JPH0632662B2 - Hyperthermia device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a hyperthermia device, and more particularly to a hyperthermia device capable of irradiating a diseased tissue of a subject with therapeutic electromagnetic waves such as microwaves and controlling the irradiation thereof. It is a thing.

[Prior Art] Treatment of malignant tumors such as cancer by radiating therapeutic electromagnetic waves, particularly microwaves, and heating the temperature to about 42 ° C to 45 ° C to necrotize cancer tissues and the like and treat affected tissues. A hyperthermia device for performing the above is well known. With this device, it is possible to treat only a desired diseased tissue without damaging the surrounding normal tissue.

That is, when a dielectric is placed in an alternating electric field in the high frequency range, the dielectric heats up due to dielectric loss, but in this case, cancer tissue has a higher dielectric constant and conductivity than other normal tissues. As a result, the hyperthermia device can selectively heat only the cancer tissue at a temperature higher than that of the normal tissue.

Therefore, a malignant tumor such as cancer can be efficiently necrotized non-invasively without destroying normal tissue, and its effectiveness has been highly evaluated in recent years.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Problems of Prior Art Such a conventional hyperthermia device irradiates a subject with microwaves or the like from an antenna or an applicator that is distant from the subject. Then, there is a problem that it is extremely difficult to concentrate the microwave on a necessary heated portion, and there is a lot of unnecessary irradiation of the microwave.

In particular, such a conventional defect is caused by the idea that a microwave is diffused into the air by using a radiator such as an antenna and a heated portion is placed in this diffused electromagnetic field. Therefore, in the conventional device, it was extremely difficult to control such a diffusion electromagnetic field.

Further, as described above, the microwave radiated from the antenna or the applicator can very effectively perform the heating action in the vicinity of the surface of the subject, but the microwave can reach the deep portion of the subject. Therefore, there is a problem that the deep part treatment cannot be performed efficiently.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a hyperthermia device capable of performing deep treatment by concentrating electromagnetic waves for irradiation in a subject without diffusing them. To provide.

[Means and Actions for Solving Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention has an electromagnetic wave application that has an opening that radiates a therapeutic electromagnetic wave, and the opening surrounds the heated part. A member that extends from the opening peripheral edge to the heated portion to prevent leakage of the electromagnetic waves from the gap between the opening peripheral edge and the heated portion, and is a conductive member. And a conductive sealing film having flexibility.

According to the above configuration, the applicator functions as a hollow waveguide, and the electromagnetic wave is radiated from the opening toward the heating section, but the conductive seal film is formed between the heating section and the peripheral edge of the opening. Since it is provided, the leakage of the electromagnetic wave from the gap between the periphery of the opening and the heated portion is prevented. Since the conductive seal film has flexibility, it does not interfere with the movement of the subject such as breathing and causes no pain or discomfort to the subject. Moreover, due to breathing or the like, a gap is generated and electromagnetic waves leak. Are prevented from occurring. That is, it is possible to provide a hyperthermia device in which the subject can be treated with peace of mind and the treatment efficiency is high.

[Embodiment] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the basic configuration of a hyperthermia device according to the present invention. 2 to 4 show modifications of the hyperthermia device for reference, and FIG. 5 discloses the characteristic configuration of the hyperthermia device according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, an applicator 10 forming a rectangular waveguide is provided to generate spatial electromagnetic waves. The applicator 10 is divided into upper and lower halves so as to sandwich the subject 12, that is, an upper applicator and a lower applicator. The separation part of the two applicators is an opening 13 through which the subject is inserted. That is, the opening 13 is an opening that surrounds the periphery of the heated portion and radiates electromagnetic waves, and the peripheral edge of the opening 13 is basically attached to the subject so that the edge is closely attached to the subject. It is in close proximity.

Here, the upper and lower applicators 10a and 10 divided into two parts.
b is divided into upper and lower parts by a mechanism (not shown), and the lower applicator 10b is provided at a predetermined position such as a bed at the same height, and the lower applicator 10b with respect to the subject 12 lying on the bed. Opening 13b
Are fixed so that they fit tightly together. On the other hand, the upper applicator 10a is the subject 12 lying on the bed.
It can be slowly lowered toward the opening 13b when it is connected to the lower applicator 10b.
Adheres to the surface of the subject.

