JP7615097B2 - Warming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a heating device.

Cancer tissue is more sensitive to heat than normal tissue, and dies at 42-43 degrees Celsius. For this reason, in recent years, attention has been focused on a treatment method (hyperthermia) in which only cancer tissue is heated to 42-43 degrees Celsius to kill the cancer tissue, and localized heating devices for hyperthermia are being developed.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a local heating device that uses a cavity resonator. In the local heating device disclosed in Patent Document 1, a conductor protrusion (internal electrode 13) is provided inside the cavity resonator, and a strong electric field is generated that is concentrated on the central axis of this protrusion, making it possible to heat the local area. Patent Documents 2 and 3 also disclose local heating devices that use a cavity resonator.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1-209073 JP 2005-230277 A JP 2005-230278 A

However, in the local heating devices disclosed in Patent Documents 1-3, the size and position of the heating area cannot be adjusted without replacing the internal protrusion.

The present invention aims to adjust the size and position of the heating area without this replacement.

In order to solve the above problems, a warming device according to one embodiment of the present invention has a main body forming a cavity, an antenna provided inside the cavity for generating electromagnetic waves inside the cavity, a protrusion provided to protrude into the cavity, a first opening and a second opening provided on the main body, a first cylindrical portion extending from the first opening toward the inside of the cavity, and a second cylindrical portion extending from the second opening toward the inside of the cavity, the length of the first cylindrical portion being variable, and the length of the second cylindrical portion being variable.

The heating device may further include a tube length control unit that controls the length of the first tube portion and the length of the second tube portion.

The tube length control unit may be configured to change the length of the first tube portion and the length of the second tube portion while maintaining the distance between the first tube portion and the second tube portion.

The position of the protrusion may be variable in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the first and second cylindrical portions extend.

The heating device may further include a protrusion position control unit that controls the position of the protrusion.

The protrusion has a first protrusion provided on the upper side of the main body and a second protrusion provided on the lower side of the main body, and the upper protrusion and the second protrusion preferably face each other.

The first and second cylindrical portions may be arranged to face each other between the first and second protruding portions.

The main body is cylindrical and has a side portion, an upper end portion, and a lower end portion, the protrusion is provided at the upper end portion and/or the lower end portion, and the first opening and the second opening are preferably provided at the side portion.

The main body may be rectangular and have a front surface, a rear surface, a right side surface, a left side surface, a top surface, and a bottom surface, the protrusion may be provided on the top surface and/or the bottom surface, the first opening may be provided on the front surface, and the second opening may be provided on the back surface.

The present invention makes it possible to adjust the size and position of the heating area.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a warming device 100 in which a main body 110 is cylindrical. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a warming device 100 in which a main body 110 is rectangular parallelepiped-shaped. FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating heating of an affected area. 11 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the length of the first tubular portion 161 and the second tubular portion 162 and the size and position of the heating region. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the length of the first tubular portion 161 and the second tubular portion 162 and the size and position of the heating region. FIG. 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating changes in the position of a protrusion 150.

<Warming device 100>
1 and 2 are diagrams showing a warming device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The warming device 100 has a main body 110, an antenna 120, a control unit 130, two openings (a first opening 141 and a second opening 142), and a protruding portion 150.

The main body 110 is made of a conductor and has a cavity inside.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the main body 110 is cylindrical (cylindrical cavity resonator). When the main body 110 is cylindrical, it has a side portion 111, an upper end portion 112, and a lower end portion 113. FIG. 1(A) shows a perspective view of the main body 110 and the control unit 130. FIG. 1(B) is a front view of the main body 110, FIG. 1(C) is a rear view of the main body 110, FIG. 1(D) is a right side view of the main body 110, FIG. 1(E) is a left side view of the main body 110, and FIG. 1(F) is an A-A cross-sectional view of the main body 110.

The main body 110 may also be rectangular (rectangular cavity resonator). When the main body 110 is rectangular, it has a front surface 114, a rear surface 115, a right side surface 116, a left side surface 117, a top surface 118, and a bottom surface 119. FIG. 2(A) shows a perspective view of the main body 110 and the control unit 130. FIG. 2(B) is a front view of the main body 110, FIG. 2(C) is a rear view of the main body 110, FIG. 2(D) is a right side view of the main body 110, FIG. 2(E) is a left side view of the main body 110, and FIG. 2(F) is a C-C cross-sectional view of the main body 110.

The antenna 120 is placed inside the cavity and radiates electromagnetic waves into the cavity. The antenna 120 is, for example, a loop antenna. A power supply device is connected to the antenna 120, and power is supplied from the power supply device.

The control unit 130 is configured by a computer and controls the power supply device and the like. The power supply device may be a device separate from the control unit 130, or may be built into the control unit 130. The control unit 130 may be a device separate from the main body unit 110, or may be built into the main body unit 110.

