Patent Application
20190365347
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe and an ultrasonic image obtaining apparatus.
In recent years, photoacoustic imaging apparatuses which generate an image of an inside of a living body utilizing a photoacoustic effect have been studied and developed. Such a photoacoustic imaging apparatus generates an image of an inside of a test object using an ultrasonic wave (a photoacoustic wave) generated from a tissue of the living body which absorbs energy of pulse laser light emitted to the inside of the living body due to the photoacoustic effect. On the other hand, ultrasonic imaging apparatuses (ultrasonic image obtaining apparatuses) which have a probe transmitting an ultrasonic wave and which generates an image based on the ultrasonic wave reflected by an inside of a living body have been used. These apparatuses have a common technique of receiving an ultrasonic wave from an inside of a living body and generating an image of the inside of the living body, and therefore, an imaging apparatus which has functions of the two types of imaging apparatus have also been studied and developed. Furthermore, an ultrasonic imaging apparatus which includes a probe which may be held by a hand which is referred to as a hand-held type ultrasonic probe is dominant. PTL 1 discloses an imaging apparatus having the functions of the two types of imaging apparatus described above using a hand-held type ultrasonic probe.
PTL 1 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-152267
PTL 2 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-16268
PTL 3 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2014-61137
In PTL 1, a configuration in which a hand-held type ultrasonic probe has a switch for selecting photoacoustic imaging or ultrasonic imaging is disclosed. On the other hand, when a photoacoustic image or an ultrasonic image is obtained using a hand-held type ultrasonic probe, the probe is required to be in contact with a test object, e.g., a patient. The inventor discusses improvement of usability of the hand-held type ultrasonic probe, and concluded that, when measurement is performed by bringing the probe into contact with the patient, it is effective to give some information except for visual information to an operator in accordance with a state of the measurement, a state of a probe (in a danger case), or the like. Then the inventor thought that a mechanism for transmitting information to the operator by a tactile impression of the ultrasonic probe contributes to improvement of a technique of this field. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a hand-held type ultrasonic probe capable of transmitting information to an operator by a tactile impression.
A hand-held type ultrasonic probe according to the present invention includes a housing having a reception region portion and a grip portion. The reception region portion includes an ultrasonic element array which receives ultrasonic waves and the grip portion includes a vibration actuator.
Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that sizes, quality of materials, shapes, and relative arrangement of components described below are to be appropriately changed depending on a configuration of an apparatus to which the present invention is applied and various conditions. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the description below.
The present invention relates to a technique of detecting an acoustic wave transmitted from a test object and generating and obtaining characteristic information of an inside of the test object.
The present invention includes an apparatus (a photoacoustic apparatus) which receives an acoustic wave generated in an inside of a test object by irradiating the test object with light and obtaining characteristic information of the test object as image data utilizing a photoacoustic effect. The characteristic information of the present invention indicates information on characteristic values corresponding to different positions in the test object which are generated using photoacoustic signals obtained when ultrasonic waves are received.
The characteristic information obtained in the present invention indicates values which reflect absorption rates of optical energy. For example, a generation source of an acoustic wave generated due to light emission, an initial sound pressure in the test object, and optical energy absorption density and an optical energy absorption coefficient which are derived from the initial sound pressure may correspond to as “characteristic information based on optical absorption” or “distribution of optical characteristic values in an inside of a test object”. Examples of the characteristic information further include concentration associated information of subjects included in a tissue.
The concentration associated information includes a value associated with concentration of a substance incorporated in the test object which is obtained using the characteristic information based on optical absorption for a plurality of wavelengths. Specifically, the concentration associated information includes a degree of oxygen saturation, a value obtained by weighting intensity of an absorption coefficient or the like to the degree of oxygen saturation, total hemoglobin concentration, oxyhemoglobin concentration, and deoxyhemoglobin concentration. Furthermore, the concentration associated information may be glucose concentration, collagen concentration, melanin concentration, or volume fraction of fat or water. Furthermore, a 2D or 3D characteristic information distribution is obtained based on the concentration associated information in the different positions in the test object. Distribution data may be generated as image data.
