 a by a bearing 35, and the close contact coil 24 is connected to one end of the rotating shaft 34.

As shown in FIG. 4, the rotating shaft 34 has an inner electrode 34a at the center thereof.
An insulating member 34b is interposed around a, and the outside of the insulating member 34b is a cylindrical outer electrode 34c.
The ultrasonic signal cable 2 inserted into the inside of the contact coil 21
5, the signal line 25a is connected to the inner electrode 34a, and the signal line 25b is connected to the outer electrode 34c. Rotary axis 3
4 extends through a support plate 36 provided in the housing 31, and a bearing 37 is interposed between the support plate 36 and the rotating shaft 34. The other end of the rotating shaft 34 is connected to the fixed connector 38 so as to be relatively rotatable. The fixed connector 38 includes an inner electrode 38 a and the inner electrode 3.
Outer electrode 38 fitted to 8a via insulating member 38b
c, and the inner electrode 34a of the rotating shaft 34 is connected to the fluid contact 3
9a to the inner electrode 38a of the fixed connector 38,
The outer electrode 34c is electrically connected to the outer electrode 38c via a fluid contact 39b. The outermost layer of the fixed-side connector 38 is formed of an insulating member and is held by the rotation restricting portion 38d to prevent the fixed-side connector 38 from rotating following the rotating shaft 34. Reference numeral 40 denotes a coaxial cable. The inner electrode 38a of the fixed connector 38 is electrically connected to the core wire of the coaxial cable 40, and the outer electrode 38c is electrically connected to an outer conductor.

The rotary shaft 34 is driven to rotate by a motor 41 provided in the housing 31 of the drive unit 30.
This rotating force is transmitted to the close contact coil 21 constituting the flexible shaft 24, and the close contact coil 21 is rotated around the axis in the flexible sleeve 23, thereby rotating and driving the rotating body 20 on which the ultrasonic transducer 8 is mounted. It has become. For this purpose, the first transmission gear 4
2 is provided, and a drive gear 43 is provided on the output shaft 41a of the motor 41, and these two gears 42, 43 are provided.
Are intermeshed with each other. Further, a rotary encoder 44 is provided to detect a rotation angle of the rotary shaft 34, an input gear 45 is mounted on an input shaft 44 a of the rotary encoder 44, and a second The transmission gear 46 is mounted, and these gears 45 and 46 are also meshed with each other. The wires 47 and 48 connected to the motor 41 and the rotary encoder 44, respectively,
Along with the coaxial cable 40, it is inserted into a cable cord 49 extending from the housing 31.

As is clear from FIG. 5, the connecting portion 50 has a housing 51, and the housing 51 is
And a connector 53 for connecting a cable cord 49 to the signal processing unit 12P of the ultrasonic observation apparatus 12 via a universal joint 52. The universal joint 52 has a cross-shaped orthogonal shaft 54, and a pair of brackets 31 b, 31 b extending from the housing 31 of the drive unit 30 are provided at both ends of a shaft portion 54 a on one side of the orthogonal shaft 54. They are connected so as to be relatively rotatable. The shaft 54b on the other side is relatively rotatably connected to brackets 51a, 51a protruding from the housing 51 of the connecting portion 50. A through hole 55 is formed in the center of the orthogonal shaft 54, and the cable cord 49 is inserted into the through hole 55, guided into the housing 51, and provided in the housing 51. The connector 53 is electrically connected.
Further, in the figure, reference numeral 56 denotes a positioning click mechanism.
The steel ball 56b is provided on the end surface of each of the steel balls 56b, and is provided with a click recess 56c formed on the brackets 31b and 51a.
Are provided at four positions on the end faces of the shaft portions 54a and 54b, and a large number of click concave portions 56c are provided on the brackets 31b and 51a in a circumferential shape. Thus, the drive unit 30 can be oriented in a desired direction by the universal joint 52, and can be held in a desired posture by the positioning click mechanism.

