JP2008022956A - Ultrasonic tumor therapy apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To align a probe of an ultrasonic tumor therapy apparatus with a tumor easily with high accuracy. <P>SOLUTION: A hole 6 facing a patient's body surface is provided on a central part of a table 1 on which the patient A is placed. An accumulating body 3 which is filled with deaerated water 2 in a manner that the water surface makes contact with the patient's body surface is provided just below the hole. The probe 4 emitting ultrasound to the patient through the deaerated water in the accumulator is provided through a moving mechanism 5. An underwater camera 15 is placed in the accumulator, and the probe is made to face a desired position of the patient's body surface by driving the moving mechanism while the body surface of the patient watched through the hole is imaged by the underwater camera. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for treating a tumor with ultrasound.

  In modern medicine, it has been discovered that tumor cells such as cancer cells are less resistant to heat than normal cells. It is said that tumor cells generally die within 12 hours by heating at 42.5 ° C to 45 ° C, die within about 3 seconds when heated at 60 ° C, and die in about 0.1 seconds at 100 ° C.

  In recent years, it has been proposed to treat a tumor by heating with irradiation of ultrasonic waves (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Ultrasound has good directivity, convergence, energy storage, etc. in the living body. When the amount of stored energy exceeds a certain amount, reaction with the living tissue occurs, and high-temperature reaction, cavitation reaction, etc. occur in the living tissue. Arise. Since ultrasonic waves can cause such reactions and phenomena from outside the living body, there is a feature that treatment can be performed with minimal or no invasiveness.

  In the conventional ultrasonic tumor treatment apparatus, a hole facing the patient's body surface is provided at the center of the table on which the patient rides, and a water bag filled with deaerated water is provided so that the water surface contacts the patient's body surface. The probe that irradiates the patient with ultrasonic waves through the deaerated water in the water bag is attached to the water bag, and the probe is supported by the moving mechanism. The moving mechanism is driven so that the probe faces the patient, and the patient is irradiated with ultrasonic waves through deaerated water in the water bag to treat the tumor generated in the patient's body.

JP 2002-500909 A

  However, since the conventional ultrasonic tumor treatment apparatus has a structure in which a probe is attached to a water bag, the work of directly facing the probe to the affected area of the patient is troublesome and tends to be inaccurate. Inaccurate probe positioning results in poor and inappropriate treatment of the tumor. For this reason, there is a problem that skill is required for positioning the probe. In addition, attempts have been made to use an MRI apparatus for positioning the probe. However, if such an apparatus is incorporated, there is a problem that the ultrasonic tumor treatment apparatus becomes extremely expensive and the structure becomes complicated.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic tumor treatment apparatus that can solve the above-described problems.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following configuration.

  That is, in the invention according to claim 1, a hole (6) facing the body surface of the patient (A) is provided at the center of the table (1) on which the patient (A) rides, and the patient (A ), A reservoir (3) filled with deaerated water (2) so as to be in contact with the body surface is provided directly below the hole (6), and through the deaerated water (2) in this reservoir (3) In the ultrasonic tumor treatment apparatus in which a probe (4) for irradiating a patient with ultrasonic waves is provided via a moving mechanism (5), an underwater camera (15) is installed in the reservoir (3), and the hole While the body surface of the patient (A) peeking from (6) is imaged by the underwater camera (15), the moving mechanism (5) is driven to bring the probe (4) to a desired position on the body surface of the patient (A). It is made to oppose.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the ultrasonic tumor treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the reservoir (3) is a box, and the probe (4) is placed in the box in the moving mechanism (5). And is housed together.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the ultrasonic tumor treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the probe (4) and the underwater camera (15) are fixed in a fixed positional relationship. To do.

  According to the present invention, by using an underwater camera, the probe can be easily and accurately opposed to the tumor (a) of the patient (A), and appropriate treatment can be performed from the beginning.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, this ultrasonic tumor treatment apparatus includes a table 1 on which a patient A rides, a reservoir 3 filled with deaerated water 2, a probe 4, and a moving mechanism 5 for the probe 4. Include as.

  The table 1 has a size that allows the patient A to ride in a desired posture such as the posture in which the patient A is crooked, and is installed substantially horizontally. A hole 6 facing the body surface of the patient A is provided at the center of the table 1. The hole 6 is provided in a desired shape such as a square or a circle.

  The storage body 3 is formed as a water tank-like box installed below the table 1. The deaerated water 2 filled in the reservoir 3 comes into contact with the body surface of the patient A looking through the hole 6 of the table 1.

