JPH0571270B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention provides treatment by measuring and displaying the difference in reflection intensity for various wavelengths between normal skin and abnormal skin before treatment with a laser device for nevus treatment. The present invention relates to a therapeutic laser device equipped with a spectrometer function that allows the user to know which laser device has the optimum wavelength.

[Technical Background of the Invention] For example, there is a laser treatment device used in the field of plastic surgery, as shown in FIG. 1, for removing birthmarks such as birthmarks, spots, and freckles.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a device power source, and 2 is a laser oscillation source that receives power from the device power source 1 via a cable 1a and oscillates a laser beam, and is connected to the laser output end of the laser device 2. A flexible light guide 4 containing an optical fiber is connected via a connector 3.

Further, a manual applicator 6 equipped with a kaleidoscope for uniformizing the intensity of light distribution is connected to the output end of the light guide 4 via a connector 5.

In such a device, the laser light output from the laser oscillation source 2 is transmitted to the applicator 6 via the light guide 4.
After the light intensity distribution is made uniform by a kaleidoscope in the applicator 6, the light is emitted from the tip of the applicator 6.

Therefore, the operator grasps the applicator 6 in his hand, aims the target at the affected area, and irradiates the laser beam.

This instantly cauterizes the affected tissue and provides treatment.

A problem with such conventional devices is that the spectral characteristics of the affected tissue have a large effect on the therapeutic effect.

That is, in laser treatments that utilize the light-selective characteristics of affected tissue cells to thermally destroy them, the difference in the amount of laser light absorbed between normal cells and abnormal cells poses a problem.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of the affected tissue in the case of a pigmented nevus. In the figure, 21 is normal skin tissue, 2
2 is the affected nevus, 23 is the epidermis, 24 is the dermis, and 22 is colored cells or colored substances.

The color of affected nevus is different from that of normal skin because the dermis layer contains many colored cells caused by melanin, and so-called tattoos are created by replacing these melanin granules with dye.

Therefore, a laser device intended for nevus treatment can also erase tattoos, and the mechanism of action is the same.

By the way, in general, not all of the affected nevi 22 shown in FIG. 2 are abnormal. In other words, a nevus is a condition in which colored cells are mixed in normal tissue, and depending on the proportion of the cells mixed together, they can be black, brown, etc.
The color tone will be different.

Now, when a laser beam is instantaneously irradiated to the affected nevus 22 in FIG. By selecting a wavelength that allows this to occur and setting the energy density to an appropriate value, colored cells can be selectively destroyed. Laser therapy takes advantage of these points.

By the way, since the normal skin tissue 21 adjacent to the affected nevus 22 exhibits almost the same spectral characteristics as the normal cells within the affected nevus 22, the spectral characteristics of the normal tissue around the nevus are measured and the measured values are This can be used as the spectral characteristics of normal cells within the affected nevus.

On the other hand, the spectral characteristics of the affected nevus 22 are a combination of the spectral characteristics of normal cells and colored cells within the affected nevus, so the difference in spectral characteristics for the affected nevus 22 includes the spectral characteristics for colored cells. It will contain the elements that represent it.

Therefore, when selectively destroying colored cells or colored substances using laser light, if a laser beam with a wavelength that makes the spectral difference in these spectral characteristics sufficiently large can be selected, it will destroy only the cells or substances to be destroyed. The energy of the laser beam can be concentrated, resulting in higher therapeutic effects.

Figures 3a, b, and c are diagrams showing clinical examples of skin measured by a spectrometer, and the horizontal axis is the wavelength of light λ.
[μm] The vertical axis indicates the reflectance η _i .

Figure 3a shows the reflectance spectrum characteristics of a normal site, showing high reflectance overall, and as the wavelength becomes longer, the reflectance increases, and in the region longer than 0.65 μm, the reflectance tends to be almost constant. It shows. In addition, the absorption characteristic, which has a minimum value near 0.55 μm, is due to the absorption of hemoglobin in the red plate.

Visually, this reflectance spectral characteristic a is
It is recognized as a so-called skin color.

FIG. 3b is an example of a black nevus adjacent to the normal area in FIG. 3a, and shows an overall lower reflectance than the normal area. As the wavelength becomes longer, the reflectance gradually increases, and this characteristic means that the reflectance spectrum of melanin pigment is visually recognized as brown or black.

FIG. 3c shows the characteristics shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b and the reflectance spectrum difference C obtained by dividing the characteristics.

The reflectance spectral difference shows a peak near 0.65 to 0.7 μm, and the difference is about 0.3.

Therefore, from this point of view, it can be seen that in a case like this example, the wavelength of the ruby laser is 0.6943 μm, which is the closest wavelength, so it can be seen that the ruby laser is the most suitable laser beam to be used.

