JPH0564667A - Applicator for thermal treatment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] An object of the present invention is to provide an applicator for hyperthermia treatment capable of effectively treating only an affected part without damaging normal tissue. [Structure] Inserting section 2 to be inserted into a living body, and this inserting section 2
In an applicator 1 for thermotherapy, which comprises an electromagnetic wave radiation section 6 disposed inside, and emits an electromagnetic wave from the electromagnetic wave radiation section 6 to a diseased part of a living tissue to perform thermotherapy, provided on the outer periphery of the insertion section 2. A hardness detecting means 36 for contacting with a living tissue to detect its hardness, a positioning balloon 14 provided at the distal end of the insertion section 2, and a rotatably arranged around the electromagnetic wave radiating section 6. An electromagnetic wave reflection unit 1 that reflects the electromagnetic wave from the electromagnetic wave emission unit 6 toward the affected area
6a and a rotational position control means 10 for rotating the electromagnetic wave reflecting portion 16a to select the position thereof.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermotherapy applicator for radiating electromagnetic waves to a diseased part of a living tissue for thermotherapy.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, there has been known a thermotherapy applicator which radiates an electromagnetic wave to a diseased part of a living tissue to heat the affected part. This comprises an insertion part to be inserted into a living body and an electromagnetic wave emission part arranged in the insertion part, and by emitting an electromagnetic wave from the electromagnetic wave emission part in a substantially radial manner, to the affected part of the biological tissue. On the other hand, an electromagnetic wave is radiated to perform thermotherapy.

When performing treatment using such an applicator for hyperthermia, it is necessary to position the applicator at a desired site of the living body and to concentrate the electromagnetic waves on the affected area as much as possible. Therefore, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-659
The applicator for hyperthermia treatment disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 41 is provided with a magnetic body at the tip of the insertion portion of the applicator to be inserted into the living body, and the position of the magnetic body is detected from outside the patient's body to allow applicator insertion portion. The position of the tip of the applicator is confirmed so that the insertion part of the applicator can be positioned at a desired position.

[0004]

By the way, the applicator disclosed in the above publication can reliably position the applicator on the living body, but it is difficult to concentrate the electromagnetic waves on the local affected area. .. Therefore, normal tissues other than the affected part may be irradiated with electromagnetic waves to be heated, and normal tissues may be damaged, which makes it difficult to achieve therapeutic efficiency that requires consideration.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an applicator for hyperthermia treatment which can effectively treat only an affected part without damaging normal tissue. ..

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention comprises an insertion part to be inserted into a living body and an electromagnetic wave emission part arranged in the insertion part, and the electromagnetic wave emission part is provided. From a thermotherapy applicator for performing thermotherapy by radiating an electromagnetic wave from a diseased part of a living tissue, the hardness detecting means provided on the outer periphery of the insertion part and contacting the living tissue to detect the hardness thereof, A positioning balloon provided at the tip of the insertion part, an electromagnetic wave reflection part that is rotatably arranged around the electromagnetic wave emission part and reflects electromagnetic waves from the electromagnetic wave emission part toward the affected part, and the electromagnetic wave reflection part. And a rotational position control means for rotating the to select its position.

[0007]

Operation: The insertion portion is inserted into the living body, and the insertion portion of the applicator is positioned and fixed to the living body near the affected area by the balloon. Next, the insertion portion is brought into contact with the living tissue, and the hardness of the living tissue is detected by the hardness detecting means provided on the outer periphery of the insertion portion to discriminate the affected portion from the normal portion. Then, the electromagnetic wave reflection unit is rotated and arranged so that the electromagnetic waves emitted from the electromagnetic wave emission unit are reflected toward the detected affected area. Through such a series of operations, the electromagnetic wave emitted from the electromagnetic wave emitting section is reflected by the electromagnetic wave reflecting section, and is reliably and intensively applied to the affected area without damaging the normal tissue.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in (a) of FIG. 1, an applicator 1 for hyperthermia treatment of the present embodiment has an applicator body 15 whose outer periphery is covered with an insulator such as silicone rubber, and an applicator body 1.
5, which is rotatably arranged on the outer circumference of the microwave reflection member 5 and has a substantially cylindrical microwave reflection member 16 having an outer circumference covered with an insulator. The tip end side of the applicator 1 is an insertion portion 2 to be inserted into a living body, and the base end side is a hand portion 4 that is gripped by an operator to perform an operation or the like.

