JPH0787864B2 - Hyperthermia device - Google Patents

Description

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a hyperthermia device for performing hyperthermia treatment.

BACKGROUND ART Hyperthermia (hyperthermia) is known to have an excellent effect in treating cancer, but when it is not monitored the temperature distribution in the body during heating, the temperature may rise to an unexpected temperature, or The specified temperature (43 ℃ or higher) may not be reached.

Therefore, conventionally, a thermistor, a thermocouple, or the like is inserted into the living body to measure the temperature, and heating control is performed based on the measured temperature (US Pat. No. 4,397,314).

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, it is not preferable that the thermistor or the thermocouple is inserted into the body of the patient to measure the temperature or the heating control is performed, because the burden on the patient is large. Moreover, since thermistors and thermocouples can measure the temperature at only a limited number of measuring points, there is a risk that the patient will continue to be heated and burned to the patient without knowing even if a hot spot occurs.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a safe hyperthermia device that does not impose a burden on a patient by measuring the in-vivo temperature distribution during heating without aggression.

Means for Solving the Problems In the hyperthermia device according to the present invention, the energy is applied to the surface of the living body via a heating energy source and a radiation medium, and the energy is supplied from the heating energy source to be radiated into the living body. Radiating means, an ultrasonic temperature measuring probe formed integrally with the radiating means, and an integrated structure of the radiating means and the ultrasonic temperature measuring probe are held, and the position thereof moves along the body surface of the living body. It is provided with a holding means that enables it and a means for controlling the movement of the integrated structure of the radiation means and the temperature measuring probe based on the temperature distribution measured by the ultrasonic temperature measuring probe.

Since the temperature is measured using ultrasonic waves, it is possible to non-invasively measure the temperature of the living body during heating treatment, and to monitor the temperature distribution inside the body during heating without burdening the patient, You can control the temperature. Moreover, the ultrasonic temperature measuring probe and the heating energy radiating means are integrated as a head, and the head is movably held along the body surface by the holding means and is measured by the ultrasonic temperature measuring probe. The movement of the head is controlled based on the temperature distribution. Therefore, since the ultrasonic temperature measuring probe moves, the temperature distribution can be measured in a wide range, and hot spots and the like generated at intended points can be easily detected. Since the heating energy radiating means also moves, local overheating can be avoided, and since the movement is performed based on the measured temperature distribution, the desired optimum temperature distribution can be obtained and the therapeutic effect is improved. .

Practical example In FIG. 1, the human body 2 of the patient to be treated in the bed 1
Is laid down, and the water tank 3 is placed on the human body 2. As shown in FIG. 2, this aquarium 3 has a semi-cylindrical bottom surface 31 whose axis is parallel to the body axis direction of the human body 2. A part of the bottom surface 31 is made of rubber or the like. An expandable bag-shaped container, that is, a bag 32 made of a vinyl chloride sheet or the like is attached. When the fluid 4 is put into the aquarium 3, the fluid 4 enters the bag 32 and inflates it, so that the fluid 4 comes into close contact with the body surface of the human body 2. The fluid 4 is circulated by the temperature controller 33 so that the temperature becomes constant.

In this water tank 3, a head 5 having a probe 51 and an applicator 52 integrated therein is positioned. The head 5 is held by a stand 6. In detail, stand 6
The vertical movement device 61 vertically moves (Y direction in the drawing), the lateral movement device 62 moves the human body 2 laterally (X direction in the drawing), and the vertical movement device 63 further moves the human body 2 body. It is held by the stand 6 while being moved in the axial direction (Z direction in the figure; direction perpendicular to the paper surface). Although these moving devices 61 to 63 are composed of a screw rod and a nut body in this figure,
Other mechanisms may be used. These moving devices 61 to 63 are controlled by the position control device 7 to determine the position of the head 5.

