Magnetic Therapeutic Appliance and Method for Operating Same

• US 20080234534A1
• Filed: 10/31/2006
• Published: 09/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Philip Mikas
• Original Assignee: Philip Mikas
• Inventors: Mikas, Philip, Mikas, Georgios Alexandros
• Application Number:
  US12/092,479
• Publication Number:
  US 20080234534A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/14
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/40 Applying electric fields by inductive or capacitive coupling microwave apparatus A61N5/00; Applying radio-frequency signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2/02 using magnetic fields produced by coils, including single turn loops or electromagnets A61N2/12 takes precedence

Abstract

The invention relates to a therapeutic appliance for treating a patient with an electric field or a magnetic field. In known therapeutic appliances, resistance losses in the coils needed for the magnetic field lead to undesired warming of the therapeutic appliance. According to the invention, the energy of the coil (17) is carried off via a load resistor that can be arranged on the side away from an active area of the therapeutic appliance. Alternatively, or in addition to this, the energy of the coil (59) can be carried off via a return to the mains. Moreover, the invention proposes generating a magnetic field of variable magnitude with an oscillating circuit (59) which is cyclically, periodically or intermittently excited before oscillations can completely dissipate. Finally, the invention proposes the use of a magnetic core made of an iron powder.

Claims

1-41. -41. (canceled)

42. A therapeutic appliance, having an electrical power supply, an electrical resonant circuit with a coil, and a working area,

with the electrical power supply being connected to at least one component in the resonant circuit,

wherein energy can be transferred via the connections to the at least one component in the resonant circuit, and a variable magnetic field which is produced in the coil passes through the working area,

a) wherein a control device is provided, by which at least one switching element can be operated via signal connections,

with the resonant circuit being closed in a first phase on operation of the at least one switching element,

with the resonant circuit being opened in a second phase on operation of the at least one switching element and an energy supply being enabled between the electrical power supply and the at least one component in the resonant circuit, and

b) wherein a means for determining a time to end the first phase being provided in the control device, from which the transient oscillations in the resonant circuit have not decayed below a predetermined extent.

43. The therapeutic appliance as claimed in claim 42, characterized in that at least one switching element can be operated by the control device via signal connections, with the resonant circuit being interrupted in a third phase on operation of the at least one switching element, and with the components in the resonant circuit being decoupled from the voltage supply.

44. The therapeutic appliance as claimed in claim 42, characterized in that

a) the resonant circuit has different paths for different current directions,

b) a component which blocks in one direction is arranged in a first path,

c) a switching element is arranged in the second path, and

d) the switching element can be operated via the control device at a time at which the transient oscillations pass the first path.

45. The therapeutic appliance as claimed in claim 42, characterized in that

a) the resonant circuit has one path for different current directions,

b) two switching elements are located in the path, and

c) each switching element can be operated for a respective current direction.

46. The therapeutic appliance as claimed in claim 42, characterized in that the power supply is provided via a high-voltage transformer.

47. The therapeutic appliance as claimed in claim 42, characterized in that a magnet core composed of a ferromagnetic iron powder passes through the coil.

48. The therapeutic appliance as claimed in claim 47, characterized in that the saturation flux density of the magnetic core is greater than 0.5 Tesla.

49. The therapeutic appliance as claimed in claim 47, characterized in that a control device and switching element are provided, with the control device being connected to the switching elements such that

a) an energy supply from the power supply to at least one component in the resonant circuit can be activated,

b) the energy supply from the power supply to the at least one component in the resonant circuit can be deactivated,

c) transient oscillations can be produced in the resonant circuit, and

d) the transient oscillations in the resonant circuit can be ended, and the energy can be dissipated from the resonant circuit via components which are arranged outside the resonant circuit.

50. The therapeutic appliance as claimed in claim 47, characterized in that a periodic electrical variable with a period duration T can be produced in the resonant circuit via the power supply and the control of switching elements by the control device.

51. The therapeutic appliance as claimed in claim 47, characterized in that a mechanical temperature switch is provided and interrupts the current supply to the coil at least temporarily when a limit temperature is exceeded.

52. The therapeutic appliance as claimed in claim 47, characterized in that a temperature sensor and a monitoring unit are provided, and the monitoring unit monitors whether the temperature sensed by the temperature sensor has exceeded a threshold value.

53. The therapeutic appliance as claimed in claim 47, characterized in that a load resistor is provided, is arranged physically separately from the working area, and via which energy can be dissipated from the resonant circuit.

54. The therapeutic appliance as claimed in claim 47, characterized in that energy can be fed back from the resonant circuit into a mains power supply system via a switching element.

55. The therapeutic appliance as claimed in claim 47, characterized in that a plurality of foil capacitors, which are connected to one another in series or in parallel, are used to form the capacitor in the resonant circuit.

56. The therapeutic appliance as claimed in claim 47, characterized in that MOSFET or IGBT transistors are used as the switching elements.

57. The therapeutic appliance as claimed in claim 47, characterized in that time control is provided in order to operate the switching elements in order to end transient oscillations in the resonant circuit.

58. The therapeutic appliance as claimed in claim 47, characterized in that

a) a monitoring device is provided in order to monitor the electrical signals of the power supply and/or of resonant circuit, and

b) based on the monitoring device, switching elements are operated in order to supply energy to the resonant circuit, in order to dissipate energy from the resonant circuit, and/or in order to end transient oscillations.