Optical waveguides – Optical fiber waveguide with cladding
Patent
1994-02-08
1995-05-16
Healy, Brian
Optical waveguides
Optical fiber waveguide with cladding
385116, 385117, 385147, 128 4, 128 6, 128897, 128898, 606 15, 606 16, 606 17, G02B 602, A61B 1900, A61B 1732
Patent
active
054168783
ABSTRACT:
An improved side-firing laser fiber assembly is provided in which the output end terminates in a substantially flat face having an arcuate edge around the circumference thereof. The presently preferred fiber has a preferred diameter of about 1000 microns and is made from quartz, silica or a thermoplastic. A bend is preferably located approximately 1.5 millimeters proximally of the emitting face of the fiber, and has a preferred bend angle of about 135 to 145 degrees, resulting in a laser beam directed approximately 30 degrees off-axis of the main body of the optical fiber suitable for use in a non-contact mode to effect deep tissue coagulation and tissue necrosis. The configuration of the optical fiber minimizes burning and cracking typically associated with quartz fibers without the need for a protective metal cap. It operates much cooler than conventional metal-capped fibers, so that it does not generally stick to tissue with which it inadvertently comes into contact during use, and does not usually require irrigation cooling. The foregoing attributes make the apparatus of the present invention particularly useful in treatment of benign prostatis hyperplasia as well as other surgical procedures for which side-firing laser fiber assemblies are useful.
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Regulatory Issues Surround Laser BPH Tx, by Michael Moretti, Urology Times, May 1993, pp. 12-14.
Minimally Invasive Therapies of the Prostate, by G. M. Watson MS, FRCS, Minimally Invasive Therapy, 1992, vol. 1, pp. 231-240.
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Endeavor Surgical Products, Inc.
Healy Brian
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