JPH0453569A - Beam treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To give no limitation to the posture of a light source at the time of treatment and obtain a high treatment effect within a short treatment time by providing a pulse lighting type lamp for emitting the light of some area of the wavelength area from far infrared area to near ultraviolet area, and a lamp power source for pulse-lighting the lamp at specified pulse width and pulse interval. CONSTITUTION:When dermatophyosis is generated on the finger top of a patient or between the finger tops, the foot is inserted in a foot box 18 and placed on a foot rest 18B. When a fan 12 is driven by a motor 22 while emitting light from a xenon lamp 10, the emitted rays irradiate the tiptoe part of the patient on the foot rest 18B, and the air flow from the fan 12 is blown upon the affected part through a cylindrical member 24 and a light/air guide cylinder 20. The emitted wavelength of the highly stable xenon lamp 10 is generally a ray in the wavelength range of about 180nm to 2000nm, which is a part of far ultraviolet rays to near infrared rays and intermediate infrared rays. The lamp is pulse-lighted at a pulse width of 0.002-0.01 second and a pulse interval less than 10 seconds.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial field of use] The present invention relates to a treatment device using light, and particularly to a light treatment device suitable for treating skin diseases such as athlete's foot. [Conventional technology]

Traditionally, skin diseases such as athlete's foot, armpits, and chickenpox in adults have been treated by applying sterilizing solutions and taking antibiotics, but these treatments have not been particularly effective. There are over several hundred types of bacteria, and treatments that are effective against one type of bacteria may be completely ineffective against other types of bacteria, and even if the disease appears to have been completely cured, it may recur. do,
It is the cause of many people's problems. On the other hand, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-157347@, there is an athlete's foot treatment device that irradiates the affected area with ultraviolet light and simultaneously blows air onto the affected area using a blower. Also, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-4545,
There is an athlete's foot treatment device that generates copper ions, ozone, and ultraviolet rays and blows them out together with air. Furthermore, although it is not an athlete's foot treatment device, it is
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 0, there is an irradiation device for a hair dryer that emits ultraviolet light and simultaneously blows out air containing ozone. Although the reason for this is unknown, none of these has shown great therapeutic effects on skin diseases such as athlete's foot. Additionally, there are phototherapy devices currently available on the market. This generates an arc by applying a voltage between the tips of a pair of thin carbon rods, and the resulting light beam (carbon arc)
irradiates the affected area or related parts of the human body. This is done by changing the type of carbon depending on the type of disease.
The wavelength component of the arc ray is changed. Such phototherapy devices are used not only for the treatment of skin diseases but also for the treatment of many other diseases including internal medicine and surgery.

[Problem to be solved by the invention 1] However, although the above-mentioned carbon-based phototherapy device has a certain degree of therapeutic effect, it has the problem that irradiation must be carried out over a long period of time, for example, over several months, in order to completely cure the disease. There is a point. For example, when treating athlete's foot with a phototherapy device that uses carbon arc rays, there are several cases of cure, but each has the problem of having to be irradiated at least 20 times. Furthermore, since this phototherapy device generates an arc, it produces soot and ash due to the combustion of carbon, and a large amount of heat rays are emitted, giving a burning sensation to the affected area. Furthermore, when the irradiated area is irradiated from below with an arc ray, the heat of the arc directly hits the area, and furthermore, when the arc ray is generated, part of the carbon bursts and sparks fall.