At the tip of the applicator main body 15, a balloon 14 made of an elastic material for fixing the applicator main body 15 to a living body is provided. Further, inside the applicator body 15, a tube 12 for sending a fluid into the balloon 14 is arranged over substantially the entire length of the applicator body 15. The base end portion of the tube 12 is a base 2 provided at the base end of the applicator body 15.
It is connected to 0. Therefore, if the fluid is injected from the base 20 by, for example, a syringe, the fluid will be the
2 is fed into the balloon 14 via which it can be inflated by this fluid.

Further, a microwave antenna 6 as a microwave radiating portion composed of a coaxial cable is provided at a substantially axial center portion inside the tip end portion of the applicator body 15, and the tip end of the microwave antenna 6 is a balloon 14. It is located closer to the hand than the base end of. And the microwave antenna 6
Is a microwave transmission cable 18 consisting of a coaxial cable.
It is connected to the microwave oscillator 28 via.

The microwave oscillator 28 is connected to the controller 26 which controls the output of microwave oscillation. In addition, the controller 26 includes an applicator main body 15
A plurality of temperature sensors 38 (see FIG. 1B) provided on the outer periphery of the controller are connected via a lead wire 32, and the controller 26 uses a microwave oscillator based on the temperature measurement value from the temperature sensor 38. The output of 28 can be turned on and off.

On the other hand, on the outer periphery of the applicator body 15, a substantially cylindrical microwave reflecting member 16 is provided.
And a flange portion 10 as a rotation control means that is substantially fitted to the outer periphery of the applicator body 15 is provided at the base end of the microwave reflection member 16. Therefore, the microwave reflection member 16 is
By sliding the collar portion 10 in the axial direction along the outer circumference of the applicator body 15, the collar portion 10 can be moved forward and backward with respect to the applicator body 15, and by rotating the collar portion 10, the applicator body 15 can be moved. Can be rotated.

Further, the microwave reflecting member 16 is notched on the front end side by about half a circumference, and the portion left uncut constitutes the microwave reflecting portion 16a. Then, the notch 11 is applied to the applicator body 1
By arranging it at the tip portion of 5, the only tip portion of the applicator body 15 where the microwave antenna 6 is located can be exposed to the outside only from the cutout portion 11. A microwave reflector 34 (see FIG. 1B) such as a metal thin film is fixed to the entire inner surface of the microwave reflecting member 16.

Therefore, the microwave reflecting member 16 is
The microwave radiated from the microwave antenna 6 is reflected by the microwave reflector 34 of the microwave reflector 16 a by positioning the notch 11 at the tip of the applicator body 15 where the microwave antenna 6 is located. Then, this reflected wave can be radiated from only the notch 11 with a limited emission direction.

Further, the tip side of the microwave reflecting member 16,
Preferably, a plurality of hardness sensors 36 as hardness detecting means are provided on the outer circumference of the microwave reflecting portion 16a.
The hardness sensor 36 is made of, for example, pressure-sensitive conductive rubber, is of a type that measures the hardness of a living body by detecting a resistance change during pressurization, and as shown in (c) of FIG.
The microwave reflector 16 is arranged at the tip side, preferably in the circumferential direction and the axial direction of the microwave reflector 16a.
Further, the hardness sensor 36 is connected to the hardness detection unit 22 via the lead wire 30, and the hardness detection unit 22 is connected to the hardness display unit 24. Therefore, the hardness of the living body is detected by the hardness sensor 36 and the hardness detection unit 22.
Detected in. Then, the hardness display unit 24 displays the hardness of the living body based on the detection signal of the hardness detection unit 22.

Next, the operation of the thermotherapy applicator 1 having the above structure will be described. First, the applicator 1 is inserted into a living body with the balloon 14 deflated. When the applicator 1 reaches the target site, the balloon 14 is inflated to fix the applicator 1 to the living body. To inflate the balloon 14, a fluid may be injected from the base 20 into the applicator body 15 by a syringe or the like. The injected fluid flows into the balloon 14 through the tube 12 provided in the applicator body 15 to inflate the balloon 14.