The present embodiment is constructed as described above. The insertion portion 3 of the ultrasonic endoscope 1 is inserted into a body cavity, and the distal end hard portion 3c is a portion to be subjected to ultrasonic diagnosis. This operation can be performed while confirming with an endoscope observation means including an illumination window 4 and an observation window 5 provided in the distal end hard portion 3c. Of course, if the endoscopic observation means inspects the condition in the body cavity, and if necessary inserts a treatment tool such as forceps through the treatment tool insertion channel 6, treatment such as removal of an affected part is also possible. Becomes

In performing an ultrasonic diagnosis in a body cavity, first, a cap 7 protruding from the distal end hard portion 3c is disposed at a site where the ultrasonic diagnosis is performed, and a motor 41 built in the drive unit 30 is operated. . As a result, the drive gear 43 provided on the output shaft 41 a of the motor 41 rotates, and the first transmission gear 42 meshed with the drive gear 43.
Will rotate. Since the first transmission gear 42 is mounted on the rotating shaft 34, the rotating shaft 34 rotates, and the close contact coil 21 connected to the rotating shaft 34 is driven to rotate about the axis. Since the tip end of the close contact coil 21 is connected to the rotating body 20, this rotational force is transmitted to the rotating body 20, and the ultrasonic transducer 8 mounted on the rotating body 20 is displaced in the radial direction. The rotary shaft 34 is provided with a second transmission gear 46. The rotary shaft 3 is connected to the input shaft 44a of the rotary encoder 44 via the second transmission gear 46 and the input gear 45.
The rotation of the ultrasonic transducer 8 is detected by the rotary encoder 44.

The rotation angle signal from the rotary encoder 44 is taken into the signal processing section 12P of the ultrasonic observation device 12, and based on the rotation angle signal, every time the ultrasonic transducer 8 rotates by a predetermined angle. Then, a trigger signal is inputted to the ultrasonic transducer 8 to transmit an ultrasonic pulse toward the body. The ultrasonic wave transmitted in this way is partially reflected at the tissue tomographic part in the body, and the reflected echo is received by the ultrasonic transducer 8, and the received signal is transmitted to the ultrasonic observation device 12. The signal is taken into the signal processing unit 12P. Then, an ultrasonic image is generated based on the rotation angle signal of the ultrasonic transducer 8 detected by the rotary encoder 44 and the received echo signal of the ultrasonic transducer 8, and the ultrasonic image is displayed on the monitor 12M. .
Therefore, it becomes possible to recognize the state of the body tissue based on the ultrasonic image displayed on the monitor 12M.

The ultrasonic endoscope 1 is operated by an operator holding the main body operation unit 2 with one hand, and may be operated for a considerably long time. In order to reduce the weight, it is necessary to reduce the weight of the main body operation unit 2. Heavy objects such as a motor 41 as a rotation driving means for performing mechanical radial scanning by the ultrasonic transducer 8 in the ultrasonic endoscope 1 and a rotary encoder 44 for detecting a rotation angle are included in the main body operation unit 1.
, An ultrasonic connector unit 15 detachably connected to the signal processing unit 12P of the ultrasonic observation device 12.
And the loads of the motor 41 and the rotary encoder 44 are supported by the signal processing unit 12P.
Can be significantly reduced, and the operability of the operation of the ultrasonic endoscope 1 performed by gripping it can be significantly improved. In addition, since the drive unit 30 is configured to be tilted in an arbitrary direction by the signal processing unit 12P via the connecting unit 50 and to be held at that position, even if the main body operation unit 2 is largely moved, the universal unit can be universally moved. The cord 9 is not subjected to excessive pulling force.

The rotation from the motor 41 as the driving means is performed by the rotation shaft 34 and the flexible shaft 24.
Of the ultrasonic transducer 8 through the close contact coil 21
Is transmitted to the rotating body 20 on which is mounted.
Therefore, the condition that the close contact coil 21 must have is that the flexible coil 3A and the flexible portion 3a and the angle portion 3b of the insertion portion 3 through which the close contact coil 21 is inserted are flexible to allow bending or bending. In a steady state, it is necessary to transmit the torque accurately and reliably, regardless of the transmission delay at the beginning of rotation.

