JPH0342902B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a cooling device most suitable for cooling a body surface during treatment using a therapeutic laser device, for example.

[Technical Background of the Invention] In recent years, many attempts have been made to use lasers for medical purposes, and some of them have already been put into practical use. The use of lasers for treatment involves making incisions on the body surface or removing birthmarks, ie, removing birthmarks, etc. by utilizing its high energy density, and in both cases, light energy is used as thermal energy.

For example, a nevus treatment device using a ruby laser is configured as shown in Figures 1 to 3. Figure 1 is an overall schematic diagram, and Figure 2 shows a beam in a guide groove for changing the position of the table. FIG. 3 is a side view of the main body of the apparatus with the head cover removed. In these figures, 1 is an operation cabinet, 2 is the main body of the device, 3 is a cooling device, 4 is a table, 5 is a laser oscillation device,
6 is the lens, 7 is the mount, 8 is the beam head,
9 is a gas laser oscillation device, 10 is a laser beam path, 11 is a focal position, 12 is an expanded laser beam,
13 is the beam head base, 14 is a spring, 1
5 is an annular groove, 16 is a beam head opening end, 17 is a guide groove, 18 is a screw, and 19 is a head cover.

This device ultimately allows the beam head opening end 16 at the tip of the beam head 8 to be connected to a living body (usually a human body).
By applying a laser beam of a desired intensity to the area on the surface that requires treatment, it attempts to destroy nevus fat that forms bruises and the like.

In this case, irradiation is usually performed with an output of about 30 J/cm ² for a period of about 1 msec. At this time, the laser output is performed using a so-called kaleidoscope method, in which the laser beam is spread out to about 10 mm square and irradiated onto the surface of the living body.

However, since a large amount of heat is instantaneously applied to the living body, it is absorbed by the nevus fat, and the heat other than the amount required for its destruction is absorbed by normal tissue, which gradually diffuses and disappears into the surrounding area. Due to this unnecessary amount of heat, normal tissue will also be burned, and it will take some time for the burns to recover to normal tissue.

For this, after irradiation with a ruby laser beam,
In order to speed up the recovery of tissues, including the destroyed nevus fat area, gauze soaked in saline is applied to the irradiated area and its surrounding area to cool it down.

However, when applying gauze soaked in saline to the irradiated area, there were problems such as water dripping and getting clothes wet when the irradiated area was the face, especially the cheeks.

[Object of the Invention] An object of the present invention is to provide a cooling device with good operability that can easily and appropriately cool a laser irradiation site and its vicinity, for example.

[Summary of the Invention] A cooling device according to the present invention includes a rod-shaped holder, an electronic cooling means provided on one axial end surface of the holder so that the end surface forms a cooling surface, and an electronic cooling means that operates on the electronic cooling means. a power supply means for supplying electric power; a switch means provided on the holder for opening and closing a power supply path from the power supply means to the electronic cooling means;
It is characterized by comprising a temperature measuring means provided on an end face of the holding body forming the cooling surface, and a temperature display means provided on the holding body and displaying the temperature measured by the temperature measuring means.

According to the cooling device according to the present invention having such a configuration, the following special effects can be achieved.

First, the operator can easily hold the holding body with the palm or fingers. This improves operability.

Furthermore, since the cooling surface is formed on one end surface in the axial direction of the rod-shaped holder, the cooling portion can be positioned with high precision along with the above-mentioned ease of holding.

Furthermore, the holder is equipped with a switch means for starting and stopping the cooling operation, and a cooling surface temperature that can be used as judgment data when starting and stopping the cooling operation described above in order to set the cooling surface to a desired temperature. Since it is integrally equipped with a temperature measurement means and a temperature display means to notify the temperature, it can be used to cool the treated area to the desired temperature with high operability. That is, according to the cooling device of the present invention, the cooling surface and the temperature display are present in approximately one line of sight, and the cooling surface is applied to the patient's treatment area with appropriate pressure. The operator can open and close the switch means at any time with one finger of the holding hand without having to pay much attention.
The switch means can be opened and closed only by finger operation, paying attention only to the visually displayed temperature so that the temperature of the treated area reaches the desired temperature.

Furthermore, if the cooling device of the present invention is used for laser therapy, even one doctor or the like can hold the holder (cooling device) with one hand, and with the other hand, for example. Since the handpiece of the laser treatment device can be held, it is possible to perform laser treatment efficiently while moving both hands in coordination, and to cool the treatment area with ease of operation and high positional accuracy.

[Embodiment of the Invention] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the appearance of essential parts of an embodiment of the invention. In FIG. 4, 21 is a holding part, 22 is an electronic cooling element, 23 is a cable consisting of a necessary power cord, etc., and 24 is an electronic cooling element 2.
2, a temperature measuring element such as a thermistor, and 26 a temperature display. That is, as shown in the figure, the holding part 21 forming the holding body is rod-shaped,
Since the holding portion 21 is rod-shaped, the operator can easily hold the holding portion 21 with the fingers of the hand, as will be described later. The electronic cooling element 21, which is a cooling means, is provided on one end surface in the axial direction of the holding portion 21 so that the end surface forms a cooling surface. The operating power for this electronic cooling element 21 is supplied by a cable 23.
The cable 23 is led out from the other end of the holding portion 21 in the axial direction. Further, a power switch 24, which is a switching means, is provided at a substantially intermediate portion in the axial direction of the holding portion 21, and can be operated with an operator's finger as described later to supply power through a cable 23 forming a power supply path. It has become a thing. The temperature measuring element 25, which is a temperature measuring means, is provided on the end face of the holding portion 21, which serves as the cooling surface described above, and details will be described later. Temperature display 25 as temperature display means
is provided in the holding section 21 and displays the temperature measured by the temperature measuring element 24.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual sectional view showing the detailed structure of the main parts of the cooling device shown in FIG. 4.