After the applicator 1 is fixed to the living body by the expansion of the balloon 14, the collar 11 with the notch 11 of the microwave reflecting member 16 positioned at the tip of the applicator body 15 where the microwave antenna 6 is located. By rotating the part 10, the microwave reflecting member 16 is rotated while being brought into contact with the living tissue. In this case, since the hardness sensor 36 provided on the outer periphery of the microwave reflecting member 16 contacts the living tissue, the hardness of the living tissue is displayed on the hardness display unit 24 via the hardness detection unit 22. ..

Next, the affected area is discriminated from the normal area based on the display value of the hardness display section 24. After confirming the position of the affected area, the collar portion 10 is rotated to arrange the microwave reflecting portion 16 so that the microwave radiated from the microwave antenna 6 is reflected toward the affected area. In this case, the notch 11 of the microwave reflecting member 16 is oriented toward the affected part, and only the tip portion of the applicator body 15 in which the microwave antenna 6 is located is exposed to the outside only from the notch 11. It is in a state where In this state, if the microwave oscillator 28 is operated and the microwave is radiated from the microwave antenna 6, the radiated wave is the microwave reflector 3 on the inner surface of the microwave reflecting portion 16a.
In addition to being reflected by 4, the irradiation direction is limited only from the cutout portion 11 and concentrated irradiation is performed on the affected area. During the treatment, the controller 26 controls the output of the microwave oscillator 28 based on the temperature measurement value from the temperature sensor 38. Therefore, the thermotherapy applicator 1 having the above configuration
Can be reliably positioned and fixed to the living body by the balloon 14, the affected area can be easily detected by the hardness sensor 36, and the irradiation range can be adjusted by the rotatable microwave reflecting section 16a. Since it is possible to intensively irradiate the affected area with heat, it is possible to reliably treat the affected area without damaging the normal tissue with extremely small thermal influence on the normal tissue.

Further, when the affected part extends over the entire circumference of the applicator 1, the flange part 10 causes the microwave reflecting member 16 to move.
May be pulled toward the hand side to completely expose the tip of the applicator body 15 where the microwave antenna 6 is located to the outside, or to remove the applicator reflection member 16. Thereby, the microwave can be radiated over the entire circumference of the applicator 1.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. The same members as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. The thermotherapy applicator 40 of the present embodiment has an outer periphery covered with an insulator on the outer periphery of the microwave antenna 6 inside the applicator body 50 made of an electromagnetic wave transmitting material having an outer periphery coated with an insulator. In addition, a substantially cylindrical microwave reflection member 52 is provided.

The microwave reflection member 52 has a portion on the tip side where the microwave antenna 6 is located, which is cut out by about half a circumference, and the microwave antenna 6 is cut off only from the cutout portion 11. Exposed from. That is, the portion left uncut is the microwave reflection portion.

The microwave reflecting member 52 is made of a microwave reflecting material such as metal, and is supported on the proximal side of the applicator body 50 with a certain gap maintained between the microwave antenna 6 and the applicator body 50. Meanwhile, it is rotatably arranged. As shown in FIG. 2B, the microwave radiation angle is determined by the size of the notch 11 and the rotation angle of the microwave reflecting member 52. When the size of the notch 11 is constant, the microwave radiation angle can be changed by changing the rotation angle of the microwave reflection member 52.

The rotation operation for changing the rotation angle of the microwave reflecting member 52 is performed by the motor 44 mechanically connected to the microwave reflecting member 52. The motor 44 is connected to the controller 26,
The rotation direction and the rotation angle of are controlled by the controller 26. In addition, the motor 44
The rotation angle and the rotation direction of are detected by the encoder 46, and the detected values are input to the controller 26. Therefore, the controller 26 controls the rotation direction and the rotation angle of the motor 44 based on the detection value from the encoder 46.

Further, on the outer periphery of the applicator main body 50,
The temperature sensors 38 and the hardness sensors 53 are arranged alternately in the circumferential direction at substantially constant intervals. Further, the hardness sensor 53 is configured by embedding a strain gauge in an insulator such as silicon, and the hardness of the living body can be known by the resistance change of the strain gauge due to the pressure received from the living body.

