JP2680857B2 - Microwave applicator device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a microwave applicator device used for heating treatment of an affected area.

[Prior Art] Generally, a microwave applicator device includes an applicator that can be inserted into a body cavity or inserted into a living tissue, and directs microwaves generated by a microwave generator from the applicator to an affected area such as a tumor. It is then released and heated treatment is performed.

As the applicator, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 60-52806, a coaxial cable whose core is exposed and whose exposed portion is used as a microwave emission portion and which is covered with an insulating material is used.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, since the exposed amount of the core wire of the coaxial cable has a constant length, only a constant electric field can be formed and the same heating pattern can always be obtained.

In other words, it is difficult to optimally heat the affected area of various shapes and sizes.

Actually, a very cumbersome operation such as heating while gradually shifting the position of the applicator is required.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is a microwave that enables optimal heating treatment in conformity with the shape and size of an affected part without requiring a troublesome operation. The purpose is to provide an applicator device.

[Means for Solving the Problems] An applicator including a plurality of coaxial antennas having microwave emission portions displaced in the axial direction, a microwave generator, and an output of the microwave generator is provided for each coaxial antenna of the applicator. And means for selectively supplying to.

[Operation] By selectively supplying microwaves to each coaxial cable, the heating pattern can be adjusted to the shape and size of the affected area.

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes an applicator that can be inserted into a body cavity or inserted into a living tissue, and this applicator 1 is connected via a distributor 2 to a magnetron 3 which is a microwave generator.

Reference numeral 4 is a controller for controlling the switching of the distributor 2, and has a function of selectively supplying the output of the magnetron 3 to each coaxial cable of the applicator 1.

Here, specific examples of the applicator 1 and the distributor 2 are shown in FIG.

First, the applicator 1 includes a plurality of coaxial cables 11,12,
It is made by bundling 13,14 and covering the periphery with an insulating material.

The thickness of each coaxial cable is about 1 mmφ, and even if it is combined with the surrounding insulating material, the total thickness can be manufactured within 3 mmφ, and it can be inserted into the body cavity and pierced into living tissue sufficiently. Is.

Further, in each coaxial cable, the core wire at the tip is exposed for a predetermined length, and the exposed portion thereof is exposed to the microwave emission portions 11a,
a, 13,14a. And each microwave emission part,
The axes are sequentially shifted so that they do not overlap each other.

The distributor 2 uses a changeover switch 21 including fixed terminals a, b, c, d and a movable terminal e, and the movable contact piece is moved according to a command from the controller 4.

Next, the operation will be described in the above configuration.

The applicator 1 is inserted into the body cavity, for example, endoscopically, and is guided to the affected area (eg, tumor).

When the magnetron 3 is oscillated in this state, microwave energy is supplied to the applicator 1 via the distributor 2, and microwaves are emitted from there to the affected area. That is, the affected area can be heated.

In this case, if the shape of the affected area is small, that effect is designated by the operation unit (not shown). Then the controller 4
Switches the selector switch 21 of the distributor 2 to the terminal a side.

In this way, when the terminals e and a of the changeover switch 21 are electrically connected, the microwave energy of the magnetron 3 is supplied to the coaxial cable 11, and the microwave is emitted from the microwave emitting portion 11a.

That is, a small microwave electric field that matches the shape of the affected area is formed, and only the affected area can be heated and treated.

If the shape of the affected area is large, that effect is designated by the operation unit (not shown). Then, the controller 4 causes the distributor 2 to
The changeover switch 21 in the above is sequentially switched to the terminals a, b, c, d, for example, every one second.

In this way, when the terminals e of the changeover switch 21 and the terminals a, b, c, d are sequentially conducted, the microwave energy of the magnetron 3 is sequentially supplied to the coaxial cables 11, 12, 13, 14. As a result, microwaves are sequentially emitted from the microwave emission units 11a, 12a, 13a, 14a.

That is, a large microwave electric field that matches the shape of the affected area is formed, and the entire affected area can be uniformly heated.

In this case, microwave energy can be distributed and supplied to two or three coaxial cables, and a heating pattern that matches various shapes and sizes of the affected area can be obtained.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the drawings, the same parts as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

Here, a plurality of thermocouples 5, 6, 7, 8 are attached to the outer peripheral surface of the applicator 1 at positions corresponding to the microwave emission parts 11a, 12a, 13a, 14a. Then, each thermocouple is connected to the temperature detection circuit 9.

The temperature detection circuit 9 supplies the temperature sensed by each thermocouple to the controller 4 as temperature data.

That is, when the affected part has a large shape and emits microwaves from a plurality of coaxial cables, the controller 4 distributes and supplies microwaves so that the temperature sensed by each thermocouple becomes constant at, for example, about 42 ° C to 43 ° C. To control. By doing so, the temperature of the outer peripheral surface of the applicator 1 becomes uniform, and a good therapeutic effect can be obtained.

 A third embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.

Here, the ultrasonic transducer 30 is provided in the applicator 1, and the ultrasonic transducer 30 is connected to the ultrasonic observation device 32 via the coaxial cable 31.

The ultrasonic transducer 30 performs a compound operation along the axial direction of the coaxial cable 31 while emitting an ultrasonic beam in the direction of the dashed arrow in the figure. By this operation, an image around the applicator 1 is captured, It can be observed by the sound wave observation device 32.

That is, by observing the image of the part to be heated through the applicator 1, the optimum heating pattern can be set.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, an applicator including a plurality of coaxial antennas having microwave emitting portions displaced in the axial direction, a microwave generator, and an output of the microwave generator are provided. A microwave applicator device that enables optimal heating treatment that matches the shape and size of the affected part without requiring a cumbersome operation, since the microwave applicator device includes means for selectively supplying each coaxial antenna of the applicator. Can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a specific configuration of an applicator and a distributor in a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of the same embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the first configuration of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the second embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the third embodiment of the present invention. 1 ... Applicator, 2 ... Distributor, 3 ... Magnetron (between generators), 4 ... Controller, 11,12,13,1
4 …… Coaxial cable, 11a, 12a, 13a, 14a …… Microwave emission part, 21 …… Changeover switch.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An applicator comprising a plurality of coaxial antennas whose microwave emitting portions are displaced in the axial direction, a microwave generator, and an output of the microwave generator is selectively applied to each coaxial antenna of the applicator. A microwave applicator device comprising: a supply unit.