There is a problem in that it is not possible to irradiate the human body from directly below or above, and there are restrictions on the posture of the treatment device. Furthermore, carbon gradually burns when it emits light, so if it is used continuously for a long time, the distance between a pair of carbons must be gradually shortened, and if the adjustment limit is exceeded. If you want to irradiate it for a long time, you have to replace the carbon, which is a hassle. This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and does not require carbon replacement or adjustment, does not generate ash or soot, and has no restrictions on the posture of the light source during treatment. Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a phototherapy device that can produce a large therapeutic effect in a short treatment period. Another object of the present invention is to provide a phototherapy device that can completely cure skin diseases such as athlete's foot, regardless of the type of bacteria, and with almost no recurrence. [Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a pulse-lit lamp that emits light in at least a part of the wavelength range from the far infrared region to the near ultraviolet region, and a pulse-lit lamp that emits light in at least a part of the wavelength range from the far infrared region to the near ultraviolet region. is 0.002~0
．． The above object is achieved by a phototherapy device having a lamp power source that lights the lamp in pulses at a pulse interval of 10 seconds or less. Further, the present invention achieves the above object by providing filter means for cutting light rays in a wavelength range shorter than the near-ultraviolet range, although the lamp outputs light rays in a wavelength range from the near-ultraviolet region to the far-infrared region. It is something to be achieved. Further, the present invention achieves the above object by providing the lamp with a filter means that outputs light in a wavelength range from the visible region to the far infrared region, but cuts out a wavelength region shorter than the visible region. . The present invention also provides an air flow forming means for forming an air flow passing around the lamp, and an air flow for guiding the air flow formed by the air flow forming means so as to blow the air flow toward the center of irradiation by the lamp. The above object is achieved by providing a guide means. Furthermore, the present invention achieves the above object by providing the air flow guide means with a switching means for switching the air flow toward the irradiation center direction and to the sides thereof. Further, the present invention achieves the above object by removably disposing a filter for wavelength selection on the front surface of the light emission side of the lamp.

[Action and effect]

This invention is based on the discovery that skin diseases, etc. can be cured in a short period of time by irradiating the affected area with pulsed light in the near-ultraviolet to far-infrared region with high luminous intensity. In other words, in the case of carbon arc rays, there is an upper limit to the luminous intensity even if we try to increase the therapeutic effect, and since the light is continuous, the affected area becomes too hot, and as a result, it is necessary to use the low luminous intensity many times for a long period of time. Treatment must be performed, but when using pulsed light, the non-irradiated area does not become extremely hot even if the light intensity is several times higher than that of conventional arc light.
We were able to obtain rapid therapeutic effects. In particular, in the case of athlete's foot, even if it takes more than 2 months for complete recovery with conventional phototherapy devices, the phototherapy device of the present invention can be used only once, and normally, it can be treated 3 times or 2 times.
Even a malignant case that had not been cured for 0 years could be completely cured with 20 irradiations. In addition, in the case of armpits, it can be completely cured in just one irradiation time.
There was no recurrence for over a year. In addition, even in the case of so-called rows or leprosy, there are cases where the patient was completely cured by two irradiations, each time taking 3 to 5 minutes. In the case of skin diseases for which sterilization is effective, such as athlete's foot and eczema, it is effective to irradiate light rays containing near ultraviolet rays as in claim 2. In addition, in the case of other diseases, as in claim 3,
It is effective to cut out the ultraviolet region and irradiate with light having wavelengths in the visible and infrared regions. Further, in claim 4, an air flow is formed passing around the lamp that is lit in pulses, and the air flow guide means blows the air flow toward the irradiation center of the lamp, so that the affected area is heated and By drying, athlete's foot etc. can be quickly treated. Furthermore, in claim 5, when it is better not to expose the affected area to dry air or when it is better not to heat it, the air flow switching means cools the lamp and causes the warmed air to flow to the side. Since the spray is not sprayed onto the affected area, good results can be obtained. According to claim 6, the wavelength selection filter arbitrarily selects the wavelength of the pulsed light emitted from the lamp,
Treatment can be performed effectively depending on the condition of the affected area. For example, areas with weak skin are more likely to get sunburned by UV rays, so it's a good idea to install a filter that blocks UV rays. Furthermore, if you want to avoid high temperatures, it is a good idea to install an infrared cut filter.