Then, predetermined power is supplied to the applicator 10 from the electromagnetic wave source 14, and a predetermined voltage is applied to both the upper applicator 10a and the lower applicator 10b.
By controlling the phase, the standing wave or power distribution can be freely controlled. Therefore, theoretically, a substantially sealed electromagnetic wave path is formed in the applicator 10, and the electromagnetic wave hardly leaks to the outside.
Irradiation is directed toward the heated portion 12A of the subject 12 placed in 0. The temperature at the heated portion 12A is measured by the temperature measuring means provided in the lower applicator 10b, and the electric power of the electromagnetic wave source 14 is controlled based on the measured value.

A reference example is shown in FIG.
In the space within 0, as shown in the vertical section of FIG.
A matching material 18, which has substantially the same impedance as that of the subject 12 to the electromagnetic waves supplied to the applicator 10, such as physiological saline, is filled, and the electromagnetic waves are effectively directed toward the heated portion 12A. I am trying to lead to. At this time, the matching material 1 is applied to the subject 12.
A matching mat (water bag) 20 or the like is provided in the contact portion with the subject 12 so that 8 is not directly applied as a load.
Saline is supplied separately here.

FIG. 3 shows a reference example obtained by improving the reference example shown in FIG. 2 without filling the entire inside of the applicator 10 with a matching material 18 such as physiological saline.
It is also possible to irradiate electromagnetic waves toward the heated portion 12A by providing the matching mat 20 at the contact portion with 2.

FIG. 4 shows another reference example in which the opening 13 of the applicator 10 is narrowed down so as to match the heated portion and is narrower than other portions, and the size of the cancer tissue or the like to be treated is shown. Matching and squeezing parts 22a and 22b have upper and lower applicators 10a.
, 10b respectively. Therefore, it becomes possible to prevent unnecessary electromagnetic waves from being applied to normal tissue and to concentrate and irradiate only necessary diseased tissue. It is preferable that the throttle portion 22 is removable without being formed integrally with the applicator 10 and that the throttle portions 22 of various sizes are selected and attached.

Next, the hyperthermia device according to the present invention will be described in detail.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 1, when exercise such as breathing occurs, a gap may occur between the peripheral edge of the opening 13 and the heated portion.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, it is desirable to provide a flexible conductive seal film 24 between the peripheral edge of the opening 13 and the heated portion.

That is, the conductive seal film 24 is used for the upper and lower applicators 10.
It is provided in order to prevent (seal) electromagnetic waves from leaking between the openings of a and 10b and the heated portion. Here, the conductive seal film 24 is made of a conductive material and has flexibility such that its shape can be easily bent.

According to such a conductive seal film 24, even if the size of the subject 12 is slightly different, the flexibility can effectively prevent the leakage of electromagnetic waves, and does not interfere with respiratory movements or the like.

In addition, when a space electromagnetic wave is generated in the applicator 10, the electromagnetic wave is penetrated into the subject 12, but in order to irradiate only the required heated portion 12A with the electromagnetic wave,
In the present invention, a radio wave lens is used.

This radio wave lens is arranged so that metal plates are arranged in parallel with the electric field so that the central part becomes rougher, so that the electromagnetic wave can be focused on the desired part, mainly the central part, and the irradiation of the electromagnetic wave is controlled. be able to.

In addition, the heated part 12 is simply used without using a radio wave lens.
It is also possible to dispose metal plates having holes of size A on both front and back surfaces of the subject so that electromagnetic waves can penetrate only the heated portion 12A.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, since the conductive sealing film is arranged in the opening, the leakage of electromagnetic waves can be prevented, and efficient treatment can be realized. There is an advantage that treatment can be performed without disturbing exercise such as breathing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a basic configuration of a hyperthermia device, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a reference example, FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a reference example, FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a reference example, and FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a hyperthermia device having a conductive seal film 24 according to the present invention. 10 ... Applicator 12 ... Specimen 12A ... Heated part 14 ... Electromagnetic wave source 18 ... Matching material 20 ... Matching mat 22 ... Drawing part 24 ... Flexible sealing film.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An electromagnetic wave applicator having an opening for radiating a therapeutic electromagnetic wave, the opening surrounding the periphery of a heated portion, and a gap between the peripheral edge of the opening and the heated portion. In order to prevent the electromagnetic wave from leaking, a member extending from the peripheral edge of the opening to the portion to be heated and having a flexible conductive seal film made of a conductive member is included. Hyperthermia device to do.