JPS6236711B2 - - 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 conventional examples, a metal radio wave lens is installed inside the case body, and standing waves are likely to be generated in the electromagnetic wave transmission system including the case body due to reflected electromagnetic waves from the surface of the living body. Therefore, for example, there has been an inconvenience that the case body, especially the electromagnetic wave power supply part and its surroundings, become overheated. [Object of the Invention] The present invention improves the disadvantages of the prior art, and in particular, simultaneously cools the electromagnetic wave power supply section, the radio wave lens section, and the electromagnetic wave irradiation surface of the living body surface in the main body case, thereby making it easier to handle. It is also an object of the present invention to provide an applicator for heating therapy that has a smaller case body. [Means for Solving the Problems] Therefore, the present invention provides a heating therapy having an electromagnetic wave power feeding section provided at one end of the case body and a radio wave lens section provided at the other end of the case body. The electromagnetic wave emitting end of the radio wave lens part is equipped with a cooling mechanism for cooling the surface of the living body, and the cooling liquid flowing through the cooling mechanism is made to flow throughout the interior of the case body at the same time. The aim is to achieve the above objectives. [Function] The case body functions as a waveguide, and the electromagnetic wave feeding section functions as a relay point that sends electromagnetic waves into the case body. The electromagnetic waves sent into the case body are focused and propagated to the outside through the opening at the other end of the case body. In this case, the case body tends to overheat due to electromagnetic wave loss within the case body, but by flowing the cooling liquid of the cooling mechanism throughout the case body, overheating of the case body can be effectively prevented. At the same time, if water (relative dielectric constant ε _r = 80.36) is used as a coolant, the wavelength of electromagnetic waves in water becomes 1/√ _r , so the size of the case body becomes approximately 1/10. , it becomes possible to significantly reduce the size. [First Embodiment] Hereinafter, the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be explained based on the diagram. First, in FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 10 indicates a case body that functions as a waveguide. At the left end of the case body 10 in the figure, there is an electromagnetic wave power supply unit 1.
1, and a radio wave lens section 12 is provided at the right end. In the figure, 11A indicates an excitation antenna, 11B indicates a coaxial connector, 12A, 12
A, . . . each indicate a metal plate for a radio lens. Furthermore, the opening 10A of the case body 10 for irradiating electromagnetic waves is equipped with a cooling mechanism 13 for living bodies. As shown in the figure, this cooling mechanism 13 includes a contact support plate 21 made of a dielectric plate curved to fit the living body (see A in FIG. 7), and this contact support plate 21.
The contact plate 22 is fixed to the outside of the contact plate 1, and a soft dielectric film member 23 is sealed to the outside of the contact plate 22. Among these, the center part of the abutting support plate 21 is provided with the case body 1
A square through hole 21A matching the opening 10A of 0 is formed, and a square cutting hole 22A, which is larger than the square through hole 21A, is formed in the abutment plate 22 as shown in FIG. The structure is such that the cooling liquid in the cooling mechanism 13 can flow into the case body 10 very naturally. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the cooling liquid used in the cooling mechanism 13 is water (relative dielectric constant ε _r =80.36;
20℃, measurement wavelength ∞) is used. Therefore, since the wavelength of electromagnetic waves underwater is 1/√ _r , the size of the case body is approximately 1/10 of that of a hollow case, making it possible to significantly downsize the case. ing. At the center of the upper surface of the case body 10 in FIG.
is provided, and this cooling liquid outflow portion 13B is a first
As shown in Figures 2 and 3, they are provided at the four corners of the abutting support plate 21, so that the cooling liquid can uniformly and effectively cool the entire range from the inside of the case body 10 to the surface of the living body A. I'm starting to get it. As described above, the radio wave lens section 12 is formed of a plurality of metal plates 12A, 12A, . This makes it possible to take full advantage of the lens effect. Further, as described above, a soft dielectric film member 23 is attached to the outer end surface of the cooling mechanism 13 in order to promote close contact with a living body. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, a dielectric plate 30 with low loss and a relatively large dielectric constant is attached to the inner wall of the case body 10. In this case, the dielectric plate 30 is attached to an inner wall parallel to the electric field direction of the electromagnetic waves. As a result, the electric field distribution inside the case body 10 becomes as shown in FIG.