By the way, the laser equipment that can be used for nevus treatment at the moment is an argon laser with a wavelength of about 500 μm;
There are three types of lasers: a 700 μm ruby laser and a 1.06 μm YAG laser, and the laser device that outputs light at a wavelength close to the wavelength with the largest spectral difference in reflectance between normal and abnormal areas is suitable for treating the birthmark. I can say that there is. Furthermore, if a nevus is treated with an optimal laser device, there will be less damage to normal cells and the treatment will be more effective.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention was created in view of the above circumstances, and measures the reflection intensity of normal and abnormal areas at multiple wavelengths close to the wavelength of a laser that can be used for treatment, calculates the difference in reflection intensity, and displays it together with the wavelength. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a therapeutic laser device equipped with a spectrometer function that can indicate the most suitable laser device for treating nevus.

[Summary of the invention]

That is, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a therapeutic laser device for treating an affected area such as a birthmark on a living body, which includes a light source and a plurality of laser beams in the normal area and abnormal area near the affected area by light irradiation from the light source. A measuring means for measuring the reflection intensity for each wavelength, a controller for determining the reflection intensity of each wavelength in the normal region and abnormal region obtained by this measuring means, and a wavelength with the largest difference determined by this controller to be used for treatment. a display means for indicating the wavelength of the laser for the purpose of measuring the reflection intensity of each of a plurality of wavelengths in each of the normal region and the abnormal region near the affected area due to the light irradiation from the light source; By calculating the difference between the measured values and displaying the results together with wavelength information, the user can know the wavelengths at which there is a large difference in light absorption between normal and abnormal tissues, and can select a laser device with the optimal wavelength for treatment. Make it.

[Embodiments of the invention]

4 and 5 regarding one embodiment of the present invention.
This will be explained with reference to the figures.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 41 is a light source that emits white light,
42 is a wavelength setter that extracts light of a predetermined wavelength from the light from this light source 41. This wavelength setter 4
2 holds a plurality of filters that can be selected by an external command, for example, and transmits only light of a predetermined wavelength determined by the filter selected from the white light emitted from the light source 41. Reference numeral 43 denotes a light guide, which functions to transmit the transmitted light of this wavelength selector 47 to the object to be measured A, and also to transmit the reflected light from the object to be measured to the reflected light measuring device 44.

The reflected light measuring device 44 measures the intensity of the reflected light from the object A that enters from the light guide 43. 45 is a start button for giving a measurement start signal to the controller 46 which controls the entire system, and when the controller 46 receives the first signal from the start button 45 when the operator presses the start button 45, Sending a signal for filter selection to the wavelength selector 47 to instruct the wavelength to be measured first,
When the measured reflection intensity of light at that wavelength is input from the reflected light measuring device 44, the measured value is memorized, and the wavelength selector 47 is again instructed as to the next wavelength to be measured.
This operation is repeated by memorizing the reflection intensity input from the reflected light measuring device 44, and when the reflection intensities of all the determined wavelengths have been memorized, the operation is temporarily stopped, and the operator presses the start button 45 again. Then, the same operation as described above is performed, and then the next reflected intensity measurement value is subtracted from the previously stored reflected intensity measurement value and the difference value is given to the display 48 together with the wavelength and displayed.

The wavelength selector 47 receives a signal from the controller 46 and functions to instruct the wavelength setter 42 of the wavelength to be measured. Further, the display 48 displays the reflectance difference calculated by the controller 46 together with the wavelength.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the wavelength selector 47 and the light guide 43. Reference numeral 41 represents the aforementioned light source, which uses, for example, a tungsten lamp. 42A is an input optical system that converts the light entering from the light source 41 into parallel light beams. 42B is a rotating disk, and this rotating disk 42
B is a filter 42C that passes only the wavelength to be measured;
Windows 42D and 42E are respectively fixed, and windows are provided along the same circumference, and a desired wavelength is obtained by rotating the rotating disk 42B and selecting a filter that is located at the optical axis position of the parallel light beam. It is. 42F is an output optical system, and a rotating disk 42
It functions to transmit the light transmitted through the filter B to the input end face of the light guide 43 for irradiation.

The rotating disk 42B in the wavelength selector 47 is configured to be rotationally driven by a pulse motor (not shown), and a position detector (not shown) is attached to a position corresponding to each filter. It is now possible to set a filter with a different wavelength in the optical path.

Further, a light source 41, an input lens system 42A,
The input end surfaces of the output lens system 42F and the laser beam irradiation light guide 43 are optically coaxial. In addition, the light guide 4
3 has one end branched into two paths, the collecting end serving as a measuring end, and a hand piece 43A for manual operation provided at the collecting end. One of the branched ends is the lens system 42F.
The other is optically connected to the reflected light measuring device 44, and serves to transmit the light entering from the wavelength setting device 42 to the object to be measured A via the hand piece 43A, and also to transmit the light from the object A to the hand piece 43A. The reflected light that enters through the reflection light measuring device 44 is transmitted to the reflected light measuring device 44. The handpiece 43A has a built-in optical system (not shown),
The structure is such that the reflected light reflected by the object to be measured A can be efficiently transmitted to the light guide 43 on the reflected light output side.