The hardness sensor 53 is arranged in the circumferential direction and the axial direction of the outer circumference of the applicator body 50, and is connected to the hardness detecting portion 22 via the lead wire 30.
The hardness detection unit 22 is connected to the hardness display unit 24. Therefore, the hardness of the living body is detected by the hardness sensor 53 and detected by the hardness detection unit 22. Then, based on the detection signal of the hardness detection unit 22, the hardness display unit 24
Indicates the hardness of the living body.

On the other hand, the temperature sensor 38 is connected to the controller 26 via the lead wire 32, and the controller 26 can turn on / off the output of the microwave oscillator 28 based on the temperature measurement value from the temperature sensor 38. It is like this.

Next, the operation of the thermotherapy applicator 40 having the above configuration will be described. First, the applicator 1 is inserted into a living body with the balloon 14 deflated. When the applicator 1 reaches the target site, the applicator 1 is fixed to the living body by inflating the balloon 14 by the same operation as in the first embodiment.

After the applicator 1 is fixed to the living body by the expansion of the balloon 14, the hardness of the living tissue is checked by the hardness sensor 53 to discriminate the affected area from the normal area. When the position of the affected part is confirmed, the rotation direction and the rotation angle are set by the controller so that the cutout 11 faces toward the affected part. Thus, the microwave reflecting member 52 is arranged so that the motor 44 is driven and the microwave radiated from the microwave antenna 6 is reflected toward the affected area. In this state, if the microwave oscillator 28 is operated and microwaves are radiated from the microwave antenna 6, the radiated waves are reflected by the inner surface of the microwave reflection portion of the microwave reflection member 52 and cut off. Notch 11
The irradiation direction is limited only from this point and concentrated irradiation is performed on the affected area. During the treatment, the controller 26 controls the output of the microwave oscillator 28 based on the temperature measurement value from the temperature sensor 38.

Therefore, the thermotherapy applicator 1 having the above-mentioned structure can be surely positioned and fixed to the living body by the balloon 14, and the hardness sensor 53 can easily detect the affected area, and is rotatable. Since the microwave reflection member 52 can adjust the irradiation range and intensively irradiate the affected area with microwaves, the thermal effect on the normal tissue can be extremely reduced, and the affected area can be surely damaged without damaging the normal tissue. Can be treated. Also,
If the rotation angle of the microwave reflecting member 52 is determined according to the size of the affected area, only the affected area corresponding to the radiation angle can be heated, and the operation is simple.

[0030]

As described above, the thermotherapy applicator of the present invention can be surely positioned and fixed to the living body by the balloon, and the hardness detecting means can easily detect the affected area. , The rotatable electromagnetic wave reflector can adjust the irradiation range to concentrate the irradiation of the electromagnetic waves on the affected area, so the thermal effect on the normal tissue can be minimized and the affected area can be secured without damaging the normal tissue. Can be treated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is a schematic configuration diagram of an applicator for thermotherapy showing a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is an AA of FIG.
FIG. 5C is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line, and FIG. 6C is an enlarged plan view of a portion of the thermotherapy applicator of FIG.

FIG. 2A is a schematic configuration diagram of an applicator for thermotherapy showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2B is a BB line of FIG. 2A.
It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view along a line.

[Explanation of symbols]

1,40 ... Applicator for thermotherapy, 2 ... Insertion part, 6 ...
Microwave antenna (electromagnetic wave radiation part), 10 ... Collar part (rotation control means), 14 ... Balloon, 16a ... Microwave reflection part (electromagnetic wave reflection part), 36, 53 ... Hardness sensor (hardness detection means).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A thermostat comprising an insertion part to be inserted into a living body and an electromagnetic wave radiation part disposed in the insertion part, wherein the electromagnetic wave radiation part radiates an electromagnetic wave to a diseased part of a biological tissue to perform hyperthermia treatment. In the therapeutic applicator, a hardness detection unit that is provided on the outer periphery of the insertion portion and that detects the hardness of the living tissue by contacting it, a positioning balloon provided at the distal end of the insertion portion, and the electromagnetic wave An electromagnetic wave reflecting portion that is rotatably arranged around the radiation portion and reflects the electromagnetic wave from the electromagnetic wave radiation portion toward the affected area, and a rotation position control unit that rotates the electromagnetic wave reflecting portion to select its position. An applicator for hyperthermia treatment characterized by the above.