Since the energy of the electromagnetic waves is not concentrated in the center and is substantially uniform, there is an advantage that the focusing function of the radio wave lens section 12 can be fully demonstrated. Each metal plate 12A, 12 of the radio wave lens section 12
Dielectric members 40, 40, . . . made of the same material as the dielectric member 30 provided on the inner wall of the case body 10 are attached to A, . Therefore, it is possible to prevent the centralization of the electric field distribution shown in FIG. 11 2 and FIG. becomes. As a result, it is possible to prevent the lattice-like overheat damage that occurs in response to the electric field strength on the biological surface during heating therapy in conventional methods, and it is possible to cool the biological surface (incidence surface) and uniformly irradiate electromagnetic waves. At the same time, it becomes possible to intensively heat a predetermined location inside the interior by the action of the radio wave lens section 12, and furthermore, each metal plate 12
An ideal applicator for heating therapy can be obtained that can prevent the rust of A and increase durability. Further, 14 indicates a drainage means for removing air.
Furthermore, in addition to the radio wave lens section 12 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 above, the radio wave lens section 12 has the same dimensions but different intervals as shown in FIG. 4 (however, a>b>c>d>λ/2;λ
is the wavelength), or using various radio wave lenses, such as arranging them at equal intervals and using a metal plate 12A on the inner wall side that is longer than the one in the center, as shown in Figure 5. It may be. [Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment will be described based on FIG. 6. In this embodiment, distribution plates 50, 51, and 52 are arranged to effectively divide electromagnetic waves between the central part of the case body 10 of the first embodiment, that is, between the electromagnetic wave power supply section 11 and the radio wave lens 12. Distribution plate 5
0, 51, 52 at the center is made to protrude toward the electromagnetic wave power feeding section 11, and the other distribution plates 51, 52
Each of them is made to protrude toward the radio wave lens section 12 side. The other configurations are the same as those of the conventional example described above. The dotted line T in FIG. 6 indicates that the electromagnetic wave energy is effectively divided by the distribution plates 50, 51, and 52. This has the advantage that the irradiation of the electromagnetic waves onto the surface of the living body can be made more uniform. [Effects of the Invention] Since the present invention is constructed and functions as described above, the cooling liquid flowing through the cooling mechanism is made to flow inside the case body, thereby efficiently cooling the inside of the case body and the surface of the living body at the same time. Therefore, while gently heating the surface of the living body, it is possible to intensively heat a specific deep part by the action of the radio wave lens part mentioned above, and the entire case body can be heated by the dielectric constant of the coolant. 1/ due to the action of the rate ε _r
It is possible to provide an unprecedented and excellent applicator for heating therapy that can be made as small as √ _r .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is a front view of FIG. 1, FIGS. 3, 1, 2, and 3 are explanatory diagrams each showing the function of the dielectric plate, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are plan views each showing other examples of the radio wave lens section, 6th
The figure is a sectional view showing the second embodiment, FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the conventional example, FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing the radio wave lens section installed in FIG. 7, and FIGS.
Each figure is an explanatory diagram of the operation of FIG. 8, and FIGS. 11 and 11 are explanatory diagrams showing the propagation situation of electromagnetic waves in FIGS. 7 and 8, respectively. 10... Case body, 11... Electromagnetic wave power supply section,
12...Radio wave lens section, 12A...Metal plate, 13
...Cooling mechanism, 40...Dielectric member.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An applicator for heating therapy having an electromagnetic wave power supply section provided at one end of the case body and a radio wave lens section provided at the other end of the case body, comprising: A heating therapy application characterized in that a cooling mechanism for cooling the surface of a living body is provided at the electromagnetic wave emitting end of the body, and the cooling liquid flowing through the cooling mechanism is made to flow throughout the interior of the case body at the same time. Ta. 2. In an applicator for heating therapy that has an electromagnetic wave feeding section provided at one end of the case body and a radio wave lens section provided at the other end of the case body, an electromagnetic wave emitting end of the radio wave lens section Equipped with a cooling mechanism for cooling the surface of the living body, the cooling liquid flowing through the cooling mechanism is configured to simultaneously flow throughout the interior of the case body, and the metal plate constituting the radio wave lens part has a relative dielectric constant. An applicator for heating therapy characterized by being equipped with a thin plate made of a dielectric material that has a large target and reduces electromagnetic wave attenuation.