Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Olympus Corporation

Olympus Medical Systems Corporation

Takanao Fujimura

Katsuhiro Wakabayashi

Yukihiko Sawada

Hiroyuki Imabayashi

Hideo Adachi

Tomoki Funakubo

Akiko Mizunuma

Takuya Imahashi

Yoshihisa Taniguchi

Sunao Sato

Takashi Ouchi

Toshiharu Tsubata

Ki Doh

Satoshi Yoshida

Takeaki Nakamura

Masaaki Hayashi

Takashi Tsukaya

Shuichi Takayama

Kuniaki Kami

Yoshiyuki Okuno

Masanori Hamazaki

Masao Izawa

Teppei Tsuruta

Tomoyuki Hatakeyama

Yoshiro Nishimura

Masashi Abe

Kei Irie

Takeharu Nakazato

Takahiro Echizenya

Fukashi Yoshizawa

Yougo Imai

Isamu Nakajima

Hironobu Aoki

Hiroshi Suzushima

Toshimichi Iijima

Kozue Kurihara

Mizunuma Akiko

Provided is an ultrasound transducer for irradiating a subject with ultrasound and receiving an ultrasound echo reflected from the subject. The ultrasound transducer includes a plurality of piezoelectric elements configured to emit ultrasound according to input of an electric signal and convert ultrasound incident from outside into an electric signal, and a mask portion provided between the plurality of piezoelectric elements and a radiation surface of the ultrasound on the ultrasound transducer. The mask portion is configured to: mask any divided region among a plurality of divided regions obtained by dividing an elevation direction orthogonal to a plane parallel to a scanning direction of the ultrasound; reflect the ultrasound in a direction different from a propagation direction of the ultrasound on the masked division region; and allow the ultrasound to pass in the propagation direction in the plurality of divided regions except the masked divided region.

Ultrasound transducer and ultrasound probe

An ultrasound transducer includes: an acoustic matching layer bending with a predetermined curvature; a plurality of piezoelectric elements disposed on an inner face on a side of a curvature center of the acoustic matching layer in such a manner that the plurality of piezoelectric elements bend; a plurality of wirings including respective one ends electrically connected to the plurality of piezoelectric elements, respectively; a substrate to which respective other ends of the plurality of wirings are electrically connected; and a holding member provided on the plurality of wirings at a position partway of the plurality of wirings between the plurality of piezoelectric elements and the substrate, the holding member being configured to hold a pitch of the plurality of wirings so as to be a pitch that is equal to or smaller than a predetermined arrangement pitch of the plurality of piezoelectric elements.

Ultrasound transducer and ultrasound endoscope

An ultrasound endoscope, having a cable for connecting the ultrasound endoscope to a driving apparatus, includes an insertion section insertable into a subject, a plurality of transducers provided at a distal end portion, an electrode formed in each of the transducers, a wiring section connected to the electrode to electrically connect the electrode and the cable, and matching circuits, at least one of which is provided at an end of or partway in each of the wiring section. The electrode, the wiring section, and the matching circuits are provided in each of the plurality of transducers. The cable includes a core wire and an insulating layer enwrapping the core wire and functions as a matching section that matches electric impedance of each of the transducers between the plurality of transducers and the driving apparatus by varying a thickness or quality of material of the insulating layer.

Ultrasound endoscope

An ultrasound endoscope includes an insertion portion that is inserted into a subject, an ultrasound transducer portion that is arranged at a distal end portion of the insertion portion and includes an ultrasound transmitting and receiving surface for transmitting and receiving ultrasound, a first balloon groove that is a groove formed between the insertion portion and the ultrasound transducer portion and is for locking a balloon that covers the ultrasound transmitting and receiving, a distal end face that is arranged on a distal end side with respect to the ultrasound transducer portion and is disposed spaced apart from the ultrasound transmitting and receiving surface, and a convex portion that is provided on the distal end face and on which stress concentrates when a finger is slid on the distal end face.

Ultrasound endoscope and ultrasound balloon for endoscope

An ultrasound endoscope distal end portion includes an ultrasound transducer provided at a distal end of an insertion portion, a wiring substrate electrically connected to the ultrasound transducer, a plurality of wires connected to the wiring substrate, a restricting section arranged so as to cover the wiring substrate, wiring substrate side fitting sections provided in the wiring substrate, a first restricting section side fitting section that is provided in the restricting section and fits with the wiring substrate side fitting sections.

