JP2021153965A - Ultrasonic therapy apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an ultrasonic therapy apparatus capable of reducing generation of unnecessary electromagnetic waves.SOLUTION: An HIFU transducer 6 of the ultrasonic therapy apparatus comprises a housing 7 including a principal surface 30, a first area 31 located at least at the principal surface 30 and a second area 32 different from the first area 31, and a transducer 33 composed of a plurality of piezoelectric elements disposed to face the first area 31 of the principal surface 30 in the housing 7. A first ultrasonic attenuator 34 is installed at a boundary area located including a boundary of the first area 31 and the second area 32 of the housing 7, and a second ultrasonic attenuator 37 is installed at a penetration part 36 located at the principal surface 30 and disposed to penetrate from an opening 35 enclosed by the first area 31.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present disclosure relates to an ultrasonic therapy device for treating an affected area by irradiating an ultrasonic wave from outside the body to the inside of the body.

High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) is a device that irradiates the affected area such as bone cancer and bone pain area with focused ultrasonic waves from outside the body to the inside of the body to non-invasively cauterize the affected area. Transducers are known. Such conventional techniques are described in, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2.

Special Fair 7-38858 Gazette Japanese Patent No. 5492822

When measuring an electromagnetic wave generated from a weak piezoelectric body such as a bone, a weak electromagnetic wave signal of the bone cannot be obtained due to an unnecessary electromagnetic wave generated from the HIFU transducer itself.

In such an ultrasonic therapy device, it is required to reduce the generation of unnecessary electromagnetic waves.

The ultrasonic therapy apparatus of the present disclosure includes a housing having a main surface, a first region located at least on the main surface, and a second region different from the first region.
In the housing, a plurality of piezoelectric elements arranged so as to face the first region of the main surface, and
It is characterized by including an ultrasonic attenuator arranged in a boundary region located including a boundary between the first region and the second region of the housing.

According to the ultrasonic therapy apparatus of the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce the generation of unnecessary electromagnetic waves.

It is a side view which shows the structure of the ultrasonic therapy apparatus of one Embodiment of the 1st ultrasonic attenuator of this disclosure. It is a side view which shows the HIFU transducer. It is a graph which shows the change of the electromagnetic wave intensity by the presence / absence of the 1st ultrasonic attenuator, and the difference in height. It is a graph which shows the change of the electromagnetic wave intensity by the presence / absence of the 1st ultrasonic attenuator, and the difference in height. It is a graph which shows the change of the electromagnetic wave intensity by the presence / absence of the 1st ultrasonic attenuator, and the difference in height. It is a graph which shows the change of the electromagnetic wave intensity by the presence / absence of the 1st ultrasonic attenuator, and the difference in height. It is a figure which shows the change of the coil voltage with respect to the protrusion amount of the 1st ultrasonic attenuator. It is a side view which shows the structure of the ultrasonic therapy apparatus of one Embodiment of the 2nd ultrasonic attenuating body of this disclosure. It is a figure which shows the change of the coil voltage with respect to the protrusion amount of the 2nd ultrasonic attenuator. It is a figure which shows typically the state of irradiating the affected part 1 of a patient P with ultrasonic waves from a diagnostic ultrasonic probe.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the ultrasonic therapy apparatus of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of an ultrasonic therapy apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The basic configuration of the ultrasonic therapy apparatus of this embodiment will be described. The ultrasonic therapy apparatus of the present embodiment includes an ultrasonic irradiation unit 2 that irradiates the affected area 1 of the patient P with ultrasonic waves, and a measurement unit 3 that measures the temperature of the affected area 1 based on the electromagnetic waves induced by the ultrasonic waves. , Equipped with.

The measuring unit 3 is located away from the ultrasonic irradiation unit 2 and the affected area 1 so that the first electromagnetic wave generated from the affected area 1 by ultrasonic waves and the second electromagnetic wave generated from the measuring unit 3 itself by ultrasonic waves do not interfere with each other. doing. For example, the measuring unit 3 is located on the axis L connecting the ultrasonic wave irradiation unit 2 and the focusing point m where the ultrasonic waves are focused. In this case, the affected area 1 is located between the ultrasonic wave irradiation unit 2 and the measurement unit 3. The ultrasonic wave irradiation unit 2 and the measurement unit 3 are housed in a box-shaped structure 20 that defines an electromagnetic wave shielding room (that is, a shield room or an electromagnetic wave shielding space) in order to block electromagnetic waves.