A main object of the photoacoustic imaging apparatus (a photoacoustic image obtaining apparatus) in the embodiments below is to make diagnosis of a malignant tumor and a vascular disease of a person and an animal, to perform follow-up of chemical treatment, and the like. Accordingly, it is assumed that the test object is a portion of a living body, that is, a portion (a breast, an organ, a circulatory organ, a digestive organ, a bone, a muscle, fat, or the like) of a person or an animal. Examples of a substance of an inspection target include hemoglobin, glucose, water in a body, melanin, collagen, and fat. Furthermore, any substance including a contrast agent, such as indocyanine green (ICG), which is internally administered, may be employed as long as an optical absorption spectrum of the substance is characteristic.
The present invention is applicable not only a photoacoustic imaging apparatus but also various apparatuses including a hand-held type probe for receiving an ultrasonic wave. Furthermore, the present invention includes an imaging apparatus (an image obtaining apparatus) including a hand-held type ultrasonic probe having a vibration actuator inside thereof. The present invention further includes a method for transmitting a message to an operator using an imaging apparatus. The method includes a step of vibrating a vibration actuator in a vibration pattern corresponding to content of the message.
Apparatus Configuration
A cable 105 is connected to a body of the imaging apparatus and optical fibers 106 are bundle fibers, for example, which guide light pulses transmitted from a light source of the imaging apparatus. The cable 105 is configured by integrating the optical fibers 106, analog outputs (ultrasonic reception signals) of the probe elements 104, and lines which transmit information between a controller 201 and a microcomputer 110 as a single line. Since the body of the imaging apparatus and the hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 may be connected to each other only by the single line, operability of the probe 1 is improved. A light irradiation unit (a light emission terminal) 107 which irradiates the test object with guided laser light is disposed on the contact surface 103 in a tip end portion of the cable 105 includes a diffuser panel and a lens optical system.
A pressure sensor 108 serves as a switch, and a vibration actuator 109 is one of characteristic points of the present invention and is disposed on a back surface of the pressure sensor 108 or in the vicinity of the pressure sensor 108. The microcomputer 110 realizes a function of a switch similar to that described in PTL 1 by determining an output of the pressure sensor 108 and controlling an operation of the vibration actuator 109. Furthermore, the microcomputer 110 transmits an output which is a switch signal to the body of the imaging apparatus through the cable 105. The functions of the microcomputer 110 may be performed by a controller of the body of the imaging apparatus described below. In this case, although the number of electric lines of the cable 105 is increased, the microcomputer 110 is not required to be implemented in the grip portion 101 of the hand-held type ultrasonic probe. A vibration-free member 111 is included in a vibration-free mechanism and suppresses transmission of vibration of the vibration actuator 109 to the reception region portion 102. An anti-vibration rubber, an anti-vibration gel, or the like is suitably used for the vibration-free member 111. The vibration-free member 111 suppresses transmission of vibration by converting the vibration into thermal energy. The vibration-free member 111 is useful in a case where noise is generated when vibration of the vibration actuator 109 is added to an output of the probe element in addition to an ultrasonic wave which is to be received when the vibration actuator 109 is implemented in the hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 which receives ultrasonic waves.
Here, a function of generating an image of functional information by receiving a photoacoustic wave generated by light irradiation and a function of generating an image of structural information based on a reflection rate of an ultrasonic wave using the ultrasonic wave which has been transmitted, reflected, and returned may be switched from one to another in response to an instruction for operating the pressure sensor 108 disposed on the hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1.
The user interface 200 is used to input an instruction issued by the operator using a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel or the like. The controller 201 controls the entire system based on an instruction issued by the operator using the user interface 200. The controller 201 will be described in detail hereinafter. A light source 202 emits a light pulse, and a solid-state laser, such as a titanium sapphire laser, a semiconductor laser, or a light emitting diode (LED) may be employed, for example. A signal processor 203 amplifies analog outputs (ultrasonic reception signals) of the probe elements 104 and converts the analog outputs into digital signals using an analog-digital converter (ADC). Then the signal processor 203 calculates ultrasonic image data and photoacoustic image data using the digital signal obtained by the analog-digital conversion. Specifically, the signal processor 203 performs a process of generating image data in accordance with a signal based on a received ultrasonic wave. A personal computer (PC) or a work station which includes calculation resources, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a graphic processing unit (GPU), and a storage device, or dedicated hardware using a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or the like is suitable for the signal processor 203.