【Example】

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this embodiment is a device for treating athlete's foot, and includes a pulse lighting type high-stable xenon lamp 10, and A phototherapy device 16 includes a fan 12 that forms an air flow blown in the direction of irradiation by the lamp 10, and a lamp power source 14 that supplies the xenon lamp 10 with a current for causing the xenon lamp 10 to emit light. This is what I did. The xenon lamp 10 is coated with UV coating to block ultraviolet rays, and is detachably attached to a light/air guide tube 20 attached to the foot box 18. The foot box 18 has a substantially semi-elliptical shape with one end cut off, the cut end serving as a foot insertion opening 18A, and a footrest 18B that slopes upward from the foot insertion opening 18A side. The light/air guide tube 20 is placed in the foot box 18 so that the light from the xenon lamp 10 and the air flow from the fan 12 hit near the toes of the patient placed on the footrest 18B. One end is attached diagonally to the top. The inner peripheral surface of the foot box 18 is coated with an aluminum reflective coating 18C, and the outer surface is covered with a heat insulating material 18D. Further, the foot insertion opening 18A is covered with a flexible resin material such as heat-resistant rubber. The base end of the xenon lamp 10 is attached to the tip of the casing of a motor 22 for driving a fan 12. The fan 12 is disposed further toward the base end of the motor 22, and the shroud 12A of the fan 12 is fixed to the upper bottom portion 24A of the cylindrical member 24, so that the fan 12, the motor 22, and the xenon lamp 10 are coaxially arranged inside the cylindrical member 24. The outer diameter of the shroud 12A is larger than the outer diameter of the casing of the motor 22 so that the air flow generated by the fan 12 is blown out from around the upper end of the motor 22 in the drawing. Bottom part 2 of the cylindrical member 24 to which the sheroud 12A is attached
4A is formed with an air inlet 24B, to which an air filter 24C is attached. A cover 26 is disposed above the bottom 24A of the cylindrical member 24 with a gap 27 between it and the bottom 24A, through which outside air can flow in through the air inlet 24B. It looks like this. The light/air guide tube 20 has an open upper end and a circumferential groove 21 of a certain depth formed on its inner periphery, and the cylindrical member 24 is fixed by inserting its tip into the circumferential groove 21. It is made possible. Therefore, when the cylindrical member 24 is inserted and fixed into the circumferential groove 21 of the light/air guide tube 20, the xenon lamp 10. motor 2
2 and the fan 12 are arranged in this order. Reference numeral 28 in FIG. 1 indicates a cord for supplying current from the lamp power supply 14 to the xenon lamp 10, and this cord 28 is disposed to pass through the peripheral wall of the cylindrical member 24. Further, reference numeral 29 indicates a guard net for protecting the lamp attached to the base end of the light/air guide tube 20. Next, the configuration of the lamp power supply 14 will be explained. As shown in FIG.
A main power supply m30 that outputs a current from an AC power supply of 640V as a direct current of 640V, and a main power supply m30 that is arranged in parallel with this main power supply 30,
The trigger power supply 32 outputs 75V DC. A resistor RIIl and a capacitor Cm are arranged between the main power supply 30 and the main output terminals 34A and 34B. Further, a resistor Rt and a capacitor Ct are arranged in series between the trigger power supply 32 and the trigger output terminal 34C,
Further, a thyristor SCR is arranged in parallel between the capacitor Ct and the resistor Rt. A pulse interval setter 3 is provided at the gate of the thyristor SCR.
A trigger signal from 6 is input. Further, a counter 38 is connected to the trigger output terminal 34C to count the number of trigger outputs. Reference numeral 40 in FIG. 1 is a timer for setting the operating time of the xenon lamp 10, reference numeral @42 indicates a power switch of the lamp power source 14, and reference numeral 44 indicates a wattmeter. Next, the operation of the apparatus of the above embodiment will be explained. First, the lamp power supply 14 is activated by the power switch 42, the treatment time is set by the timer 40, and the xenon lamp 14 is activated by the pulse interval setting device 36.
Set the flash interval. The actual treatment time depends on the number of times the xenon lamp 10 emits light, so turn on the xenon lamp 10 with the counter 38 without setting the timer.
The number of times the patient emits light is counted, and when this count reaches a certain value, the power switch 42 may be turned off to end the treatment. If the patient has athlete's foot on or between the fingertips, insert the patient's foot from the toe into the foot box 18 and place the foot on the footrest 18B, as shown in FIG. In this state, when the fan 12 is driven by the motor 22 while emitting light from the xenon lamp 10, the light emitted from the xenon lamp 10 illuminates the patient's toes on the footrest 18B, and the airflow from the fan 12 is It passes through the cylindrical member 24 and the light/air guide tube 20 and is blown onto the affected area. The emission wavelength of the highly stable xenon lamp 10 is usually from far ultraviolet to near infrared and part of mid-infrared, and is approximately 180 nm.
It is a light beam in the wavelength range from nm to 2000 nm. Of this wavelength range, the wavelength range of 400 nm or less is cut by the UV cocoon. As a result, the emitted light from the highly stable xenon lamp 10 has a wavelength range of 400 nm to 2000 nm, 3QQ.
The wavelength range is from nm to 2400 nm, which is similar to sunlight on the ground, and harmful ultraviolet light is filtered out. On the other hand, when the air flow generated by the fan 12 driven by the motor 22 passes around the xenon lamp 10, it cools it, that is, its temperature is raised by heat exchange.
Since the light/air is blown onto the affected area through the light/air guide tube 20, it is naturally dried. According to the inventor's experiments, athlete's foot, which could not be completely cured despite all kinds of treatments for more than 10 years, was treated only a few times, each time lasting 4 to 5 minutes, and emitting 66 to 77 times.
After treatment with a total of 600 flashes, the patient was completely cured and was able to maintain a condition without recurrence for more than 12 months. Furthermore, it is said that there are hundreds of types of athlete's foot fungi, but in many experimental examples, treatment using the device of the present invention was effective for all of them, and all of them were completely cured. In the above embodiment, high-temperature dry air is blown onto the affected area by the fan 12 together with the light beam from the xenon lamp 10. However, according to the inventor's experiments, the xenon lamp 1
Considerable therapeutic effects could be obtained by irradiating the affected area with only the rays from zero. For example, athlete's foot on the back of the nail was completely cured after three treatments. Note that the highly stable xenon lamp 10 in the above example had an output of 1200W. Here, in each of the above embodiments, the xenon lamp 10
Although the light beam emitted from the laser beam is UV-cut and irradiated to the affected area, a wavelength selection filter may be further used to irradiate only the light beam of a specific wavelength to the affected area. For example, as shown by reference numeral 45 in FIG. 1, a filter is attached to the light/air section 80 of the light/air guide tube 20 in a changeable manner. There are multiple types of filters 45, and the rotary plate 4
By rotating the rotary plate 45B via a rotary knob 45A attached to the foot box 58 and passing through the foot box 58, the light beam can be changed or moved forward or backward from the optical path. For example, an infrared filter allows only far-infrared, mid-infrared, near-ultraviolet, and visible light to illuminate the affected area. According to experiments conducted by the present inventor, when the light beam from the xenon lamp 10 is passed through a UV filter, it can cause problems such as athlete's foot, eczema, and heat rash.
