JPH0364133B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a cryosurgical instrument that uses a so-called "vortex tube" to cool a frozen terminal.

Conventionally used means for generating low temperatures in cryosurgical instruments include those that utilize the phase change of a low-temperature liquid, that is, the latent heat and sensible heat during vaporization of the low-temperature liquid, and those that utilize adiabatic expansion of compressed high-pressure gas, that is, Juul-Thomson. There are some that use Joule.Thomson effect.

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a cryosurgical device that utilizes the phase change of a cryogenic liquid. is a freezing terminal connected to the tip of the freezer 3, and 5 is a heater built into the storage container 1. The heater 5 is used to heat the low temperature liquid 2 to increase the pressure inside the storage container 1, and to send the low temperature liquid 2 into the freezer 3. Reference numeral 6 denotes a pipe for supplying the cryogenic liquid 2 to the freezer 3, which is insulated to reduce vaporization of the cryogenic liquid 2. 7 is a valve for controlling the supply of the low temperature liquid 2. The freezing terminal 4 is made of copper, silver, platinum, or the like, which has good thermal conductivity. The low temperature liquid 2 supplied into the freezer 3 is blown onto the inner surface of the frozen terminal 4 and vaporized, thereby cooling the frozen terminal 4.

8 and 9 are pipes and valves for exhausting the low temperature liquid vaporized within the freezer 3. The cryogenic liquid that has cooled and vaporized the frozen terminal 4 is discharged into the atmosphere through the tubes 8 and 10. On the other hand, 11 in the figure is the storage container 1.
A pressure control valve 12 is inserted in the middle of this pressure control pipe 11 .

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of the vicinity of the frozen terminal 4. Freezer 3 consists of three concentric tubes, 13 is an outer tube, 14
1 is an exhaust pipe connected to the pipe 8, and 15 is a supply pipe connected to the pipe 6.

The low temperature liquid 2 passing through the supply pipe 15 is sprayed onto the inner surface of the frozen terminal 4, absorbs heat from the frozen terminal 4, and vaporizes. This vaporized low temperature liquid is discharged into the atmosphere through the exhaust pipe 14. A vacuum section 16 is formed between the outer tube 13 and the exhaust pipe 14 to reduce heat entering from the outside of the outer tube 13. A thermometer 17 such as a thermocouple is installed in the vacuum section 16 to monitor the temperature of the frozen terminal 4.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a cryosurgical device that utilizes adiabatic expansion of compressed high-pressure gas. Refrigerant gases include Freon, laughing gas (N ₂ O), and carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ).
However, since Freon liquefies at low pressure, it is stored in a liquid state in a cooling container, and both laughing gas and carbon dioxide are stored in a cooling container as high-pressure gases of about 50 to 60 kg/cm ² G.

Figure 3 shows a cryosurgical device that uses Freon as a coolant, and 21 is the coolant (Freon).
22 is a freezer, 23 is a pipe that supplies coolant to the freezer 22, and 24 is a valve that controls the supply amount and pressure of the coolant. 25 again
is a holder part for holding the cryostat 22 by hand;
26 is a control valve for adjusting the amount of coolant supplied at hand. A freezing terminal 27 is connected to the tip of the freezing element 22 and is made of copper, silver, platinum, or the like with good thermal conductivity.

28 and 29 are exhaust pipes and valves for exhausting the coolant that has cooled the frozen terminal 27.

30 is a vacuum pump connected to the exhaust pipe 28;
This is to increase the differential pressure between the coolant supply pressure and the pressure inside the exhaust pipe 28 to enhance the cooling effect.

31 is a thermometer such as a thermocouple attached to monitor the temperature of the freezing terminal 27, and 32 is a temperature indicator that indicates the temperature.

As shown in Fig. 4, the cryocooler 22 consists of double concentric tubes, 33 is a supply tube that also serves as an outer tube;
4 is an exhaust pipe. A constricted portion 35 is formed at the inner tip of the supply pipe 33 .

Thereupon, the high-pressure coolant supplied to the freezer 22 passes through the supply pipe 33 and the constriction part 35 to the freezing terminal 2.
7 and expands, cooling the frozen terminal 27 by the Juul-Thompson effect. After cooling, the low-pressure coolant is exhausted through the exhaust pipe 34.

