JPS6365343B2 - - 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 electromagnetic 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 radio wave lens section. A problem arises in that consistency cannot be achieved. [Object of the Invention] The present invention improves the disadvantages of the conventional example, and improves impedance matching between the electromagnetic wave power supply section and the radio wave lens section, especially when impedance mismatch occurs at multiple locations, in response to changes in the situation. The object is to provide an applicator for heating therapy which is correspondingly simple in construction and can be sufficiently constructed. [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 and a radio wave lens part and an electromagnetic wave radiation end part at the other end. The other parts except the radio lens part are filled with an insulating oil that reduces the attenuation of electromagnetic waves, and a fluid storage means is attached to a part of the inner wall of the case body in the part filled with the insulating oil, and the part of the case body is A stub matching means is provided between the electromagnetic wave power supply section and the radio wave lens section, and this stub matching means is provided with a cylinder section with one end open, a waterproof piston member that reciprocates within the cylinder section, and a waterproof piston member that moves back and forth within the cylinder section. A screw member integrated with the piston member and having an impedance matching function, and a screw hole formed on the center axis of the other end of the cylinder into which the screw member is screwed and inserted, and the case body and The above objective is achieved by adopting a configuration in which one or more through holes are provided to communicate with the inside of the cylinder member. [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 adjustable stub matching means, and the stub matching means is adjusted so that 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 feeding section, 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. In this case, impedance matching is performed by rotating a screw member having an impedance matching function. Specifically, when the screw member is turned by an external force, the screw member and the piston member rotate and move together, and at the same time, an appropriate amount of the screw member is projected from the screw hole of the case body into the case body. Ru. During this time, the sealing action of the piston member prevents oil from leaking into the cylinder section. On the other hand, due to the protrusion of the screw member into the case body, the oil within the cylinder portion is also pushed out into the case body.
In this case, the increased amount of oil within the case body is stored in the fluid storage means. Therefore, impedance matching can be performed very easily and smoothly. [Embodiment of the Invention] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
This will be explained based on FIG. 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 feeding section waveguide 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 one end open, 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 heating of the case body caused by continuous use, the power feeding portion waveguide is An oil escape mechanism 16 as a fluid storage means 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 feeding section waveguide 10A at a predetermined interval, and covers each of the through holes 16A from the inside. A relatively fine wire mesh 16B arranged and equipped, guide tubes 16C, 16C connected to each of the through holes 16A,
Relatively soft oil escape tubes 16D, 16 are connected to each guide tube 16C and extend upward.
It is composed of D. Here, the wire mesh 1
6B constitutes a part of the side wall of the electromagnetic wave power supply section 11, and therefore, if it functions equivalently, for example, a plurality of small holes may be provided directly on the inner wall of the electromagnetic wave power supply section. 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 inlet 30A formed at one end of this anchoring board 30, and a similarly rectangular cooling liquid outlet correspondingly formed at the other end of the anchoring board 30. 30B, a waterproof insulating film prevention groove 30C carved so as to surround each of these cooling liquid inflow and outflow ports 30A and 30B, and the opening 10E of the electromagnetic wave radiation end 14, and each of these cooling liquid flows. 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; The insulating film member 33 is formed by a frame plate 34 which is detachably attached to the retaining board 30 with its surroundings 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 thereof, and becomes smaller as it approaches the side wall 41A of the frame body 41. α ₁ set as,
α ₂ , α ₃ (however, α ₀ > α ₁ > α ₂ > α ₃ ), thereby providing the first
As shown by the dotted line in FIG. 0, each metal plate 40 is set so as to be able to exert a predetermined lens effect in one direction as a whole. 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 the radio wave lens section 12 formed in this manner in the case body 1.
FIG. 1 is a right side view of FIG. 1 when the device is housed at 0 (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. The structure is such that it can leak. Also, in Figure 1,
Reference numeral 42 indicates a set screw for locking the radio wave lens portion 12. 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, which is connected to the cooling liquid guide 32 for flowing out the cooling liquid, and is connected to the cooling liquid guide 32 for flowing out the cooling liquid. The bubbles are sucked out directly from the coolant guide 32 by the negative pressure accompanying the flow of the coolant. The applicator 50 for heating therapy in this embodiment thus formed has an inverted U-shaped applicator holding means at the supporting 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 above 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. In the process of propagating through this electromagnetic wave lens section 12, the phase of the outer part advances from that of the central 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 surface of the living body is effectively cooled by the cooling mechanism 15 described above. Also,
As for 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 wave on the surface of the living body is due to the difference in impedance of the electromagnetic wave transmission system, and such impedance change is due to the difference in impedance of the electromagnetic wave lens section 12.