As described above, in order to have flexibility and sufficiently exhibit the rotation transmitting function, the contact coil 21 must be
As shown in FIG. 6, a double (or three)
Heavy) coils 21a and 21b, and the inner coils 21a are wound in one direction in close contact with each other,
The outer coil 21b is brought into close contact with the inner coil 21a in a state where there is no gap between the outer coil 21b and the coil 21a.
And wound in the opposite direction. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of metal wires may be arranged side by side to form a strip-shaped multi-strip 21c, and the multi-strip 21c may be spirally wound. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the multi-strands 21d and 21e may be configured to be wound twice in the opposite directions. Since the inside of each of these three types of contact coils is hollow, it goes without saying that the ultrasonic signal cable 25 can be inserted inside.

By configuring the contact coil 21 as described above, for example, from the ultrasonic connector section 15 through the universal cord 9, the main body operation section 2 to the insertion section 3
Even if it has a length up to the tip, it is possible to apply a rotating force evenly and accurately. Here, the flexible sleeve 23 is fixed at both ends so as to smoothly rotate the close contact coil 21 inside the flexible sleeve 23 and to restrict movement in a direction other than the rotation direction. 23
Is made of a slippery member such as a fluororesin tube.

As described above, the flexible shaft 24 composed of the close contact coil 21 and the flexible sleeve 23 is inserted through the universal cord 9, the main body operation section 2 and the insertion section 3 as described above. Flexible part 3a
And the angled portion 3b to reach the distal end hard portion 3c,
The required flexibility differs between the portion of the flexible portion 3a in the universal cord 9, the main body operation portion 2 and the insertion portion 3 and the portion in the angle portion 3b. That is, the angle portion 3b
Since the bending operation is performed at an extremely large angle, for example, 180 ° or more, in order to turn the distal end hard portion 3c on which the endoscope observation unit and the ultrasonic observation unit are mounted in a desired direction, This part needs to have extremely high flexibility. However, the angle portion 3b is extremely short on the side connected to the rotating body 20 in the entire length of the flexible shaft 24.

Although the flexible portion 3b is not bent sharply, it is necessary to bend freely along the insertion path in the body cavity.
The smoothness of the insertion operation is impaired, and the pain in the patient increases. Therefore, the portion inside the soft portion 3b does not need to be as flexible as the angle portion 3b, but needs to be flexible enough to bend smoothly along the insertion path in the body cavity. Further, when inserting the insertion portion 3 into the body cavity, the surgeon grasps a portion on the proximal end side of the flexible portion 3b,
In order to improve the pushing thrust, it is preferable to increase the hardness of the flexible portion 3b continuously from the distal side to the proximal side, since the operation is performed to push the body into the body.

Although flexibility is not particularly required in the main body operation section 2, the universal cord 9 extends from the main body operation section 2 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of the insertion section 3 as shown in FIG. In this case, since it is necessary to change the direction in the main body operation unit 2, it is necessary to provide a certain degree of flexibility. Also, flexibility is required within the universal cord 9, but the flexibility required by the universal cord 9 may be such that the surgeon does not become a resistance when operating the main body operation unit 2. Therefore, the degree of flexibility does not need to be as high as that of the flexible portion 3b.