  In order to receive the supply of deaerated water 2, a water supply unit 7 is connected to the reservoir 3 via a water conduit 7 a. The water supply unit 7 includes a vacuum pump, and water is deaerated by the vacuum pump and supplied to the storage body 3.

  The probe 4 is placed in the reservoir 3 and submerged in the deaerated water 2. The probe 4 includes a B-mode diagnostic ultrasonic generator 4a and a therapeutic ultrasonic generator 4b.

  The probe 4 can be moved in four directions of X, Y, Z, and θ by a moving mechanism 5 as shown in FIG. The probe 4 is set in an appropriate orientation with respect to the tumor a of the patient A by moving in four directions of X, Y, Z, and θ.

  The X direction is the left-right direction in FIG. 1 and is the direction in which the probe 4 is moved along the body length direction of the patient A. The Y direction is the vertical direction of the paper surface in FIG. 1 and is a direction in which the probe 4 is moved on the central axis of the hole 6 to approach or separate from the body surface of the patient A. The Z direction is a direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1 and is a direction in which the probe 4 is moved in the left-right direction of the patient A below the patient A.

  The moving mechanism 5 has an arm 8 that is curved in a circular arc shape that is immersed in the storage body 3, and the probe 4 is held by the arm 8 via a support bar 9. The arm 8 is supported in a floating state in the storage body 3 by a support member 10 extending from outside the storage body 3 into the storage body 3. The probe 4 is driven in three directions X, Y, and Z by three types of servo motors (not shown) installed outside the storage body 3, so that the probe 4 is supported by the arm 8 and moved to a desired position. And move.

  The support member 10 is attached to an XYZ table (not shown) together with the three types of servo motors. However, since the XYZ table is known, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  The θ direction is a direction in which the probe 4 turns on an axis parallel to the Y axis on the support bar 9. The moving mechanism in the θ direction is a rotating cylinder device 14, and the probe 4 is reciprocally swung within an angle range of 90 °, for example, by compressed air from the air supply source 11.

  An underwater camera 15 submerged under the stored deaerated water 2 is installed in the storage body 3. The underwater camera 15 is a waterproof CCD camera, and is fixed to the arm 8 via a connector 8a. Thereby, the probe 4 and the underwater camera 15 are fixed to a fixed positional relationship. The underwater camera 15 is set so that the body surface of the patient A looking through the hole 6 can be imaged, and the body surface of the patient A can be imaged regardless of the position and posture of the probe 4.

  The water supply unit 7, the probe 4, the probe moving mechanism 5 and the like are integrally controlled by a computer 16 as shown in FIG.

  The computer 16 includes a CPU 17, a ROM 18 that stores a control program for operating the CPU 17 in a readable manner in advance, a RAM 19 that temporarily stores data required for control, and the like. A bus 20 that connects the components, an input / output interface 21 that connects the computer 16 and external components, and a controller 22 that controls connection of the components by the bus 20 and the input / output interface 21 are provided.

  The external components controlled by the computer 16 include a water supply unit 7, an underwater camera 15, a diagnostic ultrasonic generator 4 a for the probe 4, a therapeutic ultrasonic generator 4 b for the probe 4, and a monitor 23. An external ROM card 24, an external peripheral switch 25, an X-direction drive motor 28, a Y-direction drive motor 26, a Z-direction drive motor 27, and a θ-direction cylinder drive unit 29. The XYZ direction drive motors 28, 26, and 27 are specifically the servo motors described above, and the θ direction cylinder drive unit 29 is specifically an electromagnetic valve (not shown) for interrupting the compressed air from the air supply source 11. .

  The water supply unit 7 supplies deaerated water into the reservoir 3 by a pump from a water source (not shown). When the deaerated water 2 accumulates to such an extent that the water surface comes into contact with the body surface of the patient A looking through the hole 6 of the table 1, the operator visually confirms this and stops the pump.

  The underwater camera 15 images the body surface of the patient A looking through the hole 6, and the computer 16 displays the image on the monitor 23. For example, a matrix-like mark is marked at the position where the ultrasonic wave is irradiated on the body surface of the patient A. The mark is captured by the underwater camera 15. The computer 16 calculates the positional relationship between the mark on the body surface and the probe 4, drives the moving mechanism 5 based on the calculation result, and controls the probe 4 to a position and posture facing the mark. Further, a doctor or the like can confirm from the image on the monitor 23 whether or not bubbles are generated on the body surface of the patient A, whether or not burns have occurred due to ultrasonic irradiation, and the like.

