JPS6365342B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an applicator for heating therapy, and particularly to an applicator for heating therapy for heating a predetermined location of a living body using electromagnetic waves. [Conventional technology] In recent years, heating therapy

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in such a conventional example, the energy loss of electromagnetic waves inside the applicator 1 is relatively large. For this reason, the inventors have already proposed filling the applicator with oil that reduces the attenuation of electromagnetic waves (Japanese Patent Application No. 59-8692).
issue). On the other hand, even in this oil-filled applicator, reflection of electromagnetic waves occurs due to impedance mismatch with the radio wave lens section, cooling mechanism, and heating section side, which causes standing waves in the electromagnetic wave power supply section and other electromagnetic wave transmission systems. However, due to this, the electromagnetic wave transmission system is overheated, resulting in significant energy loss. In order to improve this inconvenience, some attempts have been made to fill a matching member between the radio wave lens section and the electromagnetic wave power supply section. However, even in this case, since the matching member is fixed, the impedance changes in response to impedance changes at multiple locations and impedance changes due to shape changes that occur with selective use of the electromagnetic lens section. A problem arises in that sufficient matching cannot be achieved. [Object of the Invention] The present invention improves the disadvantages of the conventional example, and provides sufficient impedance matching between the electromagnetic wave power supply side and the radio wave lens side, especially when impedance mismatching occurs at multiple locations. An object of the present invention is to provide an applicator for heating therapy that can efficiently focus electromagnetic wave energy on a predetermined location within a living body and heat it. [Means for Solving the Problems] Therefore, in the present invention, a case body is provided which has an electromagnetic wave power feeding part at one end, an electromagnetic lens part and an electromagnetic wave radiation end part at the other end. In the heating therapy applicator in which the electromagnetic wave emitting end is provided with a cooling mechanism for cooling the surface side of the heating section, the electromagnetic wave power feeding section is filled with an insulating oil that has small attenuation of electromagnetic waves, and the electromagnetic wave lens is In order to achieve the above object, a stub matching means consisting of three adjustable stubs is provided between the electromagnetic wave feeding section and the electromagnetic wave feeding section. [Function] For electromagnetic waves that propagate from the electromagnetic wave feeding section within the case body as a waveguide and radiate to the outside from the electromagnetic wave emission end, impedance mismatch occurs first from the radio wave lens section and then from the biological surface. A reflected wave r based on is generated. In this case, in the present invention, the reflected wave r' is formed with respect to the electromagnetic wave feeding section by the three adjustable stub matching means, and the three stub matching means are adjusted,
Set r'=-r (equal amplitude and opposite phase). In this way, the reflections r and r' cancel each other out, and there is no reflection when viewed from the electromagnetic wave feeding section.
Perfect impedance matching for the load side is achieved. Therefore, reflected waves are almost eliminated, and the energy loss associated with them is also greatly suppressed. [First Embodiment of the Invention] Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 11. First, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 indicates a case body having a function as a waveguide. As is clear from FIGS. 2 and 3, the case body 10 has a box shape, and has an electromagnetic wave power feeding section 11 at one end, a radio wave lens section 12 at the other end, and a box-like shape. A stub tuner mechanism 13 as a stub matching means for electromagnetic wave matching is provided in the intermediate portion. Furthermore, the right end portion of the radio wave lens portion 12 in FIG.
