JP2002153482A - Ultrasonic treatment instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ultrasonic treatment instrument for preventing an operation room from becoming small. SOLUTION: This instrument is provided with an applicator 1 cauterizing a treating part by the irradiation of ultrasonic waves, a hand piece 20 emulsifying viable tissues by ultrasonic vibration and sucking and removing unrequired viable tissues generated accompanying the emulsification, a drive part 2 supplying drive signals to the applicator and the hand piece, a control part 7 controlling the drive signals so as to be suited to the selected applicator or hand piece and an imaging ultrasonic probe 5 for observing images near the treating part. Thus, since different treating tools are separately and properly used while sharing the main part of an ultrasonic treatment instrument main body 10, the problem that the operation room becomes small is solved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic therapy for performing treatment such as heating and cauterizing a tissue or emulsifying a living tissue by focusing and irradiating an ultrasonic wave to a treatment site in a subject. Related to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in the field of medicine, a minimally invasive treatment (hereinafter referred to as MI) that exerts a sufficient therapeutic effect while minimizing the burden on patients.
Abbreviated as T. ) Is emphasized,
Quality of Life (QOL) of the patient after surgery
The importance of ultrasonic therapy is also emphasized, and the ultrasonic therapy apparatus is attracting attention as one of the wings. That is, in surgical resection, the method of resecting the affected part with a metal scalpel has been generally used, and this involved problems related to safety such as bleeding. In recent years, a number of medical electronic devices have been developed. This has improved the safety of resection. For example, the emergence of an electric scalpel has reduced the amount of bleeding during resection and has made it possible to operate safely.
The ultrasonic surgical suction device that was developed after that, when resecting a parenchymal organ, crushes and removes the parenchyma while preserving important blood vessels such as blood vessels, thereby mistakenly removing large blood vessels and important blood vessels. Advances have been made to significantly reduce the risk of trauma to the vessel and improve the safety and certainty of surgical resection. In addition, the ultrasonic coagulation and incision device coagulates and cuts the living tissue by frictional heat generated by ultrasonic vibration, so that it does not generate smoke like an electric scalpel, so that in laparoscopic surgery, while ensuring good visibility The operation can be done safely.

On the other hand, as an ultrasonic therapy device, a calculus crushing device that crushes a calculus by focusing and radiating an ultrasonic wave to a calculus in the body such as a urinary calculus or a gallstone has been put into practical use. Such lithotripsy, in which a powerful ultrasonic pulse is applied to the calculus from outside the body to treat the calculus, becomes a first choice for calculus treatment in the urological field, and has greatly changed the method of treating calculi in the urological field. I let it. In addition, therapeutic technologies that focus and irradiate powerful ultrasonic waves to the affected area, such as cancer, to heat and heat the affected area, such as thermotherapy equipment, to heat-degenerate and necrotize cancer cells, etc., have also attracted attention. ing. This is a treatment method that selectively necroses cancer cells by heating the affected area to 42.5 degrees Celsius or higher and maintaining the temperature by utilizing the difference in heat sensitivity between tumor tissue and normal tissue. is there. In particular, for a tumor deep in a living body, a method of using ultrasonic energy having a high depth of penetration is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-61-13955. Furthermore, a method of further proceeding with the above-mentioned heating treatment method and converging and heating the ultrasonic waves generated from the piezoelectric element to the affected area to heat-degenerate and necrotize cancer cells is also disclosed in, for example, US Pat. No. 5,150,711. It has been disclosed. In this treatment method, it is possible to converge the energy of the ultrasonic wave and heat a localized region having a width of about 1 to 3 mm to 80 ° C. or more in about 1 second or less.

[0004] A schematic configuration of an example of a conventional ultrasonic therapy apparatus is shown in a system diagram of FIG. That is, the ultrasonic treatment apparatus generates an intense ultrasonic wave for treatment and irradiates the treatment site of the subject with an applicator 1, a driving unit 2 for driving the applicator 1, and an applicator 1. A water unit 3 that manages water 1a that is filled in the inside and properly performs coupling with a subject (living body), an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 4 that obtains an ultrasound image for observing a treatment site of the subject, An ultrasonic probe for imaging 5 provided in the applicator 1 in which transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves are controlled by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 4, a monitor 6 for displaying an image obtained by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 4,
The control unit 7 controls the whole of these constituent units. In the ultrasonic treatment apparatus configured as described above, a method using a piezoelectric element is widely used as a source provided in the applicator 1 to generate a therapeutic ultrasonic wave. In this method, the focus position can be reduced by reducing the focus, eliminating consumables, easily controlling the intensity of the ultrasonic wave, and controlling the phase of the drive voltage applied to the plurality of piezoelectric elements (ie, delay control). It has excellent properties such as easy change.