Further, the ultrasonic therapy apparatus includes a first waveguide 4 in which a fluid having a dielectric constant higher than air is sealed, and a second waveguide 5 in which a fluid having a dielectric constant higher than air is sealed. You may. The first waveguide 4 is arranged between the ultrasonic irradiation unit 2 and the affected area 1. The second waveguide 5 is arranged between the measuring unit 3 and the affected area 1. The measuring unit 3 is arranged in the second waveguide 5. These first waveguide 4 and second waveguide 5 are also called balloons, and in the first waveguide 4 and the second waveguide 5, for example, as a fluid having a higher dielectric constant than air, for example. Pure water may be sealed.

The first waveguide 4 and the second waveguide 5 are configured by using a transparent or translucent film made of resin, and degassed cold water (in this case, water temperature) produced by a cooling water generating portion (not shown). Approximately 18 ° C.) circulates with the cooling water generator, so that the water temperature in the first waveguide 4 and the second waveguide 5 is maintained at a constant temperature, and the first waveguide 4 and the second waveguide 5 are kept at a constant temperature. 2 The surface of the body in contact with the lower part (bottom) of the waveguide 5 can be cooled.

The reason why the body surface of the patient P (the skin surface of the ultrasonic irradiation target site) is cooled by the first waveguide 4 and the second waveguide 5 is the burns (burns) on the body surface and surface layer due to the ultrasonic irradiation. The cold water to be circulated is circulated in a degassed state in order to reduce the generation of bubbles due to ultrasonic irradiation. Further, the “transparent or translucent” of the first waveguide 4 and the second waveguide 5 in the present embodiment means that the light in the visible light wavelength band and the ultraviolet wavelength band of the resin film used is used. It means that the transmittance is 80% or more.

The ultrasonic therapy device of the present embodiment relieves, for example, bone pain caused by metastatic bone cancer, arthralgia, etc., that is, pain that occurs in a shallow part of the body having a depth of several mm to 30 mm from the body surface. May be used for. The ultrasonic wave irradiation unit 2 includes a high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) transducer 6 including a plurality of vibrators composed of piezoelectric elements, a housing 7 in which the plurality of vibrators are housed, and a housing. It has a drive device 8 that holds the 7 in a displaceable manner.

In the ultrasonic therapy apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the ultrasonic irradiation unit 2 holds a curved disk-shaped HIFU transducer 6 that spreads over the affected area 1 and cooling water for cooling the ultrasonic irradiation target portion of patient P. A first waveguide 4 which is a balloon made of a resin film for the purpose of the ultrasonic wave, and a housing 7 which is suspended on the body of the patient P and which is supported by a driving device 8 and can be moved are mainly configured. Has been done. The connection between each member such as piping and wiring in FIG. 1 is not shown.

A therapeutic support 9 on which the patient can lie on his / her back or lying down is provided below the ultrasonic irradiation unit 2, and a second waveguide 5 is provided below the therapeutic support 9. The second waveguide 5 is composed of a liquid-tight structure that supports the therapeutic support base 9 and has mechanical strength so that pure water can be sealed. The measurement unit 3 and the support device 10 that supports the measurement unit 3 in a displaceable manner are housed in the second waveguide 5.

The HIFU transducer 6 irradiates the affected area 1 with intermittent ultrasonic waves (burst waves), and the coil of the measuring unit 3 detects the electromagnetic waves generated from the affected area 1 at that time. The support device 10 moves the position and posture of the measuring unit 3 to enable efficient reception of electromagnetic waves generated from the affected area 1. If the electromagnetic wave can be measured efficiently, the position of the measuring unit 3 may be fixed.

The drive device 8 of the HIFU transducer 6 radiates ultrasonic waves to any part of the patient on the therapeutic support 9, and the X-axis and Y-axis, as well as the X-axis and Y, which are orthogonal to each other on a horizontal virtual plane. The HIFU transducer 6 is freely moved along the Z axis, which is the height direction perpendicular to the axis, so that the ultrasonic irradiation target portion can be positioned at an appropriate position directly below the HIFU transducer 6.