Conventional cryosurgery equipment uses liquid nitrogen as a cooling agent.
Expensive coolants such as Freon are used. In particular, liquid nitrogen is difficult to handle because it is a low-temperature liquid with a temperature of -196°C, and because it vaporizes at room temperature, it is difficult to store it in a storage container for a long period of time. Furthermore, laughing gas and carbon dioxide gas are difficult to handle because they must be stored in containers under high pressure of about 50 to 60 kg/cm ² G.

In addition, refrigerants such as liquid nitrogen, Freon, and laughing gas are nitrogenous and toxic, so when using a cryosurgical device indoors, they must be exhausted from the cryostat and the gasified refrigerant must be released outside. There was a risk that it would be harmful to the human body if the equipment was not installed.

The present invention was made based on the above circumstances, and its purpose is to be inexpensive and easy to handle.
To provide a cryosurgical instrument which can use air as a coolant without drawbacks such as suffocation and toxicity, and can also be used at low pressure to solve the difficulty of long-term storage.

In order to achieve the above object, the cryosurgical device of the present invention is constructed as follows. That is, the high-pressure gas supplied by the high-pressure gas supply means is ejected from the tip of the spiral tube into the inner tube through a tangential nozzle, thereby creating a turbulent swirling flow in the inner tube. The thermal separation effect of the gas is excited, and the low-temperature gas separated and generated by this thermal separation effect is supplied to the frozen terminal through the low-temperature side orifice to cool the frozen terminal, and the high-temperature gas separated and generated by the thermal separation effect is sent to the high-temperature side. It is characterized by being configured so that it is discharged to the outside through an orifice.

In other words, the present invention is disclosed in the document "Cryogenic Engineering Handbook" (published by Uchida Rokakuba Shinsha on September 15, 1982) by means of a spiral tube, a tangential nozzle, an inner tube, a low-temperature side orifice, a high-temperature side orifice, etc. The so-called "vortex tube"
The frozen terminal is cooled by the low-temperature gas separated and produced by this "vortex tube."

In addition, in the above literature, "vortex tube" (vortex tube)
The operating principle of the tube is explained as follows. ``Gas sent tangentially to the periphery of the pipe is
It moves in a predetermined direction (to the left in the figure) while making a spiral motion. A large pressure gradient is generated in the radial direction of the tube due to centrifugal force, and the gas passing through the orifice must first resist the centrifugal force and reach the vicinity of the tube axis from the surrounding high-pressure area, where cooling occurs. .

Therefore, it is possible to use a gas such as air, which is inexpensive and easy to handle, and which is harmless to the human body. Also, since such gases can be used at low pressure, they can be easily stored.

Examples of the present invention are shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 below.
This will be explained with reference to the figures.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the gas supply system, the exhaust system, and the surrounding area of the freezer. 40 in the figure indicates approximately gas such as air.
A compressor compresses to about 10 kg/cm ² G, 41 is a high-pressure gas storage container for storing gas such as compressed high-pressure air, and 42 and 43 are valves for sending the gas from the compressor 40 to the storage container 41; It's a tube.

Further, 44 is a pressure gauge attached to the storage container 41 to monitor the pressure inside the container, and 45 and 46 are a relief valve and a relief valve for releasing gas when the pressure inside the storage container 41 exceeds a certain pressure. It is the trachea.

Further, 47 is a freezer, and 48 and 49 are control valves and supply pipes for supplying gas from the high-pressure gas storage container 41 to the freezer 47.

Furthermore, 50 is a frozen terminal to be brought into contact with a living body;
Reference numerals 1 and 52 denote an exhaust valve and an exhaust pipe for exhausting the gas after the freezing terminal 50 is cooled to a low temperature.

Further, 53 is a gas exhaust pipe on the high temperature side, and 54 is a holder portion for holding the freezer 47. 55 is a thermometer such as a thermoelectric body for monitoring the temperature of the frozen terminal 50, and 56 is a temperature indicator.

Furthermore, 57 is an electric heater embedded in the frozen terminal 50, which is used for the purpose of warming the frozen terminal 50 attached to the lesion after the living body has been frozen and before it is removed. 58 is a current supply device that supplies current to the electric heater 57.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the cryostat 47, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line "--" in FIG.

In the figure, 59 is an outer tube, 60 is an inner tube, and 61 is a spiral tube connected to the supply tube 49 and disposed in an annular space between the outer tube 59 and the inner tube 60. spiral tube 61
High pressure gas flows inside. Further, the annular space is connected to the pipe 52, and the low-temperature gas that has cooled the frozen terminal 50 flows inside the pipe 61.
It functions as a heat exchanger to lower the internal gas temperature.