To obtain an ultrasonic image, after ultrasonic waves are transmitted from the probe elements 104, based on the digital signals obtained by converting the analog outputs (the ultrasonic reception signals) of the probe elements 104 using the ADC, B mode image data for calculating a distance and brightness using a period of time (a reflection time) between a time when the ultrasonic waves are transmitted from the probe elements 104 and a time when the ultrasonic reception signals are received and intensity of the received ultrasonic reception signals is generated or image data is generated by a pseudo color process (a Doppler method) of converting a frequency change of a ultrasonic wave in a certain point into a flow rate. On the other hand, to obtain a photoacoustic image, the signal processor 203 performs a reconfiguration process based on the digital signals of the plurality of probe elements 104 which have received after the optical pulse emission so as to generate reconfiguration image data (characteristic information) of the inside of the test object. As the reconfiguration process, an arbitrary general method, such as Delay and Sum, a back projection method, or a Fourier transform method may be used. Furthermore, reconfiguration image data of concentration associated information of a substance included in a tissue may be calculated using light pulses of different wavelengths. A display unit 204 displays ultrasonic image data and photoacoustic image data generated by the signal processor 203 and is realized by a liquid crystal monitor or an electroluminescence (EL) monitor, for example. Note that the generated image data may be output to a network or simply stored in a nonvolatile memory or the like.
Operation of Apparatus
An operation of the imaging apparatus which performs control of a switching operation using the pressure sensor 108 of the hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 according to the first embodiment will now be described. The hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 described in this example may perform switching between a photoacoustic (PA) mode for obtaining a photoacoustic image and an ultrasonic (US) mode for obtaining an ultrasonic image by transmitting an instruction to the pressure sensor 108.
The microcomputer 110 detects a pressure obtained by the pressure sensor 108 and operates as below. In a case where a small pressure is applied to the pressure sensor 108 (a soft touch), the microcomputer 110 notifies the operator of a current switch state by vibration of the vibration actuator 109. In the US mode, for example, vibration occurs for a short period of time. On the other hand, in the PA mode, the vibration actuator 109 notifies the operator of the current mode by vibration for a long period of time. The switching operation is realized when the pressure sensor 108 is pressed hard. The microcomputer 110 detects a pressure applied to the pressure sensor 108. When a large pressure is applied (a hard press), the current mode is changed. That is, in a case where the pressure sensor 108 is pressed hard in the PA mode, a switch state is changed to the US mode. On the other hand, in a case where the pressure sensor 108 is pressed hard in the US mode, a switch state is changed to the PA mode. Here, when the pressure sensor 108 is pressed, the vibration actuator 109 is activated such that the operator feels a clicking sensation, and thereafter, vibration lasts for a short period of time in the US mode or vibration lasts for a longer period of time in the PA mode. The microcomputer 110 performs such operation control so as to output the switch state to the imaging apparatus body 2 through the cable 105. Furthermore, an operator or a patient is put in danger, if the hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 is separated from an affected area while the light source 202 outputs a light pulse in the PA mode, and therefore, the light pulse which is leaked from a gap is incident on an eye of the operator or the patient. Accordingly, it is preferable that the microcomputer 110 controls the vibration actuator 109 so that the vibration actuator 109 continuously or intermittently generates imperceptible vibration as an alert.
