JP4336065B2 - Laser therapy device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a laser treatment apparatus that performs treatment by irradiating a treatment site (affected area) of a patient with laser light.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a laser treatment apparatus that performs treatment by irradiating a treatment site (affected area) of a patient with a laser beam is known. These laser treatment apparatuses are used for various treatments by changing the type of an emission unit (accessory) having an optical system for guiding and irradiating an affected area with laser light. For example, there is a laser treatment device that uses a CO2 laser (carbon dioxide laser) having a wavelength in the infrared region, but by changing the emission unit, skin formation treatment that treats wrinkles, aza, spots, etc. of the patient in addition to the laser knife. Also used in otolaryngology, dentistry. In skin formation treatment, in addition to a handpiece having a single spot optical system, a handpiece having a laser scanning means for scanning laser light may be used to irradiate a relatively wide range. is there.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the conventional apparatus in which the emission unit can be replaced, the laser transmittance and the irradiation spot diameter differ depending on the type of the emission unit. For this reason, each time the output unit is changed, such information must be input from the control panel. Further, even when necessary information is programmed in the apparatus corresponding to the type of the emission unit, it is necessary to input or select the type of the emission unit from the control panel.
[0004]
In such a conventional apparatus, even if the emission unit is changed, if the user forgets to input necessary information from the control panel, or if the wrong information about the emission unit is input, an unscheduled treatment may occur. there were.
[0005]
Further, when a new emission unit is added, it cannot be dealt with without changing the program on the apparatus side in which information such as the laser transmittance of the emission unit is registered.
[0006]
In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a laser treatment apparatus capable of performing appropriate laser treatment without an input error of accessory information even when an accessory such as an emission unit is replaced. It is another object of the present invention to provide a laser treatment apparatus that can handle newly added accessories.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is characterized by having the following configuration.
[0008]
(1) An apparatus main body provided with a light guide unit having an optical system for guiding laser light from a therapeutic laser light source, and laser light guided to the light guide unit and guided by the light guide unit. A laser emitting unit having a light guiding optical system for further guiding the diseased part to the affected area, an irradiation condition setting means for setting an irradiation condition including a laser output of the laser light to be irradiated to the treatment site, and provided for the treatment An output sensor for detecting an output of a laser beam emitted from a laser light source , wherein the laser emission unit includes a type of the laser emission unit and laser transmittance information of a light guide optical system of the laser emission unit An information recording medium for storing unique information, the information recording medium attached in advance to the laser emitting unit , and the recorded information on the information recording medium Reading means and a memory for preliminarily storing the laser transmittance of the light guide unit, the laser transmittance stored in the memory, the laser transmittance of the laser emitting unit read by the reading means, and the irradiation condition The laser output detected by the output sensor is calculated based on the laser output set by the setting means, and the output of the therapeutic laser light source is adjusted so that the laser output of the calculation result is detected by the output sensor. And an output adjusting means .
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic external view of a laser treatment apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the control system and the optical system.
[0015]
Reference numeral 1 denotes a laser apparatus main body, 2 an articulated arm portion, and 3 a handpiece unit. 7 is a control panel for inputting various setting conditions such as laser irradiation conditions, and 8 is a foot switch for transmitting a trigger signal.
[0016]
The laser device main body 1 accommodates a therapeutic laser light source 21, an aiming light source 22, a control unit 20, and the like. In this embodiment, a CO2 laser light source that emits an infrared laser beam is used as a therapeutic laser light source, and a semiconductor laser that emits a red beam is used as an aiming light source. Reference numeral 27 denotes an output sensor for measuring the output of the laser beam, which is measured by extracting a part of the laser beam emitted from the laser light source 21 by the beam splitter 26. A shutter 29 opens and closes a laser beam path from the laser light source 21 to the outside of the main body 1. Reference numeral 25 denotes a dichroic mirror that reflects the treatment laser and transmits the aiming light.
[0017]
The articulated arm portion 2 is connected by a joint portion so that several rigid pipes can be driven, and the handpiece unit 3 attached to the connector portion 2a of the articulated arm portion 2 in a replaceable manner is freely moved. be able to. Mirrors (only some of the mirrors 31 and 32 are shown in FIG. 2 and others are omitted) are arranged at the joints of the multi-joint arm unit 2, and the light beams emitted from the laser device main body 1 are transmitted. The light is guided to the handpiece unit 3 through the articulated arm 2.