The drive device 8 irradiates the drive circuit 6a and the power amplifier 6b of the HIFU transducer 6 that irradiates ultrasonic waves, the control device 13 of the drive device 8, the ultrasonic diagnostic device 14 for diagnosing the affected area 1, and the ultrasonic waves to the affected area 1. A control device 16 that is a control mechanism of a device 15 that supplies pure water to the first waveguide 4 and the second waveguide 5 that serve as a path, and a support device 10 of the measurement unit 3 that includes a coil for detecting ultrasonic waves and the like. Is further included. These are controlled by the system controller 17, control values are input from the input device 18, and each control value, measurement data, and the like are displayed as images by the image display device 19. The system controller 17 may be realized by, for example, a personal computer. The input device 18 may be realized by, for example, a keyboard, a touch panel, or the like. The image display device 19 may be realized by, for example, a liquid crystal display device, an EL display device, an LED display device, or the like.

The HIFU transducer 6 is located above the affected portion 1 as a whole, and has a diaphragm and a plurality of vibrators arranged on the diaphragm. The diaphragm has a concave parabolic shape that opens downward. The lower surface of the diaphragm is also referred to as the main surface 30. The plurality of vibrators described above are arranged and arranged on the concave inner surface. That is, a plurality of vibrators are arranged so as to face the main surface 30 of the diaphragm. With this configuration, in the present embodiment, ultrasonic waves can be generated from the main surface 30 of the diaphragm by vibrating the plurality of vibrators. Further, since the main surface 30 of the diaphragm is formed on a curved surface having a radius of curvature that focuses toward the focusing point m, when each oscillator oscillates ultrasonic waves at the same time, the oscillated ultrasonic waves are generated. , Focuses on one point (focusing point) and becomes high density (HIFU).

The radius of curvature of the main surface 30 of the diaphragm may be set to, for example, 1 cm or more and 15 cm or less. Further, the distance from the main surface 30 of the diaphragm to the focusing point m in the Z direction may be set to, for example, 1 cm or more and 15 cm or less.

The diaphragm has, for example, a circular planar shape. Further, the diaphragm has a material such as lead zirconate titanate and can be formed by a conventionally known method. The diameter of the planar shape of the diaphragm may be set to, for example, 1 cm or more and 15 cm or less. The vibrator is, for example, a piezoelectric element. The vibrator has, for example, a piezoelectric material such as lead zirconate titanate, and can be formed by a conventionally known method. The diaphragm may be made of one piezoelectric plate, but may be formed of, for example, a piezoelectric plate for each of a plurality of vibrators 33.

The housing 7 has a container portion and a lid portion. The container portion of the housing 7 supports the lid portion and accommodates a plurality of vibrators. The container portion has a recess that opens downward, and a lid portion is arranged so as to close the opening. Further, in the present embodiment, the lid portion is a diaphragm. Therefore, when the diaphragm (lid) is arranged in the container portion, the plurality of vibrators arranged in the diaphragm are positioned so as to be arranged in the recess. The housing 7 has a material such as polyphenylene sulfide or polysulfone, and is formed by a conventionally known method.

The HIFU transducer 6 (diaphragm) has a disk-like shape that extends above the affected area 1 as described above, because as many oscillators as possible are arranged side by side on a wide surface facing the affected area 1. However, this is to ensure the ultrasonic transmission intensity. Therefore, the shape of the HIFU transducer 6 is not limited to the above-mentioned disk shape or disc shape, and the overall shape of the ultrasonic irradiation unit 2 is particularly large as long as a wide surface facing the affected area 1 can be secured. It is not limited. For example, the outer shape may be circular, quadrangular, or the like, and may have a shape that opens in a concave surface in the direction opposite to the ultrasonic wave irradiation direction, or may have a flat plate shape.

Further, if the vibrator is a phased array type HIFU that can change the focusing point of ultrasonic waves and the depth of field, the radius of curvature of the parabolic shape in the HIFU transducer 6 can be changed or the lower surface is flat. It is also possible to adopt a flat plate-shaped irradiation unit.

Here, when ultrasonic waves propagate through various media, phenomena such as reflection, transmission, refraction, scattering, and attenuation occur. For example, the unique value given by the product of the density ρ of the medium and the speed of sound c is generally called the natural acoustic impedance and is represented by z. When a sound wave is incident on the boundary between media having different impedances, a part of the sound wave is reflected and a part of the sound wave is transmitted.