Furthermore, an imaging apparatus having a PA/US mode for repeatedly performing an obtainment of a photoacoustic image and an obtainment of an ultrasonic image in addition to the PA mode and the US mode may be realized. In this case, the microcomputer 110 detects a pressure applied to the pressure sensor 108 and operates as below. In a case where a small pressure is applied to the pressure sensor 108 (a soft touch), the microcomputer 110 notifies the operator of a current switch state by vibration of the vibration actuator 109. In addition to the vibration patterns of the modes described above, in the PA/US mode, the vibration actuator 109 notifies the operator of the current mode by performing vibration for a short period of time, a short break, and vibration for a long period of time. The switching operation is realized when the pressure sensor 108 is pressed hard. The microcomputer 110 detects a pressure applied to the pressure sensor 108. When a large pressure is applied (a hard press), the current mode is successively changed from the PA mode, the US mode, the PA/US mode, the PA mode, and so on. Here, when the pressure sensor 108 is pressed, the vibration actuator 109 is operated such that the operator feels a clicking sensation, and thereafter, vibration lasts for a short period of time in the US mode, vibration lasts for a longer period of time in the PA mode, and vibration for a short period of time, a short break, and vibration for a long period of time are performed in the PA/US mode. For example, in a case where the first and second modes are simultaneously operated, vibration may be performed in a third vibration pattern which is different from a first vibration pattern in which the vibration actuator 109 is vibrated during the first mode and a second vibration pattern in which the vibration actuator 109 is vibrated during the second mode.
The microcomputer 110 performs such operation control so as to output the switch state to the imaging apparatus body 2 through the cable 105. The vibration patterns of the vibration actuator 109 described above are merely examples and other vibration patterns may be employed as long as the individual vibration patterns are unique.
In the configuration described above, the single pressure sensor 108 and the single vibration actuator 109 are implemented in the hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1. According to the present invention, different functions may be realized in different portions in a sensitive surface of the pressure sensor 108 by providing a large sensitive area of the pressure sensor 108 and disposing a plurality of pressure sensors 108 and a plurality of vibration actuators 109, for example. For example, in addition to the mode switching function described above, a function of performing control of turning on a laser in the PA mode may be realized. The operator may discriminate different functions by feeling different vibrations of the vibration actuators 109 disposed in the different portions. Also in this case, the discrimination may be performed using different vibration patterns. According to the present invention, even if the vibration-free member (vibration-free mechanism) 111 is not disposed, noise of an output of the probe element 104 or an uncomfortable feeling of the patient may be suppressed by devising a vibration direction of the vibration actuator 109, an attachment position of the grip portion 101, and vibration patterns. For example, the housing 100 is generated using a material of high attenuation rate relative to vibration. As another method, amplitude of vibration is minimized so that an uncomfortable feeling of the patient is removed, and only frequency components except for frequency components required for generating an ultrasonic image and a photoacoustic image are used as a vibration pattern. Specifically, if the vibration actuator 109 does not generate vibration in frequencies equal to or larger than 1 kHz, noise of an ultrasonic image and a photoacoustic image may be separated in a frequency domain. That is, this is easily realized using an analog/digital high-pass filter.
In other words, vibration is controlled so that a vibration spectrum generated by the vibration actuator 109 is obtained in a frequency band other than a frequency band of a signal (a signal in a reception band) which is transmitted from the probe element 104 and which has a frequency component required for processes performed on the ultrasonic image and the photoacoustic image. Specifically, control may be performed such that a frequency band used by an ultrasonic element array included in the probe element 104 for reception of an ultrasonic wave and a frequency band for vibration of the vibration actuator 109 are different from each other. Furthermore, when it is assumed that a frequency band of the probe element 104 has a frequency characteristic corresponding to a received ultrasonic wave and a portion of maximum receiving sensitivity is 100, the vibration actuator 109 preferably vibrates in a spectrum equal to or lower than a frequency corresponding to 10% (preferably 3%) of the maximum receiving sensitivity or less. Specifically, when it is assumed that maximum sensitivity in a frequency band used for reception of an ultrasonic wave by the ultrasonic element array is set to 100, it is preferable that the vibration actuator 109 is vibrated in a frequency band corresponding to 10% of the maximum sensitivity or less.