Ultrasound endoscope distal end portion to accommodate bend wires and wiring substrate

An ultrasound endoscope has an ultrasound probe which is disposed at a distal end side of a distal end rigid portion configuring a distal end portion out of a flexible tube portion, a bending portion and the distal end rigid portion configuring an insertion portion, and forms an ultrasound scanning surface having a normal line in a direction orthogonal to an endoscope insertion axis L, and a treatment instrument outlet of a treatment hole in the distal end rigid portion. The ultrasound probe is configured by a plurality of ultrasound transducers arranged in a convex circular arc shape, and a center of curvature of the plurality of ultrasound transducers is disposed at a proximal end side from the treatment instrument outlet.

An ultrasound transducer manufactured by using a micromachining process comprises: a first electrode into which a control signal for transmitting ultrasound is input; a substrate on which the first electrode is formed; a second electrode that is a ground electrode facing the first electrode with a prescribed space between the first and second electrodes; a membrane on which the second electrode is formed and which vibrates and generates the ultrasound when a voltage is applied between the first and second electrodes; a piezoelectric film contacting the membrane; and a third electrode electrically continuous to the piezoelectric film.

Ultrasound transducer manufactured by using micromachining process, its device, endoscopic ultrasound diagnosis system thereof, and method for controlling the same

An ultrasonic wave oscillator is configured in a manner that an acoustic matching member is formed on the ultrasonic wave emission side of an electromechanical transducer element, a backing material is fixed with adhesive on the other side thereof, and the electromechanical transducer element is fixed by connection members pressing it respectively from opposite directions.

Ultrasonic wave oscillator

An ultrasonic piezoelectric transducer and an ultrasonic actuator for performing enhanced elliptical vibration comprise a first laminated piezoelectric element having a first fixed end, a resonator mounted to the opposite end of the first laminated piezoelectric element, a second laminated piezoelectric element having one end thereof fixedly mounted to the resonator in a direction other than a vibrating direction of the first laminated piezoelectric element, and a load mass fixedly mounted to the opposite end of the second laminated piezoelectric element. This structure permits the enhanced elliptical vibration of the transducer to have a large, controllable amplitude.

Ultrasonic piezoelectric transducer and ultrasonic actuator

An ultrasonic motor comprising a vibrator for generating ultrasonic vibration, an electric-mechanical energy conversion element provided at node positions of the ultrasonic vibration, for generating ultrasonic vibration on the vibrator, the vibrator having an end face thereof which is inclined with respect to a central axis of the vibrator being rotatably driven by electric energy applied to the electric-mechanical energy conversion element, a plurality of displacement enlarging vibration pieces which are formed axially on the end face of the ultrasonic vibrator and in which grooves concentric with an outer periphery are arranged respectively at the node positions of the vibration, the displacement enlarging vibrating piece having a taper, and an element to be driven urged against end faces of the displacement enlarging vibration pieces by urging means and moved in a predetermined direction.

Ultrasonic motor

An ultrasonic motor comprising an elastic body, at least two laminated piezoelectric bodies clamped by a portion of the elastic body, an ultrasonic oscillator for exciting simultaneously a plurality of shrunk and retreated oscillation modes on the elastic body, to generate ultrasonic elliptic oscillation, and an element to be driven urged against a portion of the ultrasonic oscillator and movable with respect to the ultrasonic oscillator.

The present invention discloses an ultrasonic oscillator including: a plurality of resonators; and an electricity-to-mechanical energy conversion element disposed among a plurality of the resonators and pressed by a fastening member, wherein the ultrasonic oscillator bends and/or oscillates when alternating voltage is applied to the electricity-to-mechanical energy conversion element, and the resonators do not come in contact with the fastening member in a portion adjacent to the end surface of the ultrasonic oscillator.

Ultrasonic oscillator

An ultrasonic motor characterized by comprising: an ultrasonic oscillator for generating ultrasonic oscillation on a specific surface; a movable body pressure-bonded to a specific surface of the ultrasonic oscillator for moving the movable body by the ultrasonic oscillator in a given direction by ultrasonic oscillation; and a sliding element provided on one of a contact surface of the ultrasonic oscillator and a contact surface of the movable body and having a porous oxide coating in which hydrators are formed to substantially fill small holes in the oxide coating.

In an ultrasonic probe for use in ultrasonic endoscope, ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus and other ultrasonic apparatuses, an ultrasonic vibrator is arranged in a recess formed in a cylindrical housing and is secured thereto such that portions of first and second electrodes are exposed out of the recess. First and second lead wires are embedded in the housing such that tips of the lead wires are exposed within connecting areas formed in the housing in communication with the recess. The tips of the first and second lead wires are connected to first and second electrodes of the ultrasonic vibrator with the aid of conductive members made of solder, conductive paste or conductive adhesive agent. The other end of the first and second lead wires are extended from the same end face of the cylindrical housing.

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Sagamihara, Japan

Takanao Fujimura