JP2020049389A - Ultrasonic therapeutic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an ultrasonic therapeutic apparatus capable of comfortable treatment by measuring temperature of an ultrasonic vibrator accurately.SOLUTION: An ultrasonic therapeutic apparatus includes: an ultrasonic vibrator; a cover to which the ultrasonic vibrator is fitted; a casing to which the cover is fitted; a first temperature sensor measuring temperature of the ultrasonic vibrator; a substrate holding the first temperature sensor; a bottom surface part which is provided between the ultrasonic vibrator and the first temperature sensor, has an opening in an area where the ultrasonic vibrator and the first temperature sensor face each other and is electrically connected to the cover; a first electrode connecting the substrate and the bottom surface part; and a second electrode connecting the substrate and the ultrasonic vibrator.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic therapy device.

  Conventionally, in the treatment of fractures and the like, an ultrasonic fracture treatment device that promotes the formation of new biological tissue and bone tissue by applying ultrasonic vibration to the affected area, and an ultrasonic treatment device that reduces muscle pain and joint pain Are known.

  In such an ultrasonic treatment device, ultrasonic vibration is generated by energizing an ultrasonic transducer inside the device. Ultrasonic waves generated by the ultrasonic vibrator are sent to the skin of the affected part via, for example, a metal probe head. Here, it is known that when the ultrasonic transducer is driven for a long time, heat is generated. If the heat generated by the ultrasonic vibrator is continuously applied to the affected area, there is a concern that it may affect the skin surface.

  Therefore, a technique has been proposed in which a temperature sensor is provided in the ultrasonic transducer and the probe head to detect the temperature (for example, see Patent Document 1 below).

Japanese Patent No. 3783339

  However, when another device such as a temperature sensor is brought into contact with the ultrasonic vibrator, the characteristics of the ultrasonic vibrator may change. For this reason, for example, a desired frequency cannot be generated, which may affect the therapeutic effect. Further, when the ultrasonic vibrator and the temperature sensor are brought into contact with each other, thermal resistance is generated between the ultrasonic vibrator and the temperature sensor, so that sufficient responsiveness may not be obtained. Therefore, there is a need for a technique capable of accurately and quickly measuring the temperature of an ultrasonic transducer without affecting the characteristics of the transducer.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provides an ultrasonic treatment device capable of performing comfortable treatment by accurately and quickly measuring the temperature of an ultrasonic transducer. With the goal.

  An ultrasonic therapy device according to a first aspect of the present invention measures an ultrasonic transducer, a cover to which the ultrasonic transducer is attached, a casing to which the cover is attached, and a temperature of the ultrasonic transducer. A first temperature sensor, a substrate holding the first temperature sensor, and a region provided between the ultrasonic transducer and the first temperature sensor, wherein the ultrasonic transducer and the first temperature sensor face each other. Having an opening, a bottom portion electrically connected to the cover, a first electrode connecting the substrate and the bottom portion, and a second electrode connecting the substrate and the ultrasonic transducer. Prepare.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an ultrasonic treatment device capable of performing comfortable treatment by accurately and quickly measuring the temperature of the ultrasonic transducer.

1 is an overall view of an ultrasonic therapy device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the probe according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing an internal equivalent circuit of a temperature sensor concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram of an apparatus main part in an ultrasonic therapy device concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing the modification of the probe concerning the embodiment of the present invention.

[First embodiment]
A first embodiment of the ultrasonic therapy device 100 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The ultrasonic treatment device 100 includes a probe 10 having a built-in ultrasonic transducer 11 and a device main body 20 for controlling electric power, a drive signal, and the like supplied to the probe 10. The practitioner grasps the probe 10 by hand, approaches the affected part of the patient, and performs a treatment using ultrasound. The frequency and intensity (amplitude) of the ultrasonic wave emitted from the probe 10 are adjusted on the apparatus main body 20. The apparatus main body 20 and the probe 10 are connected to each other by a cable 30 for transmitting and receiving various signals such as a drive signal.

  On the outer surface of the apparatus main body 20, a display window 21 for allowing a practitioner to visually recognize various kinds of information, a knob 22 for adjusting the output of ultrasonic waves, and the like are provided as an example.