To remove frequency components in which vibration is not required in the vibration actuator 109 in which a movement moves in a reciprocal manner, a method for implementing a damper or the like in a stop portion of the movement of the vibration actuator 109 so that vibration in a high frequency caused by collision of mechanism members is suppressed. Furthermore, the frequency components in which vibration is not required may be removed by driving the movement in a driving waveform which does not include high frequency components (driving the movement in a driving waveform which is similar to a sine wave instead of driving in a rectangle wave, for example). Furthermore, the vibration actuator 109 may be disposed so that vibration applied to the probe element 104 and the patient is reduced taking orientation of generation of the vibration of the vibration actuator 109 into consideration. This method is also effective and inexpensive. As another method, a method for implementing portions of the vibration actuator 109 other than portions touched by the operator in the housing 100 in a state in which the portions are surrounded by a vibration-free member may also suppress generation of noise in an output of the probe element 104 and an uncomfortable feeling of the patient. Furthermore, as for noise which may not be removed, an ultrasonic reception signal may be subjected to an analog filter process so that noise is effectively removed in a frequency domain or a digital signal which has been converted by the ADC may be subjected to a digital filtering process so that noise is effectively removed in the frequency domain. Furthermore, a noise generation time point of the vibration actuator 109 is managed by the microcomputer 110, and therefore, the signal processor 203 may record only a signal waveform of noise and may subtract the waveform of the noise from the ultrasonic reception signal by an analog process or a digital process (a process in a time domain).
According to the first embodiment of the present invention, since the vibration actuator 109 is disposed on the grip portion 101 and the vibration-free member 111 is implemented between the vibration actuator 109 and the reception region portion 102, transmission of vibration of the vibration actuator 109 to the patient through the probe element 104 and the contact surface 103 is suppressed. Consequently, generation of noise in an output of the probe element 104 and an uncomfortable feeling of the patient may be suppressed.
A second embodiment of the present invention made by improving the first embodiment is effective in a case where generation of noise in an output of a probe element 104 may not be suppressed or a case where suppression of generation of noise may not be performed due to restriction of cost or the like of a vibration-free member or the like. The second embodiment according to the present invention is also made on assumption that a patient has an uncomfortable feeling due to vibration, and therefore, the second embodiment is preferably combined in one of the methods according to the first embodiment in a case where the uncomfortable feeling of the patient is not reduced.
A configuration of a hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 and an entire block of an imaging apparatus according to the second embodiment are the same as those according to the first embodiment, and therefore, descriptions thereof are omitted.
The controller 201 controls the system by generating such timings for obtaining the various image data. As is apparent from the timing chart of
The microcomputer 110 actually outputs a signal for driving the vibration actuator 109 after performing logical AND on the signal using a vibration permission signal corresponding to the period B (vibration permission in
In the foregoing embodiments, an instruction issued by an operator is input to the hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 using the pressure sensor 108 corresponding to a switch. In a third embodiment, a pressure sensor 108 may not be required.
According to the third embodiment, as described above, a plurality of connectors are implemented in an imaging apparatus body 2 so that implement of a plurality of hand-held type ultrasonic probes 1 is realized and one of the plurality of hand-held type ultrasonic probes 1 is selected where appropriate in a system. In such an apparatus, a largest problem arises when an operator selects a wrong one of the hand-held type ultrasonic probes 1. If a hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 is mistakenly selected, an affected area may not be observed, and in addition, the following problem may arise when the hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 is used in a PA mode. Specifically, if the operator selects a wrong hand-held type ultrasonic probe, a light pulse is emitted from a probe 1 which is to be selected and which is not in contact with the affected area. In this case, the emitted light pulse may be incident on an eye of the operator or the patient.
To address this mistake in which the operator selects a wrong hand-held type ultrasonic probe, according to the third embodiment, if the operator holds a probe 1 other than a hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 specified by a user interface 200 of an imaging apparatus body 2, a vibration actuator 109 is considerably vibrated so that the operator realizes that the wrong probe 1 is held. If a probe 1 which is not selected is detached from a probe holder, not illustrated, of the imaging apparatus body 2, the imaging apparatus body 2 controls a microcomputer 110 so that the vibration actuator 109 continuously generates large vibration. A determination as to whether a probe 1 has been detached from the probe holder may be easily made by implementing a switch or the like in the probe holder.
