• 专利附录
  • 专利说明
  • 权利要求
  • 类似技术
  • 同族专利
  • 引用文献
  • 法律状态
  • 优先权
    • 专利摘要:
    The present invention relates to a system and a method of controlling an electrotherapy device comprising a power supply (1), a generator (2) of an electric radio frequency signal (RF), a neutral electrode (3) and a capacitive (4) and / or resistive (5) electrode connected to the generator (2) and intended to apply the electrical signal by contact to the body of a patient. The system comprises a software control module (6) connected to the generator (2), designed to transmit a command to enable or disable the electrical signal (RF), and a hardware detection and control circuit (7), adapted to detect a anomalous value of said electrical signal and to transmit a command to turn off the generator (2) in the presence of said anomalous value.
    公开号:CH710651A2
    申请号:CH00090/15
    申请日:2015-01-26
    公开日:2016-07-29
    发明作者:Covini Cesare
    申请人:Wht Care Sa；
    IPC主号:
    专利说明:

    Field of application
    [0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of control systems of electrotherapy devices, and in particular of those electrotherapy systems comprising a mains power supply and a generator of an electric radio frequency (RF) signal intended to be applied to the body of a patient through a neutral electrode and a capacitive or resistive electrode.
    [0002] The present invention also refers to a method of controlling an electrotherapy device of the aforementioned type.
    Known art
    [0003] As is known, an electrotherapy device is an apparatus capable of generating voltage or current waveforms with a controllable frequency, in the radiofrequency band, intended to be applied to the human body in order to produce a diathermic effect.
    [0004] The device is used for therapeutic or non-therapeutic treatments, for example for aesthetic treatments, and induces heat in localized areas of the human body, at different depths. The transmission of heat is transcutaneous and substantially helps to set in motion the electric charges present in the biological tissue, stimulating the cellular metabolism, through an increase and a reactivation of the micro capillary circulation, and increases the oxygenation of the tissues.
    [0005] Electrotherapy treatments enable the natural reparative and anti-inflammatory processes to be reactivated, without using radiant energy from outside or using contact heating methods, which act on the surface but are not very suitable to produce heat in depth.
    [0006] The electrotherapeutic device typically consists of an electric generator and two electrodes: an active electrode, operated manually by an operator at the area to be treated, and a neutral return electrode, fixed on the patient to create an electrical circuit.
    [0007] Depending on the characteristics of the active electrodes applied to the patient's body, different types of treatment can be obtained, known as capacitive or resistive. The capacitive treatment carries out its action on the soft tissues with a high water content, such as the muscles, the venous and lymphatic system and the cartilage. The resistive treatment acts on all those tissues with low water content, such as bones, capsules, ligaments, tendons and muscle bands.
    [0008] The aforementioned electrotherapeutic devices can also operate at rather high powers, for example 300 W, and produce waveforms of radio-frequency electrical voltages with values outside the frequency ranges typical of broadcasting.
    [0009] In consideration of the power and voltage used, it is necessary that the operation of the device is carefully controlled, allow the treatment to be carried out in total safety on the patient, without any risk and avoiding that a malfunction or unexpected cause an electric discharge in the body of the patient. In particular, the use of high powers requires a safety system capable of handling critical situations that may derive from both external factors and intrinsic factors of the equipment.
    [0010] For treatment safety it is also important that the radiofrequency signal voltages applied to the insulated electrodes do not exceed predetermined values, for example of 600 Vrms, in order to avoid risks of triggering of electric arcs which can perforate the insulating barrier constituted by the coating on the electrodes, sized and tested to operate safely at the maximum rated voltages expected.
    [0011] At the same time, to ensure an effective electrotherapeutic treatment, it is necessary to be able to check the waveforms of the generated electrical signal with considerable accuracy.