Reference numeral 62 denotes a gas storage portion communicating with the supply pipe 49 via the spiral tube 61, 63 a nozzle that communicates between the gas storage portion 62 and the inner tube 60, and 64 a low temperature side orifice provided near the nozzle 63. , 65
is a high temperature side orifice provided between the high temperature side exhaust pipe 53 and the inner pipe 60.

The gas storage portion 62 is provided within an annular protrusion 66 that protrudes from the outer periphery of the distal end of the inner tube 60 . Further, as shown in FIG. 7, nozzles 63 are provided at several locations on the peripheral wall of the distal end of the inner tube 60, and
2, that is, the inlet pressure of the nozzle 63 is made equal. Each nozzle 63 is provided facing in the tangential direction of the wall surface of the inner tube 60, as shown in FIG.

The spiral tube 61, the tangential nozzle 63, the inner tube 60, the low-temperature side orifice 64, the high-temperature orifice 65, etc. form a so-called "vortex tube", and the "vortex tube" separates the The frozen terminal 50 is cooled by the generated low-temperature gas.

That is, the high-pressure gas sent through the spiral pipe 61 passes through the gas storage section 62 and then passes through the tangential nozzle 63.
and is ejected tangentially into the inner tube 60. The gas flowing into the inner tube 60 becomes a turbulent swirling flow and is thermally separated. The thermally separated low-temperature gas flows out from the low-temperature side orifice 64 and flows into the high-temperature side orifice 6.
5, thermally separated high temperature gas flows out. After cooling the frozen terminal 50, the low-temperature gas passes through the annular space, and then passes through the exhaust pipe 52 while giving the remaining cold to the spiral pipe 61, that is, exchanging heat with the high-pressure gas flowing inside the pipe 61. Released to the outside. The high temperature gas passes through the inner pipe 60 and is further discharged to the outside through the exhaust pipe 53.

In addition, 67 in the figure is a heat insulating material made of nylon, etc., which has low thermal conductivity and is durable even at low temperatures.
The structure is such that the heat of the high temperature gas inside the inner tube 60 does not heat the low temperature gas outside the heat insulating material 67.

By configuring as above, the frozen terminal 50
It can be cooled down to around -50℃ and can be applied to ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology, dermatology, etc. In addition, air, which is inexpensive and easy to handle, can be used as a coolant, and there is no need to handle low-temperature liquids. Therefore, it is safe and there is no fear of frostbite, and there is no need for a heat-insulating container, which simplifies the equipment. In addition, since there is no need to handle air as a refrigerant as a high-pressure gas, it is safe in terms of pressure and toxicity, and excellent effects can be obtained, such as no special handling or license required.

As explained above, according to the present invention, air can be used as a refrigerant and can be used at relatively low pressure, so it is not asphyxiating or toxic, is highly safe, is easy to handle, and can be used for cooling. There are no disadvantages that were previously experienced, such as difficulties associated with long-term storage of agents, and in addition, the structure is simplified, reliability is improved,
A cryosurgical device that can be manufactured at low cost can be provided.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 and 2 show a first conventional example, in which Figure 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cryosurgical device, Figure 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the freezing terminal, and Figures 3 and 4 are This shows the second conventional example, in which Fig. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the cryosurgical device, Fig. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the freezing terminal,
5 to 7 show an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cryosurgical device, FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the freezing terminal, and FIG. FIG. 59... Outer tube, 60... Inner tube, 61... Spiral tube, 62... Gas reservoir, 63... Nozzle, 64
... Low temperature side orifice, 65 ... High temperature side orifice.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An outer tube equipped with a freezing terminal that contacts the living body at its tip, an inner tube disposed coaxially with the outer tube at the axial center of the outer tube, and an inner tube between the inner tube and the outer tube. A helical tube inserted into the annular space, a high-pressure gas supply means for supplying high-pressure gas from the proximal end of the helical tube, and a high-pressure gas supplied by the high-pressure gas supply means from the tip of the helical tube to the inside. a tangential nozzle that injects gas into the tube in a tangential direction to the tube wall to generate a turbulent swirling flow to excite the thermal separation effect of the gas in the inner tube; a low-temperature side orifice that cools the frozen terminal by guiding the low-temperature gas from the tip of the inner tube into the outer tube and supplying it to the frozen terminal; A cryosurgical instrument comprising a cryostat comprising a high-temperature side orifice for discharging gas from the proximal end of the inner tube to the outside.