JPS5917361A - Microwave treating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a microwave treatment device that performs heat treatment by irradiating microwave output to cancer.

[Technical background of the invention]

Conventionally, in heating therapy using microwaves, two electrodes C and D are placed on the body surface of patient A, sandwiching the location of cancer (hereinafter referred to as the affected area) B, as shown in Figure 1, and a microwave generator is used. Apply microwaves of 13.56 MHz, 433.92 MHz, or 2450 MHz from E, or irradiate microwaves from horn antenna F or parabolic antenna toward affected area B as shown in Figure 2, or use coaxial microwaves as shown in Figure 3. The affected area B was heated by directly inserting the antenna G into the body cavity and applying microwaves.

However, with the methods shown in Figures 1 and 2, if the affected area is in the body, particularly in the stomach or intestines, microwave irradiation from outside the body will have weak power at the affected area, making it impossible to obtain sufficient therapeutic effects. Furthermore, it is not possible to accurately heat localized affected areas. Furthermore, in order to accurately measure temperature during treatment using this method, it is necessary to insert a temperature sensor such as a thermistor inside the body into the affected area through normal tissue, which is quite painful for the patient. .

Furthermore, in the method shown in FIG. 3, the position is set under X-ray fluoroscopy or by hand, which poses problems of difficulty and inaccuracy in positioning the irradiation.

Therefore, in any of the above methods, the therapeutic targets for which the therapeutic effects can be improved are limited to a very narrow range.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been devised in view of the above circumstances, and provides microwave therapy that enables accurate microwave treatment of affected areas in body cavities such as helmets and intestines while minimizing patient pain. The purpose is to provide equipment.

[Summary of the invention]

That is, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention uses a fiberscope for inspecting inside body cavities, and a coaxial antenna that can be moved forward and backward from the outside is provided inside this fiberscope, and a temperature sensor is provided on this coaxial antenna. By inserting the scope into the body cavity, the tip of the coaxial antenna inside the fiber scope can be brought close to or in contact with the affected area within the body cavity, and microwaves are radiated from the coaxial antenna to directly heat the affected area, The temperature of the affected area can be directly measured by directing the output of the temperature sensor provided on the antenna to the outside.

[Embodiments of the invention]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4 to 9.

First, an outline of a conventional fiberscope will be explained with reference to FIG. A fiberscope is an instrument for intrabody cavity inspection and surgery that mainly uses an optical fiber F for observation that guides images. It consists of an operation part 5 for external operation, and in order to project light from the tip part 1 in front of it for illumination, a universal cord 6 is connected to guide light from the light source part 5 to a light guide to be described later. ing. The tip 1 is equipped with an objective lens (not shown) for guiding the image of the optical fiber, a light guide 7 for projecting the light guided by the universal cord 6, an air/water supply port (not shown), and a suction or forceps (not shown). A forceps opening 8 for sending out the forceps is provided. The operation unit 4 is ergonomically compact and allows operations such as angle, air/water supply, and suction to be performed smoothly with one hand. In addition, the forceps port 8 is connected by a conduit 8a that runs through the number on the side of the operation section 4.
Suction can be performed from the operating section 4 side through the conduit 8a, and specimens can be collected from the body cavity by inserting forceps.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the microwave treatment device with a fiber scope of the present invention. The feature of the present invention is to use the above-mentioned fiberscope and apply microwaves to the affected area from the tip of the fiberscope. The same reference numerals are used, and the explanation thereof will be omitted. In this device, the light guide 7 in the fiber scope is replaced with one having the following configuration. That is, in the light guide 10 of this device, a tubular central conductor 9 as a microwave coaxial cable is coaxially disposed at the center of an optical fiber 101, and the outer optical fiber 10a is also used as the dielectric of the coaxial cable. ing. Further, the outer periphery of the light guide 10 is a layer of a flexible outer conductor 10b, and the outer side of the light guide 10 is covered with an outer cover for internal preservation. A branching unit 11 is provided between the light source section 5 and the universal cord 6, and the ends of the optical fibers 10& of the light guide 10 are guided from within this branching unit 11 to the light source section 5. One end of the center conductor 9 of the light guide 10 is pulled out at the bottom and fixed to the housing of the branching unit 1, and a flexible conductor is passed through the center conductor 9 from this housing side to the distal end 1 side of the fiberscope. String-shaped drive line I4 made of insulator
is inserted. A release lever 14m is provided at the end of the drive line 14 on the side of the branch unit 11. By moving the release lever 14a forward and backward in the axial direction of the drive line 14, the drive line 14 moves within the center conductor 9 along its axis. can be moved in the direction. Further, on the tip end 1 side of the drive line I4, a needle-shaped microwave antenna A-
NT is fixed. Further, a lead wire extending from the operating end side, which is the release lever side, to the antenna ANT is buried inside the drive line 141, and this lead wire is led to the temperature measuring device 12 such as a thermocouple thermometer. A microwave oscillator 13 has an output terminal connected to the center conductor 9 and the outer conductor 1ob.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing details of the tip of the fiberscope of the present invention, in which 15 is an objective lens provided on the tip side of the monitoring optical fiber F, 16 is an air/water supply port, and 17 is a suction/forceps port. 8 is a forceps coming out; 9 is a flexible conductor pipe coaxially provided inside the light guide 1o, that is, the center conductor of a microwave coaxial cable;
10b is a flexible conductor pipe coated coaxially on the outside of the light guide 1o, that is, the outer conductor of a microwave coaxial cable, and ANT is an antenna element whose one end is fixed to the drive line 14. 1
4 is a metal rod with a sharp tip that is moved forward and backward from the center conductor 9 to the outside.

