Patent Application
20160038771
The present invention generally relates to a treatment and diagnosis device using ultrasonic waves and, more particularly, to a monoaxial handpiece of a treatment and diagnosis device using high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU).
Recently, a meat-based diet has caused a sudden increase in the obesity of people, which has become a major factor affecting peoples' health and beauty. A variety of diet programs and ultrasonic obesity treatments have thus been widely developed and used in order to solve this problem.
As an obesity treatment, a high intensity focused ultrasound (FIFU) technique, which was originally used in cancer treatment by non-invasively performing selective high-temperature coagulation of internal organs tumors to destroy cancer cells, is often used. In fact, an HIFU-equipped device named ‘Liposonix’ was been first developed by Solta Medical, Co., Ltd. in the USA as an abdominal obesity-treatment device. Fat-destruction using HIFU is performed by focusing ultrasound on a specified site of fat cells so that the temperature of the tissue suddenly rises up to 65° C. to 100° C., thereby destroying the tissue. Unlike other dermatology equipment, such as a laser, or RF equipment, an HIFU device can cause coagulation necrosis of fat tissue by non-invasive focusing of HIFU energy on a selective site without any damage on the skin surface. The dead fat cells are naturally removed by a body's restoration mechanism.
As a known obesity treatment technique using ultrasound, a device and method for destroying fat tissue are disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 10-2007-7027898. The device disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 10-2007-7027898 includes a scan head having at least an ultrasonic converter, a suspension unit for supporting the scan head, and a controller for controlling the ultrasonic converter and is configured to non-invasively treat obesity by deforming subcutaneous fat tissue with ultrasonic energy. Further, as another technique, a tissue imaging and treating system disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 10-2011-7017983 includes a hand wand activated by hand, a detachable emitter-receiver module having an ultrasonic transducer, and an interface connected with the hand wand such that in imaging mode, a skin image is displayed on a display, and in treatment mode, an ultrasonic wave is emitted towards subcutaneous fat tissue (or SMAS layer) 3 mm to 4.5 mm under the skin surface to improve skin elasticity and prevent skin wrinkles.
Such ultrasonic obesity treatment devices include a head or a handpiece to generate HIFU under the control of a controller and scan subcutaneous fat tissue of a patient. A therapy head for use in HIFU procedures is disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 10-2006-7013272. The therapy head has an enclosure with a window, an HIFU transducer suspended from the inside of the enclosure, and an actuator for moving the HIFU transducer along an x-axis and a y-axis to allow the HIFU transducer to scan subcutaneous fat tissue with HIFU through the window. Further, A therapy head using an ultrasonic system disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 10-2010-7019552 includes an enclosure, a partition separating a lower compartment from an upper compartment, an aperture in the partition, a control arm extending through the aperture, an actuation assembly positioned within the upper compartment so as to control the control arm, and an HIFU transducer coupled with the lower side of the control arm.
A conventional handpiece for an ultrasonic device has a problem in that ultrasound is focused in a point type array by the transducer, which requires multi-axis (e.g. two or more axes) control, causing a complicated control algorithm and a prolonged operation time.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic handpiece capable of treating skin and beauty at high speed in a monoaxial control manner by a line-focusing structure transducer.
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a handpiece for an ultrasonic device, including a handpiece main body and a cartridge attachable to and detachable from the handpiece main body. The handpiece main body includes: a main body housing; an actuator, installed in the main body housing, for axially transferring a transducer; an operating button mounted on the main body housing; and a handpiece main substrate for operating the actuator according to the control of a controller unit, supplying and cutting-off power to the transducer according to on/off operations of the operating button, and receiving, as an input, a signal detected by the transducer and transmitting the signal to the controller unit.
The cartridge includes: a cartridge housing; a transducer built in the cartridge housing for generating point-focused or line-focused ultrasound; a guide pin for axially guiding the transducer; a magnet for power transmission for transferring the power of the actuator to the cartridge; a slider for axially moving the transducer along the guide pin by the operation of the actuator; a window formed on one side of the cartridge housing for transferring the ultrasound generated by the transducer to a patient; and a bellows for isolating liquid contained in the cartridge housing and helping easy transfer of the slider.
The cartridge and the handpiece main body transfer the power of the actuator by the operation of the magnet for power transmission and connect a power supply and signals via a connector.
The handpiece main body further includes an LED substrate mounted in the main body housing for displaying the operating states, and the handpiece main substrate displays the operating states by turning on LEDs of the LED substrate.
The transducer includes a transducer housing, and a cylindrical piezoelectric element that is provided on one side of the transducer housing to produce ultrasound focused in a line type array, so that, when transferred along one axis, linear heat lines are formed on a 2D plane, or a spherical piezoelectric element that is provided on one side of the transducer housing to produce ultrasound focused in a point type array, so that, when transferred along one axis, heat points are formed on a 2D plane.
According to the present invention, the handpiece for an ultrasonic device can focus ultrasound in a line type array so that a 2D planar ultrasonic focusing area is formed only with the monoaxial control, providing easy manipulation and shortening the operating time.
Further, according to the present invention, the handpiece for an ultrasonic device can distribute a strong energy from the line-focusing transducer in a line type array while sequentially moving the transducer with the operation of the actuator under the control of the controller unit, thereby irradiating energy in a sheet form onto the skin, maximizing lifting effect of the skin and additionally facilitating an operation effective to removal of freckles, pigmentation, pimples, and to treat excessive sweating, osmidrosis, etc.
The technical problem of the present invention will become more apparent with reference to exemplary embodiments in the following description. The embodiments described are merely illustrative for describing the present invention, but are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.
As shown in
Referring to
The handpiece 100 is connected with the controller unit 200 via cables 102, so that the handpiece can distribute a strong energy from a line-focusing type transducer in a line type array while sequentially moving the transducer with the operation of an actuator under the control of the controller unit 200, thereby irradiating energy in a sheet form onto the skin, maximizing lifting effect of the skin and additionally facilitating an operation effective to removal of freckles, pigmentation, pimples, and to treat excessive sweating, osmidrosis, etc.
As shown in
Referring to
The cartridge 120 includes a cartridge housing 121, a transducer 130 built in the cartridge housing 121 for generating point-focused or line-focused ultrasound, a guide pin 122 for axially guiding the transducer 130, a magnet 123 for power transmission for transferring the power of the actuator to the cartridge, a slider 126 for axially moving the transducer 130 along the guide pin 122 by the operation of the actuator, a window 125 formed on one side of the cartridge housing for transferring the ultrasound generated by the transducer 130 to a patient, and a water-tight bellows 124 for isolating liquid contained in the cartridge housing and helping easy transfer of the slider 126.
As shown in
As shown in
In operation of the handpiece 100, when linearly moved according to the control of the controller unit 200, the linear actuator 114 is coupled to the magnet 123 for power transmission at the same axis as the slider 126 of the cartridge so that the transducer 130 moves horizontally to the left or right side according to the motion of the linear axis. When the transducer 130 moves to the left side, as shown in
Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2013-0032374 | Mar 2013 | KR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2013/008101 | 9/9/2013 | WO | 00 |