Furthermore, if the hand-held type ultrasonic probes 1 have respective connectors, a connector of a probe 1 which is not specified may be disconnected. In this case, information indicating that an inappropriate probe 1 has been selected may not be alerted for the operator by continuous large vibration. To address this problem, if a specified probe 1 is detached from a probe holder of the imaging apparatus body 2, the imaging apparatus body 2 controls the microcomputer 110 of the specified probe 1 so that the vibration actuator 109 is vibrated in a specific vibration pattern. The operator realizes that a wrong probe 1 has not been selected since the operator has knowledge of the specific vibration pattern by well reading an instruction manual. On the other hand, if the probe 1 is not vibrated in the specific vibration pattern, the operator realizes that a wrong probe 1 is held by hand.
According to the third embodiment of the present invention, the operator may determine whether a probe 1 is the specified hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 only by holding the hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 by hand. The determination of the hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 may be made even when the operator is carefully viewing a display unit 204 of the imaging apparatus body 2 or the user interface 200 (without viewing the probe), and therefore, such hand-held type ultrasonic probes 1 are more preferable for the operator. According to the third embodiment of the present invention, in an imaging system including a plurality of hand-held type ultrasonic probes 1, since the vibration actuator 109 is vibrated in a specific pattern indicating a specified probe, the operator may determine whether a probe 1 being held by the operator is the specified probe 1 without interrupting other operations.
According to the foregoing embodiments, various information may be transmitted to the operator by implementing the vibration actuator 109 in the hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 and vibrating the vibration actuator 109 where appropriate. However, while the operator does not hold a probe, such a function may not be useful. Furthermore, if an undesired object is accidentally in contact with the hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1, it is expected that comparatively large sound is output since vibration is enhanced and some may think such sound is uncomfortable. Therefore, a function of stopping vibration of a vibration actuator 109 while the operator does not hold a probe is preferably added. For example, a method for determining that the operator is holding a probe 1 when the probe 1 is not installed in a probe holder which has a switch may be employed. Furthermore, a method for determining whether the probe 1 is being held by the operator in accordance with an output from an infrared sensor or an electrostatic capacitance sensor which is implemented in the hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 may be employed. By providing such a switch or such a sensor, vibration of the vibration actuator 109 may be suppressed while the operator does not hold the hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1.
Furthermore, in a case where a mode is informed for the operator by vibrating the vibration actuator 109 due to a mode change or the like, if an imaging apparatus has a large number of modes, the vibration actuator 109 may be vibrated first, and immediately after the vibration, a mode name may be displayed in a specific position in a display unit 204. In this case, the vibration actuator 109 notifies the user of information indicating that the vibration indicates display of a mode in the specific position in the display unit 204. If only the display of the mode in the specific position in the display unit 204 is performed, the operator may miss the display since the operator focuses on an obtained image of a test object, for example. However, since the vibration actuator 109 implemented in the hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 is vibrated, such an oversight may be reduced. At least a notification of the change of a mode for the operator is realized by the vibration of the vibration actuator 109. To realize the notification, a mode name may be displayed in the specific position after the vibration as described above, or normal display and a negative/positive inversion image may be alternately displayed for a while after the vibration, for example. Specifically, a portion for displaying the mode name is at least changed after the vibration.
Although the case where a mode name is displayed is illustrated in the foregoing embodiment, other information to be transmitted by the imaging system to the operator may also be displayed by the same operation.
Furthermore, the present invention is applicable to an apparatus which guides a movement of a hand-held type ultrasonic probe disclosed in PTL 2. PTL 2 discloses an apparatus which displays a movement direction of a hand-held type ultrasonic probe in a display device so that a movement operation of the probe is navigated. When the method for performing guiding by image display in a display device is employed, a probe is required to be moved while an operator understands an actual direction of the probe and a direction and a movement amount of the probe displayed in the display device, and accordingly, the operator requires high skill. An audio guide may give an uncomfortable feeling to a patient in a silent environment or may not be used in a noisy environment. Furthermore, a method for attaching a display device constituted by liquid crystals or light emitting diodes to the ultrasonic probe is hardly said to be an excellent guiding method since it is difficult for the operator to view the ultrasonic probe while focusing on an ultrasonic image for diagnosis.