    [0012] In particular, in the diathermy devices with transcutaneous transmission mentioned above, in the two capacitive and resistive modes, it is necessary to produce a variable electrical voltage with zero mean value, which must consider various factors including limiting the presence of components to frequencies other than nominal, in order to obtain high levels of efficiency in the various load situations and thus avoid significant losses due to the heating of the circuitry used in generating the electrical signal.
    [0013] The known electrotherapy devices use technical solutions which are not satisfactory and which do not guarantee high reliability in terms of safety, nor precise regulation of the voltages of the electrical signal, and therefore an efficient adaptation of the device to the different situations of load.
    [0014] The technical problem underlying the present invention is therefore that of devising a control system for an electrotherapy device which is capable of solving all the limitations described above, thus guaranteeing total reliability of the apparatus, that is to say, that is capable of immediately detecting abnormal electrical signals and suspending their generation, but also of adjusting and effectively adapting the electrical signal to the various load conditions, in order to obtain an optimal treatment for the patient.
    Summary of the invention
    [0015] The solution idea underlying the present invention is to control the electrical radio frequency (RF) signal generated by an electrotherapy device, by means of a system comprising a first software and digital control ring and a second ring of analogue control, thus exploiting the speed of the analogue ring to reduce the detection time of any anomalies in the electrical signal and at the same time the flexibility of the digital ring to sophisticate the controls on the signal, programming these controls to identify intrinsic malfunctions of the electrotherapy device or malfunctions caused by external factors, such as an incorrect setting of the device by the operator or an anomaly in the power supply network, and making sure that the two rings in synergy prevent the generation or propagation of electric arcs in able to perforate the insulating coating of the electrodes, cause I therefore give danger to the patient and the user of the electrotherapy device.
    [0016] The digital and analogue rings include integrated hardware and software components which increase the safety of the electrotherapy device and at the same time improve the generation of a voltage / current suitable for the diathermic treatment.
    [0017] On the basis of the solution idea set forth above, the technical problem is solved by a system and a control method according to the appended claims.
    [0018] Further characteristics and advantages of the system and of the method according to the present invention will become apparent from the description which follows, given only by way of example and not limiting the scope of protection of the invention.
    Brief description of the attached drawings
    [0019]<tb> Fig. 1 <SEP> is a block diagram of the control system of the present invention.
    Detailed description
    [0020] With reference to fig. 1 shows a block diagram of an electrotherapy device comprising a control system according to the present invention.
    [0021] The electrotherapy device comprising a power supply 1 connectable to the electric power supply network, a generator 2 of an electrical signal in radio frequency RF, and at least a pair of electrodes destined to apply the electrical signal to contact the body of a patient.
    [0022] In particular, the electrotherapeutic device is equipped with a neutral electrode 3, a resistive electric 5 and / or a capacitive electrode 4, connected to the generator 2 through a circuit of a filter and resistive adaptation circuit. 10 (resistive electrode 5) and of a capacitive elevator circuit 11 (capacitive electrode). The capacitive electrode 4 is used together with the neutral electrode 3 for capacitive applications, that is destined to treat the soft tissues and the superficial areas of the body, and the resistive electrode is used, always in exclusive coupling with the neutral electrode 3, for treatments of tissues located deeper or of higher resistance, such as bone and cartilage structure.
    [0023] According to the present invention, the control system comprises a software control module 6, connected to the generator 2, designed to transmit a command to enable or disable the electrical signal (RF), and a hardware detection and control circuit ( 7), intended to detect any anomalous values of the electrical signal and to transmit a command to turn off the generator 2, in the presence of anomalous values.
    [0024] The software control module 6 and the hardware circuit are simultaneously active and produce a digital control ring and an analog control ring, suitable for simultaneously monitoring the electrotherapy device and modifying its operating parameters, interrupting the generator 2 and therefore the supply of the electrical signal, in the case of anomalous values of the electrical signal, or by adjusting the generator in real time, to vary the electrical signal according to the conditions detected, for example the load constituted by the patient, thus producing a form of ideal wave for patient treatment.
