JPH0364132B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a cryosurgical instrument equipped with a vortex tube, which can be used with cooled air, and which can easily raise the temperature of a frozen terminal.

Conventionally used means for generating low temperatures in cryosurgical instruments include those that utilize the phase change of a low-temperature liquid, that is, the latent heat and sensible heat during vaporization of the low-temperature liquid, and those that utilize adiabatic expansion of compressed high-pressure gas, that is, Juul-Thomson. There are some that use Joule.Thomson effect.

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a cryosurgical device that utilizes the phase change of a cryogenic liquid. is a freezing terminal connected to the tip of the freezer 3, and 5 is a heater built into the storage container 1. The heater 5 is used to heat the low temperature liquid 2, increase the pressure inside the storage container 1, and send the low temperature liquid 2 into the freezer 3. Reference numeral 6 denotes a pipe for supplying the cryogenic liquid 2 to the freezer 3, which is insulated to reduce vaporization of the cryogenic liquid 2. 7 is a valve for controlling the supply of the low temperature liquid 2. The freezing terminal 4 is made of copper, silver, platinum, or the like, which has good thermal conductivity. The low temperature liquid 2 supplied into the freezer 3 is blown onto the inner surface of the frozen terminal 4 and vaporized, thereby cooling the frozen terminal 4. 8 and 9 are pipes and valves for exhausting the low temperature liquid vaporized within the freezer 3. The cryogenic liquid that has cooled and vaporized the frozen terminal 4 is discharged into the atmosphere through the tubes 8 and 10. On the other hand, numeral 11 in the figure is a pressure control pipe connected to the storage container 1, and a pressure control valve 12 is inserted in the middle of this pressure control pipe 11.

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of the vicinity of the frozen terminal 4. Freezer 3 consists of three concentric tubes, 13 is an outer tube, 14
1 is an exhaust pipe connected to the pipe 8, and 15 is a supply pipe connected to the pipe 6.

The low temperature liquid 2 passing through the supply pipe 15 is sprayed onto the inner surface of the frozen terminal 4, absorbs heat from the frozen terminal 4, and vaporizes. This vaporized low temperature liquid is discharged into the atmosphere through the exhaust pipe 14. A vacuum section 16 is formed between the outer tube 13 and the exhaust pipe 14 to reduce heat entering from the outside of the outer tube 13. A thermometer 17 such as a thermocouple is installed in the vacuum section 16 to monitor the temperature of the frozen terminal 4.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a cryosurgical device that utilizes adiabatic expansion of compressed high-pressure gas. Refrigerant gases include Freon, laughing gas (N ₂ O), and carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ).
However, since Freon liquefies at low pressure, it is stored in a liquid state in a cooling container, and both laughing gas and carbon dioxide are stored in a cooling container as high-pressure gases of about 50 to 60 kg/cm ² G.

FIG. 3 shows a cryosurgical device that uses Freon as a coolant; 21 a coolant container for storing coolant (Freon); 22 a cryostat; 23 a tube for supplying coolant to the cryobasis 22; 24 is a valve that controls the supply amount and pressure of the coolant. Further, 25 is a holder portion for holding the cryostat 22 by hand;
Reference numeral 6 denotes a control valve for adjusting the amount of coolant supplied at hand. A freezing terminal 27 is connected to the tip of the freezing element 22 and is made of copper, silver, platinum, or the like with good thermal conductivity. 28 and 29 are frozen terminals 27
Exhaust pipe and valve for exhausting coolant. A vacuum pump 30 is connected to the exhaust pipe 28 and is used to increase the differential pressure between the coolant supply pressure and the pressure inside the exhaust pipe 28 to enhance the cooling effect. 31 is a thermometer such as a thermocouple attached to monitor the temperature of the freezing terminal 27;
2 is a temperature indicator that indicates the temperature.

As shown in Fig. 4, the cryocooler 22 consists of double concentric tubes, 33 is a supply tube that also serves as an outer tube;
4 is an exhaust pipe. A constricted portion 35 is formed at the inner tip of the supply pipe 33 .

Thereupon, the high-pressure coolant supplied to the freezer 22 passes through the supply pipe 33 and the constriction part 35 to the freezing terminal 2.
7 and expands, cooling the frozen terminal 27 by the Juul-Thompson effect. After cooling, the low-pressure coolant is exhausted through the exhaust pipe 34.

Conventional cryosurgery equipment uses liquid nitrogen as a cooling agent.
Expensive coolants such as Freon are used. In particular, liquid nitrogen is difficult to handle because it is a low-temperature liquid with a temperature of -196°C, and because it vaporizes at room temperature, it is difficult to store it in a storage container for a long period of time. Also laughing gas,
Carbon dioxide gas is also difficult to handle because it must be stored in a container under high pressure of about 50 to 60 kg/cm ² G.

In addition, refrigerants such as liquid nitrogen, Freon, and laughing gas are asphyxiating and toxic, so when using a cryosurgical device indoors, they must be exhausted from the cryostat and the gasified refrigerant must be released outside. If the equipment was not installed, there was a risk that it would be harmful to the human body.

