Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation

Canon Medical Systems Corporation

Canon Medical Svstems Corporation

Satoru Tezuka

Hiroyuki Shikata

Yasuhisa Makita

Yasuhiro Ona

Takashi Takeuchi

Kengo Okada

Tsuyoshi Kobayashi

Shinichi Hashimoto

Yoshitaka Mine

Kazuhiro Itsumi

Takuya Sasaki

Takeshi Miyagi

Yohachi Yamashita

Yasuo Miyajima

Tatsuro Baba

Fumiyasu Sakaguchi

Takashi Kubota

Koichi Shibamoto

Cong Yao

Jiro Higuchi

Minoru Aoki

Yutaka Kobayashi

Yutaka Oonuki

Kazuo Tezuka

Atsushi Nakai

Satoru Asagiri

Michiko Oishi

Shiro Saito

An ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus includes a position detector, and control circuitry. The position detector detects a position in a three-dimensional space of one of an ultrasonic image and an ultrasonic probe. The control circuitry uses a vivisection view defined in a three-dimensional space. The control circuitry associates a structure related to a subject included in the ultrasonic image with a structure included in the vivisection view using a position and orientation in a first three-dimensional coordinate system of the structure related to the subject included in the ultrasonic image and a position and orientation in a second three-dimensional coordinate system of the structure included in the vivisection view.

Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, scan support method, and medical image processing apparatus

An ultrasonic probe includes an ultrasonic transducer array and a multilayer body for extracting an electric wiring from each electrode. Transducers are classified into at least a first group and a second group. The multilayer body includes a first FPC layer on which the array is stacked and a second FPC layer on which the first FPC layer is stacked. The first FPC layer and the second FPC layer include upper surface connection pads and lower surface electrode pads which maintain a uniform level at positions spatially corresponding to the respective transducers. FPC layers constituting an FPC multilayer body are bonded to each other to be integrally formed in a region corresponding to the width of the array. On the other hand, the respective FPC layers are not bonded to each other and separated from each other outside the region corresponding to the width of the array.

Ultrasonic probe

According to one embodiment, an ultrasonic probe includes piezoelectric elements, a flexible printed circuit, and one of an air gap layer and a resin layer. The piezoelectric elements transmit and receive ultrasonic waves. The flexible printed circuit located on a rear surface side of the piezoelectric elements and electrically connected to the piezoelectric elements. The air gap layer locates on a rear surface side of the flexible printed circuit and has air gaps. The resin layer is obtained by filling the air gap layer with a resin and locates on the rear surface side of the flexible printed circuit.

A spatial position x' of each ultrasonic transducer is accurately obtained for each probe in consideration of each edge transducer gap, and a delay time T(x&#x2032;(n)) and a weighting coefficient W(x&#x2032;(n)) are calculated on the basis of the position of each ultrasonic transducer. A control unit executes ultrasonic transmission/reception by using the calculated delay times and weighting coefficients to realize a suitable acoustic field with high deflection angle accuracy, small sidelobes, and the like as compared with the prior art.

Ultrasonic transmission/reception condition optimization method, ultrasonic transmission/reception condition optimization program, and ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus

According to one embodiment, an ultrasonic probe has a laminated structure of an acoustic matching layer, transducer layer with arrayed transducers, and backing layer. A transmission/reception unit transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from an object via the transducers. A control unit controls the transmission/reception unit to synchronize ultrasonic-wave generation by a specific transducer of the transducers with ultrasonic-wave reception by a different transducer. A phase shift detection unit detects a phase shift between an output signal from the transmission/reception unit and a reference signal, the output signal corresponding to synchronization between the ultrasonic-wave generation and the ultrasonic-wave reception.

Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, phase shift transmission/reception control method, and ultrasonic probe

A backing material is provided on the back face side of a piezoelectric transducer, with a first width substantially equal to the piezoelectric transducer widthwise and perpendicular to the radiation direction. A front face of a layer located on the front face side with regard to a wiring pattern has a width substantially equal to the first width. Moreover, the back face of this layer has a second width shorter than the first width. A space is provided between this layer and the backing material due to the difference between the first width and the second width of this layer, and a covering member covering the wiring pattern covers the wiring pattern extending at least from the folded section of the flexible substrate into the space.

