JPH06125993A - Thermotherapy device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a light-weight thermotherapy device which has a favorable tightness to a human body even in case a curvature of the human body is large, and which is not broken if bent. CONSTITUTION:A thermotherapy device 1 comprises a pair of applicators 2, 4 disposed facing each other to have a human body 32 between them, so high frequency energy is applied between electrodes 10, 43 provided at the applicators 2, 4 respectively for thermally curing a subject part 30. At least either of the applicators 2, 4 is provided with a base member 22 for composing an applicator main body, the electrode 10 disposed close to the base member 22, an electrode holding body 24 installed on the base member 22 for holding the electrode 10 movably, and a bag to be tightly applied to a human body forming a space 27 adjacent to the base member 22 for cooling fluid to circulate.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermotherapy device for heating and treating a malignant tumor such as cancer or a benign tumor such as benign prostatic hyperplasia.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, it has become known that cancer can be treated by heating it to 43.degree. It has also been found that benign prostatic hyperplasia (benign tumor) can be treated by heating.

As a thermotherapy device used for such heating treatment, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-10702, a water pad having an internal space formed by a fixing ring and a flexible diaphragm is used as a rigid electrode. A thermotherapy device provided on one side of the plate is disclosed. In addition, the actual development Sho 58-17411
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2 discloses a thermotherapy device including an electrode integrally formed with a flexible electrode surface member and a cooling chamber of the flexible member.

[0004]

However, the hyperthermia treatment device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-10702 has the following problems.
Although the adhesion to the living body is improved, a large amount of cooling liquid is filled in the water pad and fixed to the patient, so that the weight of the cooling liquid causes excessive pain to the patient. Usually, 1 hyperthermia treatment
Since the treatment is performed for about a time, the treatment is very painful for the patient. In this case, if the volume in the water pad is made smaller, it becomes lighter, but the adhesion to the living body is deteriorated, and there is a possibility that sufficient thermotherapy cannot be performed.

On the other hand, the thermotherapy device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 58-174112 has a flexible electrode surface member and a cooling chamber for the flexible member which are integrated so that even if the volume of the cooling chamber is reduced, the adhesiveness will be improved to some extent. Can be improved. However, when the curvature of the living body increases, the adhesiveness deteriorates due to the difference in mechanical characteristics (strength, elasticity, elongation, etc.) between the flexible electrode surface member and the cooling chamber.
If the curvature of the living body is further increased, the thermotherapy device (applicator) may be destroyed, which seriously hinders the treatment.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide good adhesion to a living body even if the living body has a large curvature and not to be broken even when bent. It is to provide a lightweight thermotherapy device.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has a pair of applicators arranged to face each other so as to sandwich a living body, and the applicator is provided in each of the pair of applicators. A thermal treatment apparatus for applying high-frequency energy between the electrodes to perform thermal treatment of an affected area, at least one of the pair of applicators includes a base member that forms a main body of the applicator, and a proximity to the base member. And the electrodes arranged in a fixed manner, an electrode holding body that holds the electrodes in a movable state and is attached to the base member, and a biological contact that forms a space adjacent to the base member in which a cooling fluid can flow back. And a bag-like body.

[0008]

When the applicator is bent, the electrode is not bound by the base member and the electrode holder.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in (c) of FIG. 1, the thermotherapy device 1 of the present embodiment includes a device body 6 and a pair of applicators 2 and 4 connected to the device body 6. The device body 6 includes a high frequency oscillator, a cooling device, a thermometer, a monitor,
An input unit and a control device that controls these are built in.

The extracorporeal applicator 2 fixed to the surface of the living body 32 is connected to the connection box 8 for connecting the device body 6 and the pair of applicators 2, 4 with the cooling fluid from the cooling device of the device body 6. The cooling tube 3 for feeding the liquid is connected to the outer conductor 5a side of the high frequency cable 5 composed of a coaxial cable. Further, the in-body applicator 4 inserted into the living body 32 is connected to the connection box 8 via the center conductor 5b side of the high frequency cable 5, the cooling tube 19 and the compensation lead wire 17.

The external conductor 5a side of the high frequency cable 5 is connected to the external electrode 10 of the external applicator 2 via the connector 7.
Is connected to a lead wire 26 electrically connected to. The center conductor 5b side of the high-frequency cable 5 is connected to the lead wire 44 electrically connected to the in-body electrode 43 of the in-body applicator 4 via the connector 11. Further, the cooling tube 3 is connected to the liquid supply tube 25 on the external applicator 2 side via the connector 9, and the cooling tube 19 is connected to the internal liquid applicator 4 side liquid supply tube 4 via the connector 13.
It is connected to 5. Note that the compensating lead wire 17 is also connected to the connector 15
Is connected to the temperature sensor lead wire 47 on the side of the applicator 4 in the body.

