JPH0322789B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an applicator for heating therapy, and particularly to an applicator for heating therapy for heating a predetermined location of a living body using electromagnetic waves. [Conventional technology] In recent years, heating therapy

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in such a conventional example, since the radio wave lens part 4 is fixed, for example, for a cancerous part located at a position deviated from the center position of the applicator contact surface, the cancerous part is always kept at the highest position. It has been difficult to perform heating therapy under the optimal conditions of setting the temperature, and this has caused the inconvenience of poor efficiency of heating therapy. [Object of the Invention] The present invention improves the disadvantages of the conventional example, and in particular, provides a method for heating therapy in which the position of a heating focal point formed by a radio wave lens can be freely moved within a predetermined range. Its purpose is to provide an applicator. [Means for Solving the Problems] Therefore, in the present invention, a case main body having a function as a waveguide, an electromagnetic wave power feeding section provided at one end of the case main body, and an electromagnetic wave feeding section provided at the other end of the case main body are provided. and an opening for transmitting electromagnetic waves formed in the part,
In the heating therapy applicator in which a radio wave lens part is disposed between the opening part and the power feeding part, the lens part is formed of a plurality of metal plates, and
A configuration is adopted in which one or more of these metal plates are movable in a direction perpendicular to each metal plate while maintaining a parallel state, thereby achieving the above-mentioned It is an attempt to achieve a goal. [Operation] The electromagnetic waves sent into the case main body from the electromagnetic wave power supply section are sent out to the opening side by the action of the case main body as a waveguide. In this case, since the case body is equipped with a radio wave lens section on the opening side thereof, the electromagnetic waves sent out from the opening section due to the action of the radio lens section are normally The lens effect is that the light is gradually focused on the center line. - On the other hand, if the radio lens part is moved to one side within the case body as necessary, and the interval between the metal plates is set to gradually increase from the one side to the other side, for example, The smaller the distance between the metal plates, the stronger the electromagnetic waves (however, the minimum distance > λ/
2: λ is the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave) As the phase velocity advances, the focal position moves toward the other side.
This makes it possible to effectively capture in-vivo cancer tissue at a position deviated from the center line of the abutment surface, and to set optimal heating conditions. [First Embodiment] The first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7.
This will be explained based on the diagram. In these figures, 10 indicates a case body that functions as a waveguide, and 11 indicates a cooling mechanism for cooling the surface of living body A (see FIG. 11).
Inside the case body 10, an electromagnetic wave power supply section 12 is provided at the right end in FIG. 1, and a radio wave lens section 13 is provided in a fan-shaped section extending from the center to the left end in the same figure. As shown in FIG. 1, the size of the electromagnetic wave power supply section 12 is such that its width W is set to be 1/2 to 1 wavelength of the electromagnetic wave in the coolant. 12A
12B shows the mounting position of the coaxial connector, and 12B shows the excitation antenna. The inner wall of the power supply section 12 is made of a dielectric plate (for example, made of plastic) with a low loss and a relatively large dielectric constant on a surface parallel to the electric field direction of the electromagnetic wave (direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG. 1). 20
is attached, thereby making the electric field distribution within the case body 10 uniform. This dielectric plate 20 has a structure that extends to the inner wall of the case body 10. The cooling mechanism 11 is configured to cool a living body (first
A sealing contact plate 21 made of a dielectric plate curved to match the angle (see A in Figure 1);
As shown in FIG.
Coolant inflow plugs 2 separately installed at both end portions of
2, a coolant outflow plug 23, which allows the coolant to flow into and out of the case body 10 very easily, and also allows the coolant to flow into and out of the case body 10 through the sealing abutment plate 21. It has a structure that can effectively cool the electromagnetic wave irradiation surface that comes into contact with the outside of the device. Here, the case body 10 is formed of an aluminum-based nonmagnetic member in this embodiment, and the cooling liquid used in the cooling mechanism 11 is water (relative dielectric constant εr=80.36; however, 20 °C, measurement wavelength ∞) is used. 10W is a deaeration means for removing air remaining within the case body 10. As mentioned above, the lens section 13 is made up of a plurality of metal plates 13A, 13A, . 14, 14 and is guided by the opening 10 of the case body.