What is important in the ultrasonic therapy apparatus is to align the focal point of the ultrasonic wave applied to the affected part during the treatment and to observe the treatment area in real time.
Therefore, a group of piezoelectric elements 1b composed of a plurality of piezoelectric elements that emit ultrasonic waves for treatment are arranged in a spherical shape in the applicator 1, and are set on an axis so as to focus on a treatment site of a patient. In addition, an imaging ultrasonic probe 5 for obtaining an image of the treatment area is installed at a substantially central portion of the piezoelectric element group 1b. Accordingly, a tomographic image on the focal axis is obtained from the imaging ultrasonic probe 5, and the position of the affected part is determined from the ultrasonic tomographic image (B-mode image) to position the treatment applicator 1 or the like. The progress of the treatment is confirmed by monitoring the image during the treatment, and whether the treatment is continued or terminated is determined based on the change in the image of the treatment site. In addition, the treatment by the powerful ultrasonic wave is only required to give a necessary and sufficient energy to the patient, and further irradiation may cause a safety-related problem. Therefore, treatment is performed based on treatment conditions such as irradiation intensity and irradiation time set in advance, and irradiation is automatically stopped when the set irradiation time is reached. However, even within the set irradiation time, it may be possible to determine from the change in the ultrasonic image of the treatment site displayed on the monitor 6 that the treatment purpose has been achieved, and in such a case, the treatment is immediately stopped. (That is, stopping irradiation of therapeutic ultrasonic waves) is important for ensuring patient safety.

[0006]

By the way, in the above-mentioned ultrasonic therapy apparatus, the reflected wave of the therapeutic ultrasonic wave applied to the subject by the applicator 1 is inputted to the ultrasonic probe for imaging 5. Then, depending on the magnitude of the reflected wave, the ultrasonic probe for imaging 5 may be damaged. In addition, with the spread of various types of treatment devices using advanced technology in recent years, there has been a problem that, for example, an operating room becomes too small, and a demand for space saving has increased. The present invention has been made to solve such a problem.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 irradiates a therapeutic ultrasonic wave to a treatment site of a subject by applying a therapeutic ultrasonic wave, and comprises:
An ultrasonic treatment apparatus provided near the treatment ultrasonic irradiation means, and an imaging ultrasonic transmission / reception means for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves for observing an image near the treatment site of the subject, The apparatus further comprises a non-target ultrasonic wave incidence preventing means for preventing a reflected wave of the therapeutic ultrasonic wave irradiated by the therapeutic ultrasonic wave irradiating means from being incident on the imaging ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving means. . According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the ultrasonic treatment apparatus according to the first aspect, the non-target ultrasonic incidence blocking means includes an ultrasonic transmitting / receiving means for imaging located near the ultrasonic irradiating means for treatment. It is a cylindrical body provided with an ultrasonic absorber formed on an ultrasonic reflector provided for attachment. Also,
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the ultrasonic treatment apparatus according to the first aspect, the ultrasonic treatment apparatus is provided on the front surface of the imaging ultrasonic transmission / reception means provided near the treatment ultrasonic irradiation means so as to be openable and closable. It is an ultrasonic shield. Further, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the ultrasonic therapy apparatus according to the third aspect, the unintended ultrasonic incidence prevention means comprising an openable / closable ultrasonic shield is provided as a therapeutic ultrasonic irradiation means. The opening and closing are controlled in synchronization with a drive signal for driving the. Thereby, the reflected wave of the therapeutic ultrasonic wave applied to the subject from the therapeutic ultrasonic irradiation means,
It is possible to prevent the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving unit for imaging from being damaged by being input to the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving unit for imaging.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a treatment ultrasonic irradiation means for irradiating a treatment site of a subject with a treatment ultrasonic wave to perform treatment, and ultrasonically oscillating a living tissue at a treatment site of the subject. Ultrasonic treatment means for emulsifying by means of suction and removing unnecessary living tissue generated due to the emulsification, and a drive signal for switching and supplying drive signals to the treatment ultrasonic irradiation means and the ultrasonic treatment means Supply means, and a drive signal supplied from the drive signal supply means in response to switching between the treatment ultrasonic irradiation means and the ultrasonic treatment means, to the selected treatment ultrasonic irradiation means or ultrasonic treatment means. And control means for performing appropriate control. According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the ultrasonic treatment apparatus according to the fifth aspect, the treatment ultrasonic irradiation unit and the ultrasonic treatment unit each include a piezoelectric element, and each of the piezoelectric elements It has unique information indicating an optimum drive condition, and sets the drive signal supply unit to a drive condition corresponding to the unique information.

