Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090062782 | Laser Delivery Apparatus With Safety Feedback System - An apparatus and method for delivery of energy to a tissue within a patient includes optical or electrical feedback to detect effects of overheating and/or burning of tissues, bodily fluids, or the apparatus itself, circuitry for controlling the delivery apparatus, and/or indicators to facilitate operator control. Provision is also made for fiber position detection to facilitate manual or automatic control of fiber positioning or withdrawal relative to or through an introducer. | 03-05-2009 |
20090149845 | Methods and apparatus for preventing damage to optical fibers caused by thermal runaway - A temperature of a laser treatment area is monitored and an output of a laser is controlled or modulated to prevent damage resulting from thermal runaway or burn back. The detector may be positioned proximate or at a distal end of the fiber, and may be in the form of a detector arranged to detect leakage of higher order propagation modes from a bend in the fiber. Manual or automatic cleaning of the fiber may be initiated upon detection of overheating, either by dipping the fiber in a cleaning solution or supplying cleaning fluid to the fiber or treatment area. A fiber position detector may also be included to prevent damage when the fiber is withdrawn into an introducer or catheter. | 06-11-2009 |
20100004646 | LASER DELIVERY APPARATUS FOR ENDOVASCULAR APPLICATIONS - An apparatus for delivering energy, and in particular laser energy, to a tissue includes a protective quartz cap that is secured to a laser delivery fiber by a crimp sleeve. The fiber may have a conical tip, and the quartz cap may be secured to the crimp sleeve by a layer of epoxy. | 01-07-2010 |
20110184310 | METHOD OF HEATING A SHAPE MEMORY ALLOY OF A SURGICAL INSTRUMENT - The shape of a surgical instrument is changed during a surgical procedure by using a laser to heat a shape memory alloy or other shape memory material in the surgical instrument, thereby causing the instrument to assume a predetermined shape, while at the same time monitoring the heating site to prevent overheating. | 07-28-2011 |
20110213349 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DETECTING OVERHEATING DURING LASER SURGERY - A method and apparatus for improving the safety of a surgical procedure involving delivery of laser energy to a tissue, involves enhancing or increasing the detectability of radiation emitted by the tissue or any portion of a surgical instrument or device by providing a sacrificial material that absorbs radiation emitted during the surgical procedure, increasing the temperature of a surface on which the material is disposed and/or causing damage radiation to be emitted in a way that can be detected by monitoring the temperature of the surface and/or radiation, including infrared and/or visible light, emitted by the surface. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the radiation absorbing material is a sheath arranged to surround the fiber. | 09-01-2011 |
20110292378 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR USING OPTICAL FEEDBACK TO DETECT FIBER BREAKDOWN DURING SURGICAL LASER PROCEDURES - Failure events detected by a laser surgery monitoring feedback circuit are analyzed in order to distinguish between events that result from fiber breakdown and those arising from other sources, such as burning of tissues. If the number of failure events within a predetermined time exceeds a predetermined count, then it is determined that the radiation is the result of fiber breakdown. If the number of failure events within the predetermined time is less than the predetermined count, then it is determined that the failure events result from other causes, such as heating of tissues by the laser. Based on the analysis, an override switch or alarm may be initiated. | 12-01-2011 |
20130218147 | Protective Sheath and Method of Using Same for Laser Surgery - A protective sheath is provided to prevent mechanical damage to the working channel of the endoscope during insertion of the fiber, insulate the fiber from surrounding cooling fluids, and/or serve as an indicator of overheating that enables early detection of excess heating or burning of tissues or equipment at the treatment site. The protective sheath may include trim markings to facilitate cutting to a desired length, such as the length of the fiber in the scope, may also be arranged to glow when the fiber is pulled too far into the sheath, may be tightly fitted over the fiber to provide a plunger effect, and may include perforations to facilitate sterilization. | 08-22-2013 |
20130345686 | End Fire Fiber Arrangements with Improved Erosion Resistance - An end-firing optical fiber includes protective ferrule through which treatment radiation is fired in an axial direction, the protective ferrule having refractive properties that cause the radiation to disperse laterally and/or the fiber having sufficient flexibility to enable the fiber to be aimed at a tissue situated to the side of the axis along which the fiber was inserted. The fiber and protective ferrule may be mounted in a cannula, with the cannula being sufficiently flexible to enable the cannula to be withdrawn into a scope having a straight working channel, but has a pre-formed curvature that enables treatment of lateral tissues when the cannula is extended out of a scope. | 12-26-2013 |
20140270661 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ABSORBING LASER ENERGY THAT FAILS TO COUPLE INTO THE CORE OF A LASER FIBER, AND FOR ABSORBING THE ENERGY THAT HAS BEEN TRANSMITTED TO THE CLADDING OF THE LASER - A fiber optic connector for coupling focused radiant energy from a laser to a fiber optic conductor includes a quartz alignment ferrule that is fused mechanically and optically to the fiber's proximal end, either by an index matching first adhesive or by heat fusing the cladding to the ferrule without removing the cladding from the end of the fiber. The fiber and ferrule are attached to the fiber's proximal termination connector by a second adhesive with a high refractive index which absorbs errant radiant energy that has propagated in the fiber's cladding. The absorbed errant energy is dissipated by the connector assembly as it is converted to heat. | 09-18-2014 |
20140316397 | Protective Sheath for Surgical Laser Fiber - A protective sheath of the type used to protect a scope during insertion of a fiber into the scope may include holes for improved fluid flow and for ease of sterilization, reinforcement, a luer connector to position the sheath relative to a scope and to enable use of a seal, pin vise or other device to secure the fiber to sheath during insertion or withdrawal of the sheath from the scope, and/or markings to facilitate positioning of the sheath relative to the scope and/or trimming of the fiber. | 10-23-2014 |