    [0025] In particular, the software control module 6 comprises a first microprocessor µ1 and a second microprocessor µ2, connected to a logic AND block which receives as input the control signals of the first µ1e of the second microprocessor µ2e generates the enabling command in output of the electric RF signal, if the control signals of the first µ1e of the second microprocessor µ2 are positive, or generates in output the command to disable the electrical signal RF, if at least one of the control signals of the first µ1e of the second microprocessor µ2 is negative. The logical AND block is preferably hardware type.
    [0026] The first µ1 microprocessor is connected to a control circuit 8 of the electrotherapy device, manually adjustable by the operator of the electrotherapeutic device, and receives the commands from the control circuit 8 and generates the negative control signal in the case of commands not provided. In other words, the first microprocessor is capable of interrupting the generator 2 independently of the second microprocessor, for example in the case of identifying parameters set by the operator that are incompatible with the treatment to be performed. The first microprocessor and the second microprocessor are equipped with a memory comprising a set of commands accepted by the control circuit (first microprocessor), and relative frequencies of the electrical signal to be supplied to the respective electrodes (second microprocessor), according to the selected treatment (capacitive or resistive).
    [0027] The first µ1 microprocessor, in the case of detection of said unexpected commands, also generates a shut-down signal of the second microprocessor µ2. In this regard, the first µ1 microprocessor and the second microprocessor µ2 are connected via a bidirectional communication BUS, and the second microprocessor µ2 receives input from the first microprocessor µ1commands to increase or decrease the voltage of the electrical signal RF.
    [0028] The control system also includes a protocol for identifying the error frequency in the communication between the first and second microcontroller and generates an alarm signal in the case in which the error frequency exceeds a predefined limit value stored in the module software control 6. A high error frequency would correspond to a communication anomaly between the microcontrollers, caused by the malfunctioning of one or both microprocessors or the communication BUS, and the impossibility of applying the control with redundancy of the electrotherapy device.
    [0029] The second microprocessor also receives from the hardware detection and control circuit 7 the actual voltage values measured at the electrode outputs, and produces in output the negative control signal, in the event of a difference between the voltage set by the command of increase or decrease of the voltage and the voltage measured at the electrode outputs above a predetermined threshold value.
    [0030] The voltage values measured at the electrode outputs are not only used to implement a protection function through the hardware detection and control circuit 7 but also to carry out an accurate regulation of the electrical signal through the second microprocessor, which receives at input the voltage values of the neutral electrode, capacitive and / or resistive, and drives the generator 2.
    [0031] The latter comprises a predriver circuit and a Mosfet push-pull converter, and operates for example at a frequency of 447 KHz.
    [0032] A supply regulation board 9 is connected to the hardware detection and control circuit 7, and receives from the circuit 7 the voltage value measured on the capacitive electrode and outputs an voltage to the generation circuit 2 of the voltages a shut-down command in the event of overvoltage at the output, thus creating a protection circuit.
    [0033] The supply adjustment board 9 is for example an input receiving card with a continuous voltage, for example 50 VDC (power supply) and is equipped with a section for generating the auxiliary voltages and a voltage regulation section in continues for example between 0 and 50 VDC which supplies and regulates the RF voltage generation stage.
    [0034] The power supply board 1 is connected to the AC mains and is able to deliver, for example, up to 336 W. In this regard, it is worth noting that the voltage, current or power values are given by way of by way of example, with reference to an electro-medical device actually implemented by the applicant but subject to variations, within the limits of the field of application in question which, as stated, is specifically referred to electro-medical treatments.
    [0035] The power regulation card 9 also includes an RF power regulation section, having for example a variable step-down power supply and connected in output to the generator 2, as well as the auxiliary voltage generation section.
    [0036] The generator 2 receives as input the digital control signals of the second microcontroller and the enabling or disabling signal from the AND block of the output signals of the first and of the second microprocessor.
