US1628806A - Diathermy device - Google Patents

Description

. 1,628 806 17 1927' F. H. REIJNDERS I DIATHERMY DEVICE Filed Oct. 8, 1923 7221 R e zljn er Patented May 17, 1.9.27.

UNITED- STATES FATE "r r ce.

rmmcrscus r nnaicus REIJNDERTS, or SO'ESTERIBERG, NETHERLANDS, assienoa 01: -ONE-HALIE '.EO.1\]AAMLOOZE VENNOOTSCHAP NEDERLANDSCHE sEmroEsrELLEN FABRIEK, OF'HILVERSUM,'NETHERLA-NDS.

DIATHERMY DEVICE.

' Applicatioafi led October's, 1923, Serial m. 667,371,311: in theltetherlands 0ctoberi6, 1922.

The present invention relates to apparatuses and devices for locally generating heat, e. g. in living organisms fluids and similar electrically conductive media.

To this end high frequency alternating currents are generated by means of a triode or valve, of which the grid and the anode are each connected to the glowing filament by nieans of a conductor whilst their circuits are electrically connected to each other. A high tension source of current isxincluded between the anode and the cathode and the cathode is supplied from a source of current. The frequency of the generated alternatin r currents is determined by the electricconstants of the said circuit. The quantity of energy which may be taken from this a ratus may be varied by coupling a third cuit electrically to one of the two said cuits and by bringing the be treated Oil.- cirobject or body to in the said third circuit.

The principal characteristic of the invention is that means are provided which completely control and regulate the Various physiological phenomena to which the patient is subjected, in accordance with the disease and the sensitiveness of the patient.

Said means are partially contained in the oscillation-generator and partially in the electrode. Thereby it is rendered possible to vary not only the intensity of the oscillations and the frequency, but also the temperature of the electrode and its chemical actions. As is known the very high frequencies cause the so-called skin efi'ect, which consists therein that the alternating currents pass exclusively through the periphery of the conducting body. For certain purposes for instance for surgical purposes, this may be of great advantage; for other purposes for instance for mere depth heating it is however a disadvantage as in that case it is desired to operate at a lower frequency. 4 In connection erewith it is pointed out that the said conducting bodies enerally have a very small inductance whic will only occur in a high degree when operating at very high frequency.

Further the device is so constructed that it may be connected to the ordinary electric lighting circuit whereby its value for a physician is increased. Also may easily be vders it possible .backs are causes that the skin effectan X-ray tube par-' ticularly of the Coolidge type connected thereto so that the physician need not buy a special X-ray device.

A further characteristic of the device consists in the particular grounding which renthatthe physician may touch the patient without, danger of shocks. Further irritation phenomena areprevented or regulated by transmitting the generated alternating current to the human body. by means of a special electrode.

The electrodes hitherto used consisted of a conducting object, which was brought into contact with the skin. The conducting sur face usually consisted of metal, sometimes of a layer of some material an electrolyte and thus made conductive. As the point of contact always shows a great contact-resistance, a great quantity of heat will be reduced at the spot, soon causing the elec'troce to get a higher temperature than is desirable. Particularly in applying oscillations of a very high frequency this heating will take place at the edges, as in consequence of the so-called skin effect the current is pressed to the outside of conducting bodies. This causes at the same time disagreeable irritation phenomena at the places of contact. These drawbacks of the electrodes used hitherto were the reasons that certain diseases could notsatisfactorily be treated diathermically and particularly in those cases, where a large supply of energy was necessary, no favourable results could be obtained, such as, for example, with urethritis gonorrhoeica.

According to the invention these drawovercome by using -an electrode, which is made of an alloy of various metals, which electrode is intensively cooled at the edges. This can for-example be obtained by applying a bent tube round the edge, through which edge acooling fluid may pass with such a rapidity'that the desired temperature is maintained constantly.

Moreover it is possible to avoid irritation phenomena by asuitable choice of the electrode material. material should not only conduct the electric current well and should be at the same time a goodheat-conductor, but that the electrode material should be mechanically soft. Various metals, especially those with a. low melting. point are suitable for the purpose, such or other, soaked in- It has appeared that suchas Woods-metal, tin, antimony and various whereas, copper appeared to he peculiarly unsuitable.

In this connection it maybe observed am for open-wound treatment, the metals must he totally dill'erent. It has been found that in that ea:.e. preference must. be given to precious metals. c

The devieemay further be provided with a safety device which autonnitically takes care. that. the temperature oi? thepart of the body to he treated is kept within predetermined limits. For instance there may be connected to the electrode a device, the electric properties of which vary in a known manner according to a temperature and which device acts upon the oscillation-generating, the coupling or the cooling of the electrode. i i To better understand the nature of the invention a preferred form of a connection.

'25 to be used with the'apparatus will he described with reference to the accompanying drawing inwhich :Figure 1 is a diagram of the. electric circuit. :10 Figures 2 and 3 are side and plan view, respectively, of the fluid cooled electrode.

