JPH0191843A - Calculus crushing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To efficiently converge a shock wave and to reduce the effect of the shock wave to a living body, by using a magnetostriction element having a vibration plate provided thereto in a magnetic field direction as a means for crushing the calculus in the living body. CONSTITUTION:When a switch 9 is turned ON, the charge accumulated in a condenser 8 is instantaneously discharged to a coil 4. A pulse magnetic field is generated by the current at this time and a magnetostriction element 3 instantaneously deforms (expands) in the magnetic field direction to generate a shock wave from a vibration plate 11. This shock wave propagates through the water 15 in a housing 1 to be converged by an acoustic lens 12 and crushes the calculus 16 in the living body 14 through a living body coupling membrane 13. By this constitution, the magnetostriction element 3 is instantaneously deformed in the magnetic field direction and the unilocular shock wave can be generated from the vibration plate 11 and, therefore, the continuous generation of the shock wave after the calculus 16 is crushed is prevented and the effect of the shock wave on the living body can be reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a stone crushing device that crushes stones in the body using focused energy such as shock waves.

(Prior Art) In recent years, devices that use shock wave energy to crush stones within a subject have been put into practical use.

The most common type of stone crushing device involves placing a subject with a stone in a container filled with water at an appropriate temperature, aligning the position of the stone with the focal point of one side of the spheroid, and then inserting the stone into a container filled with water at an appropriate temperature. A shock wave is generated by the explosion or discharge phenomenon of gunpowder at the focal point of the shock wave, and a spheroidal acoustic mirror placed around the shock wave is focused on the calculus, and the energy of the shock wave is used to crush the calculus. be.

There is also an ultrasonic stone crushing device that crushes stones by focusing powerful ultrasonic waves from a piezoelectric vibrator. FIG. 4 shows the configuration and sound field distribution of an applicator of an ultrasonic lithotripter. In FIG.
1 is included. This pressure TJ, i-motor 101 is voltage controlled via lead wires 102, 103 connected to both sides, and the focus of the piezoelectric vibrator 101 is adjusted so that the powerful ultrasonic waves generated at that time are focused on one point. There is. 10
4 is an ultrasonic probe 104 for positioning and crushing confirmation;
The tip portion thereof is provided to protrude from the center portion of the piezoelectric vibrator 101, and the base end portion is fixed to the housing 100. Reference numeral 105 denotes a water tank provided at the opening of the housing 100, in which water 107 for coupling with a living body 106 is accommodated. 108
is a stone existing within the living body 106.

The operation of this ultrasonic stone crushing device will be explained based on the block diagram shown in FIG. First, the central processing unit (CPU
) 201 controls the transmitting/receiving circuit 203, the transmitting/receiving circuit 20
A drive pulse is supplied from 3 to the ultrasonic probe 104, and ultrasonic waves are emitted toward the inside of the living body 106. Living body 10
The ultrasonic echoes reflected by the stone 108 in 6 are sent to the transmission/reception port 1203 via the ultrasonic probe 104, and sent to the CPU
The image is processed by the image reconstruction circuit 204 under the control of the image reconstruction circuit 201 and displayed on the display device 205 Next, on the screen of the display device 205, the position of the stone 1°8 is determined by the crushing piezoelectric vibrator 1.
Move and position the applicator so that it is in focus at 01.

After the positioning is completed, the pulser 206 is controlled by the controller 202 under the control of the CPt 1201. The piezoelectric vibrator 101 is driven by the drive pulse from the balsa 206 and generates powerful ultrasonic waves.

As shown in FIG. 4, this powerful ultrasonic wave is focused on the calculus 108 and crushes the calculus 108.

In order to detect the calculus 108 within the living body 106, there is also a method of detecting the calculus 108 while displaying the portion of the calculus 108 using an X-ray fluoroscope. Incidentally, in recent years, a method of detecting the position of the calculus 108 using an ultrasonic tomography apparatus has become widely used because it does not cause radiation damage and has excellent operability unlike the XII fluoroscopy apparatus.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The former type of conventional stone crushing device that uses gunpowder explosion and discharge phenomenon uses heavy artillery shock waves to crush stones, so it has the advantage that the impact of shock waves on living organisms is small. have

However, in this conventional example, since the shock waves are focused using a spheroidal acoustic mirror, there is a problem in that some of the shock waves are radiated directly toward the living body through the opening of the acoustic mirror, resulting in energy loss.

In addition, since the latter type of conventional ultrasonic stone crushing device uses vibrating shock waves to crush stones, shock waves continue to be generated even after the stone is crushed, which has an adverse effect on living organisms.Moreover, it has a concave structure. The shock wave generated by the piezoelectric vibrator 101 is small, and in order to obtain a shock wave that can sufficiently crush the stone, the area of the vibrator 101 must be increased, which increases the size of the entire applicator and significantly deteriorates repeatability. There's a problem.

The present invention was made with attention to the above problems, and it is possible to efficiently focus shock waves and reduce energy loss, and by using heavy artillery shock waves, it has less impact on living organisms and can be made smaller. The object of the present invention is to provide a stone crushing device that can be used to crush stones.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides a stone crushing device that focuses crushing energy from outside the body to crush a stone inside the body, which uses a magnetic field as a means for crushing the stone inside the body. It is characterized by using a magnetostrictive element with a diaphragm provided in the direction.

