JP2549673B2 - Ultrasound therapy applicator - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an ultrasonic therapeutic applicator for treating a human body by using ultrasonic energy.

(Prior Art) Recently, attempts have been made to crush stones in the body using focused ultrasonic energy. This has attracted attention as a substitute for the calculus crushing device using shock wave energy, which has recently been put into practical use, because it has features such as downsizing, cost reduction, and no need for consumables.

A conventional ultrasonic calculus breaking applicator is composed of a spherical piezoelectric vibrator and focuses ultrasonic energy on the center of the spherical surface.

In such a piezoelectric vibrator, since the sound impact energy emitted from the discharge shock wave type having a reflection plate of the same area is smaller, it is necessary to focus the piezoelectric vibrator with a relatively large area in order to obtain the necessary acoustic energy. is there. However, since the normal piezoelectric vibrator is made of ceramic, there is a limit to the size that can be manufactured with a single concave disk. Therefore, a plurality of unit transducers are combined to secure a necessary area as a whole.

FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (c) show a method conventionally used with such an intention. (A) is a combination of a plurality of circular concave surface transducers 1a to 1g of the same size, but in this case there is a gap between adjacent concave surface transducers, so the space factor becomes low. There is.
(B) 2a of hexagonal concave vibrators of the same size
This is a case where ~ 2g is used, and the space factor is improved compared to (a). However, this method also requires a space gap at the edge of each transducer when the outer diameter of the applicator is limited or when a hole for inserting the ultrasonic probe for imaging is made in the center of the applicator. Actors are expected to get worse. In (c), supplementary small vibrators 4a to 4f are provided only at the edge portion to compensate for this, but since the drive circuit is usually connected to each vibrator individually, the surface area is When different oscillators are used, the electric load changes in proportion to the area, so a drive circuit of different specifications must be provided, making the device complicated and difficult to handle, and also expensive. There was a problem.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, in the conventional ultrasonic therapeutic applicator, a plurality of unit vibrators of the same size and the same shape are used. However, there is a problem that the driving circuit becomes complicated in the case where a plurality of unit oscillators having different surface areas are used in combination.

The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and provides an ultrasonic therapeutic applicator that has a maximum space factor in a limited applicator shape and can simplify the configuration of a drive circuit. The purpose is to do.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means and Actions for Solving Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the ultrasonic therapeutic applicator of the present invention has a vibrator for radiating ultrasonic waves having two or more kinds of shapes. It is characterized in that it is divided into parts and the surface areas of the parts are substantially equal.

With such a configuration and unit oscillators of multiple shapes are used, it is possible to reduce unnecessary gaps between the unit oscillators, and it is possible to maximize the space spacing of the oscillators in a limited applicator shape. Since the actors can be realized and the surface areas of the unit vibrators are substantially equal to each other, the unit vibrators can be driven by the drive circuits having the same specifications, and the overall configuration can be simplified.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In Fig. 1, 11 is the vibrator of the applicator, whose outer diameter is 40
It has a circular concave shape of cm, and has a hole 8 cm in diameter for inserting an ultrasonic probe (not shown) for imaging in the center.
Has an open shape.

The oscillator 11 has 16 types of unit oscillators 13 with two types of shapes.
It is divided into a to 13h and 14a to 14h. That is, the entire vibrator 11 is radially divided from the center into eight parts, and further divided into two concentric circles facing the central hole 12. Eight inner sides of the concentric circles are the unit transducers 13a to 13h having the first type of fan surface, and outer sides are unit transducers 14a to 14h having the second type of fan surface. The concentric circles are these units. Oscillator 13
The diameter is selected so that a to 13h and 14a to 14h have the same area.

By the way, these unit oscillators 13a to 13h and 14a
The electrodes of 14 h have a ground potential on the front side, so there is no problem even if the electrodes of adjacent unit vibrators are connected.

However, since a voltage of 2 to 4 KV is applied to the signal electrode 15 on the rear surface side, as shown in FIG. 2, the electrode-free portion 16 is provided in the adjacent portion with a width of 1 mm or more. This is because each unit oscillator may be driven by a separate drive circuit, and thus a short circuit is prevented from occurring due to a potential difference between adjacent unit oscillators due to a timing shift. Of course, this may be a gap between the vibrators having the same width, but in the case of this embodiment, since each unit vibrator is in contact with an adjacent unit vibrator, it can be structurally stable.

This ultrasonic therapeutic applicator is divided into a plurality of unit transducers of two or more types as described above, and there is little waste between adjacent unit transducers. In addition, since the unit oscillators have the same area, drive circuits having the same specifications can be used, and the overall configuration can be simplified.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and can be carried out in various modified forms without departing from the scope of the invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the shape of the applicator is circular, but the shape is not limited to this, and the appearance of the unit vibrator is not limited to fan-shaped, circular, or polygonal, and a different appearance is appropriately selected. can do.

Further, in the present invention, it is desirable that the unit vibrators have the same area, but the present invention can be implemented in substantially the same range.

Further, although the above description has mainly described the case of the ultrasonic calculus breaking device, the present invention can be applied to the case of the ultrasonic hyperthermia and other devices.

[Advantages of the Invention] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an ultrasonic therapeutic applicator that has a maximum space factor in a limited applicator shape and that can simplify the configuration of the drive circuit.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial view of the back surface side of the embodiment, and FIGS.
(C) is a top view which shows a different example of the conventional ultrasonic medical applicator, respectively. 11 …… Resonator, 12 …… Hole 13a to 13h, 14a to 14h …… Unit transducer 15 …… Signal electrode, 16 …… Part

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ultrasonic therapeutic application characterized in that a vibrator for radiating ultrasonic waves is divided into a plurality of unit vibrators having two or more types of shapes, and the surface areas of the unit vibrators are substantially equal. Ta. 2. The applicator for ultrasonic treatment according to claim 1, wherein the vibrator is divided by combining a radial dividing means from the center and a concentric dividing means. . 3. The ultrasonic therapeutic applicator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the electrode on the signal side of the unit oscillator is smaller than the area of each unit oscillator. 4. The electrode has a width of 1 mm from the periphery of each unit vibrator.
The ultrasonic treatment applicator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the applicator is formed by opening the above.