EP0214712A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Infrared laser catheter apparatus
Assignee: CR Bard Inc
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Filing: 1986-05-27
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2006-05-27
Abstract
Abstract Laser energy produced by a laser operating in the mid-infrared region (approximately 2 micrometers) is delivered by an optical fiber in a catheter to a surgical site for biological tissue removal and repair. Disclosed laser sources which have an output wavelength in this region include: Holmium-doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (Ho:YAG) ,Holmium-doped Yttrium Lithium Fluoride (Ho:YLF) , Erbium-doped YAG, Erbium-doped YLF and Thulium-doped YAG. For tissue removal, the lasers are operated with relatively long pulses at energy levels of approximately 1 joule per pulse. For tissue repair, the lasers are operated in a continuous wave mode at low power. Laser output energy is applied to a silica-based optical fiber which has been specially purified to reduce the hydroxyl-ion concentration to a low level. The catheter may be comprised of a single optical fiber or a plurality of optical fibers arranged to give overlapping output patterns for large area coverage.
Inventors
- 👤 Edward Sinofsky
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-26 23:08
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61B; A61B18/00; A61B18/18; A61B18/20; A61B18/22; A61B18/24; G; G02; G02B; G02B6/00; G02B6/24; G02B6/42; G02B6/4296; A61B2018/2065; A61B90/00; A61B90/39; G02B6/241; G02B6/36; G02B6/38; G02B6/3807; G02B6/3873; G02B6/3874; G02B6/3878
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
72 words
A system for performing surgical operations on biological tissue, characterised by a laser energy source (21) operating with an output wavelength in the range of 1.4-2.2 micrometers, an optical fiber, means (22,24,60,70,62,72,64,68,78) for directing the output of said laser source to the proximal end of said optical fiber, and means (34,108) attached to the distal end of the optical fiber for directing laser energy propagating down said fiber to a surgical site.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
72 words
A system for performing surgical operations on biological tissue, characterised by a laser energy source (21) operating with an output wavelength in the range of 1.4-2.2 micrometers, an optical fiber, means (22,24,60,70,62,72,64,68,78) for directing the output of said laser source to the proximal end of said optical fiber, and means (34,108) attached to the distal end of the optical fiber for directing laser energy propagating down said fiber to a surgical site.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
72 words
A system as claimed in claim 1 characterised by a catheter (30) having at least one lumen passing therethrough, said optical fiber passing through the catheter lumen, a focussing lens (22) for directing the output of said laser source onto the proximal end of said optical fiber, and a lens (144) attached to the distant end of the optical fiber for directing laser energy propagating down said fiber to a surgical site.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
144 words
A system as claimed in claim 1 characterised by additional optical fibers, a plurality of partially reflective mirrors (60,62,64,68) arranged in series along the axis of said output beam for directing a portion of the output of said laser source to the proximal ends of the optical fibers, and a plurality of focussing lenses (70,72,74,78) positioned between the mirrors and the proximal ends of the fibers for focussing portions of said laser output to the proximal ends of the fibers, and means (108) attached to the distal end of the optical fibers for directing laser energy propagating down said fibers to a surgical site, said directing means holding the fibers in a fixed position relative to one another so that optical beams emanating from the distal ends of the fibers overlap to cover an area at least equal to the diameter of said catheter.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
53 words
A system as claimed in any one of claims 1 -3 characterised by an aiming laser (20) source generating visible light output and means (10,12) for directing said visible light output through the laser source and the optical fiber to align said laser and said fiber and to visually illuminate the surgical site.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
33 words
A system as claimed in any one of claims 1 -4 further characterised by a fiber optic connector (24,80,82,84,88) affixed to the proximal end of the or each fiber for holding said fiber.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
40 words
A system as claimed in anyone of claims 2 -5 characterised in that the catheter (30) has an additional lumen passing therethrough, said additional lumen having an opening at the proximal and distal ends for communicating with said surgical site.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
38 words
A system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterised in that the or at least some of the optical fibers comprises a silica fiber purified to reduce the hydroxyl ion content as low as possible.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
42 words
A system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterised in that the laser source comprises a Holmium-doped Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet laser, or an Erbium-doped Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet laser or a Holmium-doped Yttrium-Lithium-Fluoride laser or an Erbium-doped Yttrium-Lithium-Fluoride laser or a Thulium-doped Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet laser.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
31 words
A system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterised in that the laser source is operated in a pulsed-mode with a pulse width substantially equal to 1 millisecond.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
27 words
A system as claimed in any one of claims 1 -8 characterised in that the laser source is operated in a continuous wave mode at low power.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
64 words
A method for the surgical removal of biological material characterised by the steps of: a) operating a laser energy source to produce an output beam with a wavelength in the range of 1.4-2. 2 micrometers. b) directing the output of said laser source to the proximal end of an optical fiber, and c) directing laser energy propagating down said fiber to a surgical site.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
64 words
A method for the surgical removal of biological material characterised by the steps of: a) operating a laser energy source to produce an output beam with a wavelength in the range of 1.4-2. 2 micrometers. b) directing the output of said laser source to the proximal end of an optical fiber, and c) directing laser energy propagating down said fiber to a surgical site.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
32 words
A method as claimed in claim 11 characterised in that step A comprises the steps of operating the laser source in a pulsed-mode with a pulse width substantially equal to 1 millisecond.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
21 words
A method as claimed in claim 11 characterised in that a laser energy source is operated in a continuous wave mode.
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