[0018]
The handpiece unit 3 can be replaced with various types depending on the purpose and usage, such as laser scalpel, skin formation treatment for treating wrinkles, aza, spots, etc., otolaryngology, dentistry, etc. Further, the handpiece unit 3 can be replaced with a scanner type having a laser scanning optical system in addition to one that irradiates laser light at one spot. In the present embodiment, a one-spot handpiece unit 3 used for a laser knife is described as an example.
[0019]
The handpiece unit 3 includes a handpiece body 10 and a chip 11. The handpiece body 10 incorporates a condenser lens 13 that guides laser light to the affected area. The irradiation spot diameter on the affected area is determined by the condenser lens 13. Further, the tip of the tip 11 attached to the handpiece body 10 is the focal length of the condenser lens 13, and the focal length of the laser is adjusted when the tip 11 is brought into contact with the patient.
[0020]
FIG. 3 shows the connector part 2 a of the handpiece body 10 and the articulated arm part 2. The handpiece body 10 is formed with a male screw 10b for attachment to the connector portion 2a. A bar code 10a as an information recording medium is printed on the end 10c of the handpiece body 10. Note that a sheet on which the barcode 10a is printed may be attached to the end portion 10c. In the barcode 10a, in addition to the laser transmittance of the light guiding optical system (condensing lens 13) of the handpiece 3, the laser irradiation spot diameter, the handpiece name indicating the application and the type of one spot type or scanner type, Information about three handpieces such as a serial number is recorded. These pieces of information use design data of the handpiece 3, but the laser transmittance is preferably measured data.
[0021]
A bearing 52 is attached to the connector portion 2 a of the articulated arm portion 2 by a bearing press 53. A rotation support base 51 is press-fitted into the bearing 52. An internal thread 51 a for attaching the handpiece body 10 is threaded inside the rotary support base 51.
[0022]
Further, a push button type switch 50 for detecting the presence or absence of the handpiece body 10 is provided in the connector portion 2a. A bar code reader 40 for reading the bar code 10a on the handpiece unit 3 side is incorporated in the inner surface on the opposite side. The principle of the bar code reader 40 is the same as that of the pen scanner system, and includes an LED 41 serving as a light source for illuminating the bar code 10a and a light receiving element 45 that receives reflected light from the bar code 10a. , A mirror 42, a slit 43, and a lens 44 are arranged.
[0023]
The operation of the laser treatment apparatus having the above configuration will be described below.
[0024]
First, the surgeon selects the handpiece unit 3 according to the purpose of treatment. The selected handpiece unit 3 is attached to the connector part 2a of the articulated arm part 2. The attachment is performed by screwing the male screw 10 b of the handpiece body 10 into the female screw 51 a of the rotation support base 51. When the handpiece body 10 is screwed, the end 10c hits the switch 50 and the switch 50 is short-circuited. A signal in which the switch 50 is short-circuited is transmitted to the control unit 20, and the control unit 20 activates reading by the barcode reader 40. When the handpiece body 10 is further rotated, the barcode 10a printed on the end portion 10c is read by the barcode reader 40, and the information identified by the control unit 20 is stored in the memory 28.
[0025]
The control unit 20 turns off the power of the barcode reader 40 when information on the barcode 10a is obtained in a state where the switch 50 is short-circuited. Further, when the information of the barcode 10a cannot be obtained in a state where the switch 50 is short-circuited, an error is displayed on the display 34 on the control panel 7 to inform the operator.
[0026]
In addition, you may add so that the barcode line of barcode 10a may be located in a line with the axial direction of the edge part 10c. In this case, it is possible to prevent the handpiece 3 from rotating by adopting a configuration such as providing a guide in the connector portion 2a so that the barcode 10a passes through the reading position of the barcode reader 40 when the handpiece 3 is attached. Information on the barcode 10a can be read. Further, the barcode reader 40 may be an image reading method.
[0027]
Handpiece information such as laser transmittance, laser irradiation spot diameter, handpiece name, and manufacturing number identified by the control unit 20 is displayed on the display 34 on the control panel 7. Thereby, the surgeon can know the unique information of the handpiece 3 attached to the multi-joint arm unit 2 and can prevent an input error.