(Function) When a coil is wound around the magnetostrictive element and a current is instantaneously passed through it, the magnetic field causes the element to undergo deformation (Cm expansion or contraction), and a shock wave is generated from the diaphragm. By focusing this shock wave on the calculus within the body, the calculus can be crushed.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an applicator for a stone crushing device according to the present invention. In FIG. . A magnetostrictive element 3 made of a magnetostrictive material such as an RF e 2 alloy is fixed to the holding plate 2, and a coil 4 for generating a magnetic field is wound around the magnetostrictive element 3.

Terminals 5a and 5b of the coil 4 are connected to a sound pressure power source 6. Resistor 7, capacitor 8. A drive circuit 10 made up of a switch 9 is connected. A diaphragm 11 having a diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the housing 1 is fixed to the tip of the magnetostrictive element 3 so as to be movable within the housing 1.

An acoustic lens 12 made of silicon, acrylic, or the like is installed in the other opening of the housing 1 to focus shock waves generated from the diaphragm 11, and a biological coupling membrane 13 is attached to the outside of the acoustic lens 12. Water 15 is contained within the housing 1 for coupling with a living body 14. 16 is a stone existing within the living body 14.

In this calculus crushing device, when a switch 9 is turned on, the charge charged from a high-voltage power source 6 to a capacitor 8 via a resistor 7 is instantaneously discharged to a coil 4. The current generated at this time generates a pulsed magnetic field, and the magnetostrictive element 3 instantaneously deforms (expands) in the direction of the magnetic field, causing the diaphragm 11 to generate a shock wave. This shock wave moves through the water 15 in the housing 1, is focused by the acoustic lens 12, and is focused on the biological coupling membrane 13.
The stone 16 in the living body 14 is crushed through the passage.

The method of detecting the stone 16 in the living body 14 can be carried out using an X-ray fluoroscopy device or an ultrasonic tomography device while displaying the part of the stone 16, as in the conventional method, but it is possible to detect the stone 16 in the living body 14 by using an X-ray fluoroscopy device or an ultrasonic tomography device. Ultrasonic tomography devices are preferred.

Therefore, with such a configuration, it is possible to instantaneously deform the magnetostrictive cord 3 in the direction of the magnetic field and generate a heavy shock wave from the diaphragm 11, so that the shock wave continues after the stone 16 is crushed. No shock waves are generated, and the influence of shock waves on living organisms can be reduced. Furthermore, by using the acoustic lens 12, the shock waves generated from the diaphragm 11 can be efficiently focused, thereby reducing energy loss.

In addition, the magnetostriction element 3 made of RF e 2 alloy has extremely large magnetostriction of λS and 100OXIO' at room temperature, and also has high-speed mechanical response (about 10-6 sec), high generated force (10 times that of PZT), and electromechanical coupling factor. By using this as a crushing energy source, it is possible to construct a compact, high-output applicator.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the applicator according to the present invention. In FIG. A plurality of elements 23 are arranged in the form of a plurality of wires.

A coil 24 is wound around each magnetostrictive element 23.
4, the driving times are the same as in the first embodiment! ! 3 (not shown) is connected. A biological coupling membrane 25 is attached to the opening of the housing 21.
Water 26 is contained therein for coupling with a living body.

In this device, as in the first embodiment, a plurality of magnetostrictive elements 23 are simultaneously deformed (expanded) by instantaneously passing a current through the coil 24, and shock waves are focused toward the center of the sphere.

Therefore, with this configuration, it is possible to obtain the same effects as in the first embodiment, and since the acoustic lens can be omitted, there is no loss of energy when transmitting through the acoustic lens.

FIG. 3 shows yet another embodiment of the applicator according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the diaphragm 31 is formed into a spherical cup shape, and a plurality of magnetostrictive elements 23 are arranged perpendicularly to the tangent of the spherical cup. probe 3
It incorporates 2. Other configurations are the second embodiment (second embodiment).
Since it is the same as in Figure), the same reference numerals will be used and the explanation will be omitted.

Therefore, with this configuration, the same effects as those of the second embodiment can be achieved, and the position of the stone and the state of fragmentation can be confirmed with the ultrasonic probe 32, which improves the operation. .

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments,
Various modifications can be made without changing the gist.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, a stone crushing device that can focus shock waves efficiently and reduce energy loss, has less impact on living organisms by using heavy shock waves, and can be miniaturized. can be provided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is a schematic block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram showing another different embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a conventional ultrasonic stone crushing device. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the device. 1.21...Housing 2...Press plate 3.23
... Magnetostrictive element 4, 24... Coil 5a, 5b.
...Terminal 6...High voltage power supply 7...Resistance
8...Capacitor 9...Switch
10... Drive circuit 11.22.31... Vibration plate 12... Acoustic lens 13.25... Biological coupling membrane

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A stone crushing device that crushes a stone inside a living body by focusing crushing energy from outside the living body, characterized in that a magnetostrictive element provided with a diaphragm in the direction of the magnetic field is used as a means for crushing the stone inside the living body. A stone crushing device. (2) The stone crushing device according to claim 1, wherein the shock waves generated from the diaphragm of the magnetostrictive element are focused by an acoustic lens. (3) The stone crushing device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of magnetostrictive elements provided with the diaphragm are arranged in a spherical shape. (4) The stone crushing device according to claim 1, wherein the diaphragm is formed in the shape of a spherical cup, and a plurality of the magnetostrictive elements are arranged in a direction perpendicular to a tangent to the spherical cup.