KR-102963346-B1 - SHOCK WAVE GENERATOR PROVIDING ADJUSTABLE FOCUS GEOMETRY

KR102963346B1KR 102963346 B1KR102963346 B1KR 102963346B1KR-102963346-B1

Abstract

The present disclosure is conceived in response to the aforementioned background technology and aims to provide a shock wave generator that provides an adjustable shock wave focus shape. In one embodiment, the shock wave generator may include a control unit that controls operations related to the shock wave generator; a first shock wave generating unit comprising a first plurality of piezoelectric elements that convert first electrical energy into a first shock wave; and a second shock wave generating unit comprising a second plurality of piezoelectric elements that convert second electrical energy into a second shock wave. Furthermore, the control unit may determine a first feature of the first plurality of piezoelectric elements and a second feature of the second plurality of piezoelectric elements, or determine a first position of the first shock wave generating unit and a second position of the second shock wave generating unit within the shock wave generator, in order to generate the preset shock wave focus shape.

Inventors

주규태
김종길

Assignees

주식회사 이끌레오

Dates

Publication Date: 20260511
Application Date: 20230901

Claims (14)

As a shock wave generator providing an adjustable shock wave focus shape, A control unit that controls operations related to the above shock wave generator; A first shock wave generating unit comprising a first plurality of piezoelectric elements that convert first electrical energy into a first shock wave; and A second shock wave generating unit comprising a second plurality of piezoelectric elements that convert second electrical energy into a second shock wave; Includes, The control unit determines the first characteristic of the first plurality of piezoelectric elements and the second characteristic of the second plurality of piezoelectric elements to generate the preset shock wave focus shape, or determines the first position of the first shock wave generating unit within the shock wave generator and the second position of the second shock wave generating unit within the shock wave generator, and The shock wave focal shape is deformed as at least one of the first feature, including the phase, driving voltage, coupling method, and facing direction of the first plurality of piezoelectric elements, and the second feature, including the phase, driving voltage, coupling method, and facing direction of the second plurality of piezoelectric elements, is changed. Shock wave generator.
In Article 1, A focus shape adjustment unit that modifies the shock wave focus shape generated by the combination of a first shock wave generated from the first shock wave generating unit and a second shock wave generated from the second shock wave generating unit by changing the position of at least one of the first shock wave generating unit and the second shock wave generating unit; including, Shock wave generator.
In Article 2, The above-mentioned focus shape adjustment unit is, Made of at least one of plastic, rubber, and silicone, Shock wave generator.
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In Article 2, The above-mentioned focus shape adjustment unit is, In response to a user input that quantitatively sets the stimulation depth, the shock wave focus shape is modified by further changing at least one of the first feature of the first plurality of piezoelectric elements and the second feature of the second plurality of piezoelectric elements. Shock wave generator.
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In Article 2, The above control unit is, In response to receiving user input for quantitatively setting the stimulation depth of the shock wave generator, the control unit determines the lengths of the major and minor axes of the ellipse and allows the focus shape adjustment unit to modify the shock wave focus shape based on the determined lengths of the major and minor axes of the ellipse. Shock wave generator.
In Article 7, When the above user input includes a first stimulation depth, the control unit controls the focus shape adjustment unit so that the shock wave focus shape becomes an ellipse having a major axis parallel to the longitudinal axis, and, If the user input includes a second stimulation depth smaller than the first stimulation depth, the control unit controls the focus shape adjustment unit so that the shock wave focus shape becomes an ellipse having a minor axis parallel to the longitudinal axis. Shock wave generator.
In Article 7, Depending on the quantitative magnitude of the stimulation depth included in the above user input, the control unit determines the lengths of the major and minor axes of the ellipse corresponding to the shock wave focal shape, and Based on the lengths of the major and minor axes of the ellipse determined above, the control unit controls the operation of the focus shape adjustment unit, and The lengths of the major and minor axes of the ellipse determined above are stored in memory, and when user input of the stimulation depth is subsequently received, the data stored in memory is used to perform the operation of the focus shape adjustment unit without going through the process of determining the major and minor axes of the ellipse. Shock wave generator.
In Article 2, The above control unit is, Determining the first position of the first shock wave generating unit and the second position of the second shock wave generating unit within a range in which the shock wave focal shape generated by the combination of the first shock wave generated from the first shock wave generating unit and the second shock wave generated from the second shock wave generating unit is not separated into two. Shock wave generator.
In Article 2, The above-mentioned focus shape adjustment unit is, The shock wave generator and the structure formed to be detachable, Shock wave generator.
In Article 1, The first plurality of piezoelectric elements or the second plurality of piezoelectric elements are, A first piezoelectric element comprising a first hole penetrating a cross-section for converting electrical energy into a shock wave; and A second piezoelectric element including a second hole penetrating a cross-section to convert electrical energy into a shock wave; Includes more of, and At least a portion of one surface of the first piezoelectric element and at least a portion of one surface of the second piezoelectric element are joined, Shock wave generator.
In Article 12, In order to lower the input impedance of the bonded piezoelectric element and improve the output per unit area of the bonded piezoelectric element, the first piezoelectric element and the second piezoelectric element are bonded to have physically reverse polarity. Shock wave generator.
In Article 12, Each of the first piezoelectric element and the second piezoelectric element is designed to have a preset conversion efficiency, driving voltage, and cross-sectional area, Shock wave generator.

