JP2983387B2 - Laser therapy equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mechanism for protecting a laser fiber in a laser treatment apparatus connected between a laser generator and a treatment laser handpiece with a light guiding laser fiber.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A laser treatment apparatus using a laser handpiece is used for evaporating, incising, coagulating, hemostasis and the like of a living tissue by irradiating a laser to an affected tissue from the tip of the handpiece, thereby improving the medical effect. . In the treatment apparatus for these soft tissues, a carbon dioxide laser or an Nd: YAG laser has been used.

In recent years, it has been known that Er: YAG lasers and HF lasers act on OH groups of hard tissues such as teeth of living organisms to evaporate them. In the field of dentistry, Er: YAG laser handpieces are used. Lasers are radiated to teeth, and are being used for the formation of dental cavities, the shaping and treatment of root canals, and the removal of tartar.

The present applicants have already disclosed a contact-type tooth shaping treatment handpiece utilizing an Er: YAG laser, which is attached to and detached from a laser-guide laser fiber for transmitting laser light from a laser generator and to the tip of the handpiece. A handpiece was proposed in which the laser fiber of the probe was separated by a light-transmitting shield and connected so as to be able to conduct light, and the gap between the laser fiber of the probe and the fiber protection tube was used as a water passage (Japanese Patent Application No. Hei. -211837).

[0005] With the exception of low power laser treatment devices, the laser handpiece is generally connected and connected by a required length of light guiding laser fiber connected to a laser generator equipped with a laser oscillator. The transmitted laser light is applied to the target affected area. This light-guiding laser fiber is rich in soft flexibility, one end of which is fixed to the rear part of the laser handpiece and the other end is fixed to the rear part of the connector part which is detachably or freely attached to the box of the laser generator. The incident end of the laser fiber that is loosely inserted in the protective tube and fixed to the connector is optically coupled to the laser oscillator.

In a contact type laser handpiece, an irradiation contact such as a tip or a probe is used for efficiently irradiating a laser to a treatment affected part. However, a water supply or air supply to the tip of the contact is used. The water supply pipe and air pipe are also inserted into the protection tube together with the laser fiber,
Often connected to the back of the handpiece.

[0007]

The above-mentioned protective tube has a function as a binding material for bundling the laser fiber for light guiding and other piping tubes so that they do not disturb during operation of the handpiece and do not hinder the operation. .

[0008] The protective tube is formed of a soft and flexible synthetic resin tube. During operation of the handpiece, the protection tube is freely bent and stretched with both ends fixed between the handpiece and the laser generator. Alternatively, it is handled while being suspended or meandering. In this case, the light-guiding laser fiber inserted inside is also subjected to tensile or bending deformation.

Conventional glass fibers and quartz fibers for guiding light are relatively excellent in flexibility and bending followability.
However, the aforementioned Er: YAG laser (2.94 μm)
(m wavelength) or HF laser (3 μm wavelength) is preferably used as a single-fiber fluoride fiber having a high transmittance of light of this wavelength. However, a fluoride fiber is a rigid fiber. Since it is weak to bending deformation, it is bent and breaks and ruptures due to bending of the protective tube.

[0010] In particular, when a piping tube for an air pipe or a water supply pipe is inserted through the protective tube, the light guide fiber is placed inside the protective tube and the piping tube due to deformation such as bending of the protective tube. With a complicated deformation stress due to bending, extension, buckling or torsion with the outer periphery of the member, the risk of breakage increases. Such breakage of the light guiding fiber is not limited to the fluoride fiber, but also occurs when a single-core large-diameter fiber is used, for example, in a conventional quartz fiber or the like.

The present invention proposes a laser treatment apparatus provided with a laser fiber protection mechanism for the purpose of preventing manipulation of the light guide fiber due to deformation of the protection tube during operation of the laser handpiece. .

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The laser treatment apparatus of the present invention can be generally connected to a rear part of a laser handpiece of the laser treatment apparatus and a rear part of a connector portion detachably fixed to the laser generator. The laser treatment device is a laser treatment device in which the laser generator and the handpiece main body are connected so as to be able to conduct light by the laser fiber for light guide loosely inserted into the flexible protective tube, and the end of the protective tube is hollow. The light guiding laser fiber, which is slidably connected to the connector main body and / or the handpiece main body in the front-rear direction with the movable joint member interposed therebetween and inserted into the protective tube, is connected to the joint member. Via the hollow part,
A laser fiber protection mechanism is provided, which is fixed to the connector main body and the handpiece main body.

[0013] More specifically, in the laser fiber protection mechanism of the present invention, the hollow movable joint member has an insertion tube portion inserted at an end portion of the protection tube at a rear portion, and a front portion thereof. A sliding means is provided at the rear end of the connector body or the handpiece body having the opening, and is mounted so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction. The joint member is provided with an outer tube provided with a slide restricting means arranged to be engageable with the outer periphery thereof, and the outer tube is fixedly fitted to the outer periphery of the connector main body.