Further, after cryosurgery, an electric heater was used to heat the frozen terminal in order to peel it off from the frozen terminal, which required a current supply device or the like to supply current to the electric heater.

The present invention was made based on the above circumstances, and its purpose is to be inexpensive and easy to handle.
Air, which has no disadvantages such as suffocation or toxicity, can be used as a coolant, and it can be used at low pressure, which eliminates the difficulty of long-term storage.Furthermore, it is possible to remove frozen terminals from lesions after cryosurgery. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cryosurgical device that can raise the temperature of a frozen terminal without using special equipment such as an electric heater.

In order to achieve the above object, the cryosurgical device of the present invention is constructed as follows. That is, the high-pressure gas supplied by the high-pressure gas supply means is ejected from the tip of the spiral tube into the inner tube through a tangential nozzle, thereby creating a turbulent swirling flow in the inner tube. The thermal separation effect of the gas is excited, and the low-temperature gas separated and generated by this thermal separation effect is supplied to the frozen terminal through the low-temperature side orifice to cool the frozen terminal, and the high-temperature gas separated and generated by the thermal separation effect is The basic configuration is that it is discharged to the outside via an orifice on the high temperature side. The present invention is characterized in that by prohibiting the discharge of high-temperature gas in a timely manner and stopping the thermal separation action of the gas, room-temperature gas is supplied to the frozen terminal to raise its temperature.

In other words, the present invention is disclosed in the document "Cryogenic Engineering Handbook" (published by Uchida Rokakuba Shinsha on September 15, 1982) by means of a spiral tube, a tangential nozzle, an inner tube, a low-temperature side orifice, a high-temperature side orifice, etc. The so-called "vortex tube"
The frozen terminal is cooled by the low-temperature gas separated and generated by this "vortex tube", and
The structure is such that the temperature of the frozen terminal is raised by stopping the thermal separation action of the gas by the above-mentioned "vortex tube" at an appropriate time.

In addition, in the above literature, "vortex tube" (vortex tube)
The operating principle of the tube is explained as follows. ``Gas sent tangentially to the periphery of the pipe is
It moves in a predetermined direction (to the left in the figure) while making a spiral motion. A large pressure gradient is generated in the radial direction of the tube due to centrifugal force, and the gas passing through the orifice must first resist the centrifugal force and reach the vicinity of the tube axis from the surrounding high-pressure area, where cooling occurs. .

Examples of the present invention are shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 below.
This will be explained with reference to the figures.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the gas supply system, the exhaust system, and the surrounding area of the freezer. 40 in the figure indicates approximately gas such as air.
A compressor compresses to about 10 kg/cm ² G, 41 is a high-pressure gas storage container for storing gas such as compressed high-pressure air, and 42 and 43 are valves for sending the gas from the compressor 40 to the storage container 41; It's a tube. Also 4
4 is a pressure gauge attached to the storage container 41 to monitor the pressure inside the container, and 45 and 46 are a release valve and a release pipe for releasing gas when the pressure inside the storage container 41 exceeds a certain pressure. It is. Further, 47 is a freezer, and 48 and 49 are control valves and supply pipes for supplying gas from the high-pressure gas storage container 41 to the freezer 47. Furthermore, 50 is a freezing terminal to be brought into contact with a living body, and 51 and 52 are a low temperature side exhaust valve and an exhaust pipe for exhausting gas after the freezing terminal 50 is brought to a low temperature. Further, 53 and 54 are a high temperature side exhaust valve and an exhaust pipe for exhausting high temperature gas, and 55 is a hog portion for holding the freezer 47. Further, 56 is a thermometer such as a thermocouple for monitoring the temperature of the frozen terminal 50, and 57 is a temperature indicator.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the cryostat 47, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line "--" in FIG. In the figure, 59 is an outer pipe, 60 is an inner pipe, and 61 is an outer pipe 5 connected to the supply pipe 49.
9 and the inner tube 60 is a spiral tube arranged in an annular space between the inner tube 60 and High pressure gas flows inside the spiral tube 61. Further, the annular space is connected to the pipe 52,
The low-temperature gas that has cooled the freezing terminal 50 flows through the annular space, and functions as a heat exchanger to lower the gas temperature inside the tube 61. Reference numeral 62 denotes a gas storage portion communicating with the supply pipe 49 via the spiral tube 61, 63 a nozzle that communicates between the gas storage portion 62 and the inner tube 60, and 64 a low temperature side orifice provided near the nozzle 63. , 65 is a high temperature side orifice provided between the high temperature side exhaust pipe 53 and the inner pipe 60. The gas storage part 62 is an inner pipe 60
It is provided in an annular protrusion 66 that protrudes from the outer periphery of the tip. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the nozzles 63 are provided at several locations on the peripheral wall of the distal end of the inner tube 60, and are configured to equalize the inlet pressure of the gas storage portion 62, that is, the nozzle 63. and each nozzle 6
3 is provided toward the tangential direction of the wall surface of the inner tube 60, as shown in FIG.