[0028]
Information on the laser transmittance of the light guide optical system of the handpiece 3 is used for output control of the laser light source 21. The laser output immediately after being emitted from the laser light source 21 is detected by the output sensor 27. The control unit 20 performs light guide optics from the laser light source 21 to the mirror 32 of the articulated arm unit 2 with respect to the laser output set on the control panel 7 (value of the final laser output emitted from the handpiece 3). A value obtained by multiplying the reciprocal of the laser transmittance of the system (which is stored in advance in the memory 28) and the reciprocal of the laser transmittance of the light guide optical system of the handpiece 3 is calculated. Then, the output of the laser light source 21 is adjusted so that this value becomes the laser output detected by the output sensor 27. As a result, the laser output emitted from the handpiece 3 is adjusted to a value set on the control panel 7.
[0029]
When the connection of the handpiece unit 3 is completed, the surgeon sets the laser output irradiated by the switch 31 on the control panel 7 and the laser irradiation time by the switch 32. The surgeon presses the READY / STANDBY switch 30 to place the laser treatment apparatus in the READY state, and when the irradiation site can be specified by observing the aiming light, the trigger signal is transmitted by depressing the foot switch 8. The control unit 20 that has received the trigger signal controls the control panel 7 based on the laser transmittance information of the light guide optical system of the handpiece 3 and the output side end of the articulated arm unit 2 as described above. The laser light source 21 is controlled to emit the therapeutic laser beam so that the output value set in step 1 is obtained.
[0030]
The treatment laser light emitted from the laser light source 31 is reflected by the dichroic mirror 25, is then coaxial with the aiming light emitted from the aiming light source 22, and enters the articulated arm unit 2. The laser light incident on the articulated arm 2 is guided to the handpiece unit 3 while being reflected by the mirrors provided at the indirect portions, and irradiated to the affected area via the condenser lens 13 of the handpiece unit 3. .
[0031]
A modification example of the present invention is shown in FIGS. The same symbols are attached to the same components as those in the above embodiment. The laser device main body 1 is provided with a handpiece output measuring unit 4 for measuring the laser output from the handpiece unit 3 ′. In this embodiment, the barcode 10a ′ on which handpiece information is recorded is provided on the side surface of the handpiece body 10 that is exposed to the outside when the handpiece is attached. A bar code reader 23 that reads the bar code 10 a ′ is provided in the handpiece output measuring unit 4.
[0032]
The handpiece output measurement unit 4 includes a handpiece sensor 61 and an output sensor 24 that detect the presence or absence of the handpiece unit 3 ′. The handpiece sensor 61 includes a light emitting element 61a and a light receiving element 61b. When the handpiece 3 blocks light from the light emitting element 61a, it is detected that the handpiece unit 3 ′ is inserted from the port 4a. Based on the output detection information from the output sensor 24 and the read information from the barcode reader 23, the control unit 20 determines the suitability of the laser light guide state and calibrates the output control.
[0033]
The laser output calibration and barcode reading operation at the handpiece emitting end will be described below. The surgeon attaches the selected handpiece unit 3 ′ to the connector part 2 a of the articulated arm part 2. After that, the laser output to be irradiated with the switch 31 on the control panel 7 and the laser irradiation time with the switch 32 are set.
[0034]
The surgeon inserts the handpiece unit 3 ′ into the handpiece output measuring unit 4. When the handpiece unit 3 ′ blocks the light from the light emitting element 61a and the light from the light emitting element 61a does not reach the light receiving element 61b, the control unit 20 detects that the handpiece is in the calibration state. Further, the control unit 20 operates the barcode reader 23. The barcode 10 a ′ printed on the handpiece body 10 ′ is read by the barcode reader 23. The read hand piece information is stored in the memory 28.
[0035]
When a laser beam is emitted from the handpiece unit 3 ′ by depressing the foot switch 8, the output is detected by the output sensor 24. Further, the laser light immediately after emission from the laser light source 21 is detected by the output sensor 27. The control unit 20 calculates the transmittance of the entire light guide optical system from the laser light source 21 to the handpiece unit 3 ′ emission end by dividing the output value detected by the output sensor 24 by the output value detected by the output sensor 27. To do. The control unit 20 also includes laser transmittance information (which is stored in advance in the memory 28) of the light guide optical system up to the mirror 32 of the articulated arm unit 2, and a handpiece read from the barcode 10a '. The transmittance of the entire light guiding optical system is calculated by multiplying the laser transmittance information of the light guiding optical system of the unit 3 ′. The transmittance is compared with the transmittance actually detected by the output sensors 24 and 27. When the difference between the two exceeds a predetermined allowable range, an error is displayed on the display 34 on the control panel 7 as an error in the light guide optical system, and the result of determining whether the light guide optical system is appropriate is displayed to the surgeon. Tell.