As the sliding means, an outer peripheral surface or an inner peripheral surface is formed by a sliding cylindrical surface at one of a rear end portion of the connector body or the handpiece main body and a front portion of the movable joint member. In this case, a member that forms a sliding surface that comes into contact with the sliding contact cylinder surface is used, and the movable joint member is slidable in the front-rear direction by mutual sliding between the sliding contact cylinder surfaces.

Further, the sliding restricting means includes an engaging means for engaging the outer periphery of the movable joint member with the inner periphery of the other outer tube, thereby defining a sliding range of the movable joint member, and allowing the movable joint member to move backward.・
Prevent withdrawal.

One or two or more air supply tubes for supplying air to the handpiece are provided in the insertion path of the laser fiber for guiding light from the rear end opening of the connector body to the handpiece through the inside of the protective tube. In this case, by forming the joint member airtightly, and by interposing an airtight material on the sliding contact surface between the joint member and the rear end of the handpiece main body and the joint member and the rear end of the connector main body, The inside of the tube is used as a return path for supply air.

[0017]

The connector and the handpiece are connected by a soft and flexible protective tube, and the protective tube easily bends and deforms and follows the operation of the handpiece. When the protective tube is bent, the outer side of the bent tube expands due to the tensile stress, but the inner side does not shrink even when subjected to the compressive stress, and therefore expands as a whole.

Since both ends of the laser fiber are fixed and constrained to the connector body and the handpiece body, the light guide fiber loosely inserted into the protective tube is:
The bending of the protective tube causes a bending stress and a tensile stress. In particular, the single-core fluoride fiber is stiff and has a low elongation, so that the fiber is liable to bending and breaks or breaks.

In the present invention, since the movable joint member continuing the protection tube is movable back and forth with respect to the connector by sliding, the extension of the protection tube at the time of inflection is absorbed by the sliding of the movable joint member, The tensile stress of the laser fiber is reduced and breakage is prevented.

[0020]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a protection mechanism for a light guide laser fiber according to the present invention.

FIG. 1 is an external view of a dental laser treatment apparatus for treating a tooth part, and shows an Er: YAG laser oscillation section 91.
The connector receiving socket 92 is fixed to the upper surface of the laser generator 9 having the built-in. In the socket 92,
The front part of the connector 2 to which the soft flexible protective tube 1 connected to the rear part 52 of the laser handpiece 5 is connected is detachably inserted.

The laser head 911 of the laser oscillating section 91 in the laser oscillating device 9 has Er: YA as a laser medium.
A G rod is used, and is cooled by cooling water circulated from a cooling unit 94 via a cooling water hose 941. Laser oscillation output is up to 1J at a constant repetition rate.
The control unit 95 controls the laser head 911 and the power supply unit 94 to emit light as a pulse of / s. The Er: YAG laser light oscillated by the laser head 911 is reflected by the reflection mirror 912 and condensed by the condenser lens 913 on the incident end face 80 of the fluoride fiber 8 which is the light-guiding laser fiber 8.

The laser fiber 8 for guiding light is loosely inserted into the protective tube 1, and a laser handpiece main body 5 is connected to a tip side thereof.
A fiber probe 50 for irradiating the affected part is detachably attached to the front of the laser beam, and is connected to the laser fiber 8 so as to guide the laser light.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the connector 2.
The front end opening 20 of the front part 21 of the connector 2 is
A fluoride-based laser fiber 8 fixed so that 0 protrudes is inserted into the connector rear portion 22 side.

The connector rear portion 22 has an opening end provided with a rear opening 23, and an inner surface of the opening 23 is a sliding contact surface 24.

The movable joint member 3 has an insertion tube 3 inserted and fixed to the end of a protective tube 1 made of a flexible synthetic resin at the rear.
2, the front part is provided with a stepped part 33 and is expanded in diameter.
The sliding contact surface 34 provided on the outer peripheral surface is the rear portion 2 of the connector.
It is slidably mounted in contact with the second sliding contact surface 24.

A front portion of the outer tube 4 is screwed to the outer periphery of the rear portion 22 of the connector 2. The outer tube 4 slides on the inner surface of the outer tube of the movable joint member 3 in the front-rear direction. The movable member is provided with an inner peripheral surface that prevents displacement in the radial direction, and a step surface 43 that abuts on the step portion 33 of the movable joint member is provided to prevent the joint member 3 from being pulled out.

As described above, the laser fiber protection mechanism using the movable joint member 3 is movable when the tensile force of the protection tube 1 acts on the rear portion of the connector 2 as shown in FIG. The joint member 3 slides back until the step portion 33 comes into contact with the step surface 43 to reduce the tensile force. On the other hand, when the compressive force of the protective tube 1 acts, the front end surface 36 of the movable joint member 3 moves until it abuts against the inner end surface 26 of the opening 23 of the connector 2 to absorb the compressive force. As a result, within the sliding range l indicated by l in the figure,
The tensile stress on the laser fiber 8 accompanying the bending and elongation of the protective tube is relaxed to prevent the laser fiber 8 from being cut.