This also occurs on the incident side. Therefore, when viewed from the excitation antenna 11A side, the above-mentioned radio wave lens section 12
Reflection of electromagnetic waves from both the heating part surface and the heating part surface can be detected. In this case, the stub unit mechanism 13
By appropriately adjusting the impedance matching for the radio wave lens section 12 and the heating section side described above, the generation of reflected electromagnetic waves is thereby suppressed, so that the electromagnetic energy is efficiently transferred into the heating section. sent to. That is, for electromagnetic waves that propagate within the case body 10 as a waveguide from the electromagnetic wave feeding section 11 and radiate to the outside from the electromagnetic wave radiation end, impedances are first transmitted from the radio wave lens section 12 and then from the biological surface. A reflected wave r is generated due to the mismatch. In this case, in the present invention, the three adjustable stub matching means form r' with respect to the electromagnetic wave power supply section 11, and the three stub unit mechanisms 13 are adjusted so that 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. In this case, impedance matching can be achieved by rotating the screw member 23 having an impedance matching function. Specifically, when the screw member 23 is turned by an external force, the screw member 23 and the piston member 22 rotate and move together, and at the same time, the appropriate amount of the screw member 23 is removed from the screw hole 24 of the case body 10. is projected into the case body 10. During this time, oil leakage to the outside of the cylinder portion 21 is prevented by the sealing action of the piston member 22. On the other hand, due to the protrusion of the screw member 23 toward the case body 10, the oil within the cylinder portion 21 is also pushed out toward the case body 10. In this case, the increased amount of oil inside the case body 10 is stored in the oil escape mechanism 16 as a fluid storage means. Therefore, impedance matching can be performed very easily and smoothly. Here, the impedance matching by the stabilization mechanism 13 is performed while confirming the reflection rate displayed on a reflected electromagnetic wave display means (not shown) of the directional coupler connected to the coaxial connector 11B. This is done 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. 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. In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, three stub unit mechanisms are used, but the present invention is also applicable to a case where one stub unit mechanism is used. [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 toward the electromagnetic wave power supply side, it is possible to match them extremely easily using the stub matching means, and this makes it possible to easily match them when heating the deep parts of a living body. The electromagnetic wave energy can be efficiently focused and sent, and deep heating can therefore be carried out efficiently.Since the stub matching means is of a waterproof type, impedance can be reduced while preventing oil leakage inside the case body. Matching can be done easily and smoothly, and the amount of protrusion of the screw member required for impedance matching can be finely set and adjusted, making it possible to match impedance in response to changing conditions. A heating therapy applicator can be provided.

[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 perspective view showing a conventional example. . 10...Case body, 10C...Insulating oil, 11
...Electromagnetic wave power supply section, 12... Radio wave lens section, 13
... Stub unit mechanism as stub alignment means, 14 ... Electromagnetic wave radiation end, 16 ... Oil escape mechanism as fluid storage means, 21 ... Cylinder section, 22 ... Piston member, 23 ... Screw member,
24...Screw hole portion, 25...Through hole.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A case body having an electromagnetic wave feeding section at one end and a radio wave lens section and an electromagnetic wave emitting end section at the other end, and other parts of the case body excluding the radio wave lens section. is filled with an insulating oil that has low attenuation of electromagnetic waves, and a fluid storage means is provided on a part of the inner wall of the case body in the part filled with the insulating oil, so that the electromagnetic wave power supply part and the radio wave lens part of the case body are connected to each other. A stub matching means is provided between the stub matching means, and the stub matching means is integrated into a cylinder portion having an open end, a waterproof piston member that reciprocates within the cylinder portion, and an impedance matching means that is integrated with the piston member. A threaded hole portion formed on the central axis of the other end of the cylinder and into which the threaded member is screwed and inserted, and which communicates between the case body and the inside of the cylinder member. Or an applicator for heating therapy characterized by having two or more through holes.