JP2807249B2 - Stone crushing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a calculus crushing device that focuses a shock wave from outside of a patient's calculus and crushes the shock wave.

(Prior Art) As means for generating a shock wave, underwater discharge, explosion of a small explosive, or the like is used, and a method of fracturing a calculus by being reflected by a reflector and focused on a focal point is used in clinical practice.

In recent years, a method of generating a shock wave by using a piezoceramic element or an electromagnetic induction plate has been developed as an alternative to underwater discharge or explosion of a small explosive.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a conventional calculus breaking device using a piezoceramic element. A piezoelectric ceramic element 1 wrapped in a water tank or water bag and an ultrasonic probe 2 for positioning are integrally formed, and these are brought into contact with a patient to crush stones.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a water tank, and reference numeral 4 denotes an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus connected to the ultrasonic probe 2. The piezo ceramic element 1 is activated by a trigger circuit 6 via a pulsar 5, and the pulsar 5
Generates a high-voltage pulse voltage corresponding to the voltage of the DC high-voltage circuit 7 and sends it to the piezoelectric ceramic element 1 to generate a shock wave. The piezoelectric ceramic element 1 has a spherical shape, and a weak shock wave pulse emitted from its surface is focused on a focal point and generates a pressure of about 1 kbar.

The count circuit 8 counts the number of activation pulses of the trigger circuit 6 and displays the total number of shots of the shock wave on the display circuit 9. In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a voltage setting circuit. Since the piezoceramic element 1 is repeatedly applied with a high voltage pulse, the generation efficiency is reduced, the electrodes are peeled off, and when an acoustic matching layer is provided on the surface of the piezoceramic element 1,
Peeling of the acoustic matching layer may occur rapidly each time a high voltage pulse is applied or when a certain number of times is reached.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in this calculus crushing apparatus, since the total number of applied high-voltage pulses is not stored, the above-described deterioration or the like is accurately determined, and the shock wave generation of the piezoelectric ceramic element 1 and the like is performed. Could not be replaced.

Therefore, there is only a method of replacing the battery every fixed period, and when the frequency of use is high, the deterioration may start before the replacement. There was a problem that would be.

A weak pulse voltage is applied to the piezoceramic element 1 at the time of adjustment of alignment with the ultrasonic probe 2 at the time of shipment and at the time of adjustment at the time of maintenance.

Since the piezoceramic element 1 hardly deteriorates with a weak pulse voltage, if the number of applied pulses is integrated as it is, an error will occur due to the number of weak pulses applied to the deterioration of the ceramic element, and proper counting cannot be performed.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and it is possible to accurately determine the deterioration state of a shock wave generating element by the number of times of application of a high voltage pulse without wasting a shock wave generating element. It is an object of the present invention to provide a calculus breaking device that can be replaced at an appropriate time.

[Structure of the Invention] The present invention provides a calculus crushing device for treating a treatment target site by irradiating a shock wave from outside the patient to a calculus in the body, wherein the shock wave is generated by a shock wave generating element,
It comprises a shock wave generating means for converging this, a positioning means for determining the position of the calculus, a pulser for applying a pulse voltage to the shock wave generating means, and an integrating counter for counting the number of pulses of the pulse voltage. .

The integrating counter counts the number of pulses applied only when the pulse voltage is equal to or higher than a predetermined value.

Further, a display unit for displaying the number of pulses counted by the integrating counter is further provided.

Further, the integrating counter holds the content of the count even when the power is turned off.

Further, the shock wave generating element is a piezo element or an electromagnetic induction plate.

Further, the positioning means has an ultrasonic probe for transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic beam.

(Operation) As described above, in the present invention, the number of pulse applications is counted by the integrating counter. This makes it possible to grasp the number of times of irradiation of the shock wave applied to the patient, so that it is not necessary to irradiate a part that has already been crushed with an unnecessary shock wave, thereby ensuring higher safety. Since the number of pulse applications since the start of use of the apparatus can be counted, the state of deterioration of the shock wave generating element can be determined, and the element can be replaced at an appropriate time without waste. In particular, it is useful to count the number of high voltage pulse applications.

By displaying the shock wave irradiation state corresponding to the display image displayed on the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, it becomes possible to accurately grasp how much treatment was performed in what kind of irradiation state, and with it, an effective You can plan treatment.

Further, by holding the count content even when the power is turned off, the count can be reliably performed without affecting whether the power is cut off or not.

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

As shown in FIG. 1, a piezoelectric ceramic element 11 as a shock wave generating element and an ultrasonic probe 12 for positioning are integrally formed in a water tank 13, and these are in contact with a patient.

Reference numeral 14 denotes an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus connected to the ultrasonic probe 12. Reference numeral 15 denotes a pulser which is activated by the trigger circuit 16 and generates a high-voltage pulse voltage corresponding to the voltage of the DC high-voltage circuit 17 and sends it to the piezoceramic element 11 to generate a shock wave. A counting circuit, 19 is a display circuit, and 20 is a voltage setting circuit.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a voltage determination circuit which constantly monitors whether the signal of the voltage setting circuit 20 is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, and if the signal is equal to or higher than the predetermined value, sets the output to an H (High) state. It is connected to one input terminal of the gate circuit 22. When a trigger signal is input from the trigger circuit 16 in this state, the count of the integrated count circuit 23 increases, and the integrated count value is displayed on the display circuit 24.

The integration count circuit 23 is configured to hold the count value even when the power is turned off by the backup power supply 25.

In this way, it becomes clear how many times a high voltage pulse has been applied to the piezo ceramic element 11, and it is possible to predict the life of the piezo ceramic element 11 and replace it.

Thus, the piezoceramic element is particularly effective when outputting weak electric power for positioning the calculus and confirming that the calculus is in focus from the level of the reflected wave.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the scope of the invention.

In the above embodiment, a piezo ceramic element is used as the shock wave generating element. However, in the present invention, another element having the same function as the electromagnetic induction plate can be used instead.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, since the number of times of irradiation of the shock wave applied to the patient can be grasped, it is not necessary to irradiate the already crushed part with an unnecessary shock wave,
Higher security can be ensured. Since the number of pulse applications since the start of use of the apparatus can be counted, the state of deterioration of the shock wave generating element can be determined, and the element can be replaced at an appropriate time without waste.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of one embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an example of a conventional calculus breaking device. 11 Piezoceramic element 12 Ultrasonic probe 13 Aquarium 14 Ultrasonic diagnostic device 15 Pulser 16 Trigger circuit 17 DC high voltage circuit 18 Count circuit 19 Display circuit, 20: Voltage setting circuit 21: Voltage judgment circuit, 22: Gate circuit 23: Integration counting circuit, 24: Display circuit 25: Backup power supply

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A calculus crushing device for treating a treatment site by irradiating a shock wave from outside a patient to a calculus in the body, a shock wave generating means for generating a shock wave by a shock wave generating element and converging the shock wave, A calculus crushing apparatus comprising: positioning means for determining the position of the calculus; a pulser for applying a pulse voltage to the shock wave generating means; and an integrating counter for counting the number of pulses of the pulse voltage. 2. The calculus crushing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said integrating counter counts the number of pulses to be applied only when said pulse voltage is equal to or more than a predetermined value. 3. The calculus breaking device according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying the number of pulses counted by said integrating counter. 4. The calculus crushing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said integrating counter holds the contents of the count even when power is turned off. 5. The calculus breaking device according to claim 1, wherein said shock wave generating element is a piezo element or an electromagnetic induction plate. 6. The calculus breaking device according to claim 1, wherein said positioning means has an ultrasonic probe for transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic beam.