At the same time, this electromagnetic wave emitting end 14 is equipped with a cooling mechanism 15 for cooling the surface of the living body so as to cover the electromagnetic wave emitting end 14 from the outside. The electromagnetic wave feeding section 11 includes a feeding section waveguide 10A forming a part of the case body 10, an excitation antenna 11A protruding from the center of the feeding section waveguide 10A, and an excitation antenna 11A. It is formed by a connected waterproof coaxial connector 11B for electromagnetic waves. Thereby, the electromagnetic waves sent through the coaxial connector 11B are efficiently introduced into the case body 10. The power supply conduit 10A, including the location where the stabilization mechanism 13 is installed, is filled with an insulating oil (hereinafter simply referred to as "oil") 10C that has low attenuation of electromagnetic waves. 10D indicates an oil-filled partition plate made of a dielectric member for sealing in the oil 10C. In this embodiment, the stub unit mechanism 13 is a set of three stub unit mechanisms disposed on the same line at predetermined intervals. To explain this in more detail, each of these stabilization units 13
Each of A, 13B, and 13C includes a cylinder portion 21 with an open end, a waterproof piston member 22 that reciprocates within the cylinder portion 21, and a piston member 22 that is integrated with the piston member 22 and has a stub alignment function. a threaded member 23, a threaded hole 24 into which the threaded member 23 is screwed and inserted, and the case body 10.
It is composed of one or more through holes 25 that communicate between the inside and the inside of the cylinder part 21, and by rotating each screw member 23, the screw member 23 is appropriately protruded into the case body 10. More and more consistency is being adopted. In this case, the communication through hole 25 is arranged so that the oil 10 generated as the piston member 22 reciprocates.
The flow port for movement of C is shown. In addition, in order to smooth the flow of the oil 10C, that is, the reciprocating movement of the piston member 22, and to allow thermal expansion of the filled oil due to overheating of the case body caused by continuous use, the power supply part waveguide is An oil escape mechanism 16 is provided in a part of 10A. In this embodiment, the oil escape mechanism 16 includes through holes 16A, 16A formed at two locations in the power supply waveguide 10A at a predetermined interval, and each through hole 16A.
6A from the inside and is equipped with a relatively fine wire mesh 16B, and each of the through holes 1.
6A, and relatively soft oil escape tubes 16D, 16 connected to the respective guide tubes 16C and extending upward.
It is composed of D. The guide tube 16C and the tube 16D form a fluid guide means. Here, the wire mesh 16
B constitutes a part of the side wall of the electromagnetic wave power supply section 11, and therefore, if it functions equivalently to this, for example, a plurality of small holes may be provided directly on the inner wall of the electromagnetic wave power supply section 11. Alternatively, it may be replaced with a plate-shaped metal member having numerous small through holes. Furthermore, the electromagnetic wave radiation end portion 1 of the case body 10
The cooling mechanism 15 installed in the heating section 4 is formed into a flat shape in order to efficiently cool the surface of the heating section. To explain this in more detail, the cooling mechanism 15 includes an anchoring board 3 that is integrally fixed to the case body 10.
0, a rectangular cooling liquid outlet 30A formed at one end of this anchoring substrate 30, and a similarly rectangular cooling liquid flow formed at the other end of the anchoring substrate 30 corresponding thereto. Exit 30B, each cooling liquid inlet/outlet 30A, 30B, waterproof insulating film prevention groove 30C carved so as to surround the opening 10E of the electromagnetic wave radiation end 14, and each of these cooling liquids. coolant guides 31 and 32 connected and fixed to the inlet 30A and the coolant outlet 30B; a flat insulating film member 33 disposed to cover substantially the entire surface of the electromagnetic wave radiation end 14; This insulating film member 33 is formed by a frame plate 34 which is detachably attached to the retaining board 30 with its periphery waterproofed. Among them, the insulating film member 33
has a convex shape on the outside and an opening on the inside,
It is made of a film-like electrically conductive material that has little attenuation of electromagnetic waves. The cooling water flowing in from the cooling liquid inlet 30A flows inside the insulating film member 33 and is sent out to the cooling liquid outlet 30B as indicated by the arrow f in FIG. It is now possible to efficiently cool the surface of a living body. In this embodiment, the radio wave lens unit 12 installed at the right end of the case body 10 in FIG.
As shown in the figures through FIG. 8, it is formed into a box shape with two opposing sides open, and the entire box can be housed in the case body 10 in a detachable manner. To explain this in more detail, the radio wave lens section 12
is a plurality of metal plates 40, 40 having the same dimensions.
... and a frame 41 that locks the upper and lower ends of each metal plate 40 in FIG. 6.