When passed through a red R1 filter, it is used to treat skin diseases such as acne and malignancies; it is used to treat toothaches, alveolar pyorrhea, bruises, and swelling and pain such as rheumatism; when it is passed through a skin-colored W10 filter, it is used to treat rashes, eczema, burns, and bronchial tuberculosis. Each was effective against inflammation such as flames. Next, a second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 3 will be described. In this second embodiment, while the first embodiment treats only one leg of the patient, both legs can be treated at the same time. That is, in the case of athlete's foot, not only one foot but both feet are usually affected, and it is desirable to be able to treat both feet at once. This second embodiment uses a foot box 46 having a cross section approximately twice that of the foot box 18 in the second embodiment, and is provided with a pair of right foot insertion openings 46A and 46B. In addition, in this second embodiment, both feet are irradiated with a light beam emitted from one xenon lamp 10, and the fan 1 is
Since the airflow formed by 2 is also blown onto both feet, a flow divider plate 48 is arranged as shown in FIG. The flow dividing plate 48 has a reflective coating made of aluminum or the like on its surface, and is arranged in an inverted V shape with its tip facing the xenon lamp 10. Therefore, the light beam emitted from the xenon lamp 10 is reflected by the inclined surface of this flow dividing plate 48 and is irradiated onto both feet. Further, the airflow formed by the fan 12 is also divided into left and right sides in the figure by this flow divider plate, and each is blown onto the left and right feet. Since the other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, the same parts are given the same reference numerals as in FIG. 1, and their explanation will be omitted. According to experiments conducted by the present inventors, this athlete's foot treatment device for both feet was able to obtain almost the same therapeutic effect as the athlete's foot treatment device of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 above. In this second embodiment, the same lamp power source 14 as in the first embodiment is used. Next, a third embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 4 will be described. The phototherapy device 49 of the third embodiment is suitable for treating small areas to be irradiated, such as small areas of athlete's foot, armpits, or adult chickenpox, eczema, pimples, storms, partial burns, cuts, etc. The foot box in the first and second embodiments is omitted, and a xenon lamp 10, a fan 12, and a motor 22 are attached to a light/air guide tube 50. The symbol @52 in FIG. 4 indicates a hand grip. Note that the power supply is not shown. The light/air guide cylinder 50 in this third embodiment is formed to be long so as to extend beyond the tip of the xenon lamp 10. The light and air guide tube 50 has an inner guide tube 56 on the distal end side, which is provided with an air outlet 54 at the tip and guides the air flow that has passed around the xenon lamp 70 to the air outlet 54, and this inner guide tube. An outer guide tube 62 is attached to the outside of the guide tube 56 to surround it and whose tip protrudes further than the air ejection opening 54, and an air exhaust port 64 is attached to the base end of the outer guide tube 62. is formed. Further, a filter 45 is detachably attached to the tip of the outer guide tube 62 by screwing. In addition, a rubber hood 5 which is shaped to expand forward is provided by screwing into the tip of the outer guide tube 62 or the ring of the filter 45.
8 is installed. The base end of the outer guide tube 62 is fixed to the tip of the light/air guide tube 50. Note that the annular gap 57 between the inner guide tube 56 and the outer guide tube 62 is communicated with the inside of the light/air guide tube 50 only via the inner guide tube 56. Furthermore, a hand grip 52 is integrally attached to the side surface of the light/air guide tube 50. Reference numeral 68 in FIG. 4 indicates a guard net attached to the air outlet 54 to prevent foreign matter from entering, 70 indicates a cord for supplying current from the lamp power source to the xenon lamp 10 and the motor 22, This cord 70 is connected to the lower end of the handgrip 40. The configuration of the lamp power source is the same as that in the first embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted. When treating armpits with this phototherapy device 49, the rubber hood 58 at the tip of the outer guide tube 62 is applied to the area where armpits occur, and the light beam from the xenon lamp 10 and the airflow formed by the fan 12 are applied here. Spray. The air flow generated by the fan 12 driven by the motor cools the xenon lamp 10 as it passes around it, i.e. its temperature is increased by heat exchange, and the air flow passes through the light/air guide tube 50 and the inner guide tube 56. Since it is sprayed onto the affected area, it naturally dries the affected area. Since the rubber hood 58 of the outer guide tube 62 is in pressure contact with the affected area, the air blown out from the air jet opening 54 and blown onto the affected area bounces back and spreads between the inner guide tube 56 and the outer guide tube 62. The air passes through the annular gap 60 and is exhausted to the outside from the air outlet 64. Since this air outlet 64 is located away from the opening at the tip of the outer guide tube 62, the exhaust air is not blown onto the patient's skin other than the affected area. Note that when the filter 45 is installed, the inner guide tube 5