[0036]
When there is no abnormality in the light guide optical system, the control unit 20 adjusts the output of the laser light source 21 so that the laser output from the handpiece unit 3 ′ becomes an output value set by the control panel 7. When the calibration of the handpiece is completed, the operator removes the handpiece unit 3 ′ from the output measuring unit 4. The removal of the handpiece unit 3 ′ is transmitted to the control unit 20 by the handpiece sensor 61, and the power source of the barcode reader 23 is shut off.
[0037]
As another modification, information on the spot diameter of laser irradiation can be used for controlling laser output. For example, the information on the spot diameter is used when the energy density of the laser irradiation region is taken into consideration as in the hair removal laser treatment apparatus. In the case of hair removal laser treatment, a semiconductor laser that emits near infrared light having a wavelength of 800 to 820 nm is used as the laser light source 21. Further, the handpiece 3 can be replaced with one having a condensing lens that makes the spot diameter of laser irradiation different (diameter 2 mm, 3 mm, etc.). If it is replaced with a handpiece that increases the spot diameter while maintaining the output of the laser light source 21, the irradiation energy per unit area is reduced. On the contrary, if it replaces with the handpiece which makes a spot diameter small, the irradiation energy per unit area will become large. Therefore, the control unit 20 increases or decreases the output of the laser light source 21 according to the spot diameter so that the energy density in the laser irradiation region is constant.
[0038]
In the above description, a bar code is used as an information recording medium for recording accessory information such as a handpiece. However, a magnetic tape, a two-dimensional bar code, an IC chip, or the like may be used. When the amount of information to be recorded is large, a two-dimensional barcode and an IC chip can be used.
[0039]
Moreover, although the handpiece has been described as an example of a replaceable accessory having a light guide optical system, the present invention is not limited to this. In an ophthalmic laser treatment apparatus, an optical fiber is used instead of the articulated arm unit 2, and a laser emission unit having a light guide optical system connected to the optical fiber is changed according to the type of slit lamp. Alternatively, when a lens unit having a condenser lens that changes the spot diameter of laser irradiation can be attached to the handpiece, a condenser lens unit having a different spot diameter is used as accessory information.
[0040]
As described above, even when an accessory such as a handpiece is newly added, a program for the laser device main body 1 side and a table of information storing the correspondence for each accessory are added, and the accessory-specific accessory is not changed. Information can be obtained.
[0041]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, when the laser emission unit is replaced, an error in inputting information regarding the laser emission unit is eliminated, and the program on the apparatus main body side can be executed even when a new laser emission unit is added. It is possible to irradiate the affected part with laser light having an output appropriately adjusted according to the laser transmittance of the light guide optical system of the laser emitting unit without changing the operation and without the operator's trouble.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic external view of a laser treatment apparatus.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a control system and an optical system of a laser treatment apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a structure of a handpiece connector portion provided with a bar code reader.
FIG. 4 is a schematic external view of a laser treatment apparatus that is a modified example.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a control system and an optical system of a laser treatment apparatus that is a modified example.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Laser apparatus main body 2 Articulated arm part 2a Connector part 3 Handpiece unit 3 'Handpiece unit 4 Handpiece output measurement part 7 Control panel 10 Handpiece main body 10a Barcode 10a' Barcode 20 Control part 21 Laser light source 23 for treatment Bar code reader 24 Output sensor 27 Output sensor 28 Memory 34 Display 40 Bar code reader

Claims (1)

An apparatus main body provided with a light guide unit having an optical system for guiding laser light from a therapeutic laser light source, and the laser light guided by the light guide unit, which can be replaced with the light guide unit, is further affected A laser emitting unit having a light guiding optical system for guiding light to a treatment site, an irradiation condition setting means for setting an irradiation condition including a laser output of a laser beam irradiated to a treatment site, and a treatment laser light source provided in the apparatus body An output sensor for detecting an output of the emitted laser light, and information specific to the laser emission unit , including the type of the laser emission unit and the laser transmittance information of the light guide optical system of the laser emission unit an information recording medium for storing, reading reads the previously attached information recording medium to the laser emitting unit, the recorded information of the information recording medium Stage and has a memory for storing in advance the laser transmittance of the light unit, the laser transmittance stored in said memory, laser transmittance and the irradiation condition setting means of the laser emission unit read by said reading means An output adjustment for calculating the laser output detected by the output sensor based on the laser output set by the output and adjusting the output of the therapeutic laser light source so that the laser output of the calculation result is detected by the output sensor laser treatment apparatus characterized by comprising: means, a.

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