Figure 3 is a diagram showing the control unit 130. The control unit 130 has an antenna control unit 131 that controls the frequency of the electromagnetic waves radiated by the antenna 120 by controlling the power supply device. The antenna control unit 131 controls the frequency of the electromagnetic waves radiated from the antenna 120 so that the electromagnetic waves resonate inside the cavity. As a result, the inside of the cavity in the main body unit 110 functions as a cavity resonator.

The first opening 141 and the second opening 142 are openings for inserting the affected area of the patient into the cavity, and are provided on the side of the main body 110. When the main body 110 is cylindrical, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, the first opening 141 and the second opening 142 are provided facing each other on the side surface 111 of the main body 110. When the main body 110 is rectangular, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, the first opening 141 is provided on the front surface 114 of the main body 110, and the second opening 142 is provided on the back surface 115 of the main body 110.

The protrusion 150 is made of a conductor and is provided so as to protrude into the cavity of the main body 110. The protrusion 150 is a so-called reentrant, and the electric field is concentrated in a specific area by this protrusion 150, and the electric field in this specific area becomes stronger (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). As shown in FIG. 4, the patient's body is inserted into the cavity using the first opening 141 and the second opening 142 so that the affected area is located in the area where the electric field is strong (heating area HR). Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to heat only the affected area. FIG. 4(A) is the A-A cross section shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4(B) is the C-C cross section shown in FIG. 2.

For example, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the protrusion 150 may have a first protrusion 151 provided on one surface (first surface) of the main body 110 and a second protrusion 152 provided on a surface (second surface) of the main body 110 facing the first surface, and the first protrusion 151 and the second protrusion 152 may be arranged to face each other. When the main body 110 is cylindrical, as shown in Fig. 1, the first protrusion 151 is provided on the upper end 112 of the main body 110, and the second protrusion 152 is provided on the lower end 113 of the main body 110. When the main body 110 is rectangular, as shown in Fig. 2, the first protrusion 151 is provided on the upper surface 118 of the main body 110, and the second protrusion 152 is provided on the lower surface 119 of the main body 110.

In this way, a region with a strong electric field (heating region HR) is located between the first protrusion 151 and the second protrusion 152. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, by positioning the affected area between the first protrusion 151 and the second protrusion 152, it becomes possible to heat only the affected area. Note that the object to be heated by the heating device 100 is not limited to the human body. For example, the object to be heated by the heating device 100 may be food, etc.

In the examples shown in Figures 1, 2, and 4, there is one protrusion 150 and only one heating region HR is formed, but the heating device 100 may have multiple protrusions 150 so that multiple heating regions HR are formed. In this case, each of the multiple protrusions 150 may have a first protrusion 151 and a second protrusion 152 as described above. In this way, it becomes possible to heat multiple areas simultaneously.

The shapes of the first opening 141 and the second opening 142 are not limited to the circular shape shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and may be any shape as long as the affected area can be positioned between the first protrusion 151 and the second protrusion 152. In addition, the positions of the first opening 141 and the second opening 142 are not limited to facing each other as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and may be any position as long as the affected area can be positioned between the first protrusion 151 and the second protrusion 152.

<Shielding of electromagnetic waves by the cylindrical section>
1 and 2, the warming device 100 according to this embodiment further includes two tubular parts (a first tubular part 161 and a second tubular part 162) made of a conductor. The first tubular part 161 extends from the first opening 141 toward the inside of the cavity, and the second tubular part 162 extends from the second opening 142 toward the inside of the cavity. When the protruding part 150 includes the first protruding part 151 and the second protruding part 152, it is preferable that the first tubular part 161 and the second tubular part 162 face each other between the first protruding part 151 and the second protruding part 152.

For this reason, in this embodiment, the part of the patient's body surrounded by the first tube portion 161 and the second tube portion 162 is shielded from electromagnetic waves, and the part of the patient's body surrounded by the first tube portion 161 and the second tube portion 162 is not heated. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to prevent parts other than the affected area from being heated.

<Adjustment of the Length of the Cylinder Parts 161, 162>
In addition, the length L1 of the first tube portion 161 and the length L2 of the second tube portion 162 according to this embodiment are variable, as shown in Figures 5 and 6. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to change the size and position of the area in which electromagnetic waves are shielded by the first tube portion 161 and the second tube portion 162. In other words, it is possible to adjust the size and position of the heating area. Figures 5(A) and 6(A) are cross sections taken along line A-A in Figure 1, and Figures 5(B) and 6(B) are cross sections taken along line C-C in Figure 2.

In particular, as shown in FIG. 6, the tube length control unit 132 may change the length L1 of the first tube portion 161 and the length L2 of the second tube portion 162 while maintaining the distance L12 between the first tube portion 161 and the second tube portion 162. In this way, it is possible to adjust the position of the heating area while maintaining the size of the heating area.

