1993-02-22
1994-10-04
Kamm, William E.
Surgery
Truss
Pad
128 4, 12866203, A61B 812
Patent
active
053516915
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an endoscopic probe, in particular suitable for use as a TEE probe.
(2) Brief Description of the Prior Art
An endoscopic probe is known from the article "An endoscopic micromanipulator for multiplanar transesophageal imaging" by Roy W. Martin et al. in Ultrasound in Med & Biol., Vol. 12, No. 12, pp. 965-975, 1986. The known device has a probe head with a slightly flattened part containing an essentially flat transducer made up of a number of individual adjacent elongated elements of piezoelectric material which can be excited individually, and which together form a phased array. By exciting the strip-type elements in a suitable sequence, it is possible to obtain a beam which scans the environment to be examined and produces reflections in a plane lying at right angles to the elongated elements, as described in greater detail by J. C. Somer in "Echocardiography", N. Bom, published by Martinus Nijhof in The Hague, 1977. Rotating the flexible tube, and thus the probe head, about the longitudinal axis means that the environment around the probe head can be scanned by an ultrasonic beam. Pulling cables also extend through the flexible tube, by means of which said head can be pulled forwards or backwards.
In the medical world there is a need for an endoscopic probe with which more information can be obtained. In the past is was proposed that a biplane TEE probe should be used for this purpose. Such a probe head has two transducer arrays lying one after the other In the lengthwise direction of the flexible tube and the head, and again composed of adjacent elongated elements. The elements of one transducer extend at right angles relative to the elements of the other transducer. With this head it is therefore possible to obtain two scanning beans which can carry out a scanning movement in directions extending at right angles to each other.
A disadvantage of this known probe is that the scanning beams originate in two different points. Another disadvantage is that the rigid head is relatively long, which can lead to problems in practical use. Two separate transducer arrays with the same definition per array also require twice the number of control cables, which all have to be conveyed through the flexible tube. However, the flexible tube has little or no space for these. In order to overcome these disadvantages the U.S. Pat. No. 4,543,960 proposes to mount the transducer array in the probe head rotatable about an axis extending perpendicularly with respect to the plane of the array. For that purpose a transducer housing carrying the transducer array has been mounted in a cavity in the probe head, which housing is rotatable about a top provided at the side of the transducer housing facing away from the array. Via conductors formed on two flexible printed circuit boards the elements of the transducer array are connected to the conductors of one or more electrical cables extending through the flexible tube. The flexible printed circuit boards are present in a spiral shape around the transducer housing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to eliminate the outlined disadvantage, and more generally to provide a reliably working endoscopic probe of small dimensions by means of which the human body can be echographically examined internally in the optimum manner. For this, according to the invention a device of the above-described type is characterized in that the at least one flexible printed circuit board extends through an opening in the transducer housing, is present in the transducer housing in a loop shape and ends at at least a number of connecting electrodes of transducer elements.
The invention will be described in greater detail b-low with reference to the appended drawing of a number of examplary of embodiments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows schematically a cut-away top view of an example of an embodiment of a probe head of a TEE Probe head according to the invention;
FIG. 2 shows schematica
REFERENCES:
patent: 4543960 (1985-10-01), Harui et al.
patent: 4787247 (1988-11-01), Wuchinich et al.
patent: 4834102 (1989-05-01), Schwarzchild et al.
B.V. Optische Inductrie "De Oude Delft"
Kamm William E.
Manuel George
Marn Louis E.
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