Figure 4 is a Fig. 3.

The current is supplied by couductors 1 and 2 from an ordinary alternating-current lighting-plant. Part of this current passing through'the transformer supplies the fila ment of thetriode, which is earthed at 25. Another part of the current is supplied to transformer 4 and passes two circuit controllers 5 and 6 of whichthe former is a safety-contact which is closed, when the ca e containing the high-tension-apparatuses is closed, making it impossible to touch these parts, when working. The controller 0 is of the foot operated type by which the physician is enabled, either to connect the apparatus for a short time or for an indefinite period. A condenser 7 connected across the secondary of the liigh-tension-transformer 4. One end of the secondary wind ingis connected through a high-frequency choking-coil 8 to the valve, whereas the other extremity. of the secondary'is connected to, earth through a milliammeter 9, so that with this meter the anode-current can he measured. The coil 8 prevents high-frequency alternating-currents from reaching the transformer 4, whilst the impedance of coil 8' together with the react-ance of the con-- denser 7' prevents the secondary current-of transformer 4 from passing through-con.- denser 10 to earth. The generated hlgh frequencycu'rrents can pass the condenser 10,.

which, however, does not allow the rectified section on.the line Al3 of tensity of the purealternating current generated in this'circuit. The valve. is connected in a very special-way withthe oscillatioi'i-circuit. The grid of the valve is connected with leakage-res:stance 16 Vlfifl. gridcondenser 15, to the one extremity of coil 11, whereas the filament which-1s earthed, is con nected with point 17 of tlns coil. The anode or plate of the valve is connected with the coil 11 inductively as well as directly; inductively by means' of coil 18, which possesses as a rule many windings of thin wire and the extremity of which is directly connected to point 1 of coil 11. By this device and a good so action of the points 19 and 17' numerous experiments have shown,

that the energy used can suddenly be altered within wide ranges without the valve ceasing to generate. 'so that a continued uninterrupted medical treatment is possible, which is of the utmost importance for the medical results.

The energy used is taken off in this pling-coil 20. The current led through the conductors 21 and-22 is read on the amperemeter 23; at 24 an earth connection is provided, which enables the physician to touch the patient without danger of shocks.

In some cases it is desirable to provide a device, whereby the temperature of the electrode or the treated part of the body is kept constantly within certain limits.

'For thi's'purpose the electrode an embodiment of which is illustrated in Figures 2, 3 and 4, is provided with a device for regulating the temperature which is formed by a bent metal tube 26 forming the rim of the ellectrodc and through which a cooling liquid 1' ows.

The two halves of the tube are interconnected by means of the plate 27 of electrode material which is clamped. around the tube as is shown in the Figures 3 and 4.

The necessary firmness may be obtained by the parts 28, shown in Fig. 2 which are hingedly connected together at 29 so as to allow some deformation of the electrode.

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The electrode mav by means of resilient sleeves 30 be attached flexibly to a belt or directly by the relay springs, but it is obvious that in mostcases special switches using condensers-or resistances across their contacts W111 be necesshy.

Finally the new apparatus can be applied for physiologic-neurologic and pathologicneurologic research inconnection with the extensive variability of the oscillating-frequency, whereby the great advantage is obtained that the irritability as a function of the oscillation-frequency can be expressed in numbers directly.

Although in this specification the applications for medical purposes are placed on the foreground, it is evident that the use of the apparatus is not restricted to these applications but that it can be utilized everywhere with great advantage in all such cases, where a local heating is required without that electrolyzearises, especially for'industrial, chemical and bacteriological purposes.

I claim 1. A device for diathermy comprising in combination means for generating hi h fre- 'quency currents of constant intenslty including a trlode and means for ma1nta1n that with a strongly changing load the generating of the apparatus is not interrupted.

3. Device for diathermy comprising in combination, means for generating high frequency currents of constant intensity intherebythat a metallic tube the cooling liqu1d flows is arranged around eluding a triode and an electrode with edges.

that may be cooled during the treatment through which the-edge. a

4. Device for diathermy comprising in combination means for generating high frequency currents including a triode and an electrode, entirely or partially made of a metal or an alloy of low degree. of hardness, which belongs to the tin group or is an alloy of metals 0 this group, the edges of which may be cooled during the'treatment.

'5. Device for diathermy comprising in combination means for generating high frequency currents including a triode, an electrode,-means associated with the electrode in such a manner that the resistance, or thermoelectric force of said means varies with the temperature of the said electrode and controls the energy supply to or the heat discharge from the electrode.

6. Device for diathermy comprising in combination means for generating high frequency current including a triode, two elec trodes, an inductively coupled coil connected with the two electrodes, one end of said coil being grounded.

7. Device for diathermy comprising in combination means for generating high fre quency currents including a triode, a coupling coil inductively coupled to said means and aRontgen tube connected to said coupling coils In testimony whereof I afiix my signature. i

'FRANCISCllS HENRICUS' REIJNDERS.

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