  The probe 10 includes an ultrasonic vibrator 11 that emits ultrasonic waves, a sensor unit 12, a metal cover 13 that covers the ultrasonic vibrator 11 and the sensor unit 12 from outside, and the cover 13 and the ultrasonic vibrator 11. And a conductive metal fitting 11 </ b> A for electrically connecting the ground electrode of the ultrasonic vibrator 11 to the substrate 15 via the metal cover 13 in the casing 14.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the ultrasonic vibrator 11 is an electronic component formed in a cylindrical shape about the axis A, and is driven by an externally applied voltage to generate ultrasonic waves. ,Output. The ultrasonic transducer 11 is electrically connected to the substrate 15 via a plurality of (four) electrodes 16. The four electrodes 16 are linearly arranged at intervals in a direction intersecting the axis A. Of these four electrodes 16, a pair of electrodes 16 (electrodes 16G) located radially outside of the axis A are ground electrodes, and the other pair of electrodes 16 (electrodes 16P) located radially inside are , And a power supply terminal for the ultrasonic transducer 11. The electrode 16G as a ground electrode is electrically connected to the ultrasonic vibrator 11 via the conductive metal fitting 11A. On the other hand, the electrode 16 </ b> P as a power supply terminal is directly connected to the ultrasonic transducer 11.

  The conductive fitting 11 </ b> A has a disk-shaped bottom part 111 spreading in a plane intersecting with the axis A, a plurality of contact parts 112 which come into contact with the ultrasonic transducer 11 by protruding in a direction orthogonal to the bottom part 111, have. A plurality of contact portions 112 are provided at intervals in the outer peripheral direction of the bottom surface portion 111.

  An opening is formed in a region including the center of the bottom portion 111 and facing the sensor portion 12 in the direction of the axis A. Through this opening, the sensor section 12 can measure the temperature of the ultrasonic transducer 11 in a non-contact manner.

  The contact portion 112 is in contact with both the metal cover 13 and the electrode 16G serving as the ground electrode.

  The substrate 15 has a plate shape extending in a plane intersecting the axis A. On the surface of the substrate 15, printed wiring and other elements (not shown) are mounted. Further, the plurality of electrodes 16 (electrode 16G, electrode 16P) are connected to the substrate 15 respectively.

  In the present embodiment, the ultrasonic transducer 11 and the substrate 15 are separated from each other in the direction of the axis A. In other words, a gap is formed between the ultrasonic transducer 11 and the substrate 15 in the direction of the axis A. The sensor unit 12 is fixed on the substrate 15 so as to face the ultrasonic transducer 11 via the gap.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the sensor unit 12 is a disc-shaped electronic circuit element having a smaller diameter than the ultrasonic transducer 11. Of the two surfaces in the direction of the axis A of the sensor unit 12, the surface facing the ultrasonic transducer 11 side is a measurement surface 12S for measuring the radiation temperature of the opposing object. That is, the temperature of the outer surface of the ultrasonic transducer 11 is measured by the sensor unit 12 via the measurement surface 12S.

  More specifically, the sensor unit 12 has a thermopile as the first temperature sensor 17 and a thermistor as the second temperature sensor 18, as shown in FIG. The thermopile is formed by connecting a plurality of thermocouples in series, and outputs the temperature as a current value to the outside based on infrared radiation from an object.

  As the thermistor, a species called an NTC-type thermistor (Negative Temperature Coefficient-type thermistor) is suitably used. In this type of thermistor, the internal resistance decreases in proportion to the temperature of the object. Therefore, the temperature of the object can be measured by applying a voltage from the outside and detecting a change in the amount of current during the temperature measurement. In the present embodiment, the ambient temperature around the ultrasonic transducer 11 is measured by the thermistor as the second temperature sensor 18.

  Note that a specific example of the sensor unit 12 as described above includes 10TP583T manufactured by Semitec Corporation. In this type of sensor, the first temperature sensor 17 and the second temperature sensor 18 are integrally formed as a single package. Thereby, the size of the installation space for the components can be suppressed.

