JPH0529702Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Technical field The invention consists of a laser probe, a spinal needle,
More specifically, the present invention relates to an effective combination of a laser probe and a spinal needle suitable for use in reducing intravertebral disc pressure by ablating the nucleus pulposus within an intervertebral disc using the ablation effect of a laser.

BACKGROUND ART Intervertebral disc herniation occurs when the nucleus pulposus within the intervertebral disc ruptures the surrounding annulus fibrosus and bulges out into the spinal canal. As one of the treatments, it has been proposed to evaporate the intradiscal nucleus pulposus using the ablation effect of a laser to reduce the intradiscal pressure.

3 to 5 are diagrams for explaining an example of laser treatment according to the prior art as described above, and in the figures, 1 is a spinal needle, 2 is a nucleus pulposus, 3 is a puncture needle,
4 is a laser probe. First, as shown in Fig. 3, with the puncture needle 3 inserted into the spinal needle 1, the spinal needle is inserted into the intervertebral disc, and then the puncture needle 3 is removed and confirmed by X-ray. After that,
A laser probe 4 is inserted into the spinal needle 1 and the nucleus pulposus 2 is irradiated with laser light to evaporate the nucleus pulposus 2. At this time, gas is generated due to transpiration of the nucleus pulposus, and this gas must be expelled from the body.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram for explaining an example of a spinal needle with an air vent tube previously proposed by the present applicant. In the figure, 1 is a spinal needle that functions as described above, 5 is an air vent tube, An air vent tube 5 is attached to the outside of the needle 1 in parallel with and integrally with the spinal needle 1. Initially, the puncture needle 3 is inserted into the spinal needle 1 and the air vent tube 5, and after these are inserted into the nucleus pulposus, the puncture needle 3 is removed from the spinal needle 1 and the air vent tube 5. , a laser probe 4 is inserted into the spinal needle 1 instead of the puncture needle 3 to perform the above-mentioned ablation of the nucleus pulposus. Therefore, while irradiating the laser beam to evaporate the nucleus pulposus, the gas generated by the evaporation of the nucleus pulposus can be effectively removed from the air vent tube 5.

However, in the spinal needle shown in FIG. 6, since the spinal needle 1 and the air vent tube 5 are integrally constructed, the shape of the insertion surface is complicated in the figure 8 shape, and the patient's skin There were problems such as causing more damage than necessary.

Purpose This invention was developed in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and is particularly aimed at effectively reducing the gas generated when the nucleus pulposus is evaporated by laser irradiation without unnecessarily damaging the patient's skin. The purpose of this invention is to provide a laser probe and a spinal needle that can be removed at any time.

Configuration FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining one embodiment of the present invention, in which the puncture needle is removed from the spinal needle 1 and a laser probe 4 is inserted in its place. An optical fiber 6 for transmitting and emitting laser light is inserted through the optical fiber 6, and the laser light is transmitted from the end (not shown) of the optical fiber 6, and is emitted from the tip 6a to reach the nucleus pulposus as described above. Perform transpiration. Accordingly, in the present invention, a gas vent passage 1a communicating with the inside of the spinal needle 1 is integrally formed near the operating section of the spinal needle 1, and a laser probe 4 is inserted into the spinal needle 1. It is inserted and the nucleus pulposus is evaporated,
At this time, the gas generated passes through the gap between the spinal needle 1 and the laser probe 4 and is discharged to the outside of the body from the gas vent passage 1a. Further, in the present invention, a flow path 4a communicating with the inside of the laser probe 4 is provided near the operation of the laser probe 4, and for example, physiological saline flows through the flow path 4a, and the flow path 4a is provided in the spinal needle 1. gas vent passage 1a
As a result, dirt is removed from the optical fiber 6 and the inside of the spinal needle 1 is cleaned.

In addition, the gas inside the nucleus pulposus can be removed by suction from the gas venting channel 1a, but at this time,
Since air flows in from point a, gas can be removed more effectively. However, in this case, it is very unsanitary to simply let the outside air flow in through the flow path 4a, so in this case, a membrane filter or the like is attached to the inflow flow path 4a to allow the outside air to flow in. It is necessary to prevent the contained bacteria from entering the nucleus pulposus. That is, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 7 denotes a membrane filter, which is used by attaching it to the inflow channel 4a when removing suction gas, and by removing the filter 7 when flushing. In addition, optical fiber 6
may be inserted into the laser probe needle 4 by positioning it in advance, or may be inserted into the laser probe needle 4 after the laser probe needle 4 has been inserted (in this case, the (The insertion length is predetermined).

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 1, and the relationship among the spinal needle 1, laser probe 4, and optical fiber 6 is such that the tip of the laser probe 4 is located inside the spinal needle 1 as shown in the figure. The optical fiber 6 is positioned so that the tip of the optical fiber 6 is located inside the laser probe 4. This facilitates degassing and prevents tissue burnout and staining of the fiber tip. I have to. In FIG. 2, arrow A is a flow path communicating with flow path 1a, arrow B is a flow path communicating with flow path 4a, and during flushing, physiological saline flowing from flow path 4a flows into flow paths B and A. It passes through and flows out from 1a. Further, the tip of the spinal needle 1 is tapered 1b to facilitate puncturing of the spinal needle 1 and to reduce damage to the skin. Furthermore, the spinal needle 1
It is also possible to apply ceramic, silicone, Teflon coating, etc. 1c to the outer circumferential portion of the spinal needle 1, except for the tapered portion, to prevent heat from escaping from the living tissue through the spinal needle 1.

Effects As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, the gas generated by transpiration of the nucleus pulposus can be effectively expelled from the body without causing almost any damage to the patient's skin. It is possible to provide a laser probe and a spinal needle that can remove dirt from an optical fiber and clean the inside of a spinal needle.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view showing an embodiment of the laser probe and spinal needle according to the present invention, and FIG.
Figure 1 is an enlarged partial view, Figures 3 to 5 are diagrams for explaining an example of conventional nucleus pulposus treatment using laser light, and Figure 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of a spinal needle with an air vent tube. This is a diagram. 1... Spinal needle, 2... Nucleus pulposus, 3... Puncture needle, 4... Laser probe, 5... Air vent tube,
6...Optical fiber.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a laser probe and a spinal needle in which a spinal needle is inserted into the nucleus pulposus, a laser probe is inserted into the spinal needle, and the nucleus pulposus is irradiated with laser light for treatment. , the laser probe has a flow path communicating with the inside of the laser probe at a position near the operating section of the spinal needle, and the laser probe has a flow path communicating with the inside of the laser probe, and A laser probe and a spinal characterized in that gas or liquid is supplied to the tip of the spinal needle, and the gas or liquid at the tip of the spinal needle is suctioned and discharged through a gap between the spinal needle and the laser probe. needle.