The invention described in claim 7 is the same as the invention in claim 5.
7. The ultrasonic treatment apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the auxiliary body is released to a treatment site of the subject in order to aspirate and remove unnecessary living tissue generated by operating the ultrasonic treatment means. Auxiliary liquid storage means storing liquid,
An alarm generating means for detecting a remaining liquid amount of the auxiliary liquid in the auxiliary liquid storing means and generating an alarm when the remaining liquid amount falls below a predetermined value. Further, according to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the ultrasonic therapy apparatus according to the seventh aspect, the auxiliary liquid stored in the auxiliary liquid storing means is supplied to the therapeutic ultrasonic irradiation means and / or the ultrasonic wave. A cooling liquid for cooling the piezoelectric element of the treatment means is supplied to the treatment ultrasonic irradiation means and / or the ultrasonic treatment means. As a result, a single ultrasonic therapy apparatus can share the main drive unit with the therapeutic ultrasonic irradiation means for irradiating the ultrasonic waves for therapy and the ultrasonic therapy means for emulsifying the living tissue with the ultrasonic waves. Because the operation room can be properly used, the problem that the operating room becomes too small can be solved.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an ultrasonic therapy apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is an external view showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of an ultrasonic therapy apparatus according to the present invention. The ultrasonic therapy apparatus according to the present invention is based on the conventional ultrasound therapy apparatus shown in FIG. 6 and has been subjected to various improvements or new configurations.
1 to 5, components having the same functions as those in FIG. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 1, an ultrasonic treatment apparatus main body 10 of the present invention includes a handpiece 20 for emulsifying a living tissue by ultrasonic waves in addition to an applicator 1 that emits powerful ultrasonic waves for treatment. It has. In addition, the applicator 1 and the handpiece 20 have a liquid reservoir 30 for storing and holding sterilized saline for use in cooling or washing. As shown in FIG. 2, the applicator 1 has a piezoelectric element group 1b composed of a plurality of piezoelectric elements that emit powerful ultrasonic waves for treatment arranged in a spherical shape such that the wavefront of the generated ultrasonic waves is concave. This is covered with a flexible water bag 1c. In the water bag 1c, for example, deaerated water 1a is used as an ultrasonic wave propagation medium.
Is enclosed. An ultrasonic probe 5 for imaging mounted via a mounting portion 51 is disposed at a substantially central portion of the piezoelectric element group 1b, and the ultrasonic probe 5 for imaging is connected to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 4. Have been.
In addition, although the attachment part 51 is mentioned later, it not only attaches the ultrasonic probe 5 for imaging to the applicator 1, but also
The purpose is to prevent strong ultrasonic waves for treatment radiated by the piezoelectric element group 1b of the applicator 1 which may be unnecessary for the imaging ultrasonic probe 5 from being incident directly or as reflected waves.

[0011] Now, the applicator 1 is placed on the treatment site _{P 0} of the patient P through the water bag 1c. Then, ultrasonic waves, for example, several MHz from the piezoelectric element group 1b is irradiated so as to converge toward the treatment site P ₀ of the patient P. The state of the treatment site P ₀ is indicated by the ultrasonic probe 5 for imaging.
Based on the reflected wave data collected by the apparatus, an ultrasonic image near the treatment site is reconstructed via the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 4 and displayed on the monitor 6 for observation. The imaging ultrasonic probe 5 is generally of the electronic scan type, but may be of the mechanical scan type. FIG. 3 shows details of the mounting portion 51 of the imaging ultrasonic probe 5 provided substantially in the center of the piezoelectric element group 1b of the applicator 1, and FIG. 3A is a longitudinal sectional view. (B) is a cross-sectional view. That is, the mounting portion 51 is preferably formed in a hollow quadrangular prism shape by a material having excellent heat conductivity, for example, an ultrasonic reflector that reflects ultrasonic waves such as aluminum or brass, and a lower end portion is made of a piezoelectric material. It is arranged in close contact with the back side of the element group 1b. Except for the upper surface, an ultrasonic absorber 52 made of a synthetic resin having excellent thermal conductivity and heat resistance obtained by mixing a metal powder with a silicon compound, for example, is applied or stuck to the inner surface thereof.