Further, when the ultrasonic wave propagates through the medium, the amplitude generally gradually decreases and is attenuated. Factors of attenuation include absorption, scattering and reflection. In each feature, the medium is vibrated by ultrasonic waves for absorption, and energy is converted into heat. As for scattering, ultrasonic waves are scattered by minute objects in the medium and the ultrasonic waves in the traveling direction are attenuated. As for the reflection, the ultrasonic wave changes its direction due to the reflection, and the ultrasonic wave in the traveling direction is attenuated.

The ultrasonic attenuator used in the present disclosure is a material that absorbs ultrasonic waves. However, as the ultrasonic attenuator, a material that reflects or scatters ultrasonic waves may be appropriately used. As the material that reflects ultrasonic waves, for example, a foamed polypropylene resin having closed cells may be used. Further, as the material that scatters ultrasonic waves, for example, a carbon fiber reinforced plastic material, silicone rubber to which fine powder of a metal or inorganic material is added, or the like may be used. However, when using these materials, care must be taken not to generate incident waves on the piezoelectric material in the direction in which ultrasonic waves are reflected and scattered.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the HIFU transducer 6. The HIFU transducer 6 of the ultrasonic therapy apparatus has a main surface 30 as described above. Specifically, the HIFU transducer 6 has a housing 7 having a first region 31 located at least on the main surface 30, a second region 32 different from the first region 31, and a main surface 30 in the housing 7. The vibrator 33 composed of a plurality of piezoelectric elements arranged so as to face the first region 31, and the ultrasonic dampening body 34 located in the boundary region including the boundary between the first region 31 and the second region 32 in the housing 7. (First ultrasonic dampening body 34) and. As described above, the present disclosure can reduce major electromagnetic waves such as edge waves generated from the HIFU transducer 6 by providing the ultrasonic attenuator 34. The edge wave is a phenomenon that occurs during ultrasonic propagation and is generated in a portion where there is a sudden change in sound pressure. For example, it is generated from the joint between the vibrator surface and the housing that supports it.

The first region 31 is a vibration region that is directly vibrated by a plurality of vibrators 33 arranged to face the first region 31. In other words, the region in which the plurality of vibrators 33 are installed in the facing region is the first region 31. In the present embodiment, the main surface 30 of the diaphragm (cover portion) of the housing 7 can be regarded as the first region 31.

The second region 32 is a region having a smaller vibration amount than the first region 31. Specifically, the second region 32 refers to a region that indirectly slightly vibrates due to the transmission of vibration of the first region 31, or a region that does not vibrate at all. In other words, it can be said that the region in which the plurality of vibrators 33 are not installed in the facing region is the second region 32. In the present embodiment, the side surface of the container portion of the housing 7 and the like can be regarded as the second region 32.

The boundary region is an region including the boundary between the first region 31 and the second region 32. That is, the boundary region is a region between a region that vibrates directly and a region that vibrates indirectly or does not vibrate, and includes a portion where an edge wave can be generated and a region where the influence of the edge wave is large. Refers to an area. In the present embodiment, it is a region including a contact surface between the container portion and the lid portion of the housing 7 and the contact surface thereof.

Further, the ultrasonic attenuator 34 may be located only on the second region 32 side of the boundary region. That is, the ultrasonic attenuator 34 may be arranged in the second region 32 and may be located in the vicinity of the boundary with the first region 31. In this case, a part of the ultrasonic attenuator 34 is located within 10 mm from the boundary between the first region 31 and the second region 32, for example, in the present embodiment, one of the ultrasonic attenuators 34. The portion is located within 5 mm from the boundary between the container portion and the lid portion of the housing 7. The size of the boundary region may vary depending on various factors such as the output of the HIFU transducer 6, the material of the housing 7 and the ultrasonic attenuator 34.

The HIFU transducer 6 further has an opening 35 located on the main surface 30 and surrounded by the first region 31, and is arranged in a penetrating portion 36 arranged so as to penetrate the housing 7 and a penetrating portion 36. It also includes a second ultrasonic attenuator 37. The main surface 30 is a curved curved surface formed by a part of a spherical surface, and the opening 35 is located at the center of the main surface 30.