Each of the cooling tubes 3 and 19 has two
Although there are some books, they are omitted in FIG. 1 to be one (described in detail in FIG. 6).

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the extracorporeal applicator 2 has a belt-like shape. This long belt 22 that constitutes the main body of the applicator 2
On the surface of the (base member), a cooling bag 14 as a living body-contacting bag made of a flexible insulating polymer member is fixed, and the cooling bag 14 is a living body 32 as shown in FIG.
It is designed to come into contact with the surface of. Cooling bag 14
Only the cutout portion 20 and the outer edge portion 18 are fixed to the belt 22, and the non-fixed portion is a space 27 into which the cooling fluid can be perfused. Two liquid feeding tubes 25 are provided in this space 27.
Are in communication with each other, and a space 27 is provided from one liquid sending tube 25.
A perfusion mechanism is formed that allows the cooling fluid that has flowed in to flow out from the other one liquid supply tube 25.

On the back side of the belt 22, a flexible outer electrode 10 made of a copper foil or a conductive polymer is arranged in the vicinity of the belt 22. In addition, the electrode 10 is a cover 2 as an electrode holder made of a flexible insulating polymer member.
It is movably held by 4. The cover 24 is
A part of it is fixed to the edge of the belt 22, and a bag-shaped space 23 is formed between the belt 22 and the belt 22, and the electrode 10 is arranged in this space 23 in a free state.
The above-mentioned lead wire 26 is connected to the outer electrode 10, and the lead wire 26 is drawn out through a hole 29 provided on the outer surface of the cover 24.

Next, the operation of the thermotherapy apparatus 1 having the above structure will be described. First, when performing hyperthermia treatment using the device 1, the device body 6 is connected by connecting the external applicator 2 and the internal applicator 4 to the connection box 8 via the connectors 7, 9, 11, 13, 15. Connect with. Next, the internal applicator 4 is inserted into the living body 32 and the affected part 30 is inserted.
To position. In addition, the extracorporeal applicator 2 is attached to the affected part 30.
It is fixed to the surface part of the living body 32 facing the. In this state, the in-body electrode 43 and the external electrode 10 face each other with the affected part 30 in between.

When the extracorporeal applicator 2 is fixed to the surface of the living body 32, the belt 22, the outer electrode 10 and the cover 24 are bent according to the curvature of the living body 32.
Is not fixed to the belt 22 and the cover 24,
The belt 22 and the cover 24 can be bent without stress without being bound (forced force) (see FIG. 2). In this state, the device body 6 is driven to drive the external electrode 10 and the internal electrode 43.
High frequency energy is applied between and to heat the affected area 30 by heating.

As described above, in the hyperthermia treatment apparatus 1 of this embodiment, since the extracorporeal electrode 10 of the extracorporeal applicator 2 is not bound by the belt 22 and the cover 24 on the outer periphery thereof, the electrode 10 or the cooling bag is bent. 24 is not damaged. Further, since the cooling bag 24 is divided by the cutout portion 20, the cooling bag 24 can be closely adhered to the living body 32 even in a portion where the curvature of the living body 32 changes greatly, and sufficient treatment can be performed. In particular, by configuring the extracorporeal applicator 2 with the flexible electrode 10 and the belt 22 and the like, and improving the adhesion between the cooling bag 24 and the living body 32 by the cutout portion 20,
Treatment can be performed without increasing the volume in the cooling bag 24. Therefore, since the cooling fluid to be perfused in the cooling bag 24 can be reduced, the extracorporeal applicator 2 becomes very lightweight and the patient's pain can be reduced.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the internal applicator 4 is additionally provided with a structure having the same effect as that of the first embodiment.

The in-body applicator 4 comprises a shaft 48 as a base member constituting the applicator body, and a balloon 41 as a living body-contacting bag-like body fixed to the tip of the shaft 48.
The temperature sensor 40 is fixed to the center of the balloon 41. On the near side of the shaft 48, the lead wire 44 connected to the high frequency cable 5b of the apparatus body 6, the liquid feeding tubes 45 and 45 connected to the cooling tube 19, and the temperature sensor lead wire 47 connected to the compensation lead wire 17 are connected. Has been done. In this case, the lead wire 44 is the body electrode 4 described later.
3, the temperature sensor lead wire 47 is connected to the temperature sensor 40, and the liquid feeding tube 45,
45 communicates with the holes 49, 49 communicating with the balloon 41, respectively.

A coil-shaped in-body electrode 43 is movably provided on the outer periphery of the shaft 48. A tubular cover 42 as an electrode holder made of a flexible insulating polymer member is provided inside the balloon 41 so as to wrap the body electrode 43 from the outside, with both ends fixed to a shaft 48. There is. Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, a constant space 42 is formed between the inner surface of the cover 42 and the in-body electrode 43.
Is provided. Further, a plurality of grooves 50 are provided on the outer surface of the cover 42 along the axial direction.