From the viewpoint of transmitting the rotational force, the higher the rigidity of the contact coil 21 is, the more smoothly the rotational force can be transmitted. Use improves the rotation transmission function. Therefore, it is possible to make the contact coil 21 uniform over its entire length. However, as shown in FIG. 9, the contact coil 21 is divided into three portions so that each has the necessary flexibility and rigidity. Is more preferable. That is,
The portion located in the angle portion 3b on the distal end side is the high-flexibility coil portion 21F, the portion located in the soft portion 3a is the middle-flexibility coil portion 21M, and the portion in the universal cord 9 from the main body operation portion 2 is low. The flexible coil portion 21H is used. And
Between the high-flexibility coil portion 21F and the middle-flexibility coil portion 21M, and between the middle-flexibility coil portion 21M and the low-flexibility coil portion 2
1H is connected by connecting pipes 60 and 61, respectively. With such a configuration, in the entire length of the close contact coil 21, each portion can be provided with a necessary degree of flexibility, and the rotation transmitting function can be maximized. In particular, the rotation transmitting function can be maximized in the low-flexibility coil portion 21H. Further, the most disadvantageous high-flexibility coil portion 21F is located in the angle portion 3b in terms of the rotation transmitting function, but the portion in the angle portion 3b is extremely short of the entire length of the close contact coil 21. Therefore, even if the flexibility of the extremely short portion is significantly increased, the rotation transmitting function is not particularly affected.

Here, in order to change the flexibility of the contact coil 21 in the axial direction, the diameter of the wire constituting the contact coil 21 or the material thereof may be changed. In addition, as already described, the structure of the contact coil includes a multiple coil and a multiple coil, and further includes a multiple / multi coil, and even if the contact coils have the same wire diameter, depending on the structure,
The flexibility changes. That is, the multiplex / multi-coil has the highest rigidity, and then the flexibility increases in the order of the multi-coil and the multi-coil. Further, the more the multiple coils are multiplexed such as double or triple, the higher the rigidity becomes. In the case of a multi-row coil, the rigidity increases as the number of rows increases, and the coil increases in flexibility as the number of rows decreases. Therefore, the flexibility can be easily changed by changing the structure of each of the coil portions 21F, 21M, 21H constituting the close contact coil 21. Further, in the case of using multiple contact coils, if the inner coil and the outer coil are fixed to each other by means such as spot welding, a difference in hardness can be obtained. When this spot welding is used, the hardness increases as the welding interval decreases, which is advantageous in forming a structure in which flexibility is continuously changed in the axial direction in the soft portion 3a. is there.

From the above, in FIG. 9, for example, the low-flexibility coil portion 21H is formed by a multiple / multi-strip coil, and the middle-flexibility coil portion 21M is formed by a double coil having a large element wire diameter. When the base end side is spot-welded so that the pitch interval is small and the pitch interval is widened toward the distal end side, and when the highly flexible coil portion 21F is formed by a double coil having a small element wire diameter, Flexibility according to the part is provided, and the rotational force can be transmitted to the maximum.
In the flexible sleeve 23, the inside of the low-flexibility coil portion 21H is a stiffer sleeve 23H, and the middle-flexibility coil portion 21M and the high-flexibility coil portion 21F are more flexible sleeves 23F. With such a configuration, even if the motor 41 is mounted on the ultrasonic observation apparatus 12 side and the flexible shaft 24 is considerably long, the motor is provided in the main body operation unit, The rotation transmission function is not substantially inferior to the case where the length is shortened.

In the above-described embodiment, the motor 41 is mounted on the drive unit 30 which is detachably mounted on the signal processing unit 12P of the ultrasonic observation apparatus 12. However, this motor and the rotation driven by this motor are used. The shaft may be built in the signal processing unit, and a coupling unit detachably connected to the rotating shaft may be provided at the distal end of the flexible shaft. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, the rotating shaft 70 includes an inner electrode 70a, an insulating member 70b surrounding the inner electrode 70a, and an outer electrode 70c provided so as to surround the insulating member 70b. Is placed in the signal processing unit 12P or mounted so as to slightly protrude from the wall surface thereof. Further, a fixed cylinder 71 is provided to protrude around the mounting portion of the rotating shaft 70.