In the figure, 22a is a cooling surface of the electronic cooling element 22, and 22b is a heat radiation surface thereof. Also 24a
is a contact portion of the power switch 24 for the electronic cooling element.

In such a configuration, the operator can hold the holding section 21
is held with the palm or fingers, and when the power switch 24 is pressed with the finger under the held state, the contact 24a is connected, voltage is applied to the electronic cooling element 22, the electronic cooling element operates, and the cooling surface is Heat is taken away from the heat dissipation surface 22a, and heat is radiated from the heat dissipation surface 22b. In order to facilitate this heat dissipation, the joint part 21a of the holding part 21 with the electronic cooling element 22 is made of a metal with good thermal conductivity, such as aluminum or copper, and the heat is transferred to the outside through the holding part 21. make it easier to dissipate heat.

In addition, since the temperature measuring element 25 is installed on the cooling surface 22a of the electronic cooling element 22, the temperature of the cooled part, that is, the most extreme part of the holding part 21 can be detected, and the result is displayed on the cooling surface 22a of the electronic cooling element 22. The temperature is displayed on the temperature display 26, and cooling can be easily and appropriately performed under appropriate temperature control.

In use, as shown in FIG. 4, the operator holds the holding part 21 with the palm or fingers of one hand, and holds the cooling side of the electronic cooling element 22, which is the end face of the holding part 21, which forms the cooling surface. 22a to the laser irradiation area and press the power switch 24 to turn off the electronic cooling element 2.
2 is operated to cool down the temperature of the laser irradiated area, and the temperature is displayed on the temperature display 26 through the temperature measuring element 25, thereby cooling the laser irradiated area while monitoring the degree of cooling. be.

As the electronic cooling element 22, it is preferable to use one that utilizes the Peltier effect among those that can be used at present.By applying a voltage to the Peltier effect element and passing a current, one side of the Peltier effect element absorbs heat, and the other side absorbs heat. generates a fever. Currently 31.8×31.8×3.8
(mm) size, voltage 10V current 6A, cooling capacity
Thermoelectric cooling elements of about 26W are commercially available.

Nowadays, when treating birthmarks with a ruby laser device, it is common to irradiate a 10 x 10 mm area with an output of 30 J/cm ² for about 1 ms. Furthermore, since it is a pulse output, the average output is equivalent to 0.5 W·sec, which is the amount of heat that can be sufficiently cooled by the electronic cooling element.

If such a cooling device is used, it can be held with one hand and all elements are integrated into the holding part 21, so it is easy to operate, and the cooling of the laser irradiated area is extremely easy and sanitary. Moreover, it is also possible to simultaneously observe the temperature of the irradiated area, and the treatment can be performed efficiently without taking an unnecessarily long time for cooling.

Of course, this cooling device can also be used for purposes other than cooling the laser irradiated area, such as applying cold compresses.

In addition, in the above, since the temperature measuring element 25, temperature display 26, etc. do not directly affect the cooling function,
If temperature monitoring is not necessary, it may be omitted.

Further, the structure is not limited to the one shown in the above embodiments, and cooling fins may be provided to increase the cooling effect, or cooling air may be applied to the cooling fins for forced cooling. Furthermore, various methods can be considered to enhance the cooling effect, such as using a heat pipe.

Furthermore, the power source for driving can be obtained from a dry cell battery, and if the dry cell battery is built into the holding part, it becomes smaller and easier to use.

In addition, since this cooling device can be made extremely compact, it can be used in therapeutic laser devices in which a hand piece at the laser irradiation end is connected to the main body via a flexible cable (such as an optical fiber cable).
If a cooling part is formed on the distal end surface of the handle piece and integrated with the band piece, operability will be further improved.
In this case, since the laser is emitted from the distal end surface of the handpiece, it is necessary to form a transparent part for this purpose in the cooling part, or to make the cooling part itself transparent.

In addition, it goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented with various modifications without changing the gist thereof.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, there is provided a rod-shaped holder, an electronic cooling means provided on one axial end surface of the holder so that the end surface forms a cooling surface, and an operating power supply to the electronic cooling means. a power supply means for supplying the electronic cooling means, a switch means provided on the holder for opening and closing a power supply path from the power supply means to the electronic cooling means, and a measuring means provided on the end face of the holder forming the cooling surface. By comprising a heating means and a temperature display means provided on the holding body and displaying the temperature measured by the temperature measuring means, the part to be cooled can be easily and appropriately cooled under appropriate temperature control. This makes it possible to provide a cooling device with good operability.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1 to 3 are diagrams showing the configuration of an example of a general therapeutic laser device, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are a perspective view and a schematic cross-sectional view, respectively, showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. be. 21...Holding section, 22...Electronic cooling element, 23
... Cable, 24 ... Switch, 25 ... Temperature measuring element, 26 ... Temperature display.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rod-shaped holder, an electronic cooling means provided on one axial end surface of the holder so that the end surface forms a cooling surface, a power supply means for supplying operating power to the electronic cooling means, and the holder. a switch means for opening and closing a power supply path from the power source means to the electronic cooling means; a temperature measuring means provided on an end face of the holder forming the cooling surface; A cooling device comprising: temperature display means for displaying the temperature measured by the temperature measuring means.