JPS6121054Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to an improvement of a laser scalpel that performs incision using laser light.

Generally, a laser scalpel is constructed by connecting a flexible optical guide with a built-in laser guide to a laser generator, and connecting a hand piece to the tip of the optical guide.
A condensing lens is provided on this hand piece so as to face the front end surface of the laser guide.
Therefore, the laser beam output from the laser generator passes through the laser guide and is focused by the condenser lens, and then is emitted from the handpiece to irradiate and incise human tissue.

When using such a laser scalpel,
The operator must position and operate the handpiece so that the incision is made at the focal point of the laser beam emitted from the handpiece. That is, the handpiece must be held at a predetermined distance from the surface of the human tissue, resulting in poor operability.

Therefore, in order to improve operability, a holder is provided protruding from the handpiece in the laser beam emission direction, and when the tip of this holder is brought into contact with the surface of human tissue, the focus of the laser beam is on this surface. There are some that have their positions matched. However, if the holder is simply protruded from the handpiece, it is good for the initial incision on the surface, but when attempting to make a deeper incision, the bottom of the incision becomes deeper than the focal point of the laser beam. As a result, there is a problem that the human tissue may be incised in a wider line than necessary or the incision ability may be reduced. Additionally, in order to focus the laser beam on the bottom of the incision, the holder is pressed firmly against the surface of the human body while the incision is widened manually, but this operation is very time-consuming and slows down the surgical procedure. Not only does this impair the speed of the process, but there is also the risk of accidentally irradiating the hand with the laser beam while the incision is being expanded.

This idea was made based on the above circumstances,
The purpose of this is to enable the handpiece, which is held at a predetermined distance from the surface of the human tissue by the holder, to be displaced in response to changes in the bottom position of the incision, thereby facilitating incisional surgery. To provide a laser scalpel capable of performing incision quickly and safely without making an unnecessarily wide incision.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. Reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1 is a laser generator, and a light guide 2 made of a flexible tube is connected to the laser generator 1. As shown in FIG. A flexible laser guide 4 made of, for example, small-diameter quartz glass, covered with a protective coating 3, is inserted into the light guide 2, and the laser guide 4 allows the laser generator 1 to be operated by the laser guide 4. The output laser beam is guided. A hand piece 5 is connected to the tip of the light guide 2. A mounting hole 7 and a housing recess 8 are continuously formed in the hand piece 5 along the axial direction of the main body 6.
The tip of the laser guide 4 is fitted into the mounting hole 7, and a condenser lens 10 as an optical system is held in the housing recess 8 by an annular ring 9 screwed onto the open end. Therefore, the laser beam emitted from the distal end surface of the laser guide 4 is focused by the condenser lens 10 and emitted from the hand piece 5. Further, the distal end portion of the main body 6 is formed into a large diameter portion 11, and a storage chamber 12 is formed in the large diameter portion 11 along the axial direction of the main body 6. The storage chamber 12 has an open upper end surface, which is closed with a lid 13 screwed onto the upper end surface, and a through hole 14 is bored at the lower end, and a coiled spring 15 is installed inside. It is accommodated. Further, a holder 16 having a rod-shaped projection protrudes from a through hole 14 formed at the lower end of the storage chamber 12 so as to be movable forward and backward. A collar 17 is formed in the middle of the holding body 16, and the spring 15 is elastically biased in the projecting direction through the collar 17.
Then, with the collar 17 in contact with the inner surface of the lower end of the storage chamber 12, the tip end surface of the holder 16 is located on the same horizontal plane as the focal point f of the laser beam focused by the condenser lens 10. It's becoming like that.

Next, the operation of the laser knife having the above configuration will be explained. First, the operator holds the handpiece 5 in his hand as shown in FIG. 1, and applies the distal end surface of the holder 16 to the surface of the human tissue a. At this time, if the holder 16 is lightly applied to the surface of the human tissue a so that the holder 16 does not displace against the restoring force of the spring 15, the light is focused by the condenser lens 10 as shown in FIG. Since the focal point f of the laser beam is located on the surface of the human tissue a, this surface can be incised at the position of the focal point f of the laser beam. Next, in order to make a deeper incision, the holding body 16 is pressed against the surface of the human tissue a more strongly than before via the hand piece 5. Then, the spring 15 that biases the holding body 16 in the projecting direction is compressed by this force, so that the holding body 16 retreats into the storage chamber 12 as shown in FIG. approaches the surface of human tissue a. Therefore, since the focus f of the laser beam can be aligned with the bottom of the incision where the incision wound has expanded into an approximately V-shape due to the first incision, the incision is also made at the position of the focus f of the laser beam in this case. be able to.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and may have a configuration as shown in FIG. 4. That is, in this embodiment, a step 18 is formed on the outer periphery of the tip of the hand piece 5, and an annular ring 9' for holding the condenser lens 10 is screwed onto the outer periphery of the tip of the step 18. Further, the spring 15 is connected to the stepped portion 18.
Furthermore, the holding body 16 is integrally provided with a mounting portion 20 having a mounting hole 19, and this mounting hole 19 is slidably fitted into the stepped portion 18, thereby forming the mounting portion 20. The holder 16 is biased by the spring 15 via the spring 15. This configuration not only exhibits the same effect as the above embodiment, but also eliminates the need to form the accommodation chamber 12 in the hand piece 5 as in the above embodiment, resulting in a simpler structure and easier manufacturing. It can be measured.

Further, in each of the embodiments described above, the holder is biased by a coiled spring, but an elastic material that can be compressed and deformed may be used instead of the spring.

As described above, in the present invention, the holder for positioning the handpiece is elastically biased and displaceable, so that the incision on the surface of human tissue can be made at the focal point of the laser beam emitted from the handpiece. Not only can this be done, but even when making a deeper incision, by displacing the holder, the bottom of the incision can be made at the focal point of the laser beam. Therefore, incisional surgery can be performed quickly and safely without making an unnecessarily large incision in human tissue.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention,
Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration, Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional views of the hand piece to explain its usage, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the hand piece showing another embodiment of the present invention. be. 1... Laser generator, 5... Hand piece,
10... Condensing lens (optical system), 15... Spring,
16...Holding body.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A laser beam output from a laser generator is guided to a handpiece, focused by an optical system built into the handpiece, and emitted from the handpiece. A laser scalpel characterized in that a holder having a bar-shaped protrusion is disposed so as to be elastically biased and displaceable in the direction in which laser light is emitted.