  The cover 13 is a bottomed cylindrical metal component that covers the ultrasonic transducer 11 from the outside. Desirably, the cover 13 is made of a material that is easy to process, such as aluminum. A surface on one side in the axial direction of the cover 13 (that is, a surface exposed to the outside) is a contact surface 13S for making contact with an affected part of a patient during treatment.

  The probe 10 configured as described above emits ultrasonic waves through control and adjustment on the apparatus main body 20. As shown in FIG. 4, the device main body 20 includes an electronic circuit unit 23 including a power supply circuit 231, a drive signal generation unit 232, and a control unit 233, a housing 24 that accommodates the electronic circuit unit 23, It has.

  The power supply circuit 231 is connected to an external power supply. The power supply circuit 231 supplies power to the drive signal generation unit 232 and the control unit 233. The drive signal generation unit 232 generates a drive signal under the control of the control unit 233, and outputs the generated drive signal to the ultrasonic transducer 11.

  The control unit 233 includes a compensation calculation unit 234, a comparison calculation unit 235, an error notification unit 236, and an error notification unit 237. Temperature values (first temperature value T1 and second temperature value T2) are input as electric signals from the thermopile as the first temperature sensor 17 and the thermistor as the second temperature sensor 18 to the compensation calculation unit 234, respectively. Is done. The compensation calculation unit 234 subtracts these two pieces of input temperature information. More specifically, the compensation calculation unit 234 subtracts the second temperature value T2 from the first temperature value T1.

  Here, the first temperature value T1 is a value affected by the amount of heat around the ultrasonic transducer 11. This ambient temperature is substantially equivalent to the value measured by the thermistor as the second temperature sensor 18. Therefore, the compensation operation unit 234 compensates for the first temperature value T1 by subtracting the ambient temperature as the second temperature value T2 from the temperature value of the ultrasonic transducer 11 as the first temperature value T1. Thereby, the compensated temperature value of the ultrasonic transducer 11 (compensated temperature value Tc) is calculated.

  Subsequently, the compensation temperature value Tc is input to the comparison operation unit 235. The comparison operation unit 235 compares the compensation temperature value Tc with a predetermined threshold Th. Here, the threshold value Th refers to a temperature value at which the patient (affected part) is not affected by a burn or the like in performing the ultrasonic treatment. When the comparison operation unit 235 determines that the input compensation temperature value Tc is higher than the threshold Th, it sends a command to the error notification unit 236.

  When a command is input from the comparison calculation unit 235, the error notification unit 236 drives the error notification unit 237 to notify the practitioner that the temperature of the ultrasonic transducer 11 (compensation temperature value Tc) exceeds the threshold Th. Is not suitable for the operation. Here, as the error notifying means 237, a suitable one may be appropriately selected from all kinds of notifying means such as a lamp and a vibration in addition to a notifying means using a sound such as a buzzer.

  In the ultrasonic treatment device 100 as described above, ultrasonic waves are generated by energizing the ultrasonic transducer 11 inside the device. The ultrasonic waves generated by the ultrasonic vibrator 11 are sent to the affected skin via a metal cover 13. Here, it is known that when the ultrasonic transducer 11 is driven for a long time, heat is generated. If the heat generated by the ultrasonic transducer 11 is continuously applied to the affected area, there is a concern that the heat may affect the skin surface.

Thus, in the ultrasonic therapy device 100 according to the present embodiment, the temperature of the outer surface of the ultrasonic transducer 11 is measured by the sensor unit 12. In particular, according to the above configuration, since the ultrasonic vibrator 11 and the sensor unit 12 are not in contact with each other, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the sensor unit 12 affects the characteristics of the ultrasonic vibrator 11. Can be.
Further, since the sensor section 12 is provided inside the casing 14 and is not exposed to the outside, the inside of the casing 14 can have a waterproof structure by separately providing, for example, waterproof packing. Further, since the sensor unit 12 can be accommodated inside the casing 14, the unevenness due to the sensor unit 12 is not exposed to the outside. Therefore, comfortable treatment can be performed without causing discomfort to the patient.