Although the appearance of the cover 42 is roughly a spheroid, it can be modified into various shapes. For example,
As shown in FIG. 3C, a cover 55 in which the groove 57 is formed in a spiral shape over the entire length, and a cover 60 including a spiral plate member 62 as shown in FIG. 4 are conceivable. The cover 60 has fixed portions 62a, 6 at both ends of the plate member 62.
2b is fixed to the shaft 48.

Further, the internal applicator 4 having the above structure is
The positioning is performed on the affected area 30 as described above, but this positioning is performed by inflating the balloon 41 with the cooling fluid sent through the solution sending tubes 45, 45.

As described above, in the internal applicator 4 having the above-described structure, the cover 42 supports the balloon 41 even if the balloon 41 is bent and crushed, so that the tube of a digestive organ or urinary organ having many curved portions and a large curvature is provided. It is possible to secure close contact with the hollow organ. Further, due to such a supporting action of the cover 42, bending and damage of the in-body electrode 43 can be prevented.

Further, since the cover 50 is provided with the groove 50 as a cooling fluid circulating portion, even if the balloon 41 is bent and crushed, the cooling fluid flows through the groove 50 into the entire balloon 41, so that the applicator 4 in the body is inserted. It is possible to uniformly cool the lumen to prevent burns or the like due to insufficient cooling.

FIG. 5 shows a modification of the internal applicator 4 shown in FIG. The internal applicator 70 shown in FIG. 5 further includes a second balloon 75 in the first balloon 41 provided on the distal end side of the shaft 48, and a mesh-shaped internal electrode 76 on the outside of the second balloon 75. Is fixed. The second balloon 75 can be expanded / contracted by an air supply means such as a syringe via a connector 74 provided at the end of an air supply tube 72 connected to the proximal side of the shaft 48. Other than that, it is the same as the applicator 4 in the constituent body. In this configuration, by expanding the second balloon 75, the in-vivo electrode 76 is supported, and the bending of the electrode 76 and the collapse of the first balloon 41 can be suppressed.

FIG. 6 shows a cooling device 120 provided in the device body 6. The cooling device 120 is wholly controlled by the control device 81 according to the input of the valve mode selector 80 which is an input device. The pipeline of the cooling device 120 is as follows. That is, the tank 84
The tip of the tube 83 is put in the cooling liquid, and the first solenoid valve 82 is provided in the middle of the tube 83. Tube 8
The end 3 is branched into a tube 91 and a tube 92. The tube 91 is connected to the electromagnetic pump 93. The tube 102 led out from the electromagnetic pump 93 passes through the heat exchanger 101 and is connected to the charge pot 103. The heat exchanger 101 has a temperature sensor 100.
Is provided. The tip of a tube 105 connected to a second solenoid valve 104 is connected to the charge pot 103 midway. The end of the tube 105 is open to the atmosphere.

Further, one end of the cooling tube 19a (which constitutes one of the above-mentioned cooling tubes 19) having the third electromagnetic valve 99 in the middle of the inside of the apparatus main body 6 is provided in the charge pot 103. It is connected. The other end of the cooling tube 19a is connected to the inlet side connector 13a (one side of the connector 13) of the in-body applicator 4. A pressure sensor 98 is provided at a portion of the cooling tube 19a between the charge pot 103 and the third electromagnetic valve 99 so that the pressure inside the cooling tube 19a can be measured. A bubble detection sensor 97 utilizing ultrasonic waves or the like is provided between the third electromagnetic valve 99 and the inlet side connector 13a.

The tube 92 branched from the tube 83 is connected to one end of the cooling tube 19b (which constitutes the other one of the above-mentioned cooling tubes 19) via the fourth electromagnetic valve 94. The other end of the cooling tube 19b is connected to the outlet side connector 13b (connector 13b) of the in-body applicator 4.
The other side of).

A tube 85 contained in the tank 84
Is connected via an electromagnetic pump 87 to a cooling tube 3a (which constitutes one of the cooling tubes 3 described above) connected to the inlet side connector 9a (one side of the connector 9) of the extracorporeal applicator 2. . In addition, the external applicator 2
An outlet side connector 9b (one side of the connector 9) is connected to one end of a cooling tube 3b (which constitutes the other one of the cooling tubes 3 described above), and the other end of the cooling tube 3b is connected to It is opened toward the inside of the tank 84.

The signals obtained by the temperature sensor 100, the pressure sensor 98 and the bubble detection sensor 97 are input to the control device 81. Each solenoid valve 82, 9
4, 99, 104, electromagnetic pumps 87, 93, heat exchanger 1
The operation of 01 is also controlled by the control device 81. Further, the connectors 9a, 9b, 13a, 13b are types of connectors that are closed in the unconnected state.