The probe 51 is a probe for ultrasonic temperature measurement and includes an ultrasonic transducer that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves. For example, when a fan-shaped ultrasonic beam is transmitted from this probe 51 and then an echo is received, this received signal is sent to the ultrasonic temperature measuring device 8 and attenuation of the received signal, frequency characteristics, etc. By utilizing the temperature dependence, the temperature distribution in a certain cross section of the human body 2 can be obtained.

The applicator 52 radiates the electromagnetic wave (frequency of about 10 MHz to 2500 MHz) energy sent from the electromagnetic wave energy source 9 into the human body 2 using the fluid 4 as a medium. The fluid 4 is a fluid (generally water) whose electrical characteristics are similar to those of the human body 2 with respect to this electromagnetic wave, and the bag 32 is provided so that the fluid 4 is in close contact with the body surface of the human body 2. . Thus, the fluid 4 achieves impedance matching regarding electromagnetic waves and ultrasonic waves and cooling of the body surface.

First, when the position of the affected part 21 such as cancer tissue (the ultrasonic temperature measuring device 8 can be used to obtain this position) is given to the control device 10, the head 5 approaches the affected part 21 as close as possible. Thus, the vertical movement device 61, the lateral movement device 62, and the vertical movement device 63 are controlled via the position control device 7. Then, electromagnetic wave energy is radiated from the applicator 52 into the human body 2, and the human body 2 is heated. During this heating, the head 5 is made to scan the vicinity of the affected area 21 along the body surface, for example, as shown by the arrow in the figure. The trajectory of this scan is commanded from the control device 10 to the position control device 7. At this time, the ultrasonic temperature measuring device 8 simultaneously obtains the temperature distribution near the affected area 21. This temperature distribution information is sent to the control device 10, a control signal is sent from the control device 10 to the electromagnetic wave energy source 9 to control the heating energy, and the position control device 7 also corrects the scan trajectory. Is issued. In this way, control is realized so that only the affected part 21 that requires heating is heated to a predetermined temperature.

The moving device of the head 5 and the like may be mounted on the ceiling instead of being provided on the stand 6. Also, the aquarium 3 is
In the above description, the fluid 4 is in close contact with the upper half of the human body 2, but the fluid may be in close contact with the entire circumference of the human body 2.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION According to the hyperthermia device of the present invention, an integrated structure (head) in which the heating energy emitting means and the ultrasonic temperature measuring probe are integrated is moved (scanned) along the body surface. In addition, the movement of the head is controlled based on the temperature distribution measured by the ultrasonic temperature probe, which avoids the local overheating that tends to occur when the heating energy emitting means is fixed. In addition, the desired optimum temperature distribution can be obtained by controlling the movement of the heating energy emitting means, and the therapeutic effect is improved. Furthermore, since the ultrasonic temperature probe moves, it is possible to measure the temperature distribution over a wide range rather than at a limited number of measurement points, so even if a hot spot occurs, it can be found immediately and it is extremely safe. is there. Since the temperature is measured using ultrasonic waves, the temperature distribution in the living body during heating can be monitored non-invasively without burdening the patient, and the temperature control becomes accurate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of a water tank. 1 ... Bed, 2 ... Human body 21 ... Affected area, 3 ... Water tank 31 ... Semi-cylindrical bottom, 32 ... Bag 4 ... Fluid, 5 ... Head 51 ... Probe, 52 ... Applicator 6 …… Stand, 61 …… Vertical movement device 62 …… Horizontal movement device, 63 …… Vertical movement device 7 …… Position control device, 8 …… Ultrasonic temperature measuring device 9 …… Electromagnetic energy source, 10 …… Control device

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A radiating means, which is applied to the surface of a living body via a heating energy source and a radiating medium, receives energy from the heating energy source and radiates it into the living body, and the radiating means integrally. Holding the formed ultrasonic temperature measuring probe, the radiating means and the integrated structure of the ultrasonic temperature measuring probe,
Further, the holding means that allows the position to move along the body surface of the living body, and the movement of the integrated structure of the radiation means and the temperature measuring probe is controlled based on the temperature distribution measured by the ultrasonic temperature measuring probe. And a hyperthermia device.