The adjustment of the length of the first tube portion 161 and the length of the second tube portion 162 may be performed manually or automatically. When the adjustment of the length of the first tube portion 161 and the length of the second tube portion 162 is performed automatically, for example, the control unit 130 may further include a tube length control unit 132 that controls the length L1 of the first tube portion 161 and the length L2 of the second tube portion 162. In this case, for example, each of the first tube portion 161 and the second tube portion 162 may have a drive unit that adjusts the length of the tube portion, and the tube length control unit 132 may control the drive unit to control the length L1 of the first tube portion 161 and the length L2 of the second tube portion 162.

<Adjustment of the Position of the Protrusion 150>
As shown in Fig. 7, the position of the protrusion 150 (first protrusion 151, second protrusion 152) may be variable. In particular, the position of the protrusion 150 may be variable in a direction (left-right direction LR) perpendicular to the direction in which the first tube portion 161 and the second tube portion 162 extend (front-rear direction FR). In this way, it becomes possible to adjust the position of the heating region in the left-right direction in addition to the front-rear direction. Fig. 7(A) is a B-B cross section of the main body portion 110 shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 7(B) is a D-D cross section of the main body portion 110 shown in Fig. 2.

It is preferable that the position of the protrusion 150 can be adjusted manually. The control unit 130 may further include a protrusion position control unit 133 that controls the position of the protrusion 150. In this case, for example, the main body unit 110 may include a drive unit that adjusts the position of the protrusion 150, and the protrusion position control unit 133 may control the position of the protrusion 150 by controlling this drive unit.

<Temperature measurement using an ultrasonic probe>
As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the main body 110 may have a third opening 170 for inserting an ultrasonic probe for measuring the temperature distribution near the affected area. In this case, the control unit 130 may further have a temperature distribution analysis unit 134 for analyzing the temperature distribution near the heated area HR based on data obtained by the ultrasonic probe. The length of the first tube portion 161 and the length of the second tube portion 162 and the position of the protruding portion 150 may be adjusted based on the temperature distribution near the heated area HR analyzed by the temperature distribution analysis unit 134. In this way, it is possible to more accurately prevent areas other than the affected area from being heated.

When the control unit 130 has a tube length control unit 132, the tube length control unit 132 may control the length L1 of the first tube portion 161 and the length L2 of the second tube portion 162 based on the temperature distribution analyzed by the temperature distribution analysis unit 134. Also, when the control unit 130 has a protrusion position control unit 133, the protrusion position control unit 133 may control the position of the protrusion 150 based on the temperature distribution analyzed by the temperature distribution analysis unit 134.

When the main body 110 is rectangular, the third opening 170 may be provided in the right side 116 and/or the left side 117. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the third opening 170 is provided in the right side 116, but the third opening 170 may also be provided in the front 114, rear 115, top 118, or bottom 119.

The present invention has been described above in terms of preferred embodiments thereof. Although the present invention has been described herein by showing specific examples, various modifications and changes can be made to these examples without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Warming device 110 Main body 111 Side 112 Top end 113 Bottom end 114 Front 115 Rear 116 Right side 117 Left side 118 Top 119 Bottom 120 Antenna 130 Control section 131 Antenna control section 132 Cylinder length control section 133 Protrusion position control section 134 Temperature distribution analysis section 141 First opening 142 Second opening 150 Protrusion 151 First protrusion 152 Second protrusion 161 First cylinder 162 Second cylinder 170 Third opening

Claims (7)

A body portion forming a cavity;
an antenna provided inside the cavity for generating electromagnetic waves inside the cavity;
A protrusion provided so as to protrude into the cavity;
a first opening and a second opening provided in the main body;
a first tubular portion extending from the first opening toward the inside of the cavity;
a second cylindrical portion extending from the second opening toward the inside of the cavity,
the main body portion, the protruding portion, the first cylindrical portion, and the second cylindrical portion are made of conductors,
The protrusion is
a first protrusion provided on a first surface of the main body;
a second protrusion provided on a second surface of the main body opposite to the first surface,
the first cylindrical portion and the second cylindrical portion face each other between the first protruding portion and the second protruding portion,
The length of the first cylindrical portion is variable,
A warming device, wherein the length of the second tubular portion is variable. The warming device according to claim 1, further comprising a tube length control unit that controls the length of the first tube portion and the length of the second tube portion. The heating device according to claim 2, wherein the tube length control unit changes the length of the first tube portion and the length of the second tube portion while maintaining a distance between an end of the first tube portion facing the inside of the cavity and an end of the second tube portion facing the inside of the cavity . The warming device according to claim 1, wherein the position of the protrusion is variable in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the first and second cylindrical portions extend. The warming device according to claim 4, further comprising a protrusion position control unit that controls the position of the protrusion. The body portion is cylindrical and has a side portion, an upper end, and a lower end.
The protrusion is provided at the upper end and/or the lower end,
The warming device according to claim 1 , wherein the first opening and the second opening are provided in the side surface portion. The main body is rectangular and has a front surface, a rear surface, a right side surface, a left side surface, a top surface, and a bottom surface.
The protrusion is provided on the upper surface portion and/or the lower surface portion,
The warming device according to claim 1 , wherein the first opening is provided in the front portion, and the second opening is provided in the rear portion.

Images