Description

Shock wave generator providing adjustable focus geometry The present disclosure relates to medical devices, specifically to extracorporeal shockwave generators. This project (result) is the result of the Local Government-University Cooperation-based Regional Innovation Project conducted in 2023 with funding from the Ministry of Education and support from the National Research Foundation of Korea. (2021RIS-001) The Extracorporeal Shock-Wave Generator is a device that uses shock waves to treat painful areas and urinary stones without surgery, designed to treat conditions such as shoulder joint pain, tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis, chronic tendon pain, and muscle pain common among modern people. Shock waves can have characteristics almost identical to ultrasound. Ultrasonic energy generated from a single point can be focused to a single point using a reflector, or by arranging ultrasound generators such as PIEZO in a spherical shape to focus to a single point, or by fabricating ultrasound generators such as PIEZO in a spherical shape to focus to a single point. As the shock waves generated in this way are concentrated on the area requiring treatment, mechanical stimulation is applied within the body, thereby stimulating the release of factors related to angiogenesis, promoting the proliferation of new blood vessels for the healing of tendons and bones, improving blood supply, and increasing blood flow. This promotes the remodeling of blood vessels or the formation of new blood vessels, which is effective for pain relief. Extracorporeal shockwave generators provide rapid therapeutic effects with a short procedure time. Extracorporeal shockwave generators utilize the properties of shockwaves, which penetrate the body like ultrasound using high-pressure energy in a short period of time. Furthermore, these generators generate shockwaves from outside the body and transmit them into the body, concentrating them on the treatment area to induce physical effects within the body, thereby treating pain. An extracorporeal shockwave generator may include a piezoelectric element utilizing the piezoelectric principle. Specifically, the piezoelectric element can provide a therapeutic effect to the patient's painful area by applying shockwaves to the patient's body using the inverse piezoelectric principle, which converts electrical signals into high-frequency energy signals. Generally, the energy generated from a piezoelectric element can follow a Gaussian distribution. The energy applied to the patient can take the form of a rice-grain-shaped focal point due to the shape of the piezoelectric element, the distribution and coupling of wavelengths of multiple high-frequency energies generated by multiple piezoelectric elements, etc. Since the area and range of impact applied to the body may vary depending on the focal shape of an extracorporeal shockwave generator, there is a need for a shockwave generator with an adjustable focal shape. Various aspects are now described with reference to the drawings, wherein similar reference numbers are used to collectively refer to similar components. In the following embodiments, for illustrative purposes, a number of specific details are presented to provide a comprehensive understanding of one or more aspects. However, it will be apparent that such aspect(s) may be practiced without these specific details. In other examples, known structures and devices are illustrated in block diagram form to facilitate the description of one or more aspects. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a shock wave generator according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computing device included in a shock wave generator according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a drawing for illustrating a handpiece of a shock wave generator according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a drawing for explaining a piezoelectric element included in a shock wave generator according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a circuit included in a shock wave generator according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a drawing for explaining a piezoelectric element of a shock wave generator according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a drawing for explaining the shock wave generating part of a shock wave generator according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 is a drawing for explaining the focal shape generated in a shock wave generator according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 is a drawing for illustrating a handpiece of a shock wave generator according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Various embodiments and/or aspects are now disclosed with reference to the drawings. For illustrative purposes, numerous specific details are disclosed in the following description to aid i