The first ultrasonic attenuator 34 has a truncated cone shape that tapers from the main surface 30 toward the focusing point m, and the second ultrasonic attenuator 37 has a cylindrical shape arranged on the inner surface of the penetrating portion 36. be. Since the first ultrasonic attenuator 34 protrudes from the main surface 30, the influence of the side lobe of the ultrasonic wave generated from the HIFU transducer 6 can be reduced. That is, when the HIFU transducer 6 shown in FIG. 2 is taken as an example, the side lobe of the ultrasonic wave of the portion located on the left side of the paper surface reaches the portion located on the right side of the paper surface, and is unnecessary from the arrival point. Electromagnetic waves may be generated. However, according to the present disclosure, the arrival of this side lobe can be reduced by projecting the first ultrasonic attenuator 34 from the main surface 30. It is possible to reduce the generation of unnecessary electromagnetic waves.

Further, the first ultrasonic dampening body 34 is arranged on the focusing point m side of the opening 35 of the probe insertion hole with the focusing point m of the sound waves generated by the plurality of vibrators as the apex, and is arranged on the focusing point m side of the opening 35 of the probe insertion hole. The sound wave extinguishing body 37 may be arranged on the inner side (lower side in FIG. 2) of the conical surface with the peripheral edge of the conical surface having the focusing point m as the apex as the base.

The HIFU transducer 6 includes an ultrasonic probe inserted into a probe insertion hole defined by the inner surface of the penetration portion 36, and the first ultrasonic attenuator 34 described above is installed at the tip of the ultrasonic probe. ing. Further, the above-mentioned second ultrasonic attenuator 37 is installed on the outer peripheral portion of the ultrasonic probe.

These first and second ultrasonic attenuators 34 and 37 can reduce the generation of unnecessary ultrasonic waves derived from the edge wave of the HIFU transducer 6. As a result, the electromagnetic waves generated by those unnecessary ultrasonic waves are reduced, and it becomes possible to obtain a weak electromagnetic wave signal of the bone of the affected part 1. Further, since unnecessary ultrasonic waves derived from the edge wave of the HIFU transducer 6 are reduced, the sound field composed of the original ultrasonic waves emitted from the affected area 1 is not disturbed, and as a result, the sound pressure at the focusing point is increased. Can be obtained.

As the materials of the first and second ultrasonic attenuators 34 and 37, an ultrasonic absorbing material made of urethane resin or silicone resin can be used. Further, although various external and internal ultrasonic absorbers of the first and second ultrasonic attenuators 34 and 37 can be used, those having high ultrasonic absorption capacity may be appropriately adopted. For example, it is also possible to mix two types of substrates to form these ultrasonic absorbers of any suitable shape. The first and second ultrasonic attenuation bodies 34 and 37 have, for example, a characteristic that the attenuation coefficient of ultrasonic waves in water is 0.5 dB / MHz / cm or more and 30 dB / MHz / cm or less.

The HIFU transducer 6 is roughly classified into two types, a short focusing point type and a phased array type. In each type, there is a boundary where the sound pressure suddenly changes between the first region 31 where the vibrator 33 is laid and the housing 7 (second region 32) where the vibrator 33 is not laid, so that boundary. In electromagnetic wave measurement that reduces the generation of edge waves from the portion, reduces the side lobes of ultrasonic waves generated from the first region 31 from entering the other first region 31, and dislikes the mixing of unnecessary ultrasonic waves. , It is effective to install the above-mentioned first and second ultrasonic wave attenuators 34 and 37 on the HIFU transducer 6.

During HIFU treatment, an ultrasonic probe may be used for diagnosis. It is also possible to install first and second ultrasonic attenuators 34 and 37 at the tip of the ultrasonic probe to reduce the generation of edge waves of the HIFU transducer 6 and reduce unnecessary ultrasonic waves and electromagnetic waves derived from them. can. On the other hand, since there is no discontinuous surface in the central portion of the HIFU transducer having no probe insertion hole in the central portion, no edge wave is generated from the peripheral portion of the opening 35, but as in the HIFU transducer 6 of the present embodiment, In the type of ultrasonic dampening body having a probe insertion hole, it is necessary to install first and second ultrasonic dampening bodies 34 and 37 protruding from the surface of the HIFU transducer 6 in order to reduce unnecessary ultrasonic waves.