Accordingly, in this embodiment, a mode in which a plurality of vibration actuators 109 are implemented on a grip portion 101 of the hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 and a movement operation is guided by vibrating one of the vibration actuators 109 corresponding to a movement direction will be described.
As the hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 according to this embodiment, a probe 1 illustrated in
The imaging apparatus of this embodiment illustrated in
On the other hand, a guide method employed when a probe is moved in an inclined manner will be described below. For simplicity of description, rotation relative to the Y axis (a movement for inclining a positive direction in the X direction toward a -Z direction) is taken as an example for the description.
This embodiment is suitable for a case where an imaging apparatus is to transmit a state of the apparatus or the like (a message) to an operator. Examples of the apparatus state in this embodiment include following states. For example, the examples of the apparatus state include a temperature of a housing, a state of a power-supply voltage, a failure state of a laser device, and the like. As characteristics of the information, information may not be obtained immediately when the operator desires to check the state but the imaging apparatus performs monitoring all the time and notifies the operator of a message only when failure occurs.
This embodiment is realized by the image obtaining apparatus illustrated in
In the method of this embodiment, when the imaging apparatus displays a message in the message area 303, the vibration actuator implemented on the hand-held type ultrasonic probe is activated, and thereafter, a display state of the message in the message area 303 is changed so that the message is transmitted to the operator. Here, the change of the display state of the message is performed within at least several seconds (within 10 seconds at most) immediately after the vibration actuator is vibrated. The display state may be simply changed from a state in which characters to be displayed in the message area 303 are not displayed to a state in which the characters are displayed. Furthermore, as illustrated in
With this configuration, even if the operator is performing diagnosis and focuses on the image display area 300, caution may be issued so that the operator views the predetermined message area 303. As a result, oversight of a message which is transmitted by the imaging apparatus and which is to be viewed by the operator may be avoided. According to the present invention, a display state is changed for several seconds after the vibration actuator is vibrated, and therefore, the operator may realize the message from the imaging apparatus.
As described above, the operator may receive a message without missing the message by the method for vibrating the vibration actuator implemented in the hand-held type ultrasonic probe, and thereafter, transmitting the message to the operator after changing a display state of the message displayed in the message area 303 which is performed by the imaging apparatus. Instead of the method for vibrating the vibration actuator implemented in the hand-held type ultrasonic probe, a method for alerting the operator by beep sound may be employed. However, when the method of the present invention is employed, the operator may find the message from the imaging apparatus even in a location where external noise is large. Furthermore, when the method for alerting the operator by beep sound is employed, the patient may fear the beep sound. However, the present invention may resolve such fear.
In this embodiment, a method for implementing a sensor which detects a contact state of a hand-held type ultrasonic probe in the probe and controlling vibration of a vibration actuator by the contact state so that the excellent contact state is maintained will be described.
As disclosed in PTL 3, in a photoacoustic imaging apparatus, a contact surface 103 is required to be in contact with a test object so that a light pulse emitted from a light irradiation unit 107 of a hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 is not leaked to an outside. In PTL 3, a determination as to whether measurement is to be performed is made after it is determined whether an irradiation light which is leaked from a gap is a safe level for human bodies even if the probe 1 and the test body are not totally in contact with each other. However, it is difficult to easily notify the operator of information indicating one of the probe and the test object which is separated, information indicating a state of the separation, and information indicating one of the probe and the test object to be pressed. For example, even if a portion in the probe to be pressed is displayed in a display unit 204, it is not easy for the operator to perform an operation of improving the contact state based on the display in the display unit 204 depending on a current position and a direction of the probe.