It is equipped to move freely back and forth along A. Each of the metal plates 13A actually has a concave shape at the center of the end on the side of the electromagnetic wave power supply section 12 (see FIG. 3), thereby alleviating sudden impedance changes at the end. It is set to reduce the reflection of electromagnetic waves from the Further, among these metal plates 13A, the metal plate 13A disposed in the center is set to protrude toward the electromagnetic wave power supply section 12, so that the electromagnetic waves sent out from the electromagnetic wave power supply section 12 are After being effectively divided into two parts and expanded within the case body 10, and then further divided into two parts by another metal plate 13A, the phase velocity of the electromagnetic waves propagating outside is accelerated. Reference numeral 27 indicates a dielectric plate attached to each metal plate 13A. In this embodiment, each of the guide bars 14, 14 has a diameter of 1/8 or less of the wavelength λ of the electromagnetic wave, and both ends thereof are connected to housing members 15, 15, . (see Figure 2). Then, each housing member 15,1
5, . . . are fixed to both side ends of the case body 10 in a sealed state by seal members 16, 16, . 17, 17, . . . indicate linear bearings interposed between each guide bar 14 and each metal plate 13A and fixedly attached to the metal plate 13A. Due to the action of each of the linear bearings 17, each of the metal plates 13A can smoothly reciprocate along the guide bar 14.
The upper end portion of each of these metal plates 13A in FIG.
Permanent magnets 13C for moving and stopping are each fixedly equipped. On the outer surface of the upper case body of the radio wave lens unit 13 in FIG.
A metal plate driving means 30 is provided for moving the position of each metal plate and stopping it at an arbitrary position. As shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, this metal plate driving means 30 includes three sets of driving parts 30A arranged separately for each metal plate 13A in this embodiment.
It is composed of the following as its main part. To explain this in more detail, the metal plate driving device 3
0 is the guide bar 1 of the radio wave lens section 13 mentioned above.
Two guide rods 3 installed approximately parallel to 4, 14...
1, 32, and a plurality of (three in this embodiment) actuating blocks 34, 3 supported and guided by these two guide rods 31, 32 so as to be movable back and forth.
4, 34, and a permanent magnet 3 fixed to the center of the lower end of each actuating block 34 in FIGS.
5, and each of the operating blocks is connected to the guide rods 31, 3.
A screw mechanism 36 for reciprocating separately along 2
It is composed of. Of these, the screw mechanism 36 includes a male threaded portion 36A that is disposed between the guide rods 31 and 32 described above and substantially parallel to the guide rods, and whose both ends are fixed to the case body 10, and Three female screw parts 36 screwed together
Each of the three female screw portions 36B is individually engaged with the actuation block 34, and by turning the female screw portion 36B as necessary, each of the actuation blocks 34 can be rotated as described above. It is possible to reciprocate along the guide rods 31 and 32 or to stop at an arbitrary position. In this case, the female threaded portion 3
Each outer peripheral surface of 6B is knurled to facilitate rotational driving. In addition, each female screw portion 36B is specifically connected to each actuating block 3 described above.
The structure is such that it is rotatably disposed within the square hole 34B of No. 4 (see FIGS. 1, 4, and 7). As a result, any one of the female screw portions 36
When B is rotated, the actuating block 34 that has engaged the female screw portion 36B moves integrally along the guide rods 31 and 32, and at the same time, the permanent magnet 35 fixed to the actuating block 34 moves accordingly. The permanent magnet 13C of the metal plate 13A of the radio wave lens section 13 described above is attracted and moved, whereby the metal plate 13A is moved to an arbitrary position and stopped. Reference numerals 37 and 37 indicate frame plates for fixing the male screw portion 36A and both ends of the guide rods 31 and 32, respectively. The frame plates 37, 37 portion are connected to the fixed support plate 3 fixed on the case body 10 described above.
8 and 38 with screws. Further, the metal plate driving means 30 is provided with a metal plate position displaying means 40. In the first embodiment, this metal plate display means 40 includes a scale plate 41 installed parallel to the moving direction of each actuating block 34, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.
and a reference line 41A carved on each of the actuation blocks 34 in correspondence with the scale plate 41, and the scale plate 41 is fixed to the frames 36, 36 mentioned above. As a result, the position of each of the metal plates 13A becomes the same as the position of the reference line 41A on the actuation block 34, so that the position of each metal plate of the radio wave lens section 13A within the case body 10 can be recognized very easily from the outside. It is becoming possible to do so. Furthermore, since water (relative dielectric constant εr=80.36; however, 20°C, measurement wavelength ∞) is used as the cooling liquid as described above, each dimension of the case body 10 and the radio wave lens section 13 is It has the advantage of being miniaturized to approximately 1/√80.36 of the size when it contains air, and at the same time, it has good alignment with the living body. Next, to explain the overall operation of the first embodiment, first, the excitation antenna 1 in the power feeding section 12
The electric field strength of the electromagnetic waves sent into the case body 10 from 2B is made uniform by the action of the dielectric plate 20 attached to the inner wall of the power feeding section 12, and as a result, the electromagnetic wave energy is not biased towards the center of the case. It is made substantially uniform within the cross section of the main body 10 and sent to the radio wave lens section 13 . Therefore, the radio wave lens section 13 effectively exhibits a lens effect on electromagnetic waves and sends out focused electromagnetic waves from the radiation opening 10A side to the outside. Here, the radiation opening 10A is placed in contact with the living body A described above via the cooling liquid of the cooling mechanism 11 and the sealing contact plate 21 made of a dielectric plate, so that the focus of the radio wave lens section 13 is the living body A. Formed deep within. This makes it possible to more effectively heat the deep part of the body than the surface of the body. Furthermore, since the surface of a living body has a large absorption of electromagnetic waves, the temperature rise is relatively large in addition to the lens effect.