In the HIFU transducer 6, the tip shape of the first ultrasonic attenuator 34, which is an ultrasonic attenuator inserted into the central portion of the concave main surface 30, is irradiated from the HIFU transducer 6 toward the focusing point m. A cone or a cone stand is preferable so as not to interfere with the sound wave as much as possible. Further, the first and second ultrasonic attenuators 34 and 37 may be located inside a virtual region connecting the inner peripheral edge of the first region 31 of the HIFU transducer 6 and the focusing point m. The height H1 of the tip of the first ultrasonic attenuator 34 should be higher than the height H2 to the lowest point and the outer peripheral edge of the main surface 30 in the first region 31 of the HIFU transducer 6. .. Therefore, it is preferable that the tip of the first ultrasonic attenuator 34 protrudes from a virtual plane including the outer peripheral edge. The height H1 of the first ultrasonic attenuator 34 may be set to, for example, 15 mm or more and 30 mm or less. Further, the height H2 of the main surface 30 of the HIFU transducer 6 may be set to, for example, 10 mm or more and 25 mm or less. Further, the inclination θ1 of the side surface of the first ultrasonic attenuation body 34 may be, for example, 60 ° or more and 80 ° or less. θ1 is set so that, for example, when the side lobe of the ultrasonic wave from the main surface 30 of the HIFU transducer 6 is incident on the side surface of the first ultrasonic attenuator 34, the reflected wave does not return to the main surface 30. I just need to be there.

The HIFU transducer 6 has various shapes. For example, there is also a type in which the HIFU transducer 6 is not cylindrical but rectangular parallelepiped. Further, there is also a phased array type transducer in which the shape of the main surface 30 of the HIFU transducer 6 is not a concave surface but a flat surface. In this case as well, it is desirable to use an appropriate ultrasonic attenuator shape that does not interfere with the ultrasonic waves to be irradiated.

3A to 3D are graphs showing changes in electromagnetic wave intensity due to the presence / absence of the first and second ultrasonic attenuators 34 and 37 and the difference in height. FIG. 3A shows the electromagnetic wave intensity when the first and second ultrasonic attenuators 34 and 37 are not installed, and FIG. 3B shows the first and second ultrasonic waves having a protrusion amount (H1) of 0 mm from the virtual one plane. The electromagnetic wave intensity when the attenuators 34 and 37 are installed is shown, FIG. 3C shows the electromagnetic wave intensity when the first and second ultrasonic wave attenuators 34 and 37 having a protrusion amount of 10 mm are installed, and FIG. 3D shows the protrusion. The electromagnetic wave intensity when the first and second ultrasonic attenuators 34 and 37 having an amount of 20 mm are installed is shown.

In this measurement test, an edge wave is generated at the inner peripheral portion facing the opening 35 of the probe insertion hole at the center of the HIFU transducer 6 and the outer peripheral portion of the HIFU transducer 6, and the geometry of the HIFU transducer 6 used at this time is geometrically generated. The focusing point distance is 100 mm. In the absence of the bone sample, the coil of the measuring unit 3 having an inner diameter of 40 mm was installed so that the center of the coil was 100 mm at the focusing point m of HIFU. Further, the coil of the measuring unit 3 and the vibrator surface of the HIFU transducer 6 were installed so as to be parallel to each other.

Assuming that the speed of sound in water is 1500 m / sec, the ultrasonic waves emitted from the HIFU transducer 6 reach the position of 100 mm where the bone sample is placed in 66.7 μsec. The horizontal axis of FIGS. 3A to 3D is time, and the vertical axis is coil voltage (1.5 mV / div). Here, the coil voltage is a parameter equivalent to the electromagnetic wave intensity. From FIG. 3A, a large coil voltage is generated in a region of 100 mm in which the bone sample is placed (indicated by a broken line frame in the figure, starting at 66.7 μsec). In the first place, background noise derived from the device is generated, but in the condition that there is no bone sample, a large electromagnetic wave is not generated in this region.

As shown in FIGS. 3B to 3D, when the protrusions of the first and second ultrasonic attenuators 34 and 37 at the center of the HIFU transducer 6 are changed to 0 mm, 10 mm, and 20 mm, the coil voltage is the protrusion amount. It was confirmed that the coil voltage in the sample installation area became smaller as it increased.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing changes in the coil voltage with respect to the protrusion amounts of the first and second ultrasonic attenuators 34 and 37, and shows the peak value of the coil voltage in the measured bone sample placement region. As is clear from the figure, it can be seen that the coil voltage in the bone sample placement region decreases as the amount of protrusion of the first and second ultrasonic attenuators 34 and 37 increases. Since the external noise at this time was around 2 mV, it was confirmed that the electromagnetic wave signal of the net bone sample can be obtained by using the first and second ultrasonic attenuators 34 and 37 having a protrusion amount of 20 mm. ..