In this device, the antenna element AN is made of this metal rod.
The T and the outer conductor 10b form a microwave coaxial anchor.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating the coaxial antenna portion in FIG. 6 in detail, and FIG. 8 ends with an AA cross sectional view in FIG. 7. In FIGS. 7 and 8, a temperature sensor St such as a thermistor is provided on the metal rod (or outside) which is the coaxial antenna element ANT, and this temperature sensor St
A lead wire R to an external temperature measuring device I2 is connected to. Furthermore, the antenna element ANT is made of a metal rod.
has a center conductor 9 inside the light guide 10 on its outer circumferential side.
one or more contact pieces Ct for electrical connection with
is equipped with. In addition, the antenna element ANT has a drive line 14 made of insulating material such as Teflon of the same thickness within the center conductor 9.
It is integrated with.

The antenna element ANT and the drive line 14 may be integrated by being cast together when the drive line is molded, or may be connected by bonding or tightening with a band afterwards.

In addition, since a coaxial antenna is configured with the antenna element ANT, the outer conductor ZOb has an outer sheath Cv that covers the outermost line of the light guide 1o at the antenna portion, that is, the tip.
It is folded back to the outside to form a skirt S. The skirt S may be formed by spreading the outer conductor 10b as it is and turning it over, but it may also be formed by connecting it using another cylindrical conductor. This skirt S and antenna element AN
A microwave antenna will be constructed at T. The length of the skirt S and the length of the portion of the antenna element ANT that protrudes outside from the center conductor 9 are equal to the microwave wavelength, and in the case of '2450 MHz, it is approximately 3 cIn.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a branch unit, and is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a branch unit.
5 is a portion to which the universal cord 6 shown in FIG. 5 is connected, and is coupled by an optical connector not shown. C
n is an input terminal for inputting microwaves from the microwave oscillator 13, and the center conductor and outer conductor of this input terminal Cn are the center conductor 9 and outer conductor of the optical connector, respectively, which have the same cross-sectional structure as the light guide 10. It is connected to conductor 10b. L is an impedance matching coil. Ct is an input terminal portion of light from the light source section 5, which is connected by an optical connector (not shown), and only the optical fibers 1θa from the light guide of the optical connector on the universal cord 6 side are collected. As for the optical connector structures of the first two, basically known ones are used, so a description thereof will be omitted. The drive line 14 is connected to the release lever 141L, and a lead wire R from a temperature sensor St inside the antenna element ANT constituting the microwave antenna is taken out from the connection point thereof. Lead wire R is connected to temperature measuring device 12 through a low pass filter LPF.

