JPH0345664B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a laser beam irradiation device used for the treatment of birthmarks on living bodies.

(Prior art) A method of irradiating superficial skin diseases such as bruises with laser light by uniformizing the output power was proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 1983-27816. A method of combining a large number of output equalization structures as applied to
It is proposed as No. 203595.

All of these are designed so that a flat output can be obtained at the end of the prism by making laser light incident on a prism made of glass or quartz.

Figure 5 shows a case where there is only one prism, and when the laser beam is focused by lens 1 and dispersed at a certain angle, when it enters prism 2, it comes out as a flat output at prism output end 2a. It's becoming like that.

In the one shown in Fig. 6, laser light is sequentially introduced into optical fiber groups 3. Each optical fiber group 3 is attached to the back of a prism 4, and the light enters each prism sequentially, and the output end 4a spreads over a wide range. It is now possible to take out the output with a flat output.

These laser beam irradiation devices actually use a prism 2 or a group of prisms 4 as shown in FIGS. 7a and 7b.
The outside of the handpiece is covered with a protective cover 5a or 5b, thereby forming a handpiece.

When using such a handpiece, for example, for the treatment of superficial skin color diseases, when the output end 2a or 4a of the prism 2 or group of prisms 4 is brought into contact with the diseased area of the skin, the diseased area is uniformly exposed to the laser beam. It is irradiated with light and a good therapeutic effect can be obtained.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, when the skin is irradiated with laser light, the surface of the skin burns, smokes, and the thin skin peels off, which adheres to the ends of the glass or quartz prisms that come into contact with it. There is a problem in that the deposits gradually absorb the laser beam, causing local heating and damaging the tips of the prisms. In order to solve this problem, the conventional method was to put a plastic cover over the tip of the prism and replace it every time, but this was extremely time-consuming and troublesome, and was also wasteful from a cost standpoint. It was a lot.

Further, since the handpiece has a prism or a group of prisms covered with a protective cover 5a or 5b, there is a problem in that when the tip is brought into contact with the affected area, the light irradiation part of the tip cannot always be accurately positioned on the affected area.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, to prevent thin skin etc. from adhering to the ends of the prisms, and to provide a guide body that can accurately bring the light irradiation part into contact with the affected area. An object of the present invention is to provide a laser beam irradiation device.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The structure of the present invention is a laser beam irradiation device including a hand piece for laser beam irradiation and a guide body for inserting and guiding the tip of the hand piece. , the guide body includes a guide part having a length to movably guide the hand piece, and a transparent bottom plate provided at the bottom of the guide part, and the guide part of the guide body has a length that allows the hand piece to move. It is characterized by the fact that it has a scale that serves as a guide to the position.

(Function) Since the device of the present invention has the above configuration, it functions as follows.

In other words, since the bottom plate is located between the affected area and the laser beam irradiation end of the handpiece, thin skin etc. will not adhere to the irradiation end, and while the affected area can be observed through the transparent bottom plate, the handpiece can be attached to the guide section. The handpiece can be moved by abutting the side surfaces, and positioning can be performed accurately using the scale provided on the guide portion as a guide.

(Example) The illustrated embodiment will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a guide body used in the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view thereof.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a transparent plastic bottom plate, which is interposed between the laser beam irradiation end of the handpiece and the affected area as described above.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a guide portion that comes into contact with the side surface of the handpiece.

In this example, the bottom plate 10 and the guide portion 20 are integrally molded from transparent plastic, and have a frame shape as a whole.

The guide part 20 has long sides 21, 21 and short sides 2.
2 and 22', and the distance W between the long sides 21 and 21 is approximately the same as the width W of the handpiece (Fig. 7), so that the handpiece can be inserted just between them. . In addition, the long side portions 21, 2
1, scales 31 to 36 are carved at equal intervals. The interval a between these scales is the length a of one side of the laser beam irradiated surface of the handpiece (see Figure 7).
The scales 31 and 36 at both ends are the same.
The distance between the short sides 22 and 22' of the guide section is equal to the thickness ba of the protective covers 5a and 5b of the handpiece.
(See Figure 7).

Therefore, with the guide body as described above, first the guide body is applied to the position of the affected area to be irradiated, and then the tip of the handpiece is placed on the long sides 21, 2 of the guide part 20.
1, and the long side part 21,
21 and touch the tip to the bottom plate 1.
0 and when the side surface perpendicular to the above-mentioned side surface is brought into contact with the short side 22 of the guide section 20, the output end surface 2a or 4a (FIG. 7) of the handpiece is located between the scale marks 31 and 32. Therefore, first, a laser beam is irradiated at this position. Next, the front surface of the handpiece is sequentially moved from scale 33 to scale 36, and laser light is irradiated at each position.

In this way, the laser beam is changed from scale 31 to 3.
It is possible to uniformly irradiate the area between 6 and 6 without any breaks. When setting the guide body and handpiece, since the bottom plate 10 is transparent, it is possible to set the guide body and handpiece securely while observing the affected area, and the handpiece is securely positioned by the long side 21 of the guide section 20. Because of this, laser light can be irradiated evenly. Moreover, even if the skin is burnt when the laser beam is irradiated, the bottom plate 10 is interposed between the affected area and the laser beam irradiation end of the handpiece, so the skin will not adhere to the prism of the handpiece or smoke will occur. Since the water never reaches the prisms, the prisms are not contaminated.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above,
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments,
Appropriate modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

For example, the cross-sectional shape of the guide body may be such that the bottom plate 10' is slightly raised and a gap 11 is provided below, as shown in FIG. In this way, burnt skin will not adhere to the bottom plate 10', and even if smoke is generated, the void 11 will be a place for the smoke to escape. In addition, since there is a gap between the output end of the prism in the handpiece and the skin, in the case of a handpiece using a group of prisms as shown in Figure 6, there will be areas between adjacent prisms that are not irradiated. This allows for more uniform irradiation. This is because when the laser light exits from the prism, it diverges and the gap becomes less noticeable.

Further, the bottom plate 10 may be replaceable as shown in FIG. In the figure, the bottom plate is composed of a transparent synthetic resin sheet 12 made of polyethylene, vinyl chloride, etc., and this sheet 12 is attached to an outer frame 24.
It is held between the inner frame 25 which fits into the outer frame 24. This is economical because only the bottom plate 12 needs to be replaced if it becomes soiled.

Various other variations are possible. For example, the first
The short sides 22, 22 of the guide portion shown in the figure are not necessarily necessary, and only one of the long sides 21, 21 is sufficient. Further, the number and interval of the scales are arbitrary, and the guide part does not necessarily need to be transparent.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the present invention, thin skin etc. do not adhere to the prismatic ends of the handpiece, which prevents them from being damaged, and the handpiece can be positioned reliably and uniformly. Irradiation can be performed.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the guide body used in the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the same, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a modified example, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a further different example. FIGS. 5, 6, and 7a and 7b are explanatory diagrams of the handpiece, respectively. 2a, 4a...Laser beam irradiation end, 10, 10',
12...Bottom plate, 20...Guide portion.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A laser beam irradiation device comprising a laser beam irradiation handpiece and a guide body for inserting and guiding the tip of the handpiece, wherein the guide body movably guides the handpiece. It is characterized in that it consists of a guide part having a length and a transparent bottom plate provided at the bottom of the guide part, and a scale is attached to the guide part of the guide body as a guide for the movement position of the handpiece. Laser light irradiation device. 2. The laser beam irradiation device according to claim 1, wherein the bottom plate is detachable from the guide portion. 3. The laser beam irradiation device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the bottom plate is supported by the guide portion with a distance from the affected area.