The flexible sleeve 73 constituting the flexible shaft 72 is connected to the fixed cylinder 71.
5 is fixed. The coupling part 75 includes a contact coil 74.
The conductive metal ring 75a has an electrode pin 75b provided at the center of the conductive metal ring 75a. The electrode pin 75b is supported on the conductive metal ring 75a via an insulating member 75c. It is configured so that The signal line 76a of the signal cable 76 inserted into the close contact coil 74 is electrically connected to the electrode pin 75b, and the signal line 76b is electrically connected to the conductive metal ring 75a.
When the coupling part 75 is connected to the rotating shaft 70, the electrode pin 75b is connected to the inner electrode 70a of the rotating shaft 70, and the conductive metal ring 75b is connected to the outer electrode 70c.
In addition, since the rotational force is transmitted from the rotary shaft 70 to the close contact coil 74 via the coupling portion 75, the rotational force can be reliably transmitted when the coupling portion 75 is connected to the rotary shaft 70. In order to achieve this, a mechanism for preventing relative sliding in the rotational direction by providing a non-circular shape such as a square or a chamfered portion is provided.

With the configuration as in this embodiment, the weight of the main body operation section held by the operator can be reduced as in the first embodiment. Also,
The flexible shaft 72 is connected to a unit connected to the main body operation unit.
Since it is inserted into the versal cord,
The drawer structure for these cords is simplified.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, the rotation transmitting member connected to the ultrasonic transducer is provided so as to extend into the universal cord derived from the main body operating portion connected to the insertion portion . Universal code on the way
Branch into three branch codes, one of them
Since the cord is connected to the drive unit, it is possible to reduce the weight of the main body operation unit.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a component of an ultrasonic observation unit at a distal end of an insertion unit.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a drive unit.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of an electrical connector of a rotating shaft.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a universal joint between a drive unit and a connecting portion.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a multiplex coil as an example of a contact coil.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a multi-row coil as another example of the close contact coil.

FIG. 8 is a configuration explanatory view of a multi-layer / multiple coil as still another example of the close contact coil.

FIG. 9 is an overall configuration diagram of a contact coil in which coils having different structures are connected.

FIG. 10 shows a second embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a connection portion of a flexible shaft to a motor.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ultrasonic endoscope 2 Main body operation part 3 Insertion part 7 Cap 8 Ultrasonic transducer 9 Universal cord 12 Ultrasonic observation device 15 Ultrasonic connector 20 Rotating body 21, 74 Contact coil 21a, 21b, Coil 21c, 21d, 2
1e Multi-strand 21F High-flexible cord 21M Medium-flexible cord 21H Low-flexible cord 23,73 Flexible sleeve 24,72 Flexible shaft 30 Drive unit 34,70 Rotation axis 41 Motor 44 Rotary encoder 50 connecting part 60,61 connecting pipe 75 coupling part

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An endoscope observation device equipped with a solid-state imaging device at the tip.
Means and ultrasonic transducer for scanning in the rotational direction
And an insertion section provided with ultrasonic observation means including
The main unit operation unit connected to the base end and the main unit operation unit
Ultrasound endoscope with universal code
In the apparatus, the universal cord includes at least
Light guide and cable connected to the solid-state imaging device
Connected to the ultrasonic transducer,
Contact coil to rotate the wave transducer
Including a flexible shaft and this flexible shuff
And is connected to the ultrasonic transducer.
Through the ultrasonic signal cable.
-The salad cord is pulled out from the main unit operation section for a predetermined length.
At the set position, branch into three branch codes.
Each cable has a light source connector connected to the light source device.
Nectar unit and electrical connector connected to endoscope imaging device
Section and an ultrasonic connector section, and the ultrasonic connector
The part comprises a rotating shaft having a plurality of electrodes, and a drive of the rotating shaft.
Connected to a drive unit with a motor and
The drive unit has a rotary connector on the rotary shaft side,
Fixed-side connector connected to the signal processor of the ultrasonic observation device
A superstructure characterized by being provided in connection with a
Sonic endoscope device .