The upper and lower surfaces of the mounting portion 51 are provided with slits 53 having a length L1 at opposing positions.
The length L1 of the slit 53 is substantially the same as the length of the acoustic lens 5a generally arranged on the surface of the imaging ultrasonic probe 5, and the width in the direction orthogonal to the length L1 is It is determined in consideration of the aperture angle of the sound image.
The height L2 of the mounting portion 51 is determined based on the length L1 of the slit and the depth (depth) of the ultrasonic image. And the slit 53 on the upper surface is
Is covered with a water bag 1c and has a slit 5 on the lower surface.
3 is open, the degassed water 1a
1 will be filled. Here, it goes without saying that the piezoelectric element group 1b corresponding to the slit 53 on the lower surface is missing.

Since the imaging ultrasonic probe 5 is mounted via the mounting portion 51 thus configured, the width (L) necessary and sufficient for constructing an ultrasonic image is obtained.
1) and an ultrasonic wave propagation path having a length (L2) can be ensured, and it is possible to suppress the therapeutic ultrasonic wave from entering the ultrasonic probe for imaging 5 directly or as a reflected wave from the patient. . That is, when the therapeutic ultrasonic wave is incident on the imaging ultrasonic probe 5 directly or as a reflected wave from the patient, the energy of the therapeutic ultrasonic wave is high, and if the incident part is the acoustic lens 5a, the acoustic lens 5a is damaged. May be affected. If the incident portion is a resin portion covering the acoustic lens 5a, the resin portion has a relatively large absorption coefficient of the ultrasonic wave, so that the resin absorbs the ultrasonic wave and generates heat. Subsequently, the piezoelectric element (ultrasonic transducer) is destroyed by heat from the acoustic lens. Therefore, the imaging ultrasonic probe 5 is provided through the mounting portion 51 having the structure shown in FIG.
Is attached, the ultrasonic wave necessary for forming an ultrasonic image, the ultrasonic wave emitted from the ultrasonic probe 5, and the ultrasonic wave propagation for propagating the reflected wave from the patient based on the irradiated ultrasonic wave. In addition to securing a path, the therapeutic ultrasonic waves to be incident on the ultrasonic probe 5 and the reflected waves thereof are supplied to a cylindrical mounting portion 5 formed of an ultrasonic reflector.
Since the light is diffusely reflected in the inside 1 and is absorbed by the ultrasonic absorber 52, it is possible to suppress the incidence of unintended ultrasonic waves to the ultrasonic probe 5 and protect the ultrasonic probe 5.

However, it is difficult to completely attenuate the reflected wave from the patient due to the therapeutic ultrasonic wave in the ultrasonic wave propagation path as the mounting portion 51 configured as described above. There is a possibility that the ultrasonic probe 5 may be damaged based on the therapeutic ultrasonic waves. In order to avoid such a situation, the mounting portion 5
It is effective to provide an opening / closing mechanism 54 using an ultrasonic shield so as to cover the slit 53 on the lower surface of the device 1. The opening / closing mechanism 54 is not shown in detail, but the piezoelectric element group 1b
Is controlled in synchronization with the drive signal of the piezoelectric element group 1b by the control unit 7 so that the control unit 7 closes when irradiating the therapeutic ultrasonic wave and opens it while the therapeutic ultrasonic wave is at rest. Note that the ultrasonic shield constituting the opening / closing mechanism 54 is made of a material that does not break even when irradiated with therapeutic ultrasonic waves and that reflects the ultrasonic waves. For example, a thin plate such as stainless steel or titanium is used. Is good. Further, as the opening / closing mechanism 54, a shutter mechanism used in a camera or the like, a mechanism for rotating a fan-shaped thin plate in synchronization with an intermittent signal, a mechanism for opening and closing by moving a slit-shaped lattice to the left and right, and a blind shutter-shaped An appropriate mechanism such as an opening / closing mechanism can be selected and adopted.

