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JP-7856323-B2 - Ultrasound probe head, ultrasound probe, and ultrasound diagnostic device

JP7856323B2JP 7856323 B2JP7856323 B2JP 7856323B2JP-7856323-B2

Inventors

  • 酒井 真理
  • 西脇 学

Assignees

  • 国立大学法人山形大学

Dates

Publication Date
20260511
Application Date
20220330
Priority Date
20210331

Claims (9)

  1. Multiple ultrasonic element chips are arranged at intervals on a flexible substrate. The flexible substrate has a plurality of openings, and the plurality of ultrasonic element tips are located at the positions of the plurality of openings. An ultrasonic probe head in which each of the plurality of ultrasonic element chips includes a plurality of piezoelectric MEMS ultrasonic transducers on a substrate, and which can be reshaped into a convex, linear, or concave type .
  2. The ultrasonic probe head according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic probe head is supported at least three points, including the central part and both ends, and its shape can be changed by changing the positional relationship of the support members.
  3. The ultrasonic probe head according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the piezoelectric MEMS ultrasonic transducer includes an upper electrode, a piezoelectric thin film, and a lower electrode in that order, the upper electrode facing the flexible substrate side, and the lower electrode facing the substrate side.
  4. The ultrasonic probe head according to claim 3, wherein the piezoelectric MEMS ultrasonic transducers are arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally, and in each of the ultrasonic element chips, the upper electrode and the lower electrode are connected by upper wiring and lower wiring to upper wiring terminals and lower wiring terminals provided on the outer edge of the ultrasonic element chip, respectively.
  5. The ultrasonic probe head according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein at least one side of each of the plurality of ultrasonic element chips is 1 mm to 5 mm and the thickness is 1 mm or less.
  6. The ultrasonic probe head according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the spacing between each of the plurality of ultrasonic element chips is in the range of 0.1 mm to 3 mm.
  7. The ultrasonic probe head according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein each of the gaps between the plurality of ultrasonic element chips does not contain a rigid member.
  8. An ultrasonic probe comprising at least an ultrasonic probe head according to any one of claims 1 to 7, and a head shape component that constitutes the head shape of the ultrasonic probe head.
  9. An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus comprising at least an ultrasound probe according to claim 8, a processing unit for processing signals from the ultrasound probe, and a display device for converting the signals from the processing unit into an image and displaying it.

Description

This disclosure relates to an ultrasound probe head, an ultrasound probe, and an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus. Ultrasound diagnostic equipment is a diagnostic device that uses ultrasound to examine the inside of the body and structures. Using an ultrasound probe, this device emits ultrasound waves from the body surface into the body, from the inner surface of the circulatory system and organs into the body, and from the surface of structures into the structures. The reflected waves are processed to create images, allowing for the interpretation of lesions and defects, and enabling diagnosis. Because the displayed images appear to move in real time, treatment can be performed while confirming the location of lesions, and blood flow dynamics can be observed. Furthermore, because it is a non-invasive method, it is widely used in the medical field. Ultrasound probes come in various types, including linear, sector, convex, and concave, and the type is selected according to the purpose and area of observation. For example, linear probes are used for examining tissues located superficially from the body surface, while convex probes are used for examining tissues located deeper from the body surface. Patent Document 1 shows an example of a conventional convex-type ultrasonic probe. The ultrasonic element of such an ultrasonic probe is formed by cutting a piezoelectric ceramic, sandwiched between electrodes, into strips. Furthermore, in recent years, ultrasonic probes using piezoelectric MEMS ultrasonic transducers (pMUTs) as ultrasonic elements have been developed. Such ultrasonic probes allow for a significant miniaturization of the ultrasonic elements and an increase in element density. Patent documents 2 to 4 disclose such ultrasonic probes. For details on the MEMS used to manufacture them, see, for example, patent documents 4 and 5. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-79895Japanese Patent Publication No. 2014-146883Japanese Patent Publication No. 2011-259274Japanese Patent Publication No. 2016-018835Special Publication No. 2006-516368 Figure 1(a) shows a side view of an example of the ultrasonic probe head of the present disclosure, Figure 1(b) shows a top view of an example of the ultrasonic probe head of the present disclosure, and Figure 1(c) shows a bottom view of an example of the ultrasonic probe head of the present disclosure.Figure 2 shows a plan view of an example of an ultrasonic element chip.Figure 3 shows a portion of the A-A' cross-sectional view of the ultrasonic element chip shown in Figure 2.Figure 4 shows a portion of the B-B' cross-sectional view of the ultrasonic element chip in Figure 2.Figure 5 illustrates a plan view of an embodiment in which multiple ultrasonic element chips are arranged at intervals on a flexible substrate.Figures 6(a) and 6(b) illustrate embodiments of the positional relationship between the ultrasonic element chip and the flexible substrate.Figures 7(a) and 7(b) illustrate embodiments in which an ultrasonic element chip is connected to a flexible printed circuit board.Figure 8 shows an example of the tip portion of the ultrasonic probe of this disclosure, which is convex in shape.Figure 9 shows a perspective view of another example of the convex-shaped tip portion of the ultrasonic probe of this disclosure.Figures 10(a) and (b) show examples of switching between linear and convex types of the ultrasonic probe head of this disclosure.Figure 11 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the tip portion of the ultrasonic probe of this disclosure.Figure 12 illustrates an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to the present disclosure. Ultrasonic probe head The ultrasonic probe head of this disclosure has a plurality of ultrasonic element chips arranged at intervals on a flexible substrate, and each of the plurality of ultrasonic element chips includes a plurality of piezoelectric MEMS ultrasonic transducers on the substrate. The present inventors have realized probes of various shapes, not just linear, convex, and concave, by arranging multiple ultrasonic element chips, each containing multiple piezoelectric MEMS ultrasonic transducers on a substrate, on a flexible substrate, even when using piezoelectric MEMS ultrasonic transducers. Conventionally, only one rigid ultrasonic element array substrate was used and fixed to function as a linear probe. However, by dividing this into multiple ultrasonic element chips and using them together with a flexible substrate, it has become possible to create ultrasonic probe heads of various shapes. As a result, the probe head of this disclosure allows for the use of ultrasonic probes of various shapes, such as convex, linear, and concave, even when using piezoelectric MEMS ultrasonic transducers, and also allows for modification to any desired shape. Furthermore, it was found that with this configuration, even if the ultrasonic probe head is bent or subjected to impact, direct force does not act between adjacent tips, making