    [0037] The generator 2 is connected to a filter and resistive adaptation circuit 10, receiving in input the signal of the generator 2 and equipped with an elevator transformer and a series resonant filter, which raises the electric signal actually destined to the electrodes 5, 4. More particularly, the signal destined to the capacitive electrode 4 is further elevated through a capacitive elevator circuit 11, provided with a resonant circuit. The capacitive output is for example set at 600 VAC. Both the capacitive signal, that is the signal output from the circuit 11, both the resistive signal, that is the one outgoing from the circuit 10, and the signal of the generator 2, are given as input to the hardware detection and control circuit 7, which is connected. to the plates (neutral, capacitive and / or resistive electrodes) applicable to the patient.
    [0038] Substantially, according to the present invention, the control and regulation of the electrical signal of the generator 2 and of the signal output from the resistive adaptation circuit 10 and / or capacitive 11 are monitored with redundancy through the hardware detection and control circuit 7 , which forms the first control loop, and the microprocessors of the software control module 6, which form a second control loop, the first control loop being connected to the second microprocessor of the second control loop to which it communicates the measured voltage values at the electrode outputs.
    [0039] A further control step is provided to verify that the electrotherapy device supplies energy (the electrical signal) solely from the output set via the control circuit 8, thus preventing both the capacitive electrode and the the resistive electrode, even only for short transitory periods. The firmware of the control module 8 is duly programmed to carry out the exclusion check of one of the active electrodes 4, 5. However, as a redundant safety control, a circuit made in hardware and indicated in the figure with an ExOR block is further provided. prevents the supply of the electrical signal to one of the active electrodes 4, 5, in the case in which the first microprocessor has already commanded the delivery of the signal to the other active electrode 5, 4.
    [0040] Advantageously, all the voltage values are measured by the hardware analog circuit 7, which has a high reaction speed, and can then be adjusted in the digital software control module 6, which offers considerable programming flexibility. The digital software control module is preferably made in firmware.
    [0041] According to the present invention, an electrotherapeutic device comprising a power supply 1, a generator 2 of an electrical signal in radio frequency RF, a neutral electrode 3 and a capacitive electrode 4 and / or resistive 5 connected to the generator 2 and intended to apply the electrical signal for contact with a patient's body can be advantageously controlled by a control method characterized in that it comprises the following phases:controlling the generator 2 through a software control module 6 connected to it and transmitting a command to enable or disable the electrical signal (RF) from the software control module 6 to the generator 1, andfurther controlling the generator 2 through a hardware detection and control circuit 7, and transmitting a generator shutdown command in the presence of an anomalous value of the electrical signal detected by the hardware circuit.
    [0042] The software control phases are redundant to the hardware control phases. These phases form two software or hardware control cycles or loops, respectively, creating an advanced control method in which the flexibility and programmability of the digital components and software implemented by the first and second microprocessors is supplied in redundancy to the reaction speed of the analog components and hardware implemented in the detection circuit.
    [0043] Advantageously, by means of the control system thus realized, the diathermy or electrotherapeutic device can be accurately controlled, immediately suspending the supply of an anomalous electrical signal, ie before such a signal is delivered to the patient or can damage the insulating coating of the electrodes, and also by accurately adjusting the waveform of the electrical signal, independently of the patient undergoing therapy and therefore to the load which is in turn introduced into the electrotherapeutic apparatus, consequently improving the beneficial effects of the treatment.
    权利要求:
    Claims (10)
    [1]
    1. Control system of an electrotherapy device comprising a power supply (1), a generator (2) of an electrical signal in radio frequency (RF), a neutral electrode (3) and a capacitive (4) and / or resistive electrode (5) connected to the generator (2) and intended to apply the electrical signal by contact to the body of a patient, characterized in that it comprises a software control module (6) connected to the generator (2), adapted to transmit a command of enabling or disabling of the electrical signal (RF), and a hardware detection and control circuit (7), designed to detect an anomalous value of said electric signal and to transmit a command to turn off the generator (2) in the presence of said anomalous value .
