JPH04338474A - Medical laser apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a medical laser apparatus which is safe and accurate with higher treating effect along with a handy irradiation positioning work of infrared laser. CONSTITUTION:A medical laser apparatus with a semiconductor laser has an infrared semiconductor laser element 1 for irradiating an affected part and a visible light source 2 for irradiation positioning.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a medical laser device used for anesthesia, acupuncture, or gingivitis treatment.

0002

[Prior Art] Medical laser devices used for dentistry, dermatology, acupuncture, etc. can be roughly divided into those using infrared semiconductor laser elements and those using visible laser elements. There is. For example, in the case of an infrared semiconductor laser device, an infrared laser emitted from a high-output infrared laser element is guided into an optical fiber and irradiated onto the affected area from the end of the optical fiber.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In a medical laser device equipped with an infrared semiconductor element, since the infrared laser has high skin permeability (skin permeability is high on the order of mm), local anesthesia on the skin surface, It is highly effective in acupuncture and gingivitis treatment. However, since infrared lasers are invisible, it is difficult to position the irradiation to the affected area, and if the infrared laser beam enters the eyes during the irradiation positioning process, there is a risk of damaging the retina. There are disadvantages. Therefore, in recent years, medical laser devices equipped with visible laser elements have been put into practice. In the case of this visible laser element, since the visible light laser is visible, there is no disadvantage in irradiation positioning, but on the other hand, even a visible light laser can be dangerous to the retina if it is accidentally irradiated into the eye. do not have. Further, in the case of a visible light laser, as shown in FIG. 4, the absorption characteristic by water is lower than that of an infrared laser, but the absorption characteristic by blood is extremely inferior to that of an infrared laser. For this reason,
Overall, visible light lasers (visible laser element type medical laser devices) have the disadvantage of inferior therapeutic effects compared to infrared light lasers (infrared semiconductor laser device type medical laser devices).

It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a medical laser device in which the irradiation positioning work of an infrared laser is simple, safe and accurate, and has a high therapeutic effect. .

[0005]

Means and Effects for Solving the Problems In order to achieve this object, the medical laser device of the present invention has the following configuration. The medical laser device is a medical laser device equipped with a semiconductor laser, and is characterized by being equipped with an infrared semiconductor laser element for irradiating an affected area and a visible light source for irradiation positioning.

A medical laser device having such a configuration uses light from a visible light source (tungsten lamp or light emitting diode) and infrared laser light from an infrared laser element.
For example, lead to a bundle fiber. The affected area is then irradiated with visible light and infrared laser from the end of the bundle fiber. At this time, the bundle fiber (irradiation angle of light from the medical laser device) is positioned with respect to the affected area while visually confirming the visible light irradiation position. This allows the infrared laser to properly irradiate the affected area. Therefore, the risk of the infrared laser damaging the eyes during positioning can be eliminated. Furthermore, since infrared lasers have high skin permeability and low absorption by blood, excellent therapeutic effects can be obtained.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific embodiment of a medical laser device according to the present invention.

The medical laser device includes an infrared semiconductor laser element 1, a visible light source 2, and a bundle fiber 3 housed in a case body 4. Infrared laser light emitted from the infrared semiconductor laser element 1 is transmitted through a lens 41 to a bundle fiber (a number of fibers 31 bundled into a bundle) 3.
(See Figure 2). In addition, visible light source (tungsten lamp or light emitting diode) 2
In the embodiment, the fiber bundle 3 is arranged perpendicularly to the fiber bundle 3, and as shown in FIG. In other words, the emitted light from the visible light source 2 is 1
It is adapted to be introduced into the fiber 32 of the book. Therefore, both the visible light from the visible light source 2 and the infrared laser light from the infrared semiconductor laser element 1 are transmitted through the bundle fiber 3 to the lens 4.
It is set so that the affected area A is irradiated through 2.

The infrared semiconductor laser device 1 of the example is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, it emits an infrared laser in the range of 0.75 μm to 1 μm. In FIG. 4, the upper part shows the absorption characteristics of hemoglobin due to blood, and the lower part shows the absorption characteristics due to water. As is clear from FIG. 4, the infrared laser of the example has low absorption characteristics for both blood and water, and has a high therapeutic effect.

Furthermore, in the embodiment, the visible light source 3 is set to be turned on and off by its own switch. Initially, only the visible light source 2 is turned on, and after positioning, a timer is set to turn on the infrared semiconductor laser element 1 for a certain period of time to irradiate infrared laser light.

In the medical laser device having such a configuration, during treatment, the visible light source 2 is turned on,
Visible light is introduced into the fiber 32 and irradiated onto the affected area A. At this time, the bundle fiber (irradiation angle of light from the medical laser device) 3 is positioned with respect to the affected area A while visually confirming the irradiation position of the visible light emitted from the visible light source 2. When positioning is completed, the switch of the infrared semiconductor laser element 1 is turned on. As a result, the timer of the infrared semiconductor laser device 1 is activated, and the infrared laser beam is introduced into the plurality of fibers 31 to appropriately irradiate the affected area for a certain period of time. Therefore, the risk of damaging the retina due to the infrared laser irradiating the eye during positioning can be eliminated. Furthermore, since the infrared laser has high skin permeability and low blood absorption characteristics as shown in FIG. 4, excellent therapeutic effects can be obtained.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing another embodiment of this medical laser device. In the previous embodiment (FIG. 1), an example was shown in which the bundle fiber 3 was used, but in this embodiment, a beam splitter (half mirror) 5 is used. That is, the half mirror 5 is arranged at the orthogonal point connecting the visible light source 2 and the infrared semiconductor laser element 1. As a result, visible light from the visible light source 2 is introduced into one fiber 33 and irradiated onto the affected area A, thereby positioning the medical laser device (infrared semiconductor laser element 1). After that, the infrared semiconductor laser element 1 is driven, and the infrared laser beam is connected to the fiber 3.
3, and appropriately irradiates the affected area A.

[0013]

[Effects of the Invention] In this invention, as described above, since a visible light source and an infrared semiconductor laser element are provided,
After positioning using visible light emitted from the visible light source, the infrared semiconductor laser element can be driven to properly irradiate the affected area with the infrared laser. Therefore, there is no risk of damaging the retina due to erroneous irradiation of the infrared laser to the eye during positioning work of the infrared laser as in the prior art. In addition, by irradiating the affected area with an infrared laser, the therapeutic effect can be further enhanced.
It has an excellent effect of achieving the purpose of the invention.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example medical laser device.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing main parts of an example medical laser device.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the example medical laser device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a comparison of absorption characteristics between an infrared laser and a visible laser.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Infrared semiconductor laser device 2 Visible light source 3 Bundle fiber

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A medical laser device equipped with a semiconductor laser, characterized in that it is equipped with an infrared semiconductor laser element for irradiating an affected area and a visible light source for irradiation positioning.