Ultrasound probe and method of manufacturing ultrasound probe

An ultrasound transducer according to an embodiment has two-dimensionally arranged ultrasound vibrators. A wiring board block is a laminate of wiring boards which are arranged along the row direction in the arrangement. The wiring board has a first surface facing a rear surface of the ultrasound vibrators and a second surface on its opposite side. First connection parts are provided on the first surface corresponding to the arrangement, and are conducted with back electrodes of the vibrators. Second connection parts are provided on the second surface, and are provided corresponding to the first connection parts. Connecting leads establish conductivity between the first and second connection parts through a fourth surface which is perpendicular to the second and third surfaces. Electronic circuits are connected to the second surface of the wiring board block, and are conducted with the second connection parts.

Ultrasound transducer, ultrasound probe, and a method for manufacturing ultrasound transducers

According to one embodiment, an ultrasonic probe includes a plurality of piezoelectric elements, a first electrode, a plurality of second electrodes, a plurality of stacked flexible printed circuit boards, and a plurality of connection portions. The plurality of piezoelectric elements are arrayed. The first electrode is provided on the emitting surface side of the plurality of piezoelectric elements. The plurality of second electrodes are respectively provided on the rear surface sides of the plurality of piezoelectric elements. The plurality of stacked flexible printed circuit boards respectively include a plurality of terminals. The plurality of connection portions electrically connect the second electrodes to the terminals. At least one of the flexible printed circuit boards extends longer than the flexible printed circuit board serving as an upper layer.

Ultrasonic probe and method of manufacturing the same

An ultrasonic probe includes ultrasonic oscillating elements arranged in a two-dimensional array shape, connection leads connected to the ultrasonic oscillating elements, and at least one board to connect the ultrasonic oscillating elements and integrated circuits. The board includes a first part having through-holes which are electrically connected to the connection leads when the connection leads are inserted, and second parts having bendable portions configured to connect the first part and the integrated circuits.

A two-dimensional array ultrasonic probe comprises printed circuit boards, each carrying piezoelectric vibrators arranged in the form of a matrix and adapted to draw signal leads and grounding wires from the vibrators through the gaps separating the columns of the matrix. A row of vibrators are arranged in an array on each of the printed circuit boards and then the printed circuit boards carrying vibrators are arranged in the column to produce a two-dimensional array transducer.

Ultrasonic probe, method of manufacturing the same and ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus

This invention relates to a method of manufacturing an ultrasonic transducer. A plurality of leads end portions are inserted into a plurality of lead holes of an alignment jig. A backing layer is formed by resin molding. After that, the alignment jig is removed from the surface of the backing layer, and the surface of the backing layer is flattened. Since the end portions of the leads are exposed to this flattened surface of the backing layer, discrete electrodes formed on the back surfaces of transducer elements are electrically connected to these lead end portions. The accuracy of lead arrangement is thus improved by the use of the alignment jig. This reduces alignment errors of leads with respect to the discrete electrodes of the transducer elements.

Method of manufacturing an ultrasonic transducer

This invention relates to a method of manufacturing an ultrasonic transducer. First, a plurality of printed boards in each of which a plurality of leads are formed in a line are stacked. The end portions of the leads protrude from each printed board. These lead end portions are inserted into a plurality of lead holes of an alignment jig. The plurality of printed boards are buried in the back surface of this alignment jig, and a backing layer is formed by resin molding. After that, the alignment jig is removed from the surface of the backing layer, and the surface of the backing layer is flattened. Since the end portions of the leads are exposed to this flattened surface of the backing layer, discrete electrodes formed on the back surfaces of transducer elements are electrically connected to these lead end portions. The accuracy of lead arrangement is thus improved by the use of the alignment jig. This reduces alignment errors of leads with respect to the discrete electrodes of the transducer elements.

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Nasushiobara, Japan

Satoru Tezuka