As shown in the figure, each of the metal plates 40 has a maximum dimension width α ₀ at the center and becomes smaller as it approaches the side wall 41A of the frame body 41. α ₁ , α ₂ ,
The metal plates 40 are arranged with a dimensional width of α ₃ (however, α ₀ > α ₁ > α ₂ > α ₃ ), and as a result, each metal plate 40 as a whole has one side against the incoming electromagnetic waves as shown by the dotted line in FIG. It is set so that a predetermined lens effect can be exerted in the direction of. Further, each of the metal plates 40 has a shape in which the center of the end on the side of the electromagnetic wave power supply section 11 is cut into a bow shape. As shown in , the lens is set so that a predetermined lens effect can also be exerted in the other direction. FIG. 11 shows a right side view of FIG. 1 when the thus formed radio wave lens section 12 is housed in the case body 10 (with the insulating film member 33 removed). In this case, both the electromagnetic wave incident side and the electromagnetic wave emission side of the radio wave lens section 12 are open, so that the cooling liquid in the cooling mechanism 15 described above can easily flow into the electromagnetic lens section. It can leak out.
In addition, in FIG. 1, 42 is the radio wave lens section 1.
A set screw for locking 2 is shown. In fact, several ten box-shaped radio wave lens parts 12, which are detachably formed as described above, are prepared in advance according to the affected area, and are selected and used as appropriate. Further, on the side of the electromagnetic wave power supply section 11 of the radio wave lens section 12, a piping 39 with a relatively small diameter is provided as a means for escaping air bubbles and is connected to the cooling liquid guide 32 for outflowing the cooling liquid. Air bubbles are sucked out directly from the coolant guide 32 to the outside by the negative pressure accompanying the flow of the coolant. The applicator 50 for heating therapy in this embodiment thus formed has inverted U-shaped applicator holding means at the support members 10G and 10H on both sides, as shown in FIG. 51, it is held so as to be freely rotatable up and down as shown by arrows C and D. This applicator holding means 51 is supported by a support mechanism (not shown) and is configured to be rotatable as shown by arrows E and F, thereby allowing it to assume any posture suitable for the heating section. There is. Next, the overall operation of the first embodiment will be explained. First, the electromagnetic waves inputted via the coaxial connector 11B and outputted from the excitation antenna 11A toward the inside of the case body 10 are hardly attenuated in the oil 10C and are directly transmitted to the radio wave lens section 12.
sent to. Then, in the process of propagating through this radio wave lens section 12, the phase of the outer part advances compared to the center part, so that a lens effect is applied to the electromagnetic wave at the time it is radiated from the radio wave lens section 12, and radiation and focusing are performed at the same time. It will be done. This electromagnetic wave with a lens effect propagates inside the cooling mechanism 15 and then propagates from the surface to the living body. During this time, it is first partially reflected by the living body surface and then heats the living body surface and deep part. . In this case, the biological surface is cooled more effectively by the cooling mechanism 15 described above. Further, in the deep part, since the radiation is focused by the omnidirectional lens effect of the radio wave lens, the focal position at a predetermined depth and its surroundings can be efficiently heated. On the other hand, the reflected waves on the surface of the living body are due to differences in impedance of the electromagnetic wave transmission system, and such impedance changes also occur on the incident side of the radio wave lens section 12. Therefore, the excitation antenna 1
When viewed from the 1A side, reflection of electromagnetic waves from both the above-mentioned radio wave lens section 12 and the surface of the heating section can be detected. In this case, by appropriately adjusting the stabilization mechanism 13, it is possible to immediately achieve impedance matching with respect to the radio wave lens section 12 and the heating section side, which suppresses the generation of reflected electromagnetic waves. Energy is efficiently sent into the heating section. That is, the electromagnetic wave is propagated from the electromagnetic wave feeding part 11 inside the case body 10 as a waveguide, and the electromagnetic wave is emitted from the electromagnetic wave emitting end part 1.