Next, the handpiece 20 provided with the applicator 1 in the ultrasonic therapy apparatus of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 shows a schematic configuration of an embodiment of the handpiece 20. That is, the handpiece 20 includes, for example, an ultrasonic vibrator 21 that generates ultrasonic vibration of about 50 KHz to 200 KHz, and a metal hollow that transmits the ultrasonic vibration from the ultrasonic vibrator 21 to a subject such as a patient. It is composed of an action part 22 and a tube 23 connected to the action part 22, and these are almost housed in a case 24. The distal end of the action section 22 protrudes from the case 24, and is brought into direct contact with the treatment target site of the subject. Further, the tube 23 is connected to a suction device 26 provided outside the handpiece 20 via a suction tube 27. The handpiece 20 is driven by the ultrasonic vibrator 2 by a drive signal supplied from the drive unit 2 via the switch 32.
1 is driven, the action part 22 vibrates,
Emulsify living tissues and the like. Unnecessary tissue fragments generated by emulsification or the like are removed by the suction device
And is removed via the suction tube 27. At this time, as an auxiliary liquid for assisting the suction and removal of unnecessary tissue pieces, sterilized physiological saline is supplied through the distal end of the handpiece 20 or through a separately provided water supply nozzle (not shown). The physiological saline is released to the living tissue portion of the subject that is in contact with the action section 22 through the contact portion. Thus, the living tissue portion is washed with the physiological saline, and unnecessary pieces of tissue together with the physiological saline are aspirated. It is sucked from the port 25 and discharged.

An overall system diagram of the ultrasonic therapy apparatus of the present invention including the applicator 1 and the handpiece 20 is shown in FIG. 5, and reference is now made to this system diagram. Next, the overall operation of the ultrasonic therapy apparatus according to the present invention will be described. In FIG. 5, the same parts as those in FIGS. 1 to 4 and 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals. As shown in the system diagram of FIG. 5, the applicator 1 and the handpiece 20 included in the ultrasonic treatment apparatus of the present invention are supplied with a drive signal from the drive unit 2 via a matching unit 31 and a switch 32. To be supplied selectively. The drive unit 2 is provided with a signal generator 2a and a signal amplifier 2b. In response to switching between the applicator 1 and the handpiece 20 by the switching unit 32, under the control of the control unit 7. Then, the frequency of the drive signal generated by the signal generator 2a, the amplification conditions in the signal amplifier 2b, and the impedance matching conditions in the matching unit 31 are adjusted. This is because the driving frequency and the power of the applicator 1 and the handpiece 20 are different from each other, and the driving frequency of the ultrasonic transducer such as the piezoelectric element (that is, the resonance frequency) is different for each production lot of the applicator 1 and the handpiece 20. ) And the load impedance are slightly different, and it is necessary to adjust the signal side to conditions suitable for these driving. Therefore, the applicator 1
Each of the handpieces 20 is provided with an ID code indicating a unique characteristic such as a resonance frequency, and the control unit 7 reads the ID code to generate a piezoelectric element group 1b of the applicator 1 which is a source of ultrasonic waves. Alternatively, the characteristics of the ultrasonic vibrator 21 of the handpiece 20, such as the natural vibration frequency and impedance, are known, and the signal generator 2a and the matching unit 31 are adjusted according to the characteristics, and the applicator 1 and the handpiece are adjusted under optimal conditions. 20 is driven.

Therefore, the applicator 1 and the handpiece 20 are provided with the piezoelectric element group 1b and the ultrasonic vibrator 2 respectively.
A drive signal under conditions suitable for 1 is supplied via the drive unit 2, the matching unit 31, and the switch 32. In addition, information such as the natural vibration frequency and the impedance includes an ID code,
What is necessary is just to take in by the control part 7 via the information transmission mediums, such as a bar code, IC memory, and a memory card. 7 may be input. Therefore, the control unit 7 includes an input device 33 having a keyboard, a trackball, a mouse, and the like.
Is connected. Therefore, the operator operates the input device 33
By manipulating, the natural vibration frequency and impedance suitable for the piezoelectric element group 1b and the ultrasonic vibrator 21 can be appropriately set. Further, the output level of the ultrasonic wave irradiated to the subject is set by the input device 33. Therefore, the control unit 7 controls the gain of the signal amplifier 2b provided in the drive unit 2 based on the instruction, and controls the strength of the drive signal supplied to the selected applicator 1 or the handpiece 20. I do. The piezoelectric element group 1b of the applicator 1 and the ultrasonic vibrator 21 of the handpiece 20 generate heat when driven to generate ultrasonic waves. When the ultrasonic output is small, this heat is negligible,
As the output increases, a cooling mechanism is required to maintain the desired performance. Therefore, the ultrasonic therapy apparatus of the present invention has the liquid reservoir 30 for storing and holding an auxiliary liquid for use for cooling or cleaning, that is, a sterilized saline solution.