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration of the ultrasonic therapy apparatus of another embodiment of the present disclosure. The same reference numerals are given to the parts corresponding to the above-described embodiments, and duplicate description will be omitted. The ultrasonic therapy apparatus of this embodiment may have a third ultrasonic attenuator 40. In the present embodiment, the third ultrasonic attenuator 40 is provided in the second region 32, protrudes by the amount of protrusion H3 from the virtual one plane including the peripheral edge of the main surface 30, and covers the outer periphery of the housing 7 of the HIFU transducer 6. It is formed in a cylindrical shape that surrounds up to the bottom 7a.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a change in the coil voltage with respect to the protrusion amount of the ultrasonic attenuator 40, and shows a peak value of the coil voltage in the measured bone sample installation region. In this measurement example, ultrasonic absorbers having different heights were installed on the outer peripheral portion of the HIFU transducer 6 (protrusion amount: 0 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm). As is clear from the figure, it can be seen that the coil voltage in the bone sample installation region decreases as the protrusion amount H3 of the ultrasonic damping body 40 increases. The effect is at most 10%, but it was confirmed that even if the ultrasonic attenuator 40 is installed on the outer periphery, the noise generated in the bone sample installation area is reduced.

In yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, the ultrasonic dampener 34, which is inserted into the probe insertion hole at the center of the HIFU transducer 6 and around the transducer 44 irradiated with the ultrasonic waves of the diagnostic ultrasonic probe 41, By installing 37, as shown in FIG. 7, it is possible to suppress the generation of unnecessary ultrasonic waves even when the affected portion 1 is irradiated with ultrasonic waves.

Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes, improvements, etc. may be made without departing from the gist of the present disclosure. It is possible. Needless to say, all or a part of each of the above embodiments can be combined as appropriate and within a consistent range.

1 Affected part 2 Ultrasonic irradiation part 3 Measuring part 4 1st waveguide 5 2nd waveguide 6 HIFU transducer 6a Drive circuit 6b Power amplifier 7 Housing 8 Drive device 9 Treatment support 10 Support device 13 Control device 14 Super Sound wave diagnostic device 15 Pure water supply device 16 Control device 17 System controller 18 Input device 19 Image display device 20 Box-shaped structure 30 Main surface 31 First area 32 Second area 33 Transducer 34 First ultrasonic damping body 35 Opening 36 Penetration 37 Second ultrasonic dampener 40 Third ultrasonic dampener 41 Ultrasonic probe 43 Body surface 44 Transducer m Focusing point L axis
P patient

Claims (7)

A housing having a main surface, at least a first region located on the main surface, and a second region different from the first region.
In the housing, a plurality of piezoelectric elements arranged so as to face the first region of the main surface, and
An ultrasonic therapy apparatus comprising an ultrasonic attenuator arranged in a boundary region located including a boundary between the first region and the second region of the housing. The ultrasonic therapy apparatus according to claim 1.
The ultrasonic therapy apparatus, wherein the ultrasonic attenuator is located only on the second region side of the boundary region. The ultrasonic therapy apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.
A penetrating portion located on the main surface and having an opening surrounded by the first region and arranged so as to penetrate the housing.
An ultrasonic therapy apparatus comprising an ultrasonic attenuator arranged in the penetrating portion. The ultrasonic therapy apparatus according to claim 3.
The main surface is curved
The opening is an ultrasonic therapy device located at the center of the main surface. The ultrasonic therapy apparatus according to claim 4.
An ultrasonic therapy device in which the ultrasonic attenuator projects from a virtual plane including a peripheral edge of the main surface. The ultrasonic therapy apparatus according to claim 4 or 5.
The ultrasonic damping body is arranged inside a conical surface having a focusing point of ultrasonic waves generated by the plurality of piezoelectric elements as an apex and a peripheral edge of an opening of the penetrating portion as a base. Device. The ultrasonic therapy apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 6.
An ultrasonic therapy apparatus further comprising an annular second ultrasonic attenuator projecting from the peripheral edge of the main surface in the ultrasonic irradiation direction.

Images