For the electromagnetic waves radiated to the outside from 4, first from the radio wave lens part 12, then from the biological surface,
Reflected waves r based on impedance mismatch, respectively
occurs. In this case, in the present invention, the electromagnetic wave power feeding section 11 is
At the same time, the three stabilization mechanisms 13 are adjusted to set r'=-r (equal amplitude and opposite phase). In this way, the reflections r and r' cancel each other out, so that there is no reflection when viewed from the electromagnetic wave power supply section 11, and impedance matching to the load side is completely established. Therefore, reflected waves are almost eliminated, and the energy loss associated with them is also greatly suppressed. Here, the impedance matching by the stabilization mechanism 13 is performed while checking the reflection rate displayed on the reflected electromagnetic wave display means (not shown) of the directional coupler used in conjunction with the coaxial connector 11B. , carried out by the operator. Apart from the impedance matching by the stub unit mechanism 13, there is a slight energy loss associated with the impedance of the electromagnetic wave transmission system within the case body 10, and this is due to continuous use of the applicator. Filling oil 10C by constantly heating the
Thermal expansion occurs, and countermeasures are a problem. In this case, if left unattended, for example, the oil-filled partition plate 10D will be damaged, but the oil escape mechanism 16 described above acts against this and easily releases the increased amount of the filled oil 10C due to thermal expansion to the outside. It is now possible to send it out. On the other hand, this oil escape mechanism 16 also has the function of being able to be used as is even when replacing the filled oil 10C. Furthermore, since the radio wave lens unit 12 has a structure that allows for extremely easy replacement, efficient heating therapy can be achieved by selectively using the radio wave lens unit 12 with a different degree of convergence depending on the deep position. obtain. Therefore, in this embodiment, when heating therapy is applied to different deep parts of the body, the preparation work for switching, including the adjustment of impedance matching, can be completed more quickly, and the heating time can be adjusted accordingly. It has the advantage that the entire device can be obtained relatively inexpensively since there is no need to prepare many applicators. [Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 12 to 14. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment described above in that the stub alignment means 13 (see FIG. 1) of the first embodiment described above is improved and the filled oil 10C is of a completely sealed type. That is, in FIGS. 12 to 14,
Reference numeral 10 denotes a case body having a function as a waveguide as in the case of the first embodiment described above. This case body 10 is provided with an electromagnetic wave power supply section 11 at one end thereof, and an electromagnetic wave lens section 1 at the other end thereof.
2 is provided, and a stub unit mechanism 63 as a stub matching means for electromagnetic wave matching is provided at the intermediate portion thereof. The stub unit mechanism 63 is composed of three stub bars 66, and each stub bar 66 is formed to be able to protrude into the case body 10 by an appropriate amount. To explain this in more detail, each of the three stub unit mechanisms 63 is fixed to a cylinder part 64 having an open end and a part of a piston member 65 that reciprocates within this cylinder part 64. A stub bar 66 is provided to protrude into the case main body by loosely inserting it into a predetermined through hole 10S formed in the case main body 10, and a stub bar 66 is rotatably provided in the opening of the cylinder portion 64. The screw mechanism 67 urges the member to reciprocate. Of these, the screw mechanism 67 includes a drive member 67B that fixes the drive screw portion 67A and is only allowed to rotate and is attached to the cylinder portion 64, and the drive member 67B.
Snap pin 67C that locks the external release of the
and a seal member 67D attached to the drive member 67B. And the 14th
As shown in the figure, when the drive member 67B is rotated through the two drive small holes 67E, 67E formed in the drive member 67B, the drive screw part 67A integrated therewith is rotated to its position. Therefore, the piston member 65 moves back and forth within the cylinder portion 64 due to the rotational reaction force, thereby causing the above-mentioned rotation of the stub bar 66 integrated with the piston member 65. The amount of protrusion into the case body 10 is adjusted appropriately. 64A and 65A each indicate oil flow holes. Further, a fluid storage means 76 is provided at the left end of the case body 10 in FIG. 12. This fluid storage means 76 is arranged in the case body 1
A fluid storage section 10E having a certain spatial area provided at the left end in FIG. A cup-shaped soft member 76B having a concave cross section and a convex portion at the center thereof is arranged so as to be inserted into the fluid storage portion 10E from the outside, and the electromagnetic wave power supply unit inserts the center portion of the cup-shaped soft member 76B from the outside. The cover member 76D locks the coil spring 76C and seals the cup-shaped soft member 76B to the case body 10. 76E
indicates a screw that locks the coil spring 76C,
76F indicates a ventilation hole formed in the lid member 76D. Here, the wire mesh 76A is connected to the electromagnetic wave power supply section 11.