On the other hand, the cooling liquid flowing in and out of the cooling mechanism 11 effectively cools down not only the surface of the living body but also the temperature rise due to the Joule loss and dielectric loss inside the case body 10, as described above. In this case, the dielectric plates 20 and 27 attached to the inner wall of the case body 10 and each metal plate 13A of the radio wave lens section 13 form a substantially uniform electric field in a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the direction of propagation of electromagnetic waves. The electromagnetic wave energy is also made substantially uniform as described above. Therefore, there is no unevenness in the superheating temperature of the surface of the living body, and the disadvantage that the central part of the surface of the living body becomes more heated than the surrounding area is improved. On the other hand, the effect when the radio wave lens section 13 is moved in parallel will be explained with reference to FIG. 14. This first
Figure 4 shows the qualitative experimental results of a heating experiment using a phantom model with electrical and thermal constants equivalent to those of a living body. In FIG. 1, each metal plate 13A, 13
A, . . Here, since the phase velocity of the electromagnetic wave advances as the width between the metal plates 13A becomes narrower, the above-mentioned deviation of the focal point can be achieved by moving the metal plate 13A as shown in the figure using the metal plate driving means 30 described above. This can be done very easily by moving in parallel. As a result, by variable irradiation by the radio wave lens unit 13, the center of deep heating can be moved very easily, and thereby cancer tissue can be treated in a relatively wide area almost uniformly or unevenly. It has become possible to have the advantage of being able to reliably capture electromagnetic waves at the center of the focal point even for cancerous tissue located at a certain location. [Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment will be described based on FIG. 9. In this second embodiment, the radio lens section 13, the metal plate driving means 50, and the metal plate position display means 40 are integrated, and this is detachably attached to the case body 10 via a sealing member, and the electromagnetic wave The feature is that the focal position can be varied only in the depth direction. To explain this in more detail, in FIG. 9, one of the surfaces of the case body 10 in the direction orthogonal to the plane of the paper in FIG. ) is formed. In addition, a lid member 60 that seals this through-hole via a sealing member (not shown) is provided with a male screw for parallelly moving the radio wave lens part 13 and the metal plates 13A at both ends of the radio wave lens part 13. A member 61A, a guide bar 62 that guides the movably formed metal plate 13A, and fixed support plates 63, 63 that firmly support both ends of the guide bar 62 and rotatably support the male screw member 61A. is installed. In this case, the fixed support plates 63, 63 are detachably attached to the lid member 60 using L-shaped fittings (not shown) or the like.
In addition, the male screw member 61A has a right-handed thread on one side (the upper side in FIG. 9) excluding the center part, and a left-handed thread on the other side (the lower side in FIG. 9). Correspondingly, a metal plate 13B is installed on one side via a female screw member 61B with a right-hand screw, and a female screw member 61C with a left-hand screw is installed on the other side. A metal plate 13B is provided via the metal plate 13B. These female screw members 61B and 61C each have a corresponding metal plate 13.
