Method of using a cordless medical laser to cure composites and sterilize living tissue

Claim 1

A method of using a diode pumped solid state laser generation instrument for curing photo-polymerizable composite materials and for sterilization of living biological tissue useful in surgery, dentistry, and medicine comprising the steps of: exposing a biological tissue site to be sterilized sufficiently so that a directed laser light can illuminate said site; generating a divergent beam of a UV wavelength laser light of a single selected wavelength within a hand-held, self-contained, diode pumped solid state laser generation instrument by pumping a first chosen solid state laser microchip with a diode laser and by passing said laser light generated from said microchip through a lens; directing said divergent beam onto a biological living tissue site to be sterilized for a sufficient time to kill micro-biological life forms contaminating said site, the wavelength of said light emitted from said first chosen microchip being at most 360 nm and selected to be the maximum absorption wavelength of the contaminating life forms; placing a quantity of a chosen photo-polymerizable medical composite material at a site of repair, said quantity being sufficient to effect repair; switching said instrument to a curing mode of operation by a switching means to activate pumping of at least a second chosen solid state laser microchip within said instrument; generating and focusing a single band blue wavelength laser light beam of a selected wavelength in said instrument and passing said light beam through a focusing lens, said selected wavelength generated by said second chosen microchip being at most 480 nm; directing the focused single band wavelength laser light from said instrument into said material for a sufficient time to effect curing of said material, said wavelength being selected to be the maximum absorption wavelength of said chosen composite material.

Claim 2

A method of using a diode pumped solid state laser generation instrument for curing photo-polymerizable composite materials and for sterilization of living biological tissue useful in surgery, dentistry, and medicine comprising the steps of: exposing a biological tissue site to be sterilized sufficiently so that a directed laser light can illuminate said site; generating a divergent beam of a UV wavelength laser light of a single selected wavelength within a hand-held, self-contained, diode pumped solid state laser generation instrument by pumping a first chosen solid state laser microchip with a diode laser and by passing said laser light generated from said microchip through a lens; directing said divergent beam onto a biological living tissue site to be sterilized for a sufficient time to kill micro-biological life forms contaminating said site, the wavelength of said light emitted from said first chosen microchip being at most 360 nm and selected to be the maximum absorption wavelength of the contaminating life forms; placing a quantity of a chosen photo-polymerizable medical composite material at a site of repair, said quantity being sufficient to effect repair; switching said instrument to a curing mode of operation by a switching means to activate pumping of at least a second chosen solid state laser microchip within said instrument; generating and focusing a single band blue wavelength laser light beam of a selected wavelength in said instrument and passing said light beam through a focusing lens, said selected wavelength generated by said second chosen microchip being at most 480 nm; directing the focused single band wavelength laser light from said instrument into said material for a sufficient time to effect curing of said material, said wavelength being selected to be the maximum absorption wavelength of said chosen composite material.