Therefore, as long as it functions in the same way as this, even if a plurality of small holes are directly provided in the inner wall of the electromagnetic wave power supply section 11, it will also have countless through holes. It may be replaced with a plate-shaped metal member having small holes. Therefore, not only in the case of impedance matching by the stub unit mechanism 63 but also, for example, even if the filling oil 10C expands in volume due to heat, the fluid accommodation means 76 immediately acts to accommodate the increased amount of the filling oil 10C. It's getting old. Specifically, the central portion of the cup-shaped soft member 76B is compressed by the oil pressure, and an increased amount of filled oil is accommodated in the expanded fluid storage portion 10E. The other configurations are completely the same as the first embodiment described above, as shown in FIGS. 12 to 14. In this case, in addition to having the same effect as the first embodiment described above, in particular, the stub alignment means 6
3, the amount of the filled oil 10C pushed out into the case body 10 is small, so the fluid storage means 76 can be downsized, and the filled oil can be handled as a whole as a completely sealed type. This has the advantage that an easy applicator can be obtained. In each of the above embodiments, the oil escape mechanism 16 or Although the case where this can be accommodated by using the fluid storage means 76 has been exemplified, in the case where adjustment of the stabilization mechanism 13, 63 is not required,
For example, when the case body 10 is always cooled to a constant temperature from the outside or when heating therapy is always performed on the same location, by performing impedance matching in advance, the above-mentioned oil escape mechanism 16 and fluid storage means can be used. 76 becomes unnecessary. [Effects of the Invention] Since the present invention is configured and functions as described above,
According to this, even if reflected electromagnetic waves from multiple locations propagate towards the electromagnetic wave power supply side, it is possible to extremely easily match these waves using the three stub matching means, and as a result, the biological It is possible to provide an unprecedented and excellent applicator for heating therapy, which can efficiently concentrate and send electromagnetic wave energy even during deep heating, and can therefore perform deep heating efficiently.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view including a coolant guide portion showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a right side view of FIG. 1,
Fig. 3 is a plan view of Fig. 1, Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views showing the radio wave lens part used in Fig. 1, and Fig. 6 is a front view seen from the arrow in Fig. 4. , FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. 6,
Figure 8 is a sectional view taken along the - line of Figure 7;
10 through 10 are explanatory diagrams showing the action of the radio wave lens portion, FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the installation state of the applicator shown in FIG. 1 when in use, and FIG. 12 is a coolant showing the second embodiment. 13 is a left side view of FIG. 12, FIG. 14 is a plan view of FIG. 12, and FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a conventional example. 10...Case body, 10C...Insulating oil, 11
...Electromagnetic wave power supply section, 12...Radio wave lens section, 1
3, 63...Stub unit mechanism as stub alignment means, 14... Electromagnetic wave radiation end.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A case body having an electromagnetic wave feeding section at one end, a radio lens section and an electromagnetic wave emitting end at the other end, and a heating section at the electromagnetic wave emitting end of the case body. In the heating therapy applicator which is also provided with a cooling mechanism for cooling the surface side of the device, the electromagnetic wave power supply section is filled with an insulating oil that has low attenuation of electromagnetic waves, and the electromagnetic wave power supply section is filled with an insulating oil that has a small attenuation of electromagnetic waves, and a space between the radio wave lens section and the electromagnetic wave power supply section is provided. An applicator for heating therapy, characterized in that it is equipped with a stub alignment means consisting of three adjustable stubs.