FIG. 3 is a rear sectional view of the handpiece 5 of the embodiment in which the above-described protection mechanism is provided on the handpiece body 5 side. At the front part (not shown) of the handpiece main body 5, the exit side end of the fluoride fiber 8 inserted through the protective tube 1 is fixed, and the exit end face is interposed through a translucent separator. The handpiece is connected to the probe fiber so as to be able to conduct light. The rear end 52 of the handpiece has the inner peripheral surface 54 of the opening 53 as a sliding surface, and the end 10 of the protective tube 1 is joined to the rear. The front outer peripheral surface 34 of the movable joint member 3 provided with the inserted pipe portion 32 is slidably mounted. The outer tube 4 screwed to the outer surface of the rear end portion 52 of the handpiece has a stepped surface 43 formed on the inner surface thereof to prevent the movable joint member 3 from coming off from the rear and to protect the outer periphery of the end of the protective tube 1. Is covered and protected.

As described above, both ends 10,
If the connector 10 is connected to both the connector 2 and the handpiece 5 with the movable joint member 3 interposed therebetween, it is possible to prevent and avoid a breakage accident of the light guiding laser fiber 1 due to the bending of the protective tube 1. In particular, as shown in FIG. 1, when the protection tube 1 is lifted and held in the middle of the protection tube 1 by a guide pole 7 oscillatingly provided on the upper surface of the outer case of the laser generator 9, both ends 10 of the protection tube, Making the movable member 10 slidable by the movable joint member 3 is effective in preventing breakage. Further, AlF ₃ -ZrF ₄ -based fluoride fiber is most suitable as the material of the fluoride fiber used in the present invention. In addition, ZBLAN, ZBLA, ZBAN
ZrF ₄ -BaF ₂ -based fluoride fibers such as Y may be used.

In the example shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the inside of the protective tube 1 is connected to the light guide fiber 8 connected to the connector.
The two air supply tubes 12 and 13 and the water supply tube 14 are loosely inserted and fixed at the front part (not shown) of the handpiece body 5. The air supply tube 12 supplies dry air to an air chamber (both not shown) between the light-emitting laser fiber end face of the handpiece body 5 and the light-transmitting separator. Sliding surface 34 on the outer periphery of movable joint member 3 on the side of connector 1 and handpiece 5
In each case, an O-ring 36 as an airtight member is mounted in a circumferential groove to be airtight, and between the connector 1 main body and the movable joint member 3 and between the handpiece 5 main body and the movable joint member 3. Are airtight. In this case, the inside of the protection tube 1 is used as a return path for the dry air supplied to the air chamber of the main body of the handpiece 5 by the air supply tube 12.

[0032]

According to the light guide fiber protection mechanism of the present invention, both ends of the light guide fiber loosely inserted into the soft flexible protection tube are fixed to the laser handpiece and the connector, but at least one end of the protection tube is provided. Since the movable joint member is attached to the rear end of the handpiece or the rear end of the connector so as to be slidable in the axial direction, the protection tube is bent, shaken, or suspended by operating the handpiece during treatment. Even if it vibrates, the laser fiber breakage accident can be avoided, and in particular, Er: YAG laser or HF
Breakage breakage can be effectively prevented even for a fluoride-based single-core rigid fiber used for a laser.

An air tube for supplying air to the handpiece can be inserted into the protective tube together with the light guide fiber, and the movable joint member can be connected to the handpiece or the rear end of the connector via an airtight member. If installed, the inside of the tube can be used as a return path for the supply air to return from the handpiece.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a laser treatment apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view (A, B) of a connector section in which a protective tube and a light guiding fiber are connected.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a rear part of a laser handpiece in which a protective tube and a light guiding fiber are connected.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Protective tube 2 Connector 3 Movable joint member 4 Mantle tube 5 Laser handpiece 8 Laser fiber for light guide 9 Laser generator

Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Sadahiro Nakajima 2-7-5 Nakaochiai, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Inside of Hoya Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takashi Endo 2-7-5 Nakaochiai, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo e (56) References JP-A-63-96603 (JP, A) JP-A-5-76541 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) A61B 17 / 36 A61N 5/06 A61B 1/00-1/32 A61C 3/02

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A light guide laser fiber loosely inserted into a flexible protective tube connected to a rear portion of a laser handpiece of a laser treatment device and a rear portion of a connector portion detachably fixed to a laser generator. A laser treatment device in which a laser generator and a handpiece body are connected so as to be able to conduct light, wherein the end of the protective tube is provided with a hollow movable joint member, and the connector body and / or the hand The light-guiding laser fiber, which is slidably connected to the piece body in the front-rear direction and inserted into the protection tube, was fixed to the connector body and the handpiece body via the hollow portion of the joint member. A laser treatment device having a laser fiber protection mechanism. 2. The hollow movable joint member includes a sliding means having a sliding contact surface that is in sliding contact with an inner peripheral surface of the opening at a rear portion of the connector main body and / or the handpiece main body. 2. The joint member is provided with an outer tube provided with a slide restricting means arranged to be engageable with the outer periphery thereof.
The laser treatment apparatus according to claim 1. 3. An airtight member is interposed on the sliding contact surface,
3. The laser treatment apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the inside of the protection tube is an air return line from the handpiece. 4. The laser treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light guiding laser fiber is a fluoride fiber.