Next, the operation of this device having the above configuration will be explained. The distal end 1 of this device inserted into the stomach or intestine monitors the inside of the body cavity illuminated by the light guided by the optical fiber J (la) of the light guide 10, which also serves as the dielectric of the microwave coaxial cable. While monitoring with the optical fiber, the user operates the angle adjustment dial of the operating section 4 and bends the curved section 2 vertically and horizontally to search for the affected area and position the distal end section 1.

Next, the release lever 14 coming out from the branch unit 11
1 and insert antenna element A from the center of the tip of the light guide.
Make NT stand out. The antenna element ANT has a sharp tip and is used by sticking it into the affected area if necessary. At this time, the antenna element ANT may be inserted while pinching and pulling the affected area using the forceps 17.

When the positioning and setting of the antenna element ANT is completed, the microwave oscillator 13f is operated to oscillate microwaves, which are transmitted to the antenna element ANT through the center conductor 9 and the contact piece Ct. Microwaves are emitted from the element ANT to heat the surrounding affected area. The temperature of the affected area is detected by a temperature sensor St within the antenna element ANT, and is led to an external temperature measuring device 12 through a lead wire R wired within the drive line 14, where the temperature is measured. While the microwave is being applied, the antenna element ANT becomes somewhat hotter than the surrounding affected area, so the accurate temperature is measured after the microwave is stopped. From this 1. ) heat treatment and temperature measurement can be performed with high precision, and temperature measurement can be performed without placing any special burden on the patient.

〔Effect of the invention〕

In this way, in heating therapy using microwaves, a fiberscope is used for inspection inside body cavities, and this fiberscope is equipped with a coaxial antenna that can be moved forward and backward from the outside, and a temperature sensor is attached to this coaxial antenna. The device is inserted into the body cavity and microwaves are applied to the affected area from this coaxial antenna to perform heating treatment, making it easier and more accurate to treat the body cavities such as the stomach and intestines, which were previously impossible. In addition, the temperature sensor installed in the coaxial antenna can accurately measure the temperature of the affected area, and this device can also be used to connect the optical fiber for the light guide for intrabody cavity irradiation in the fiberscope to the coaxial for microwave transmission. Since it is also used as the dielectric material of the cable, a microwave treatment device can be constructed with approximately the same thickness as a conventional fiberscope, so it has excellent features such as treatment and temperature measurement can be performed with minimal burden on the patient. By providing a microwave treatment device with

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 11 to 3 are diagrams for explaining the conventional microwave treatment method, Figure 4 is a diagram showing the schematic configuration of a conventional fiberscope, and Figure 5 is the microwave treatment with a fiberscope of the present invention. A schematic configuration diagram showing one example of the device, and FIGS. 6 to 9 are diagrams for explaining the configuration of each main part thereof.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A fiberscope is used for examinations, etc., and has at least two light guide paths, one for observation and one for illumination, and is inserted into a body cavity and its tip can be remotely controlled in a desired direction. A coaxial antenna for transmitting waves is provided, and a conductive path is provided for guiding the microwaves through the fiberscope from the other end side of the fiberscope, and when the fiberscope is inserted, the coaxial antenna connects to the affected area in the body cavity. A microwave treatment device characterized by being able to emit microwaves to perform heating. (2) The light guide path for illumination uses an optical fiber, which also serves as a dielectric material, and has a tubular inner conductor coaxially arranged on the center side and an outer conductor on the outer side, and is insulated. A needle-shaped antenna element is provided at the tip of the linear object, and this is inserted into the inner conductor so that it can be moved and operated from the outside, and the outer conductor and antenna element are used as a coaxial antenna, and the outer conductor and the center conductor are used as a conductive The microwave treatment device according to claim 1, characterized in that it is used as a channel.