Next, the operation of this apparatus having the above configuration will be explained. First, the operator holds the hand piece 43A at the tip of the light guide 43 in his hand, puts the tip side on the normal skin adjacent to the patient's abnormal skin, and presses the start button 45. Then, the controller 46 instructs the wavelength selector 47 about the wavelength to be measured first, and sets the filter of the wavelength setter 42. Thereby, the light from the light source 41 is converted into light of a specific wavelength by the filter of the wavelength setting device 42, and is irradiated onto normal skin through the light guide 43. The light reflected from the normal skin is guided through the light guard 43 to the reflected light measuring device 44, where its intensity is measured and the value is stored by the controller 46. Next, the controller 46 instructs the wavelength selector 47 about the next wavelength to be measured, and performs the above-described operation. In this way, the measurement for each wavelength is repeated one after another, and the measured values of the reflected light of all wavelengths to be measured are stored in the controller 46.

Next, the operator places the handpiece 43A at the tip of the light guide 43 on the abnormal skin to be treated and presses the start button 45. Then, the same operation as described above is performed, and the reflected light from the abnormal skin is detected by the reflected light measuring device 44.
and the results are sent one after another to the controller 46.
The measurement value of the same wavelength is extracted from the previously stored normal skin measuring device for each wavelength, and the difference between the measured value of the abnormal skin and the measured value is calculated and sent to the display 48 along with the wavelength data. . As a result, the difference value is displayed on the display 48 together with the wavelength.

As a result, the operator can know the wavelength with the largest difference in reflection intensity displayed on the display 48, and can select the laser device closest to that wavelength. Therefore, the treatment can be performed efficiently and the patient's pain can be kept to a minimum.

Although the above description is about selecting a laser device before treatment, if this device is used after treatment, the state of treatment can be quantitatively grasped.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, the present invention provides a therapeutic laser device for treating affected areas such as birthmarks on a living body, which includes a light source,
A measurement means for measuring the reflection intensity of each of a plurality of wavelengths in each of the normal region and abnormal region near the affected area due to light irradiation from this light source, and the difference between the reflection intensities of the normal region and abnormal region obtained by this measurement means. The controller includes a controller for determining each wavelength, and a display means for indicating the wavelength with the largest difference determined by this controller as the wavelength of the laser to be used for treatment, We measured the reflection intensities of multiple wavelengths in each of the normal and abnormal areas, found the difference between the measured values for each wavelength, and displayed the results together with the wavelength information, so we could easily see the difference in the reflection intensities for each wavelength. This allows us to know the wavelengths at which normal skin absorbs less light and abnormal skin (affected areas) has greater light absorption, and by using a laser device with a wavelength closest to this wavelength, we can protect normal tissue as much as possible. It is possible to provide a therapeutic laser device equipped with a photometer function that has excellent features such as being able to cauterize abnormal tissue and efficiently and appropriately treating the affected area.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the schematic configuration of the laser treatment device, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the affected tissue of a pigmented nevus,
Figure 3a is a diagram showing an example of the reflectance spectrum characteristics of a normal area, Figure 3b is a diagram showing an example of reflectance spectrum characteristics of a black nevus, and Figure 3c is a diagram showing an example of the reflectance spectrum characteristics of a black nevus. Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 5 shows the wavelength setting device 42 and light guide 43 of Fig. 4. It is a figure which shows one specific example. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Device power supply, 1A... Cable, 2... Laser oscillator, 3... Connector, 4... Light guide part, 5... Connector, 6... Light emission part, 21... Normal skin tissue, 22...
Affected nevus, 23... Epidermis, 24... Dermis, 25... Colored cells or colored substances, 41... Light source, 42... Wavelength setting device, 43... Light guide, 44... Reflectance meter, 45... Start button, 46... Controller , 4
7...Wavelength selector, 48...Display device, 42A...Input optical system, 42B...Rotating disk, 42F...Output optical system, 42C, 42D, 42E...Filter.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a therapeutic laser device for treating birthmarks, etc. on a living body, a light source and measuring the reflection intensity of each of a plurality of wavelengths in a normal area and an abnormal area near the affected area due to light irradiation from this light source are provided. A controller that determines the difference in reflection intensity between the normal region and the abnormal region obtained by this measuring means for each wavelength, and a laser wavelength for using the wavelength with the largest difference determined by this controller for treatment. A therapeutic laser device characterized by comprising: a display means for informing the user of the following information.