Next, regarding the operation of the cooling device 120 having the above configuration, the valve mode selector 80 and the solenoid valves 82, 9
This will be described with reference to FIG. 7, which shows the relationship of operations with 4, 99 and 104. In FIG. 7, O indicates a state where the solenoid valve is open, and C indicates a state where the solenoid valve is closed.

First, the internal applicator 4 is attached to the connector 13.
And the external applicator 2 is connected to the connector 9.

Set the valve mode selector 80 to FILL U
As P, the electromagnetic pumps 93 and 87 are driven to store the cooling liquid in the charge pot 103. The pressure sensor 98 detects the storage amount of the cooling liquid, and when an abnormality occurs, the electromagnetic pump 93 is stopped via the control device 81.

The valve mode selector 80 is set to DEGAS to remove bubbles in the tube through which the cooling liquid flows. Bubbles are detected by the bubble detection sensor 97, and the valve mode selector 80 is locked while there are bubbles. After the bubbles disappear, the valve mode selector 80 is set to DEFLATE and the cooling liquid in the internal applicator 4 is drained. The pressure sensor 98 detects the amount of cooling liquid drawn from the applicator 4 in the body, and stops the electromagnetic pump 93. After inserting the internal applicator 4 into the affected area for positioning and fixing the external applicator 2 to the surface of the living body 32, the valve mode selector 80 is set to INF.
As LATE, the internal applicator 4 is filled with a cooling liquid. Next, set the valve mode selector 80 to OPERAT.
As E, the control device 81 outputs high-frequency energy from the device body 6 to treat the affected area 30.

After the treatment is completed, the valve mode selector 80 is set to DEFLATE, the cooling liquid in the internal applicator 4 is drained, and the electromagnetic pumps 93 and 87 are stopped. And
The valve mode selector 80 is set to DRAIN to collect the cooling liquid in the tank 84. As described above, in the cooling device 120 having the above configuration, the valve mode selector 80 is set to the DRA.
Since it is set to IN so that all the cooling liquid in the cooling device 120 flows into the tank 84, there is no possibility that the cooling liquid remains in the tube and the cooling liquid is spoiled.
Also, since the tube piping is simple, there is no malfunction and
Easy to maintain.

FIG. 8 shows a modification of the cooling device 120 having the above structure. The cooling tube 19a and the cooling tube 19b of the cooling device 120 are connected by a bypass tube 112 having a fifth electromagnetic valve 110 interposed therein. Fifth
The solenoid valve 110 is opened only when the power is off and when the valve mode selector 80 is DRAIN, and is closed otherwise. With this configuration, even when the operator accidentally removes the internal applicator 4 when the valve mode selector 80 is DEFLATE, and the inlet side connector 13a and the outlet side connector 13b are closed,
The cooling liquid in the tube can be drained.

[0037]

As described above, the thermotherapy device of the present invention is lightweight, has good adhesion to the living body even when the living body has a large curvature, and does not break even when bent.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a configuration diagram of an extracorporeal applicator of a thermotherapy device, (b) is a sectional view taken along line AA of (a), (c). FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a thermotherapy device.

FIG. 2 is a state diagram of an external applicator in a bent state installed on the surface of a living body.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a configuration diagram of an internal applicator of a thermotherapy device, (b) is a sectional view taken along line BB of (a), (c). FIG. 8A is a perspective view showing a modified example of the cover provided on the in-body applicator in (a).

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another modified example of the cover provided on the in-body applicator of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of an internal applicator of a thermotherapy device showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a circuit configuration diagram of a cooling device provided in the thermotherapy device of FIG.

7 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship of operation between a valve mode selector and a solenoid valve in the cooling device of FIG.

8 is a partial circuit diagram showing a modified example of the cooling device of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Thermotherapy device, 2 ... Extracorporeal applicator, 4 ... Intracorporeal applicator, 10 ... Extracorporeal electrode, 14 ... Cooling bag (living body bag), 22 ... Belt (base member), 24,
42 ... Cover (holding body for electrode), 41 ... Balloon (bag body for bio-adhesion), 43 ... In-body electrode.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A hyperthermia treatment of an affected area is provided by having a pair of applicators arranged to face each other so as to sandwich a living body, and applying high-frequency energy between electrodes provided on each of the pair of applicators. In the thermotherapy apparatus to be performed, at least one of the pair of applicators has a base member that constitutes the main body of the applicator, the electrode that is arranged in proximity to the base member, and the electrode that is held in a movable state. A thermotherapy device comprising: an electrode holder attached to the base member; and a biological contact bag that forms a space adjacent to the base member in which a cooling fluid can flow back.