As described above, the physiological saline held in the liquid reservoir 30 is discharged toward the living body for washing the living body when the aspirate of the solid organ is removed.
Further, it is also used to cool the piezoelectric element 1b of the applicator 1 and the ultrasonic vibrator 21 of the handpiece 20. Therefore, since the liquid content of the liquid reservoir 30 decreases with use, the weight of the liquid reservoir 30 is constantly monitored by the torque sensor 35, and when the weight falls below a certain value, it is determined that the remaining amount has decreased. An alarm 36 is provided for notifying. The liquid reservoir 30 is shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, for example, the tube 37 is suspended from a support 36 fixed to the ultrasonic therapy apparatus main body 10, and a tube 37 is passed from the liquid reservoir 30 to a beristalic pump 38.
Are connected to the applicator 1 and the handpiece 20 via the. Then, the sterilized saline stored in the liquid reservoir 30 is reliably fed into the applicator 1 and the handpiece 20 by squeezing the tube 37 by the belly-steric pump 38. Therefore,
In order to cool the piezoelectric element group 1b provided in the applicator 1, to cool the ultrasonic vibrator when using the handpiece 20, or to wash a living tissue which is a treatment target site of the subject. used.

By the way, a torque sensor 35 (see FIG. 5) not shown in FIG. 1 is arranged at the base of the support 36 which suspends the liquid reservoir 30.
Therefore, if the physiological saline is sufficiently stored in the liquid reservoir 30, the torque acting on the base of the support 36 is large,
The weight can be calculated from the torque detected by the torque sensor 35 and the value can be displayed on a monitor or converted into a remaining amount and displayed. It should be noted that a weight sensor composed of a spring, a limit switch, or the like may be used in place of the torque sensor 35, and the remaining amount of the physiological saline stored in the liquid reservoir 30 decreases, and the remaining amount falls below a certain threshold. In such a case, a notification sound may be generated or a warning lamp may blink to warn the operator. In this manner, the replenishment of the physiological saline or the replacement of the liquid reservoir 30 can be performed in advance. For example, during a prolonged cautery, the physiological saline for cooling becomes insufficient, and Can be prevented from being interrupted. In addition,
In the above embodiment, when the living tissue is emulsified by the handpiece 20, the use of the physiological saline for washing the tissue has been described. However, the piezoelectric element of the applicator 1 is not used without using the handpiece 20. When used only for cooling the group 1b, the used saline is collected in the liquid reservoir 30 or a cooling mechanism is added to the liquid reservoir 30 to maintain the saline at a predetermined temperature. You may. Further, separate liquid reservoirs 30 may be provided for cleaning and cooling, or one liquid reservoir 30 may be provided.
Saline or applicator 1 or handpiece 2
It may be switched to 0 and supplied.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, a mounting portion 51 for mounting the imaging ultrasonic probe 5 provided on the applicator 1 has a specific imaging suitable for the present ultrasonic therapy apparatus so as to exhibit good detachability and high accuracy. The ultrasonic probe 5 is inserted. However, it is desirable that other ultrasonic probe for imaging for an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and a commercially available ultrasonic probe for imaging can be used in the present ultrasonic therapy apparatus. Therefore, a mounting jig for mounting various ultrasonic probes for imaging may be provided outside the applicator 1 so that an ultrasonic image of a treatment site can be observed from an oblique direction. Further, the switch 32 may be arranged before the matching unit 31 or before the signal amplifier 2b. However, in that case, some components may be added to the front side or the rear side of the switch 32.

