Thermal therapy apparatus

• US 6,468,267 B1
• Filed: 08/10/2000
• Issued: 10/22/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Terumo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Terumo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Ariura, Shigeki
• Primary Examiner(s): Jeffery, John A.
• Application Number:
  US09/635,926
• Time in Patent Office: 803 Days
• Field of Search: 606/11, 606/12, 606/14-15, 606/18-19
• US Class Current: 606/14
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00022 Sensing or detecting at the treatment site
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00274 Prostate operation, e.g. prostatectomy, turp, bhp treatment
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00023 closed, i.e. without wound contact by the fluid
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00547 Prostate
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/2283 with pivotable mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/0601 Apparatus for use inside the body

Abstract

A thermal therapy apparatus has a detecting device for detecting the irradiation direction of energy in thermal therapy by which energy irradiates a living body, and can thereby easily set an emission portion in a desired direction and control the thermal therapy on the basis of the detection information. This thermal therapy apparatus for performing a medical treatment by irradiating a living body with energy includes an energy generator for generating the energy, an insertion portion which can be inserted into a living body and which has a reflecting portion for performing lateral irradiation of the energy with respect to the longitudinal direction of the insertion portion, a transmitting unit for transmitting the energy generated by the energy generator to the reflecting portion, a direction detecting unit for detecting the irradiation direction of the energy in the insertion portion, and a controller for controlling the thermal therapy on the basis of information about the detection by the direction detecting unit.

Claims

1. A thermal therapy apparatus for performing a medical treatment by irradiation of energy into a living body, comprising:

energy generating unit generating the energy;

a long insertion portion which can be inserted into the living body;

an emission portion formed in said insertion portion to perform lateral irradiation of the energy with respect to a longitudinal direction of said insertion potion;

direction detector detecting an irradiation direction of the energy in said insertion portion; and

confirming unit notifying an operator of information about the detection by said direction detector.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said direction detector is filled with a liquid containing a bubble which is always positioned in the opposite direction to gravity.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said direction detector comprises at least one of a displacement sensor and an angular displacement sensor.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the energy irradiation is irradiation of a laser beam.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

moving unit for moving the position of said emission portion in the longitudinal direction of said insertion portion; and

interlocking unit changing an emission angle of said emission portion in accordance with the movement in the longitudinal direction of said emission portion.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising cooling unit cooling said emission portion and the surface and its vicinity of a living body irradiated with the energy.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

position detector detecting position information in an axial direction of said insertion portion; and

control unit controlling said irradiation of the energy on the basis of the position information detected by said position detector.

8. A thermal therapy apparatus for performing a medical treatment by irradiation of energy into a living body, comprising:

energy generating unit generating the energy;

a long insertion portion which can be inserted into a living body;

an emission portion formed in said insertion portion to perform lateral irradiation of the energy with respect to a longitudinal direction of said insertion potion;

direction detector detecting an irradiation direction of the energy in said insertion portion; and

controller controlling said irradiation of the energy on the basis of information about the detection by said direction detector.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said direction detector is filled with a liquid containing a bubble which is always positioned in the opposite direction to gravity.

10. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said direction detector comprises at least one of a displacement sensor and an angular displacement sensor.

11. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the energy irradiation is irradiation of a laser beam.

12. The apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising:

moving unit moving the position of said emission portion in the longitudinal direction of said insertion portion; and

interlocking unit changing an emission angle of said emission portion in accordance with the movement in the longitudinal direction of said emission portion.

13. The apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising cooling unit cooling said emission portion and the surface and its vicinity of a living body irradiated with the energy.

14. The apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising:

position detector detecting position information in an axial direction of said insertion portion; and

control unit for controlling said irradiation of the energy on the basis of the position information detected by said position detector.