  The diagnostic ultrasonic generator 4a of the probe 4 irradiates the patient A with ultrasonic waves having a predetermined intensity through the hole 6, and a B-mode tomographic image is displayed on the monitor 23 by echoes of the ultrasonic waves. This tomographic image makes it possible to grasp the state, position, etc. of the tumor of patient A.

  The therapeutic ultrasonic generator 4b of the probe 4 emits pulse power ultrasonic waves by applying a main vibrator signal of 0.8 to 1.7 MHz and a pulse signal from a high frequency power source. Control of the frequency and the like of the high frequency power supply unit is performed by the computer 16 and is adjusted according to the symptom of the patient A, the nature of the tumor a, and the like.

  The external ROM card 24 is a memory for recording the treatment result and the like after treating the tumor a with the ultrasonic waves from the therapeutic ultrasonic wave generation unit 4b of the probe 4.

  The external peripheral switch 25 includes various switches for turning on / off each part of the ultrasonic tumor treatment apparatus.

  The X, Y, and Z direction drive motors 28, 26, and 27 and the θ direction cylinder drive unit 29 are controlled based on signals from sensors such as an encoder (not shown).

  Next, the operation of the ultrasonic tumor treatment apparatus having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  The deaerated water 2 is generated by the water supply unit 7, and after being heated to about 25 ° C. as necessary, water is poured into the reservoir 3. The deaerated water 2 is poured through the hole 6 of the table 1 until it comes into contact with the body surface of the patient A on the table 1 (steps S1, S2).

  The body surface of the patient A looking through the hole 6 of the table 1 is imaged by the underwater camera 15. Further, the patient A is irradiated with B-mode ultrasound from the diagnostic ultrasound generator 4 a of the probe 4. The doctor or the like adjusts and fixes the position and posture of the patient A on the table 1 from the video of the underwater camera 15 displayed on the monitor 23 and the B-mode tomogram (steps S3 and S4).

  The moving mechanism 5 is driven, the probe 4 is moved in various directions of X, Y, Z, and θ, and the probe 4 is aimed at the tumor a (step S5).

  The therapeutic ultrasound generator 4b of the probe 4 is driven (step S6), and the therapeutic ultrasound is irradiated toward the tumor a (step S7).

  A doctor or the like observes the posture of the patient A and the treatment status in real time while watching the video of the underwater camera 15 (step S8).

  If the patient A's position changes or shifts during observation and a poor reaction occurs, an operator such as a doctor presses the stop button 25 to stop the treatment (step S9).

  Further, the change in the thermal response of the tumor a displayed on the monitor 23 is observed to determine the therapeutic effect (step S10). If the therapeutic effect is good, data is created and written to the external ROM card 24 or the like (step S11), and the treatment is terminated. If the therapeutic effect is insufficient, irradiation with therapeutic ultrasonic waves is repeated until the therapeutic effect is sufficiently achieved (step S7).

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the servo motor is used as the driving device in each direction of X, Y, and Z. However, other means such as a hydraulic cylinder device and a pneumatic cylinder device can be used, and θ Although the rotating cylinder device is used as the driving device in each direction, other means such as a servo motor can be used.

It is a conceptual diagram which shows the principal part of the ultrasonic tumor treatment apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the moving mechanism of a probe. It is a block diagram which shows the ultrasonic tumor treatment apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the tumor treatment procedure using the ultrasonic tumor treatment apparatus which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

A ... Patient a ... Tumor 1 ... Table 2 ... Deaerated water 3 ... Reservoir 4 ... Probe 5 ... Moving mechanism 6 ... Hole 15 ... Underwater camera

Claims (3)

  A hole facing the patient's body surface is provided in the center of the table on which the patient rides, and a reservoir filled with deaerated water is provided directly below the hole so as to contact the patient's body surface through the hole. In an ultrasonic tumor treatment apparatus in which a probe that irradiates a patient with ultrasonic waves through deaerated water in the body is provided via a moving mechanism, an underwater camera is installed in the reservoir, and the body surface of the patient looking through the hole is observed. An ultrasonic tumor treatment apparatus, wherein the moving mechanism is driven while taking an image with the underwater camera so that the probe faces a desired position on the body surface of the patient.   2. The ultrasonic tumor treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reservoir is a box, and the probe is housed together with the moving mechanism in the box.   2. The ultrasonic tumor treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the probe and the underwater camera are fixed in a fixed positional relationship.

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