It is integrated with B. Further, in this embodiment, the metal plate 13B in the central portion is composed of two metal plates 13B separated by a predetermined distance S, into which the guide bar 62 and the male screw member 61A described above are loosely inserted. Through holes 65A and 65B are formed for this purpose. Furthermore, the other end of the male screw member 61A is provided to protrude from the fixed support plate 63, as shown in FIG. And in this protrudingly equipped part,
A driven magnet plate 66 having a disc shape and having an N pole and an S pole formed on its surface is fixedly mounted. This driven magnet plate 66 is used, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, in which N poles and S poles are formed at equal intervals on the same circumference. Corresponding to the driven magnet plate 66, a drive magnet plate 67, which also has an N pole and an S pole formed on its surface, is rotatably mounted on the outer end surface of the case body 10. Reference numeral 68 indicates a support member for the drive magnet plate 67, and 67A indicates a knob portion for rotationally driving the drive magnet plate 67 from the outside. The driving magnet plate 67, the driven magnet plate 66, and the screw members 61A, 61B, and 61C constitute a metal plate driving means 50. Therefore, by turning the drive magnet plate 67 from the outside, the driven magnet plate 66 and the male screw member 61A are rotated, and the two metal plates 13A of the radio wave lens section 13 are transferred in the direction of E or F in the figure. As a result, the central metal plates 13B, 1
Based on the interval S between 3B, P is S>P>
By appropriately setting the relationship (λ/2),
For example, as P becomes smaller than S, the radio wave lens 1
The focal point of 3 is formed near the surface of the electromagnetic wave irradiation surface, which gives rise to the advantage that its depth can be freely changed by changing P. Reference numerals 70 and 70 indicate metal plate position display means. The metal plate position display means 70 is made of a transparent or translucent acrylic plate (not shown) with a scale engraved thereon, and its periphery is hermetically fixed to the lid member 60. The other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment described above. In this way, the depth of focus of the output electromagnetic waves can be changed very easily, and the radio lens section can be easily maintained and assembled. In each of the above embodiments, an applicator for deep heating of a living body is illustrated, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this. For example, when the applicator is used for surface heating, the case body 10 may be sealed It is not necessary to adopt this structure, or a structure may be adopted in which the cooling mechanism 11 is omitted. In this case, there is an advantage that even if electromagnetic waves with low output energy are used, local heating can be effectively performed due to the action of the radio wave lens section 13 described above. Further, in each of the above embodiments, the case where the sealing contact plate 21 is fixedly installed on the case body 10 from the beginning is illustrated, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this. It may be configured to be fixed to. Further, for each of the metal plate drive means 30, 50 and the metal plate position display means 40, 70, other structures may be used as long as they function equally well. In particular, the metal plate driving means 30, 5
For 0, without using any permanent magnets,
For example, the male screw portion 61A, which is the drive shaft in the case of the second embodiment, may be made to protrude to the outer surface of the case body 10 via a suitable sealing member, and this protruded male screw portion 61A may be directly driven to rotate. . Further, the case body 10 may be entirely made of a plastic material, and the inside may be coated with a film made of a conductive material, or a fine wire mesh or the like may be laid. [Effects of the Invention] Since the present invention is configured and functions as described above,
According to this, the focal position of the output electromagnetic wave with a lens effect can be freely changed from its center line in one direction to the left or right, and the depth can also be changed appropriately within a predetermined range. Therefore, the present invention provides an unprecedented and excellent applicator for heating therapy, which can extremely easily grasp a heating target part located at a position offset from the center line, for example, without moving the applicator. can do.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the radio wave lens portion disposed inside the case body shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. - A cross-sectional view along the line, Figure 4 is of Figure 3 -
5 is a partially omitted sectional view taken along the - line in FIG. 3, FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the - line in FIG. 3, and FIG. 1
FIG. 8 is a front view, FIGS. 8 1, 2, and 3 are explanatory diagrams showing the action of the radio wave lens section in FIG. 2, and FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the radio wave lens section forming part of the second embodiment.
Fig. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of magnetization of the driven magnet plate shown in Fig. 9, Fig. 11 is a perspective view showing the state of use of the conventional example, and Fig. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of magnetization of the driven magnet plate shown in Fig. 9. Explanatory diagram showing the radio wave lens section, 1st
3 to 14 are explanatory views showing the action of the radio wave lens shown in FIG. 12, respectively. 10...Case body, 10A...Opening, 12
...Electromagnetic wave power supply section, 13...Radio wave lens section, 13
A... Metal plate, 30, 50... Metal plate driving means,
40, 70... Scale plate as a metal plate position display means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A case body having a function as a waveguide,
The case body has an electromagnetic wave power supply section provided at one end of the case body, and an electromagnetic wave transmission opening formed at the other end of the case body, and a radio wave lens is provided between the opening and the power supply section. In the heating therapy applicator, the lens part is formed of a plurality of metal plates, and one or more of these metal plates are maintained in a parallel state. An applicator for heating therapy, characterized in that the applicator is movable in a direction perpendicular to each of the metal plates. 2 A case body with a function as a waveguide,
The case body has an electromagnetic wave power supply section provided at one end of the case body, and an electromagnetic wave transmission opening formed at the other end of the case body, and a radio wave lens is provided between the opening and the power supply section. In the heating therapy applicator, the lens part is formed of a plurality of metal plates, and one or more of these metal plates are maintained in a parallel state. The case body is equipped with a metal plate driving means that is movable in a direction perpendicular to each of the metal plates, and applies a moving force to the movably installed metal plates as necessary. Features a heating therapy applicator. 3 A case body with a function as a waveguide,
The case body has an electromagnetic wave power supply section provided at one end of the case body, and an electromagnetic wave transmission opening formed at the other end of the case body, and a radio wave lens is provided between the opening and the power supply section. In the heating therapy applicator, the lens part is formed of a plurality of metal plates, and one or more of these metal plates are maintained in a parallel state. The case body is equipped with a metal plate driving means that is movable in a direction orthogonal to each of the metal plates, and that applies a moving force to the movably installed metal plates as necessary. An applicator for heating therapy, characterized in that the metal plate driving means is provided with metal position display means for indicating the stop position of each of the metal plates.