A configuration of the hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 according to this embodiment is illustrated in
In the foregoing description, the case where the contact surface 103 of the hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 is separated is assumed. If a problem arises also when the press is too strong, contact sensors 112a and 112b capable of detecting both of states “excessive press” and “separation” are employed. For example, the vibration actuators 109a and 109b are controlled by a microcomputer 110 or a controller 201 such that, when the contact surface 103 is separated, vibration is performed such that long vibration and short stop are repeatedly performed, when the contact surface 103 is excessively pressed, vibration is performed such that short vibration and long stop are repeatedly performed, and when the contact surface 103 is in an appropriate position, vibration is not performed. Since the vibration actuators 109a and 109b are vibrated under this control, the operator may easily press the probe to the test object so that the normal state is attained. Furthermore, for simplicity of description, the configuration in which the contact sensors and the vibration actuators are disposed only in the X direction is described. As described above, contact states in the X and Y direction may be improved by disposing the contact sensors and the vibration actuators also in the Y direction. As described above, according to this embodiment, the user may easily perform an operation of improving a pressing state of the hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 relative to the separated contact surface 103.
In the foregoing embodiment, the vibration actuators are implemented in the hand-held type ultrasonic probe and vibrated where appropriate so that various information is transmitted to the operator. However, if an operator does not hold a probe, such a function may not be useful. Furthermore, it may be assumed that, when another object is in contact with a hand-held type ultrasonic probe, large sound is generated since vibration is increased, and accordingly, the operator may feel uncomfortable. Therefore, a function of stopping vibration of the vibration actuator 109 while the operator does not hold a probe is preferably added. For example, a method for determining that the operator is holding a hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 when the probe 1 is not installed in a probe holder which has a switch may be employed. Furthermore, a method for determining whether a probe is being held by the operator in accordance with an output from a temperature sensor, an infrared sensor, or an electrostatic capacitance sensor which is implemented in the hand-held type ultrasonic probe may be employed. By providing such a switch or such a sensor, vibration of the vibration actuator 109 may be suppressed while the operator does not hold the probe 1. Furthermore, in this case, various information may not be transmitted to the operator. Therefore, when the operator does not hold the hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1, a large icon, large characters, or the like may be displayed in the display unit 204 in an overlapping manner instead of the vibration of the vibration actuator 109 so that information to be informed is displayed for the operator. Similarly, information to be transmitted to the operator may be indicated by beep sound or the like instead of the vibration of the vibration actuator 109. In this case, the operator has not been made diagnosis on a patient, and therefore, the patient may not be feel fear. Specifically, since this embodiment includes a step of detecting a hand-held type ultrasonic probe held by an operator and if the operator does not hold a probe, a step of vibrating the vibration actuator 109 is omitted. Accordingly, generation of large sound or the like generated due to enlargement of vibration may be suppressed.
First Modification
A configuration described below may be employed as a first modification. According to the foregoing embodiments, the light source 202 is implemented in the imaging apparatus body 2, light is guided to the hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 by the optical fibers 106, and the light irradiation unit 107 irradiates a test object with the light. When this configuration is employed, the cable 105 becomes large and loses flexibility, and therefore, operability of the hand-held type ultrasonic probe is deteriorated. To address this problem, a light source (an LED array light source) using an LED array or a light source (an LD array light source) using a laser diode array may be implemented in a housing of the probe, and the light irradiation unit 107 may emit a light pulse through an optical member such as an optical fiber. In this case, by implementing an LED array light source or an LD array light source in the reception region portion 102, an optical member and the light irradiation unit 107 may not be implemented.
Second Modification
In the foregoing embodiments, the mode which is realized using the single hand-held type ultrasonic probe 1 or simultaneously using the same hand-held type ultrasonic probes is described. Here, in a case where the embodiments described above are to be simultaneously realized, different vibration patterns may be preferably employed for different functions. It is assumed here that, the vibration of the fifth embodiment is small which is smooth and the vibration of the sixth embodiment is comparatively large and lasts for a short period of time so that a clicking feeling is obtained. It is assumed further that the vibration of the seventh embodiment has a magnitude between the vibration of the fifth embodiment and the vibration of the sixth embodiment. The vibration patterns are merely examples, and any vibration pattern may be employed as long as the operator easily distinguishes the vibration pattern.
The present invention is not limited to the foregoing embodiment, and various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, claims below are attached to disclose the scope of the present invention.
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-238662 | Dec 2016 | JP | national |
This application is a Continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2017/043007, filed Nov. 30, 2017, which claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-238662, filed Dec. 8, 2016, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2017/043007 | 11/30/2017 | WO | 00 |