The spiral tube 61, the tangential nozzle 63, the inner tube 60, the low-temperature side orifice 64, the high-temperature orifice 65, etc. form a so-called "vortex tube", and the "vortex tube" separates the The frozen terminal 50 is cooled by the generated low-temperature gas, and the frozen terminal 50 is cooled by stopping the thermal separation action of the gas by the "vortex tube" as appropriate.
It is configured to raise the temperature of the

That is, the high-pressure gas sent through the spiral pipe 61 passes through the gas storage section 62 and then passes through the tangential nozzle 63.
and is ejected tangentially into the inner tube 60. The gas flowing into the inner tube 60 becomes a turbulent swirling flow and is thermally separated. The thermally separated low-temperature gas flows out from the low-temperature side orifice 64 and flows into the high-temperature side orifice 6.
5, thermally separated high temperature gas flows out. After the frozen terminal 50 is cooled, the low-temperature gas passes through the annular space and further passes through the exhaust pipe 52 while imparting the remaining cold to the spiral pipe 61, that is, while exchanging heat with the high-pressure gas flowing inside the pipe 61. Released to the outside. The hot gas passes through the interior of the inner pipe 60 and is further discharged to the outside through the exhaust pipe 54.

In addition, 67 in the figure is a heat insulating material made of nylon, etc., which has low thermal conductivity and is durable even at low temperatures.
The structure is such that the heat of the high temperature gas inside the inner tube 60 does not heat the low temperature gas outside the heat insulating material 67.

By configuring as above, the frozen terminal 50
It can be cooled down to around -50℃ and can be applied to ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology, dermatology, etc. In addition, air, which is inexpensive and easy to handle, can be used as a coolant, and there is no need to handle low-temperature liquids. Therefore, it is safe and there is no fear of frostbite, and there is no need for a heat-insulating container, which simplifies the equipment. In addition, since there is no need to handle air as a refrigerant as a high-pressure gas, it is safe in terms of pressure and toxicity, and excellent effects can be obtained, such as no special handling or license required.

Furthermore, when the exhaust valve 53 is closed after cryosurgery, thermal separation is no longer performed within the inner tube 60, so gas at approximately room temperature passes through the low temperature side orifice 64 and raises the temperature of the cryoterminal 50. The frozen terminal 50 frozen to the lesion can be peeled off from the lesion, making it possible to eliminate the need for a heating device such as an electric heater.

As explained above, the present invention provides the following effects.

(a) Air can be used as a refrigerant and can be used at relatively low pressure, so it is not asphyxiating or toxic, is highly safe, and is easy to handle, yet there are no difficulties associated with long-term storage of the refrigerant. There are no disadvantages that were experienced in the past.

(b) By prohibiting the discharge of high-temperature gas, the thermal separation effect of the gas in the inner tube is stopped, and the temperature of the frozen terminal is raised by the room-temperature gas, so that the frozen terminal can be detached from lesions, etc. There is no need for an electric heater or power supply device to raise the temperature of the frozen terminal. This simplifies configuration and improves reliability.
It can be manufactured at low cost.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 and 2 show a first conventional example, in which Figure 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cryosurgical device, Figure 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the freezing terminal, and Figures 3 and 4 are This shows the second conventional example, in which Fig. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the cryosurgical device, Fig. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the freezing terminal,
5 to 7 show an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cryosurgical device, FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the freezing terminal, and FIG. FIG. 53... Exhaust valve, 54... Exhaust pipe, 59... Outer pipe, 60... Inner pipe, 61... Spiral tube, 62... Gas reservoir, 63... Nozzle, 64... Low temperature side orifice, 65 ...High temperature side orifice.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An outer tube equipped with a freezing terminal that contacts the living body at its tip, an inner tube disposed coaxially with the outer tube at the axial center of the outer tube, and an inner tube between the inner tube and the outer tube. A helical tube inserted into the annular space, a high-pressure gas supply means for supplying high-pressure gas from the proximal end of the helical tube, and a high-pressure gas supplied by the high-pressure gas supply means from the tip of the helical tube to the inside. a tangential nozzle that injects gas into the tube in a tangential direction to the tube wall to generate a turbulent swirling flow to excite the thermal separation effect of the gas in the inner tube; a low-temperature side orifice that cools the frozen terminal by guiding the low-temperature gas from the tip of the inner tube into the outer tube and supplying it to the frozen terminal; A high-temperature side orifice discharges the gas from the base end of the inner tube to the outside, and by prohibiting the discharge of the high-temperature gas discharged through the high-temperature side orifice, the thermal separation effect of the gas is stopped, and the normal temperature gas is removed from the room temperature gas. A cryosurgical instrument comprising a cryostat comprising means for increasing the temperature of the frozen terminal by applying it to the frozen terminal through an orifice on the low temperature side.