  Further, according to the above configuration, the temperature of the outer surface of the ultrasonic transducer 11 is measured by the first temperature sensor 17 and the ambient temperature of the surroundings is measured by the second temperature sensor 18. Further, by subtracting the second temperature value T2 measured by the second temperature sensor 18 from the first temperature value T1 measured by the first temperature sensor 17, the measurement result based on the temperature around the ultrasonic transducer 11 is obtained. Can be compensated for.

  In addition, according to the above configuration, the measurement result of the sensor unit 12 is compared with the threshold value Th, and when the temperature is higher than the threshold value Th, the error notification unit 236 notifies error information. From this error information, the practitioner can easily know the temperature state of the ultrasonic transducer 11. Furthermore, the practitioner who has recognized the error information can reduce the burden on the patient during treatment by waiting until the temperature of the ultrasonic transducer 11 has fallen to an appropriate temperature.

  Further, according to the above configuration, since a thermopile (infrared temperature sensor) is used as the first temperature sensor 17, heat resistance is hardly generated between the first temperature sensor 17 and the object (ultrasonic transducer 11). Therefore, temperature measurement can be performed with sufficient responsiveness. Here, when the first temperature sensor 17 is of a type that performs temperature measurement while being in contact with an object, the responsiveness of the temperature measurement may be impaired by thermal resistance generated between the object and the temperature sensor. There is. However, according to the configuration described above, since the target does not contact the first temperature sensor 17, the possibility that the responsiveness is deteriorated can be reduced.

  The embodiment of the invention has been described with reference to the drawings. However, the above configuration is merely an example, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, unlike the above embodiment, the probe 10 may be configured as shown in FIG. In the configuration shown in the drawing, the cover 13 includes a housing bottom 133 that houses the ultrasonic transducer 11, a tapered expanding portion 134 that gradually expands in diameter from the housing bottom 133 toward the other side in the axis A direction, An outer cylindrical portion 135 extending further from the enlarged diameter portion 134 toward the other side in the axis A direction.

  Of the four electrodes 16 described above, the electrode 16G serving as a ground electrode is in contact with the enlarged diameter portion 134 from the other side in the direction of the axis A. The electrode 16P as a power supply terminal has a larger dimension in the direction of the axis A than the electrode 16G. Thus, the electrode 16P is in contact with the ultrasonic transducer 11 housed in the housing bottom 133 from the other side in the direction of the axis A. The ultrasonic vibrator 11 of this example has a smaller physical size than the ultrasonic vibrator 11 described in the above embodiment.

  With the above configuration, the same operation and effect as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. Furthermore, in the above configuration, since the probe 10 can be configured without using the conductive fitting 11A, the manufacturing cost can be suppressed. Further, since the area and size of the ultrasonic transducer 11 (and the housing bottom 133) are smaller than those of the probe 10 shown in the above embodiment, the ultrasonic waves can be concentrated on a smaller area on the affected part. Thereby, it is possible to perform an efficient treatment in a short time.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Probe 11 ... Ultrasonic vibrator 11A ... Conductive metal fitting 12 ... Sensor part 13 ... Cover 14 ... Casing 15 ... Substrate 16 ... Electrode 17 ... First temperature sensor 18 ... Second temperature sensor 20 ... Device main body 21 ... Display window 22 ... Knob 23. Electronic circuit part 24. Casing 30. Cable 100. Ultrasonic treatment device 111... Bottom part 112. Contact part 133... Accommodating bottom part 134. Generation unit 233 Control unit 234 Compensation calculation unit 235 Comparison calculation unit 236 Error notification unit 237 Error notification unit 12S Measurement surface A Axis T1 First temperature value T2 Second temperature value Tc Compensation temperature value Th: threshold value

Claims (1)

An ultrasonic transducer,
A cover to which the ultrasonic vibrator is attached,
A casing to which the cover is attached,
A first temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the ultrasonic transducer;
A substrate holding the first temperature sensor;
A bottom portion provided between the ultrasonic transducer and the first temperature sensor, having an opening in a region where the ultrasonic transducer and the first temperature sensor face each other, and electrically connected to the cover; When,
A first electrode connecting the substrate and the bottom portion;
A second electrode connecting the substrate and the ultrasonic transducer,
An ultrasonic treatment device comprising:

Images