The air blown out from the filter 45 is reflected by the filter 45, enters the gap 60, and is discharged from the air outlet 64, allowing only the light beam to reach the affected area. Therefore, if it is preferable that hot air or hot air not be blown onto the affected area, the filter 45 is attached and used. Furthermore, if both hot air and hot air blowing and the filter 45 are required, a gap may be formed between the periphery of the filter 45 and the outer guide tube 62 for air circulation. According to the inventor's experiments, armpits were completely cured by treatment for 4 to 5 minutes and 66 to 77 times of light emission. In the case of chickenpox in an adult, the light/air guide tube 50 is directed toward the chickenpox area, and light emitted from the xenon lamp 10 and airflow from the fan 12 are blown onto the area. All cases of chickenpox and eczema in these adults were completely cured with one or two treatments. In the above embodiment, the filter 45 serves as an airflow switching means for determining whether or not to blow the airflow to the affected area, but this may be other switching means, such as a plate that transmits light rays. Further, in the above embodiment, the light source for irradiating the affected area is the highly stable xenon lamp 10, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the light source whose emission wavelength range is between the near-ultraviolet region and the far-infrared region Any light source may be used as long as it is capable of pulsed lighting in some or all of the wavelength ranges. Therefore, the lamp of the present invention may be any one of a mercury-xenon lamp, a deuterium-tungsten compound lamp (duplex lamp), a light modulation tube, a laser, in addition to the above-mentioned pulse lighting type highly stable xenon lamp. An appropriate combination of these may be used. Further, as the window material for the lamp, in the case of high output, a so-called quartz tube made of fused quartz or borosilicate glass is desirable. Borosilicate glass is advantageous because it blocks ultraviolet rays with a wavelength of 240 nm or less. However, if long life is not required, other window materials may be used.

【Effect of the invention】

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has an excellent effect in that diseases that conventionally required long-term and multiple treatments can be cured in a short period of time and with a small number of irradiations. Furthermore, since the light source does not burn, there is no contamination of the indoor environment with soot or ash, and there are no restrictions on the posture of the light source. Furthermore, especially when used as a treatment device for skin diseases, it has the excellent effect of completely curing athlete's foot caused by many types of bacteria, chickenpox, eczema, and armpits in a relatively short period of time.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment in which the phototherapy device according to the present invention is used as an athlete's foot treatment device, FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a lamp power source in the same embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a front view showing the embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the third embodiment. 10...High stability xenon lamp, 12...Fan, 14...Lamp power supply, 16...Phototherapy device, 18.46...Foot box, 20.50...Light/air guide tube , 45...filter.

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) A pulse lighting type lamp that emits light in at least a part of the wavelength range from the far infrared region to the near ultraviolet region, and this lamp has a pulse width of 0.002 to 0.01.
1. A phototherapy device comprising: a lamp power supply for lighting pulses at a pulse interval of 10 seconds or less. (2) In claim 1, the lamp is provided with a filter means for outputting light in a wavelength range from near ultraviolet to far infrared, or for cutting light in a wavelength range shorter than the near ultraviolet. Features of phototherapy equipment. (3) The phototherapy according to claim 1, wherein the lamp is equipped with a filter means for outputting light in a wavelength range from the visible region to the far infrared region or for cutting off a wavelength region shorter than the visible region. Device. (4) In claim 1, 2 or 3, the air flow forming means forms an air flow passing around the lamp, and the air flow formed by the air flow forming means is directed toward the center of irradiation by the lamp. A phototherapy device characterized by being provided with an airflow guiding means that guides the airflow in a blowing manner. (5) The phototherapy apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the air flow guiding means includes a switching means for switching the air flow toward the irradiation center and to the sides thereof. (6) The phototherapy device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a filter for wavelength selection is removably disposed on the front surface of the light emission side of the lamp.