[0021]

As described in detail above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the ultrasonic probe for imaging is attached to the applicator via the ultrasonic wave propagation path which blocks the ultrasonic wave which is not intended. In addition, it is possible to prevent a reflected wave of a strong ultrasonic wave for treatment emitted from the applicator onto the subject from being input to the ultrasonic probe for imaging, thereby protecting the ultrasonic probe for imaging. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the main driving unit of the ultrasonic treatment apparatus main body includes an applicator that irradiates powerful ultrasonic waves for treatment and a handpiece that emulsifies living tissue by ultrasonic waves. Can be used, and the problem that the operating room becomes too small can be solved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of an ultrasonic therapy apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view shown for explaining a use situation of an applicator in the ultrasonic therapy apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing details of a mounting portion for mounting an imaging ultrasonic probe to an applicator.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of a handpiece provided in the ultrasonic therapy apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a system diagram showing one embodiment of an ultrasonic therapy apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a system diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conventional ultrasonic therapy apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Applicator 2 Drive part 2a Signal generator 2b Signal amplifier 3 Water unit 4 Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 5 Imaging ultrasonic probe 6 Monitor 7 Control part 20 Handpiece 30 Liquid reservoir 31 Matching part 32 Switching device 33 Input device 35 Torque sensor 36 Alarm 51 Mounting part 54 Opening / closing mechanism

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A treatment ultrasonic irradiation means for irradiating treatment ultrasonic waves to a treatment site of a subject, and a treatment ultrasonic irradiation means provided near the treatment ultrasonic irradiation means, the treatment ultrasonic irradiation means being provided near the treatment site of the subject. In an ultrasonic treatment apparatus comprising: an imaging ultrasonic transmission / reception unit for transmitting / receiving an ultrasonic wave for observing an image, a reflected wave of the treatment ultrasonic wave irradiated by the treatment ultrasonic irradiation unit, An ultrasonic treatment apparatus, comprising: a non-target ultrasonic wave incidence preventing means for preventing the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving means for imaging from being incident. 2. The non-target ultrasonic wave incidence preventing means includes an ultrasonic wave on an ultrasonic reflector provided for attaching the imaging ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving means near the therapeutic ultrasonic wave irradiating means. The ultrasonic treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic treatment apparatus is a cylinder having an absorber. 3. The non-target ultrasonic wave incidence blocking means is provided on the front surface of the imaging ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving means provided in the vicinity of the therapeutic ultrasonic wave irradiation means so as to be openable and closable. The ultrasonic treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 4. The ultrasonic treatment according to claim 3, wherein the opening and closing of the non-target ultrasonic wave incidence preventing unit is controlled in synchronization with a drive signal for driving the therapeutic ultrasonic irradiation unit. apparatus. 5. A treatment ultrasonic irradiation means for irradiating treatment ultrasonic waves to a treatment site of a subject, a living tissue at a treatment site of the subject is emulsified by ultrasonic vibration, and the emulsification is carried out in accordance with the emulsification. Ultrasonic treatment means for aspirating and removing unnecessary unnecessary living tissue, drive signal supply means for switching and supplying drive signals to the treatment ultrasonic irradiation means and the ultrasonic treatment means, and the treatment ultrasonic waves Control means for controlling the drive signal supplied from the drive signal supply means in accordance with the switching between the irradiation means and the ultrasonic treatment means, so as to be suitable for the selected treatment ultrasonic irradiation means or ultrasonic treatment means. An ultrasonic therapy apparatus, comprising: 6. The treatment ultrasonic irradiation unit and the ultrasonic treatment unit each include a piezoelectric element.
6. The ultrasonic treatment according to claim 5, wherein each of the piezoelectric elements has unique information indicating an optimum driving condition, and the driving signal supply unit is set to a driving condition corresponding to the unique information. apparatus. 7. An auxiliary liquid storing means for storing an auxiliary liquid released to a treatment site of the subject in order to aspirate and remove unnecessary living tissue generated by operating the ultrasonic treatment means. And an alarm generating means for detecting a remaining liquid amount of the auxiliary liquid in the auxiliary liquid storing means and generating an alarm when the remaining liquid amount falls below a predetermined value. The ultrasonic treatment device according to claim 5 or claim 6. 8. The treatment liquid, wherein the auxiliary liquid stored in the auxiliary liquid storage means is used as a cooling liquid for cooling the ultrasonic element for treatment and / or the piezoelectric element of the ultrasonic treatment means. The ultrasonic treatment apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the ultrasonic treatment is supplied to an ultrasonic irradiation unit and / or the ultrasonic treatment unit.