    [2]
    2. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the software control module (6) comprises a first (µ1) and a second microprocessor (µ2), a logic AND block which receives as input the control signals of the first (µ1 ) and the second microprocessor (µ2) and outputs the command to enable the electric signal (RF), if the control signals of the first (µ1) and of the second microprocessor (µ2) are positive, or generates the command of disabling of the electrical signal (RF), if at least one of the control signals of the first (µ1) and of the second microprocessor (µ2) is negative.
    [3]
    3. System according to claim 2, characterized in that the first (µ1) microprocessor is connected to a control circuit (8) of the electrotherapy device, receives the commands from the control circuit (8) as input and generates the signal of negative control in case of unexpected commands.
    [4]
    4. System according to claim 3, characterized in that the first (µ1) microprocessor, in the case of detection of said unexpected commands, generates an extinguishing signal of the second microprocessor (µ2)
    [5]
    5. System according to claim 4, characterized in that the first (µ1) microprocessor is connected to the second microprocessor (µ2) via a bidirectional communication BUS, said second microprocessor (µ2) receives as input from the first microprocessor (µ1) commands of increase or decrease of the voltage of the electrical signal (RF), receives in input from the hardware detection and control circuit (7) the actual voltage values measured at the electrode outputs, and produces in output the negative control signal in case of a difference between the voltage set with the voltage increase or decrease command and the voltage measured at the electrode outputs above a predetermined threshold value.
    [6]
    6. System according to claim 5, characterized in that it comprises a supply adjustment board (9) connected to the hardware detection and control circuit (7) receiving as input the voltage value measured on the output connecting the electrode capacitive and output to the generation circuit (2) of the voltages a shut-down command in the event of overvoltages at the output.
    [7]
    7. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the hardware detection and control circuit forms a first control loop and the microprocessors of the software control module form a second control loop, the first control ring is connected to the second microprocessor of the second control loop.
    [8]
    8. System according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a filter and resistive adaptation circuit (10) connected to the output of the generator (2).
    [9]
    9. System according to claim 8, characterized in that it comprises a capacitive elevator circuit (11) connected between the output of the filter and resistive adaptation circuit and the capacitive electrode.
    [10]
    10. Method of controlling an electrotherapy device comprising a power supply (1), a generator (2) of an electrical signal in radio frequency (RF), a neutral electrode (3) and a capacitive (4) and / or resistive electrode (5) connected to the generator (2) and intended to apply the electrical signal by contact to the body of a patient, characterized by the fact of controlling the generator by means of a software control module (6) connected to it and transmitting an enabling command or disabling of the electrical signal (RF) from the software control module (6) to the generator, further the generator via a hardware detection and control circuit (7), and transmit a generator shutdown command (2) in the presence of an anomalous value of the electrical signal detected by the hardware circuit (7).
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    同族专利:
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    引用文献:
    公开号 | 申请日 | 公开日 | 申请人 | 专利标题
    US4550728A|1982-08-23|1985-11-05|L. P. Systems Corporation|Epilator|
    DE3689889D1|1986-07-17|1994-07-07|Erbe Elektromedizin|High-frequency surgical device for the thermal coagulation of biological tissues.|
    WO1998056324A1|1997-06-13|1998-12-17|Arthrocare Corporation|Electrosurgical systems and methods for recanalization of occluded body lumens|
    US7799020B2|2006-10-02|2010-09-21|Conmed Corporation|Near-instantaneous responsive closed loop control electrosurgical generator and method|
    法律状态:
    优先权:
    申请号 | 申请日 | 专利标题
    CH00090/15A|CH710651B1|2015-01-26|2015-01-26|Electrotherapy device including a control system.|CH00090/15A| CH710651B1|2015-01-26|2015-01-26|Electrotherapy device including a control system.|
    PCT/IB2016/050369| WO2016120780A2|2015-01-26|2016-01-26|System and method for controlling an electrotherapy device|
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