JPH01148277A - Laser treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain accurate temperature informations of a whole area irradiated with laser by preparing a multipoint thermometer, having a plurality of temperature sensor means to determine the temperatures of the parts irradiated with laser. CONSTITUTION:On the tip end of a laser probe 3, a multipoint thermocouple 13 of a ring form is set via a supporting material 12. The temperature of the area irradiated with laser is measured with this multipoint thermocouple 13. A lead line 14 of the multipoint thermocouple 13 is connected to a controlling circuit located within the main body of this apparatus passing through the inner side of the support member 12 and a protecting tube 9. In this controlling circuit, temperatures of each point measured by a multipoint thermocouple 13 are compared with preset temperatures to control output. Since a multipoint thermocouple 13, being a temperature sensor means to detect temperatures of a part irradiated with laser, is formed in a ring form, informations with respect to the whole irradiated area can be obtained. With this device, a lesional area can be heated to a given temperature while improving therapeutic effect.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a laser treatment device that performs treatment by irradiating a lesion such as cancer with laser light.

[Conventional technology]

In recent years, a method of treating cancerous tissue by irradiating it with laser light (laser thermia) has been widely used and has achieved great therapeutic effects. This laser thermia treatment involves heating the lesion to 43 to 44° C. using laser light, so it is necessary to measure the temperature of the area irradiated with the laser light and control the output of the laser light.

Conventionally, as a means for measuring the temperature of a site irradiated with laser light, a heat sensitive element is provided at the tip of a laser probe via a stay, as shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-8174, and this heat sensitive element measures the temperature of the irradiated site. Some devices are designed to detect the temperature of

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, such conventional devices can only measure the temperature of the part that is in contact with the heat-sensitive element, so there is a problem that temperature information of the entire irradiated area cannot be obtained accurately. Ta.

The present invention was made by focusing on these problems.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a laser treatment device that can obtain temperature information of the entire irradiation site.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a laser treatment device equipped with a temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the irradiation region at the tip of a laser probe that guides laser light to the irradiation region. This multi-point thermometer is characterized by being formed into a ring shape.

[For production]

In the present invention, temperature information on the entire irradiated area can be obtained by using a multi-point thermometer as the temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the laser beam irradiated area, and by forming the multi-point thermometer in a ring shape.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention, and this laser treatment device 1 is composed of a device main body 2 and a laser probe 3 that guides laser light from the device main body 2 to the irradiation site. has been done. The device main body 2 has a YAG laser generator 4 that generates a laser beam for treatment, and a He-Ne laser generator 5 that generates a guiding laser beam. The generated laser light enters the laser probe 3 via the mirror 6.7, and the laser light generated from the He-Ne laser generator 5 passes through the mirror 7 and enters the laser probe 3, respectively.

The laser probe 3 consists of a light guide fiber 8 that guides laser light and a protective tube 9 that protects the light guide fiber 8.The light guide fiber 8 is fixed to the opening at the tip of the protective tube 9 as shown in FIG. A fixing member 10 is inserted. A through hole 11 is formed in the fixed member 10 in the axial direction, and serves as a flow path for a cooling fluid (for example, air).

A ring-shaped multi-point thermocouple 13 is provided at the tip of the laser probe 3 via a support member 12, and the temperature of the area irradiated with the laser beam is measured by the multi-point thermocouple 13. . The lead wire 14 of the multi-point thermocouple 13 passes through the support member 12 and the protective tube 9 and is connected to a control circuit 15 in the main body 2 of the apparatus. This control circuit 15 compares the temperature at each point measured by the multipoint thermocouple 13 with a preset temperature (for example, 43 to 44°C), and when the measured temperature exceeds the set temperature, a control signal is sent to the YAG laser. The signal is sent to the generator 4 and its output is controlled.

Further, the connector portion 16 of the laser probe 3 is provided with a cooling fluid inlet 17 . This cooling fluid inlet 17 is connected to the fluid supply source 1 via a fluid supply tube 18.
9, and cooling fluid is supplied from this fluid supply source 19. A condenser lens 20 is provided at the base end of the laser probe 3, and the laser beams from each laser generator 4.5 are condensed by the condenser lens 20 and enter the light guide fiber 8. There is.

When treating, for example, a tumor in a body cavity with the laser treatment device 1 configured in this way, the laser probe 3 is first inserted into the body cavity through a channel of an endoscope (not shown), and the laser probe 3 is inserted into the body cavity as shown in FIG. the tip of the lesion area 2
Bring it closer to 1. Then, the He-Ne laser generator 5 generates a guiding laser beam, irradiates the lesion 21 with the guiding light to determine the irradiation position, and the multi-point thermal lightning pair 1
3 onto the lesion 21. Next, in this state, therapeutic laser light is generated from the YAG laser generator 4, and the lesion 21 is irradiated with the therapeutic light.

As described above, in this embodiment, the temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the area irradiated with the laser beam is the multi-point thermocouple 13, and the multi-point thermocouple 13 is formed in a ring shape, so that temperature information of the entire irradiated area can be obtained. can be obtained. Thereby, the affected area can be heated to a predetermined temperature, and the therapeutic effect can be improved.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a cylindrical tip cover 22 may be attached to the tip of the laser probe 3, and a multi-point thermal lightning pair 13 may be attached to the tip surface of this cover 22. Further, in the above embodiment, the multi-point thermal lightning pair 13 is formed in a ring shape, but a multi-point thermometer such as a thermistor may be formed in a ring shape.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, in the present invention, the temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the area irradiated with the laser beam is a multi-point thermometer, and this multi-point thermometer is formed in a ring shape, so that the temperature of the entire area irradiated with the laser beam is Information can be obtained, and a laser treatment device with excellent temperature controllability can be provided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a laser treatment device showing a first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing the tip of a laser probe of the same device, and Fig. 3 shows a second embodiment of the invention. It is a diagram. 1... Laser treatment device, 2... Device body, 3...
Laser probe, 13...multi-point thermocouple. Applicant's representative Patent attorney Atsushi Tsuboi Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a laser treatment device that is equipped with a temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the irradiation region at the tip of a laser probe that guides laser light to the irradiation region, the temperature detection means is a multi-point thermometer, and the multi-point thermometer is arranged in a ring shape. A laser treatment device characterized by: