CA1275450C - Infrared laser catheter system - Google Patents
Infrared laser catheter systemInfo
- Publication number
- CA1275450C CA1275450C CA000514972A CA514972A CA1275450C CA 1275450 C CA1275450 C CA 1275450C CA 000514972 A CA000514972 A CA 000514972A CA 514972 A CA514972 A CA 514972A CA 1275450 C CA1275450 C CA 1275450C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- laser
- accordance
- fiber
- biological tissue
- optical fiber
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Fee Related
Links
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
- A61B18/00—Surgical instruments, devices or methods for transferring non-mechanical forms of energy to or from the body
- A61B18/18—Surgical instruments, devices or methods for transferring non-mechanical forms of energy to or from the body by applying electromagnetic radiation, e.g. microwaves
- A61B18/20—Surgical instruments, devices or methods for transferring non-mechanical forms of energy to or from the body by applying electromagnetic radiation, e.g. microwaves using laser
- A61B18/22—Surgical instruments, devices or methods for transferring non-mechanical forms of energy to or from the body by applying electromagnetic radiation, e.g. microwaves using laser the beam being directed along or through a flexible conduit, e.g. an optical fibre; Couplings or hand-pieces therefor
- A61B18/24—Surgical instruments, devices or methods for transferring non-mechanical forms of energy to or from the body by applying electromagnetic radiation, e.g. microwaves using laser the beam being directed along or through a flexible conduit, e.g. an optical fibre; Couplings or hand-pieces therefor with a catheter
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
- G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
- G02B6/42—Coupling light guides with opto-electronic elements
- G02B6/4296—Coupling light guides with opto-electronic elements coupling with sources of high radiant energy, e.g. high power lasers, high temperature light sources
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
- A61B18/00—Surgical instruments, devices or methods for transferring non-mechanical forms of energy to or from the body
- A61B18/18—Surgical instruments, devices or methods for transferring non-mechanical forms of energy to or from the body by applying electromagnetic radiation, e.g. microwaves
- A61B18/20—Surgical instruments, devices or methods for transferring non-mechanical forms of energy to or from the body by applying electromagnetic radiation, e.g. microwaves using laser
- A61B2018/2065—Multiwave; Wavelength mixing, e.g. using four or more wavelengths
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
- A61B90/00—Instruments, implements or accessories specially adapted for surgery or diagnosis and not covered by any of the groups A61B1/00 - A61B50/00, e.g. for luxation treatment or for protecting wound edges
- A61B90/39—Markers, e.g. radio-opaque or breast lesions markers
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
- G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
- G02B6/241—Light guide terminations
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
- G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
- G02B6/36—Mechanical coupling means
- G02B6/38—Mechanical coupling means having fibre to fibre mating means
- G02B6/3807—Dismountable connectors, i.e. comprising plugs
- G02B6/3873—Connectors using guide surfaces for aligning ferrule ends, e.g. tubes, sleeves, V-grooves, rods, pins, balls
- G02B6/3874—Connectors using guide surfaces for aligning ferrule ends, e.g. tubes, sleeves, V-grooves, rods, pins, balls using tubes, sleeves to align ferrules
- G02B6/3878—Connectors using guide surfaces for aligning ferrule ends, e.g. tubes, sleeves, V-grooves, rods, pins, balls using tubes, sleeves to align ferrules comprising a plurality of ferrules, branching and break-out means
Abstract
A B S T R A C T
A system is provided for the surgical removal of biological material. The system includes a laser energy source operating with an output wavelength in the range of 1.4-2.2 micrometers, an optical fiber with an optical device for directing the output of the laser source to the proximal end of said optical fiber. A further device is attached to the distal end of the optical fiber for directing laser energy propagating down said fiber to a surgical site.
A system is provided for the surgical removal of biological material. The system includes a laser energy source operating with an output wavelength in the range of 1.4-2.2 micrometers, an optical fiber with an optical device for directing the output of the laser source to the proximal end of said optical fiber. A further device is attached to the distal end of the optical fiber for directing laser energy propagating down said fiber to a surgical site.
Description
PEK/KC
I NFRARED LASER CATHETER SYSTEM
This invention rela~es to laser catheters and optical fiber systems for generating and transmitting energy to a surgical site in a living body for the purposes of tissue removal or repair.
While lasers have been used for many years for industrial purposes such as drilling and cutting materials, it is only recently that surgeons have begin to use lasers for surgical operations on living tissue. To this end, laser energy has been used to repair retinal tissue and to cauterize blood vessels in the stomach and colon.
In many surgical situations, it is desirable to transmit laser energy down an optical fiber to the sur~ical location. If this can be done, the optical fiber can be included in a catheter which can be inserted into the body through a small opening, thus reducing the surgical trauma associated with the operation. In addition, the catheter can often be maneuvered to surgical sites which are so restricted ~hat conven~ional scalpel surgery is difficult, if not impossible. For example, laser energy can be . ~,,.~
~ ~75~
used to remove atherosclerotic playue from the walls of the vasculature and ~o repair defects in small-diameter artery walls.
A problem has been encountered with laser surgery in that prior art lasers which have been used for industrial purposes often have characteristics which are not well suited to percutaneous laser surgery. For example, a laser which is conventionally used for scientific purposes is an excimer laser which is a gas laser that operates with a gas mixture such as Argon-Fluorine, Krypton-Fluorine or Xenon-Fluorine. Another common industrial laser is the carbon dioxide or CO2 laser.
Both the excimer laser and the CO2 laser have been used for surgical purposes with varying results. One problem with excimer lasers is that they produce output energy having a wavelength in the range 0.2-0.5 micrometers. Blood hemoglobin and proteins have a relatively high absorption of energy in this wavelength range and, thus, the output beam of an excimer laser has a very short absorption length in these materials (the absorption length is the distance in the materials over which the laser beam can travel before most of the energy is absorbed). Consequently, the surgical site in which these lasers are to be used must be cleared of blood ~5~
prior to ~he opera~ion~ otherwise most of the laser energy will be absorbed by intervening blood before it reaches the surgical area. While the removal of blood is possible if surgery is performed on an open area it is often difficult if surgery is to be performed via a catheter located in an artery or vein.
An additional problem with excimer lasers is that the output energy pulse developed by ~he laser is very shor~, typically about ten nanoseconds. In order to develop reasonable average power, pulses with extremely high peak power must be used. When an attempt is made to channel such a high peak power output into an optical fiber, ~he high peak power destroys the fiber. Thus, excimer lasers have a prac~ical power limit which is relatively low.
Consequently, when these lasers are used for biological tissue removal, the operation is slow and time consuming.
The C02 laser has other drawbacks. This laser generates output energy with a wavelength on the order of 10 micrometers. At this waveleng~h, the absorption of blood hemoglobin is negligible bu~
the absorption by water and tissue is relatively high. Scattering at this wavelength is also very 7 low. Although the C02 laser possesses favorable characteristics for surgical applications in that it ~ ~7~
has low scattering and high absorption in tissue J it suffers from the same drawback as excimer lasers in that the absorption length is relatlvely short due to the high abs~rption ~f the laser energy i~
water. Thus, the surgical area must be cleared of blood prior to the operation.
Unfortunately, the C02 laser also suffers from a serious additional problem. Due to the long wavelength, the output energy from the carbon dioxide laser cannot be presently transmitted down any optical fibers which are suitable for use in percutaneous surgery ~present fibers which can transmit energy from a C~ laser are either composed of toxic materials, are soluble in water or are not read~ly bendable, or possess a combination of the previous problems~ and) thus, the laser is only suitable ~or operations in which the laser energy can be either applied directly to the surgical area or applied by means of an optical system comprised of prisms or mirrors~
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a laser catheter system which uses laser energy of a waveiength that is strongly absorbed in water 9 in bodily tissues and atherosclerotic plaque.
t It is another object of the present invention to provide a laser catheter system which is capable of o providing laser energy that can be transmitted through existing silica-based optical fibersO
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a lase~ catheter system in which optical scattering is minimized and which has a medium-length absorption length to conf ine the energy to the area of interest.
It is yet another object of the present in~ention to provide an optical catheter system with a laser that can be opera~ed on either a pulsed mode or a continuous wave mode.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a laser catheter system which can be used for biological ma~erial removal and biological material repair.
The foregoing objects are achieved and the foregoing problems are solved in one illustrative embodiment of the invention in which a laser catheter system employs a laser source operating in the wavelength region of 1.4-2.2 micrometers.
Illustrative laser sources operating this region are Holmium-doped YAG, Holmium-doped YLF, Erbium-doped YAG, Erbium-doped YLF and Thulium-doped ~AG lasers.
In the inventive laser system, the above-noted lasers are used with a specially-treated silica fiber that has been purified to reduce the concentration of hydroxyl (OH-) ions~
7~L~
For biological tissue removal, the laser source may be operated in a pulsed mode with a relatively long pu152 of approximately 0.2-5 milliseconds at an energy level of approximately 1-2 j~ules per pulse.
With this time duration and energy level, the peak power of the laser pulse is approximately 1 kilowatt. This amount of power can easily be tolerated by the silica fiber, but is sufficient for rapid material removal. With a repetition rate in the range of l-10 hertz, the average power delivered to a surgical site by such a laser will be under lO
watts.
Alternatively, for biological tissue repair, the laser source can be operated in a low power continuous wave mode to repair, by coagulation, of tissue by a process similar to "spot weldingn.
Figure l shows a sketch of absorption of electromagnetic energy versus wavelength and electromagnetic energy scattering versu~ waveleng~h.
Figure 2 shows an absorp~ion versus wavelength plot for atherosclerotic plaque obtained in a carotid endarterectomy with the region of interest for the inventive laser sources (1.4-2.2 micrometers) outlined.
Figure 3 of the drawing is a schematic diagram of a typical solid state laser construction used in the inventive laser sources.
54~5~
Figure ~ of the drawing is a plot of laser output in-tensity versus time for a typical pulse shape developed by a laser shown in Figure 3 when used for tissue removal.
Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a laser catheter which employs a single optical fiber for transmitting laser energy to a surgical location.
Figure 6 of the drawing is an enlarged cross-section of -the probe tip of the single fiber catheter shown in Figure 5.
Figure 7 is an exploded view of a portion of the enlarged cross-section of the probe tip shown in Figure 6.
Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a wire-guided catheter which employs four optical fibers to increase the area which can be irradiated with the laser light.
Figure 9 of the drawing is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the probe tip of the catheter shown in Figure 8 showing the four optical fibers.
Figure 10 is an end view of the probe tip of the catheter in the direction 10-10 of Figure 9.
Figures 11, llA, llB and llC are schematic diagrams of the beam pattern produced by the four-fiber catheter at the surgical location.
The absorption and scattering characteristics versus output wavelength of a plurality of known laser systems are shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 has a logarithmic scale representing the absorption coefficient in units of cm 1 along the vertical ~7~5~1 axis and the incident energy wavelength in micrometers along the horizontal axis.
From Figure 1, it can be seen that excimer laser systems which utilize ~onventional gas mixtures, such as Argon-Fluorine, Krypton-Fluorine and Xenon-Fluorine, and Argon gas lasers produce output energy which falls in the 0~2-0.5 micrometer wavelength region~ In this region, the absorption of blood hemoglobin and proteins is very high.
Consequently, the absorption length is very short (about 5-10 microns~ and virtually no blood can be present between the fiber end and the surgical site during the operation. Thus, it is necessary to remove blood from the surgical area when these lasers are used for surgical purposes.
In addition~ for lasers such as Argon, the absorption of water reaches a minimum at 0.5 micrometers so that i~ is necessary to use a higher power laser than is desirable to achieve sufficient power in the surgical area for material cutting and removal. Also, due to the low absorption of the laser output in water and hemoglobin, ~he absorption length is very long (approxima~ely 1 mm). In additiont scattering for ~hese lasers is relatively high, causing difficulty in controlling the laser energy and a danger of ~issue damage outside the surgical area due to scattering of the laser energy.
; L/~
At the other e~d of the wavelength spectrum shown in Figure 1 are carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide lasers producing outputs ~t 5 and 10 micrometersO respectively. At these wavelengths scattering is negligible and absorp~ion by water and tissue is relatively high and thus both lasers have good surgical properties. Unfortunately, due to the high absorption of water, the absorption length is relatively short (about 20 microns). Further, silica-based optical fibers in present use which are suitable for percutaneous surgical use have a practical "cutoff" in transmission which occur approximately at 2O3 micrometers, and, thus, the output energy from carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide lasers cannot be transmitted through such an optical fiber.
In accordance with the invention, laser sources of interest are those that lie in the wavelength range of approximately 1.4-2.15 micrometers. As shown in Figure 1, in this range, the energy absorption of water is relatively high whereas optical scattering is relatively low. Illustrative lasers which are useful with the present invention comprise Erbium-doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (YAG) with a wavelength of 1.55 micrometers, Erbium-doped Yttrium Lithlum Fluoride (YLF) with a wavelength of 1~73 micrometers, Thulium-doped YAG with a ~ ~75~
wavelength of 1.88 micrometers, Holmium YLF with a wavelength of 2.06 micrometers and Holmium YA~ at a wavelength of 2~1 micrometers. The absorption of the laser energy produced by lasers in this latter group by water i5 moderately high and, consequently, the absorption by biological tissues of such energy will also be relatively high. However, the absorption by water is not as high as the absorption of C0 and C02 laser energy. Thus, the absorption length will be longer for the lasers operating in the 1.4-2.2 micron range. Typically, the absorption length in the body for these latter lasers is about 200 microns. Therefore, it is still possible to operate satisfactorily even with 10-30 microns of blood between the fiber end and the surgical site.
Of particular interest is the absorption of the laser energy by atherosclerotic plaque~ since an important use of laser catheter systems is angioplasty, particularly the clearing of blocked arteries. Figure 2 is a plot of the absorption by plaque of electromagnetic energy versus wavelength for energy in the wavelength range of 0.2-2.2 micrometers. As shown in Figure 2, the absorption by plaque of electromagnetic energy reaches a minimum in the 0.8-1 micrometer wavelength range and generally increases with increasing wavelength in the wavelength region of 1-202 micrometers.
5~3 In the wavelength range from 1.4-2.2 micrometers, the wavelength range produced by laser in the above-mentioned group, the absorption by plaque is at a relatively hi~h ~alue.
A schemat.ic diagram of a typical solid-state laser construction i5 shown in Figure 30 The laser assembly consists of a laser crystal 1 and an excitation device such as a flashlamp 3. Typically, for the crystal compositions disclosed ~bove, the laser crystal must be cooled to cryogenic temperature to provide low laser-threshhold operation. Cryogenic cooling is typically provided by enclosing crystal 1 in a quartz or fused-silica jacket 4 through which li~uid nitrogen is circulated. Liquid nitrogen enters jacket 4 by means of an inlet pipe 5 and leaves by means of an outlet pipe 6. The laser cavity is formed by a high-reflectivity concave mirror 10 and a partial reflector 12.
Generally, the crystal is exci~ed by op~ical pumping which is, in turn, ~ccomplished by irradiating the crystal with light from a flashlamp 3. A flashlamp which is typically used with the inventive laser compositions is a high-pressure Xenon flashlamp. Lamp 3 may also be surrounded by a quartz flow tube ~not shown) through which coolant i 5 pumped.
-12~
Crystal 1 and flashlamp 3 are enclosed in a reflector 2 which concentrates ~he flashlamp energy into the laser crystal. To maximize energy transfer from lamp 3 to crystal 1, the inner surface of reflector ~ is coated with a materîal chosen to have high-reflectivity at the pumping wavelength of the laser crystal - illustratively, aluminum or silver.
In order to provide thermal insulation to prevent condensation on the system optics, it may be necessary to evacuate the interior of reflector 2 or to provide a vacuum ~acket around crystal 1.
The construction Qf cryogenic solid-state lasers is conventional and described in a variety of sources; accordingly such construction will not be discussed further in detail hereinr A more complete di~cussion of construction details of a typical cryogenic laser is set forth in an article entitled "TEMoo Mode Ho:YLF lasern, N.P. Barnes, D.J.
Get~emy, N.J. Levinos and J.E. Griggs, Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, Volume 190 - LASL Conference on Optics 1979, pp 297-304.
Figure 4 of the drawing is a plot of the illustrative pulse shape developed by a laser in the preferred group when used in the "material removal7 mode. Figure 4 shows light intensity along the vertical axis increasing in the downward direction versus time increasing towards the right. Although, as shown in Figure 4, the laser source has been adjusted to produce an output pulse of rela~ively long time duration~ most of the output energy is released within approximately 1 millisecond of the beginning of the pulse. I~ should also be noted,as illustrated in Figure 4 J that lasers in the preferred laser group exhibit a "spiking" phenomenon caused by internal relaxation-oscillations in the laser crystal~ The spiking behavior causes local increases in laser intensity ~hich have a large magnitude, but a very short time duration. Similar "spiking~ behavior has been found advantageous when lasers are used to drill metals and other materials for industrial purposes and it is believed that such "spiking" behavior enhances the laser u~efulness for biological material removal.
Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a laser/catheter system employing a solid state laser of the type shown in detail in Figure 3. More specifically, the infrared output energy of laser 21 is focused by a conventional focusiny lens onto the end of the optical fiber which is held in a conventional fiber optic connector 24. Fiber optic connector 24 is, in turn, connected to a tube 27 which houses a single optical fiber. Tube 27 is connected to a conventional two-lumen catheter 30 by means sf a bifurcation fitting 28.
3~
Illustratively, catheter 30 has two lumens passing axially therethrough to its distal end 34 so that an optical fiber can pass through one lumen and transmit laser energy from fiber optic connector 24 ~o lens tip 34~ As previously mentioned r the optical fiber which passes through ~he catheter is specially purified to reduce ~he hydroxyl ion concentra~ion to a 1QW levelt thus preventing the laser energy ~hich is transmitted down the fiber from being highly absorbed in the fiber material. A
fiber which is suitable for use with the illustrative embodiment is a fused-sili a optical fiber par~ no. 822W manufactured by the Spectran Corporation located in Sturbridge, Massachusetts.
Advantageously, the mirrors and lenses (10, 12 and 22) which are used to form the IR laser cavity and focus the output energy beam are generally only reflective to energy with a wavelength falling within a narrow ~avelength band and transparent to energy at o~her wavelengths. Consequently, the mirrors and lenses are transparent to visible light~ An aiming laser 29 (for example, a conventional helium-neon laser) which generates visible light may be placed in series with IR laser 21 to generate a visible ligh~ beam. This light beam may be used to align mirrors 10 and 12 and to adjust focussing lens 22 so ~hat the optical fiber system can be aligned prior to performing surgeryO
Also, the optical fibers used to transmit the IR
energy from laser 21 to the surgical area can also be used to transmit the visible light from the aiming laser 20 to the surgical area. Thus, when the inventive system i5 used in performing surgery where the surgical area is visible to the surgeon, the light produced by laser 20 passes through ~he optical fiber in catheter 30 and can be used to aim the probe tip before laser 21 is turned on to perform the actual operation.
The second lumen in catheter 30 is provided for transmission of a flushing fluid or to apply suction ~o the probe lens tip area to clear the area of blood during surgery. This latter lumen is connected through bifurcation fitting 28 to a second tube 29. Tube 29 may illustratively be terminated by a standard Luer-Lok fitting 26 which allows connection of the catheter to injectors and standard flow fittings. Solutions injected into the catheter through tube 29 pass through the lumen in catheter 30 and exit at the distal end via a small orifice 32.
Probe tip 34 consists of a lens arrangement which forms the laser energy lnto a beam 36 which is used to perform the surgical operations. An enlarged view of the probe tip is shown in Figures 6 and 7~
~75'~
~ o ensure th~t the distal end of optical fiber 18 is spaced and orie~te~ in a precise position with respect to the end of the probe, fiber 18 is mounted in a high-precision holder 58 which h2s a reduced diame~er end 64 that forms a shoulder 6B. Shoulder 68, as will hereinafter be described, is used to hold the probe tip assembly together. Holder 58 has a precision-formed axial bore made up of two sections, including a large-diameter section 60 and a narrow-diameter section 63. Holder 58 may be made of glass, ceramic or other material capable of being formed to specified dimensions with precise tolerances.
In order to attach holder 58 to the end of fiber 18, the fiber is first prepared as shown in Figure 7. More particularly, prior to insertion of fiber 18 into holder ~8, a portion of buffer sheath 51 is removed, exposing ~ length of optically-conductive core 65. Care is taken when stripping buffer sheath 61 from the fiber not to damage the layer of reflective claddîng 67 located on the surface of core 65. After stripping~ fiber 18 is inserted in~o holder 58 so that core 65 extends into the small-diameter bore 63 and sheath 61 extends into the large diameter bore 60. After fiber 18 has been inserted into holder 58, it may be fastened by epoxy cemen~ to permanently affix ~he components~ TQ
complete the assembly, the end of fiber 18 which protrudes beyond surface 62 of holder 58 may be finished flush with the surface by grinding the assembly or by carefully cleaving the fiber.
Referring ~o Figure 6, holder 58 (with fiber 18 fastened inside) is mounted within a glass tube 51 to shield the assembly. The front surface~ 62, of holder 58 is spaced from the inner surface 142 of planar lens 144, which may be comprised of glass or sapphire, by means of a spacing ring 154. Ring 154 may illustratively be made of radiopaque material so that the catheter tip can be located inside the patient by means of a fluoroscope.
Glass tubing 51 is bent over shoulder 68 of holder 58 to form a constricted end, 65, which holds the probe tip assembly together. A filler, 66, which may be made of a plastic such as TEFLON
(trademark of the DuPont corporation for polytetrafluoroethylene) fills the annular space between catheter body 30 and end 65 of glass tube 51. The outer diameter of the entire assembly from catheter body 30 to glass tube 51 is substantially the same, providing a smooth, uniform surface along the entire length of the catheter as indicated in Figure 6.
Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of a wire-guided, four-iber catheter for use with the r~
present invention. The laser system is set up as previously described with the infrared laser 21 constructed in accordance with the above disclosure. A vi~;ible helium-neon aiirling laser 20 may also be used in line with laser 21 for aiming purposes as discussed with the single fiber catheter. The output of the infrared laser 21 i5 directed towards a set or four mirrors 60-68 arranged at a 45 angle with respect to the axis of beam 14~
The first mirror, 60, has a 25% reflective surface and directs approximately 1/4 of the energy to focusing lens 70. The second mirror of the set, 62, is a 33~ reflector which directs 1/4 of the ~otal energy to focusing lens 72. Mirror 64 is a 50% reflector which directs 1/4 of the total laser output to focusing lens 74~ The last mirror in ~he set, mirror 68, is a 100% reflector which directs the remaining 1/4 of the total energy to focusing lens 78. Mirrors 60-68 and lenses 70-7B are conventional devices.
FOGUSing lenses 7Q-78 focus the output energy from IR laser 21 onto four fiber optic connectsrs ~80~88r Connectors 80-88 are connected, respectively, to tubes 93-96 which are all connectedt via a branch connector 102, to catheter lQ4. Each of tubes 90-96 con~ains a single optical 5~
fiber which transmits 1/4 of the total laser output energy thrcugh the catheter body to the catheter tip 108O An additional tube 98 is provided which is connected to branch fitting 102 ~nd to a conventional Luer-Lok connector, 100. This latter tube is connected to a central lumen in catheter body 104 through which flushing solutions may be injected or through whi~h a guide wire may be inserted through the catheter for purposes of guiding the catheter to the surgical area.
At catheter tip 108, the four optical fibers which pass through the catheter are arranged symmetrically so that the beams 110 overlap to illuminate a larger area. Tip 108 also has a hole on the center thereof, through which guidewire 112 can protrude to direct the catheter to the proper location.
Figures 9 and 10 show detailed views of the illustrative four-fiber catheter tip. The four optical fibers 42 and the inner shaft 40 which holds the fibers, are held in a fiber holder 50 which is preferably formed from a radiopaque material such as stainless steel or platinum~ FibPr holder 50 is cylindrical and is provided with a central aperture7 54, which communicates with a lumen 34 of approximately the same size that passes through the center of the catheter body 104. Fiber holder 50 i provided with a plurality ~f longitudinally ext~nding hole~ 56 w~lch ~t~nd th~ough h~ w~ll Q~
holder S0 and r~ceive, ~n a snug flt, the dlstal ends of the fib~r cores 42~ The dîstal face 5~ of the combined fiber cores 42 and holder 50 is polished flat to butt flush against optically transparent cap 52.
Cap 52 is cylindrical and has the sarne outer dianle~er as catheter body 104 so tha~ the two pieces define a smooth and csn~inuous diameter~ Cap 52 ~nay be formed of a transparent substance such as P~REX*
glass or sapphire and has an enlarged bore 62 extending in from its proximal endO Bore 62 terminates at its end to form internal shoulder 60.
A smallee diameter central aperture, 64, is formed in the distal end of cap 52 which aperture may have the same diameter as aperture 5~ in fiber holder 50 and lumen 34 in catheter body 104 to provide a smooth and continuous lumen which opens at the distal tip of the catheter. However, the aperture 64 in tip 52 may also be somewhat narrower than aperture 54 and lumen 34 as long as sufficient clearance is provided ~o accommodate a ~uidewire without adversely interfering with fluid 10w and pressure measurements.
Cap 52 is secured by an epoxy adhesive (placed on its inner surface 62) to the fiber holder 50 and * ~ tra~e mark of the Corni~g Glass Works.
I NFRARED LASER CATHETER SYSTEM
This invention rela~es to laser catheters and optical fiber systems for generating and transmitting energy to a surgical site in a living body for the purposes of tissue removal or repair.
While lasers have been used for many years for industrial purposes such as drilling and cutting materials, it is only recently that surgeons have begin to use lasers for surgical operations on living tissue. To this end, laser energy has been used to repair retinal tissue and to cauterize blood vessels in the stomach and colon.
In many surgical situations, it is desirable to transmit laser energy down an optical fiber to the sur~ical location. If this can be done, the optical fiber can be included in a catheter which can be inserted into the body through a small opening, thus reducing the surgical trauma associated with the operation. In addition, the catheter can often be maneuvered to surgical sites which are so restricted ~hat conven~ional scalpel surgery is difficult, if not impossible. For example, laser energy can be . ~,,.~
~ ~75~
used to remove atherosclerotic playue from the walls of the vasculature and ~o repair defects in small-diameter artery walls.
A problem has been encountered with laser surgery in that prior art lasers which have been used for industrial purposes often have characteristics which are not well suited to percutaneous laser surgery. For example, a laser which is conventionally used for scientific purposes is an excimer laser which is a gas laser that operates with a gas mixture such as Argon-Fluorine, Krypton-Fluorine or Xenon-Fluorine. Another common industrial laser is the carbon dioxide or CO2 laser.
Both the excimer laser and the CO2 laser have been used for surgical purposes with varying results. One problem with excimer lasers is that they produce output energy having a wavelength in the range 0.2-0.5 micrometers. Blood hemoglobin and proteins have a relatively high absorption of energy in this wavelength range and, thus, the output beam of an excimer laser has a very short absorption length in these materials (the absorption length is the distance in the materials over which the laser beam can travel before most of the energy is absorbed). Consequently, the surgical site in which these lasers are to be used must be cleared of blood ~5~
prior to ~he opera~ion~ otherwise most of the laser energy will be absorbed by intervening blood before it reaches the surgical area. While the removal of blood is possible if surgery is performed on an open area it is often difficult if surgery is to be performed via a catheter located in an artery or vein.
An additional problem with excimer lasers is that the output energy pulse developed by ~he laser is very shor~, typically about ten nanoseconds. In order to develop reasonable average power, pulses with extremely high peak power must be used. When an attempt is made to channel such a high peak power output into an optical fiber, ~he high peak power destroys the fiber. Thus, excimer lasers have a prac~ical power limit which is relatively low.
Consequently, when these lasers are used for biological tissue removal, the operation is slow and time consuming.
The C02 laser has other drawbacks. This laser generates output energy with a wavelength on the order of 10 micrometers. At this waveleng~h, the absorption of blood hemoglobin is negligible bu~
the absorption by water and tissue is relatively high. Scattering at this wavelength is also very 7 low. Although the C02 laser possesses favorable characteristics for surgical applications in that it ~ ~7~
has low scattering and high absorption in tissue J it suffers from the same drawback as excimer lasers in that the absorption length is relatlvely short due to the high abs~rption ~f the laser energy i~
water. Thus, the surgical area must be cleared of blood prior to the operation.
Unfortunately, the C02 laser also suffers from a serious additional problem. Due to the long wavelength, the output energy from the carbon dioxide laser cannot be presently transmitted down any optical fibers which are suitable for use in percutaneous surgery ~present fibers which can transmit energy from a C~ laser are either composed of toxic materials, are soluble in water or are not read~ly bendable, or possess a combination of the previous problems~ and) thus, the laser is only suitable ~or operations in which the laser energy can be either applied directly to the surgical area or applied by means of an optical system comprised of prisms or mirrors~
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a laser catheter system which uses laser energy of a waveiength that is strongly absorbed in water 9 in bodily tissues and atherosclerotic plaque.
t It is another object of the present invention to provide a laser catheter system which is capable of o providing laser energy that can be transmitted through existing silica-based optical fibersO
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a lase~ catheter system in which optical scattering is minimized and which has a medium-length absorption length to conf ine the energy to the area of interest.
It is yet another object of the present in~ention to provide an optical catheter system with a laser that can be opera~ed on either a pulsed mode or a continuous wave mode.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a laser catheter system which can be used for biological ma~erial removal and biological material repair.
The foregoing objects are achieved and the foregoing problems are solved in one illustrative embodiment of the invention in which a laser catheter system employs a laser source operating in the wavelength region of 1.4-2.2 micrometers.
Illustrative laser sources operating this region are Holmium-doped YAG, Holmium-doped YLF, Erbium-doped YAG, Erbium-doped YLF and Thulium-doped ~AG lasers.
In the inventive laser system, the above-noted lasers are used with a specially-treated silica fiber that has been purified to reduce the concentration of hydroxyl (OH-) ions~
7~L~
For biological tissue removal, the laser source may be operated in a pulsed mode with a relatively long pu152 of approximately 0.2-5 milliseconds at an energy level of approximately 1-2 j~ules per pulse.
With this time duration and energy level, the peak power of the laser pulse is approximately 1 kilowatt. This amount of power can easily be tolerated by the silica fiber, but is sufficient for rapid material removal. With a repetition rate in the range of l-10 hertz, the average power delivered to a surgical site by such a laser will be under lO
watts.
Alternatively, for biological tissue repair, the laser source can be operated in a low power continuous wave mode to repair, by coagulation, of tissue by a process similar to "spot weldingn.
Figure l shows a sketch of absorption of electromagnetic energy versus wavelength and electromagnetic energy scattering versu~ waveleng~h.
Figure 2 shows an absorp~ion versus wavelength plot for atherosclerotic plaque obtained in a carotid endarterectomy with the region of interest for the inventive laser sources (1.4-2.2 micrometers) outlined.
Figure 3 of the drawing is a schematic diagram of a typical solid state laser construction used in the inventive laser sources.
54~5~
Figure ~ of the drawing is a plot of laser output in-tensity versus time for a typical pulse shape developed by a laser shown in Figure 3 when used for tissue removal.
Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a laser catheter which employs a single optical fiber for transmitting laser energy to a surgical location.
Figure 6 of the drawing is an enlarged cross-section of -the probe tip of the single fiber catheter shown in Figure 5.
Figure 7 is an exploded view of a portion of the enlarged cross-section of the probe tip shown in Figure 6.
Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a wire-guided catheter which employs four optical fibers to increase the area which can be irradiated with the laser light.
Figure 9 of the drawing is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the probe tip of the catheter shown in Figure 8 showing the four optical fibers.
Figure 10 is an end view of the probe tip of the catheter in the direction 10-10 of Figure 9.
Figures 11, llA, llB and llC are schematic diagrams of the beam pattern produced by the four-fiber catheter at the surgical location.
The absorption and scattering characteristics versus output wavelength of a plurality of known laser systems are shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 has a logarithmic scale representing the absorption coefficient in units of cm 1 along the vertical ~7~5~1 axis and the incident energy wavelength in micrometers along the horizontal axis.
From Figure 1, it can be seen that excimer laser systems which utilize ~onventional gas mixtures, such as Argon-Fluorine, Krypton-Fluorine and Xenon-Fluorine, and Argon gas lasers produce output energy which falls in the 0~2-0.5 micrometer wavelength region~ In this region, the absorption of blood hemoglobin and proteins is very high.
Consequently, the absorption length is very short (about 5-10 microns~ and virtually no blood can be present between the fiber end and the surgical site during the operation. Thus, it is necessary to remove blood from the surgical area when these lasers are used for surgical purposes.
In addition~ for lasers such as Argon, the absorption of water reaches a minimum at 0.5 micrometers so that i~ is necessary to use a higher power laser than is desirable to achieve sufficient power in the surgical area for material cutting and removal. Also, due to the low absorption of the laser output in water and hemoglobin, ~he absorption length is very long (approxima~ely 1 mm). In additiont scattering for ~hese lasers is relatively high, causing difficulty in controlling the laser energy and a danger of ~issue damage outside the surgical area due to scattering of the laser energy.
; L/~
At the other e~d of the wavelength spectrum shown in Figure 1 are carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide lasers producing outputs ~t 5 and 10 micrometersO respectively. At these wavelengths scattering is negligible and absorp~ion by water and tissue is relatively high and thus both lasers have good surgical properties. Unfortunately, due to the high absorption of water, the absorption length is relatively short (about 20 microns). Further, silica-based optical fibers in present use which are suitable for percutaneous surgical use have a practical "cutoff" in transmission which occur approximately at 2O3 micrometers, and, thus, the output energy from carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide lasers cannot be transmitted through such an optical fiber.
In accordance with the invention, laser sources of interest are those that lie in the wavelength range of approximately 1.4-2.15 micrometers. As shown in Figure 1, in this range, the energy absorption of water is relatively high whereas optical scattering is relatively low. Illustrative lasers which are useful with the present invention comprise Erbium-doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (YAG) with a wavelength of 1.55 micrometers, Erbium-doped Yttrium Lithlum Fluoride (YLF) with a wavelength of 1~73 micrometers, Thulium-doped YAG with a ~ ~75~
wavelength of 1.88 micrometers, Holmium YLF with a wavelength of 2.06 micrometers and Holmium YA~ at a wavelength of 2~1 micrometers. The absorption of the laser energy produced by lasers in this latter group by water i5 moderately high and, consequently, the absorption by biological tissues of such energy will also be relatively high. However, the absorption by water is not as high as the absorption of C0 and C02 laser energy. Thus, the absorption length will be longer for the lasers operating in the 1.4-2.2 micron range. Typically, the absorption length in the body for these latter lasers is about 200 microns. Therefore, it is still possible to operate satisfactorily even with 10-30 microns of blood between the fiber end and the surgical site.
Of particular interest is the absorption of the laser energy by atherosclerotic plaque~ since an important use of laser catheter systems is angioplasty, particularly the clearing of blocked arteries. Figure 2 is a plot of the absorption by plaque of electromagnetic energy versus wavelength for energy in the wavelength range of 0.2-2.2 micrometers. As shown in Figure 2, the absorption by plaque of electromagnetic energy reaches a minimum in the 0.8-1 micrometer wavelength range and generally increases with increasing wavelength in the wavelength region of 1-202 micrometers.
5~3 In the wavelength range from 1.4-2.2 micrometers, the wavelength range produced by laser in the above-mentioned group, the absorption by plaque is at a relatively hi~h ~alue.
A schemat.ic diagram of a typical solid-state laser construction i5 shown in Figure 30 The laser assembly consists of a laser crystal 1 and an excitation device such as a flashlamp 3. Typically, for the crystal compositions disclosed ~bove, the laser crystal must be cooled to cryogenic temperature to provide low laser-threshhold operation. Cryogenic cooling is typically provided by enclosing crystal 1 in a quartz or fused-silica jacket 4 through which li~uid nitrogen is circulated. Liquid nitrogen enters jacket 4 by means of an inlet pipe 5 and leaves by means of an outlet pipe 6. The laser cavity is formed by a high-reflectivity concave mirror 10 and a partial reflector 12.
Generally, the crystal is exci~ed by op~ical pumping which is, in turn, ~ccomplished by irradiating the crystal with light from a flashlamp 3. A flashlamp which is typically used with the inventive laser compositions is a high-pressure Xenon flashlamp. Lamp 3 may also be surrounded by a quartz flow tube ~not shown) through which coolant i 5 pumped.
-12~
Crystal 1 and flashlamp 3 are enclosed in a reflector 2 which concentrates ~he flashlamp energy into the laser crystal. To maximize energy transfer from lamp 3 to crystal 1, the inner surface of reflector ~ is coated with a materîal chosen to have high-reflectivity at the pumping wavelength of the laser crystal - illustratively, aluminum or silver.
In order to provide thermal insulation to prevent condensation on the system optics, it may be necessary to evacuate the interior of reflector 2 or to provide a vacuum ~acket around crystal 1.
The construction Qf cryogenic solid-state lasers is conventional and described in a variety of sources; accordingly such construction will not be discussed further in detail hereinr A more complete di~cussion of construction details of a typical cryogenic laser is set forth in an article entitled "TEMoo Mode Ho:YLF lasern, N.P. Barnes, D.J.
Get~emy, N.J. Levinos and J.E. Griggs, Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, Volume 190 - LASL Conference on Optics 1979, pp 297-304.
Figure 4 of the drawing is a plot of the illustrative pulse shape developed by a laser in the preferred group when used in the "material removal7 mode. Figure 4 shows light intensity along the vertical axis increasing in the downward direction versus time increasing towards the right. Although, as shown in Figure 4, the laser source has been adjusted to produce an output pulse of rela~ively long time duration~ most of the output energy is released within approximately 1 millisecond of the beginning of the pulse. I~ should also be noted,as illustrated in Figure 4 J that lasers in the preferred laser group exhibit a "spiking" phenomenon caused by internal relaxation-oscillations in the laser crystal~ The spiking behavior causes local increases in laser intensity ~hich have a large magnitude, but a very short time duration. Similar "spiking~ behavior has been found advantageous when lasers are used to drill metals and other materials for industrial purposes and it is believed that such "spiking" behavior enhances the laser u~efulness for biological material removal.
Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a laser/catheter system employing a solid state laser of the type shown in detail in Figure 3. More specifically, the infrared output energy of laser 21 is focused by a conventional focusiny lens onto the end of the optical fiber which is held in a conventional fiber optic connector 24. Fiber optic connector 24 is, in turn, connected to a tube 27 which houses a single optical fiber. Tube 27 is connected to a conventional two-lumen catheter 30 by means sf a bifurcation fitting 28.
3~
Illustratively, catheter 30 has two lumens passing axially therethrough to its distal end 34 so that an optical fiber can pass through one lumen and transmit laser energy from fiber optic connector 24 ~o lens tip 34~ As previously mentioned r the optical fiber which passes through ~he catheter is specially purified to reduce ~he hydroxyl ion concentra~ion to a 1QW levelt thus preventing the laser energy ~hich is transmitted down the fiber from being highly absorbed in the fiber material. A
fiber which is suitable for use with the illustrative embodiment is a fused-sili a optical fiber par~ no. 822W manufactured by the Spectran Corporation located in Sturbridge, Massachusetts.
Advantageously, the mirrors and lenses (10, 12 and 22) which are used to form the IR laser cavity and focus the output energy beam are generally only reflective to energy with a wavelength falling within a narrow ~avelength band and transparent to energy at o~her wavelengths. Consequently, the mirrors and lenses are transparent to visible light~ An aiming laser 29 (for example, a conventional helium-neon laser) which generates visible light may be placed in series with IR laser 21 to generate a visible ligh~ beam. This light beam may be used to align mirrors 10 and 12 and to adjust focussing lens 22 so ~hat the optical fiber system can be aligned prior to performing surgeryO
Also, the optical fibers used to transmit the IR
energy from laser 21 to the surgical area can also be used to transmit the visible light from the aiming laser 20 to the surgical area. Thus, when the inventive system i5 used in performing surgery where the surgical area is visible to the surgeon, the light produced by laser 20 passes through ~he optical fiber in catheter 30 and can be used to aim the probe tip before laser 21 is turned on to perform the actual operation.
The second lumen in catheter 30 is provided for transmission of a flushing fluid or to apply suction ~o the probe lens tip area to clear the area of blood during surgery. This latter lumen is connected through bifurcation fitting 28 to a second tube 29. Tube 29 may illustratively be terminated by a standard Luer-Lok fitting 26 which allows connection of the catheter to injectors and standard flow fittings. Solutions injected into the catheter through tube 29 pass through the lumen in catheter 30 and exit at the distal end via a small orifice 32.
Probe tip 34 consists of a lens arrangement which forms the laser energy lnto a beam 36 which is used to perform the surgical operations. An enlarged view of the probe tip is shown in Figures 6 and 7~
~75'~
~ o ensure th~t the distal end of optical fiber 18 is spaced and orie~te~ in a precise position with respect to the end of the probe, fiber 18 is mounted in a high-precision holder 58 which h2s a reduced diame~er end 64 that forms a shoulder 6B. Shoulder 68, as will hereinafter be described, is used to hold the probe tip assembly together. Holder 58 has a precision-formed axial bore made up of two sections, including a large-diameter section 60 and a narrow-diameter section 63. Holder 58 may be made of glass, ceramic or other material capable of being formed to specified dimensions with precise tolerances.
In order to attach holder 58 to the end of fiber 18, the fiber is first prepared as shown in Figure 7. More particularly, prior to insertion of fiber 18 into holder ~8, a portion of buffer sheath 51 is removed, exposing ~ length of optically-conductive core 65. Care is taken when stripping buffer sheath 61 from the fiber not to damage the layer of reflective claddîng 67 located on the surface of core 65. After stripping~ fiber 18 is inserted in~o holder 58 so that core 65 extends into the small-diameter bore 63 and sheath 61 extends into the large diameter bore 60. After fiber 18 has been inserted into holder 58, it may be fastened by epoxy cemen~ to permanently affix ~he components~ TQ
complete the assembly, the end of fiber 18 which protrudes beyond surface 62 of holder 58 may be finished flush with the surface by grinding the assembly or by carefully cleaving the fiber.
Referring ~o Figure 6, holder 58 (with fiber 18 fastened inside) is mounted within a glass tube 51 to shield the assembly. The front surface~ 62, of holder 58 is spaced from the inner surface 142 of planar lens 144, which may be comprised of glass or sapphire, by means of a spacing ring 154. Ring 154 may illustratively be made of radiopaque material so that the catheter tip can be located inside the patient by means of a fluoroscope.
Glass tubing 51 is bent over shoulder 68 of holder 58 to form a constricted end, 65, which holds the probe tip assembly together. A filler, 66, which may be made of a plastic such as TEFLON
(trademark of the DuPont corporation for polytetrafluoroethylene) fills the annular space between catheter body 30 and end 65 of glass tube 51. The outer diameter of the entire assembly from catheter body 30 to glass tube 51 is substantially the same, providing a smooth, uniform surface along the entire length of the catheter as indicated in Figure 6.
Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of a wire-guided, four-iber catheter for use with the r~
present invention. The laser system is set up as previously described with the infrared laser 21 constructed in accordance with the above disclosure. A vi~;ible helium-neon aiirling laser 20 may also be used in line with laser 21 for aiming purposes as discussed with the single fiber catheter. The output of the infrared laser 21 i5 directed towards a set or four mirrors 60-68 arranged at a 45 angle with respect to the axis of beam 14~
The first mirror, 60, has a 25% reflective surface and directs approximately 1/4 of the energy to focusing lens 70. The second mirror of the set, 62, is a 33~ reflector which directs 1/4 of the ~otal energy to focusing lens 72. Mirror 64 is a 50% reflector which directs 1/4 of the total laser output to focusing lens 74~ The last mirror in ~he set, mirror 68, is a 100% reflector which directs the remaining 1/4 of the total energy to focusing lens 78. Mirrors 60-68 and lenses 70-7B are conventional devices.
FOGUSing lenses 7Q-78 focus the output energy from IR laser 21 onto four fiber optic connectsrs ~80~88r Connectors 80-88 are connected, respectively, to tubes 93-96 which are all connectedt via a branch connector 102, to catheter lQ4. Each of tubes 90-96 con~ains a single optical 5~
fiber which transmits 1/4 of the total laser output energy thrcugh the catheter body to the catheter tip 108O An additional tube 98 is provided which is connected to branch fitting 102 ~nd to a conventional Luer-Lok connector, 100. This latter tube is connected to a central lumen in catheter body 104 through which flushing solutions may be injected or through whi~h a guide wire may be inserted through the catheter for purposes of guiding the catheter to the surgical area.
At catheter tip 108, the four optical fibers which pass through the catheter are arranged symmetrically so that the beams 110 overlap to illuminate a larger area. Tip 108 also has a hole on the center thereof, through which guidewire 112 can protrude to direct the catheter to the proper location.
Figures 9 and 10 show detailed views of the illustrative four-fiber catheter tip. The four optical fibers 42 and the inner shaft 40 which holds the fibers, are held in a fiber holder 50 which is preferably formed from a radiopaque material such as stainless steel or platinum~ FibPr holder 50 is cylindrical and is provided with a central aperture7 54, which communicates with a lumen 34 of approximately the same size that passes through the center of the catheter body 104. Fiber holder 50 i provided with a plurality ~f longitudinally ext~nding hole~ 56 w~lch ~t~nd th~ough h~ w~ll Q~
holder S0 and r~ceive, ~n a snug flt, the dlstal ends of the fib~r cores 42~ The dîstal face 5~ of the combined fiber cores 42 and holder 50 is polished flat to butt flush against optically transparent cap 52.
Cap 52 is cylindrical and has the sarne outer dianle~er as catheter body 104 so tha~ the two pieces define a smooth and csn~inuous diameter~ Cap 52 ~nay be formed of a transparent substance such as P~REX*
glass or sapphire and has an enlarged bore 62 extending in from its proximal endO Bore 62 terminates at its end to form internal shoulder 60.
A smallee diameter central aperture, 64, is formed in the distal end of cap 52 which aperture may have the same diameter as aperture 5~ in fiber holder 50 and lumen 34 in catheter body 104 to provide a smooth and continuous lumen which opens at the distal tip of the catheter. However, the aperture 64 in tip 52 may also be somewhat narrower than aperture 54 and lumen 34 as long as sufficient clearance is provided ~o accommodate a ~uidewire without adversely interfering with fluid 10w and pressure measurements.
Cap 52 is secured by an epoxy adhesive (placed on its inner surface 62) to the fiber holder 50 and * ~ tra~e mark of the Corni~g Glass Works.
2] -also to the portion of the inner shaf-t 40 and fibers 42 which are disposed within -the proximal end of the cap 52. The distal end of the catheter body 104 is heat shrunk around the inner shaft 40 and fibers 42 to provide a smooth transition from cap 52 to catheter body 104.
More complete construction details of a four-fiber catheter sultable for use with the illus--trative embodiment are given in co-pending Canadian patent application entitled "Wire Guided Laser Catheter", Serial No. 551,9~0, filed on November i6, 1986 by Stephen J. Herman, Laurence A. Roth, Edward L. Sinofsky and Douglas W. Dickinson, Jr.
Figure 11 illustrates the output beam pat-tern deve]oped by a four-fiber catheter, such as that described above, in which the four fibers are arranged in two diametrically opposed pairs. The beam pattern from each of the four fiber ends is defined by a cone formed by -the ray lines 70 in Figure 11. The beam from each individual fiber 42 is emitted from the distal face of the fiber 42 and enters the distal segment 72 of cap 52 through the face defining the shoulder 60. The beam from each fiber is divergent and, in the illustrative embodiment, may have a half-angle in the range of 6-16, depending on the numeri-cal aperture of the fibers which are used to construct the catheter.
~ ~ ~5'~
The diverging bea~ from each of the fibers 42 exits from the distal emission face 74 at the end of cap 52. Figures 11~, llB and llC illustrate the overall beam pattern (in cross-~ection) which is formed by the output of the four fibers as seen along image planes llA, llB and llC in Figure 11.
At plane llA, which is located at the emission face 74 of cap 52, the four beams in the illustrative embodiment are still separate. At plane llB, the diverging beams have spread further and have begun to overlap. At the plane indicated as llC, the beams have overlapped and define an envelop 73 having an outer diameter which is slightly greater than the outer diameter o the catheter body 104.
Preferably, at plane llC, beams 70 will have overlapped to merge and cover a continuous pattern.
Illustratively, such a merger will have occurred within a distance from the distal face 74 of tip 52 which is approximately equal to the outer diame~er sf catheter 104 (a typical diameter is 1.5 millimeters~.
More complete construction details of a four-fiber catheter sultable for use with the illus--trative embodiment are given in co-pending Canadian patent application entitled "Wire Guided Laser Catheter", Serial No. 551,9~0, filed on November i6, 1986 by Stephen J. Herman, Laurence A. Roth, Edward L. Sinofsky and Douglas W. Dickinson, Jr.
Figure 11 illustrates the output beam pat-tern deve]oped by a four-fiber catheter, such as that described above, in which the four fibers are arranged in two diametrically opposed pairs. The beam pattern from each of the four fiber ends is defined by a cone formed by -the ray lines 70 in Figure 11. The beam from each individual fiber 42 is emitted from the distal face of the fiber 42 and enters the distal segment 72 of cap 52 through the face defining the shoulder 60. The beam from each fiber is divergent and, in the illustrative embodiment, may have a half-angle in the range of 6-16, depending on the numeri-cal aperture of the fibers which are used to construct the catheter.
~ ~ ~5'~
The diverging bea~ from each of the fibers 42 exits from the distal emission face 74 at the end of cap 52. Figures 11~, llB and llC illustrate the overall beam pattern (in cross-~ection) which is formed by the output of the four fibers as seen along image planes llA, llB and llC in Figure 11.
At plane llA, which is located at the emission face 74 of cap 52, the four beams in the illustrative embodiment are still separate. At plane llB, the diverging beams have spread further and have begun to overlap. At the plane indicated as llC, the beams have overlapped and define an envelop 73 having an outer diameter which is slightly greater than the outer diameter o the catheter body 104.
Preferably, at plane llC, beams 70 will have overlapped to merge and cover a continuous pattern.
Illustratively, such a merger will have occurred within a distance from the distal face 74 of tip 52 which is approximately equal to the outer diame~er sf catheter 104 (a typical diameter is 1.5 millimeters~.
Claims (78)
1. A system for the surgical removal of biological material comprising, a laser energy source operating with an output wavelength in the range of 1.4-2.2 micrometers, an optical fiber, means for directing the output of said laser source to the proximal end of said optical fiber, and means attached to the distal end of the optical fiber for directing laser energy propagating down said fiber to a surgical site.
2. A system for the removal of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 1 wherein said optical fiber comprises a silica fiber purified to reduce the hydroxyl ion content as low as possible.
3. A system for the removal of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 1 wherein said laser source comprises a Holmium-doped Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet laser.
4. A system for the removal of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 1 wherein said laser source comprises an Erbium-doped Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet laser.
5. A system for the removal of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 1 wherein said laser source comprises a Holmium-doped Yttrium-Lithium-Fluoride laser.
6. A system for the removal of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 1 wherein said laser source comprises an Erbium-doped Yttrium-Lithium-Fluoride laser.
7. A system for the removal of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 1 wherein said laser source comprises a Thulium-doped Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet laser.
8. A system for the removal of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 1 wherein said laser source is operated in a pulsed-mode.
9. A system for the removal of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 8 wherein said laser source is operated in a pulsed-mode with a pulse width substantially equal to 1 millisecond.
10. A system for the removal of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 1 further comprising an aiming laser source generating visible light output and means for directing said visible light output through said laser source and said optical fiber to align said laser and said fiber and to visually illuminate said surgical site.
11. A system for the surgical repair of biological material comprising, a laser energy source operating in a continuous wave mode with an output wavelength in the range of 1.4-2.2 micrometers, an optical fiber, means for directing the output of said laser source to the proximal end of said optical fiber, and means attached to the distal end of the optical fiber for directing laser energy propagating down said fiber to a surgical site.
12. A system for the repair of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 11 wherein said optical fiber comprises a silica fiber purified to reduce the hydroxyl ion content as low as possible.
13. A system for the repair of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 11 wherein said laser source comprises a Holmium-doped Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet laser.
14. A system for the repair of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 11 wherein said laser source comprises an Erbium-doped Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet laser.
15. A system for the repair of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 11 wherein said laser source comprises a Holmium-doped Yttrium-Lithium-Fluoride laser.
16. A system for the repair of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 11 wherein said laser source comprises an Erbium-doped Yttrium-Lithium-Fluoride laser.
17. A system for the repair of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 11 wherein said laser source comprises a Thulium-doped Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet laser.
18. A system for performing surgical operations on biological material comprising, a laser energy source operating with an output wavelength in the range of 1.4-2.2 micrometers, a catheter having at least one lumen passing therethrough, at least one optical fiber comprised of silica passing through said catheter lumen, a focussing lens for directing the output of said laser source onto the proximal end of said optical fiber, and a lens attached to the distal end of the optical fiber for directing laser energy propagating down said fiber to a surgical site.
19. A system for performing surgical operations on biological tissue in accordance with Claim 18 further comprising a fiber optic connector affixed to the proximal end of said fiber for holding said fiber.
20. A system for performing surgical operations on biological tissue in accordance with Claim 18 wherein said catheter has an additional lumen passing therethrough, said additional lumen having an opening at the proximal and distal ends for communicating with said surgical site.
21. A system for performing surgical operations on biological tissue in accordance with Claim 18 wherein said optical fiber comprises a silica fiber purified to reduce the hydroxyl ion content as low as possible.
22. A system for perorming surgical operations on biological tissue in accordance with Claim 18 wherein said laser source comprises a Holmium-doped Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet laser.
23. A system for performing surgical operations on biological tissue in accordance with Claim 18 wherein said laser source comprises an Erbium-doped Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet laser.
24. A system for performing surgical operations on biological tissue in accordance with Claim 18 wherein said laser source comprises a Holmium-doped Yttrium-Lithium-Fluoride laser.
25. A system for performing surgical operations on biological tissue in accordance with Claim 18 wherein said laser source comprises an Erbium-doped Yttrium-Lithium-Fluoride laser.
26. A system for performing surgical operations on biological tissue in accordance with Claim 18 wherein said laser source comprises a Thulium-doped Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet laser.
27. A system for performing surgical operations on biological tissue in accordance with Claim 18 wherein said laser source is operated in a pulsed-mode.
28. A system for performing surgical operations on biological tissue in accordance with Claim 27 wherein said laser source is operated in a pulsed-mode with a pulse width substantially equal to 1 millisecond.
29. A system for performing surgical operations on biological tissue in accordance with Claim 18 further comprising an aiming laser source generating visible light output and means for directing said visible light output through said laser source and said optical fiber to align said laser and said fiber and to visually illuminate said surgical site.
30. A system for the surgical repair of biological material comprising, a laser energy source operating in a continuous wave mode and generating an output beam with a wavelength in the range of 1.4-2.2 micrometers, a plurality of optical fibers, a plurality of partially reflective mirrors 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 said optical fibers, and a plurality of focussing lenses positioned between said mirrors and the proximal ends of said fibers for focussing portions of said laser output to the proximal ends of said fibers, and means attached to the distal end of the optical fiber for directing laser energy propagating down said fibers to a surgical site, said directing means holding said fibers in a fixed position relative to one another so that optical beams emanating from the distal ends of said fibers overlap to cover an area at least equal to the diameter of said catheter.
31. A system for the repair of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 30 wherein at least some of said optical fibers comprise silica fibers purified to reduce the hydroxyl ion content as low as possible.
32. A system for the repair of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 30 wherein said laser source comprises a Holmium-doped Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet laser.
33. A system for the repair of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 30 wherein said laser source comprises an Erbium-doped Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet laser.
34. A system for the repair of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 30 wherein said laser source comprises a Holmium-doped Yttrium-Lithium-Fluoride laser.
35. A system for the repair of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 30 wherein said laser source comprises an Erbium-doped Yttrium-Lithium-Fluoride laser.
36. A system for the repair of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 30 wherein said laser source comprises a Thulium-doped Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet laser.
37. A system for the repair of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 30 further comprising a fiber optic connector affixed to the proximal ends of each of said fibers for holding said fibers.
38. A system for the repair of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 30 wherein said catheter has an additional lumen passing therethrough, said additional lumen having an opening at the proximal and distal ends for communicating with said surgical site.
39. A system for the repair of biological tissue in accordance with Claim 33 wherein said laser source is operated in a low-power continuous mode.
40. A system for performing surgical operations on biological tissue in accordance with Claim 30 further comprising an aiming laser source generating visible light output and means for directing said visible light output through said laser source and said optical fiber to align said laser and said fiber and to visually illuminate said surgical site.
41. A system for the removal of atherosclerotic plaque comprising:
a laser energy source operating in a pulsed mode with an output wavelength in the range of 1.4-2.2 micrometers, said laser energy source operating at an energy level of at least about 1 joule per pulse for a plaque target of the order of 1.5 millimeters in diameter;
an optical fiber for conducting laser energy from said laser energy source from a proximal end of said fiber to a plaque target at a distal end thereof;
and means for directing an output of said laser source to the proximal end of said optical fiber.
a laser energy source operating in a pulsed mode with an output wavelength in the range of 1.4-2.2 micrometers, said laser energy source operating at an energy level of at least about 1 joule per pulse for a plaque target of the order of 1.5 millimeters in diameter;
an optical fiber for conducting laser energy from said laser energy source from a proximal end of said fiber to a plaque target at a distal end thereof;
and means for directing an output of said laser source to the proximal end of said optical fiber.
42. A system in accordance with claim 41, wherein said optical fiber comprises a silica fiber purified to reduce the hydroxyl ion content as low as possible.
43. A system in accordance with claim 41, wherein said laser source comprises a Holmium-doped Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet laser.
44. A system in accordance with claim 41, wherein said laser source comprises an Erbium-doped Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet laser.
45. A system in accordance with claim 41, wherein said laser source comprises a Holmium-doped Yttrium-Lithium-Fluoride laser.
46. A system in accordance with claim 41, wherein said laser source comprises an Erbium-doped Yttrium-Lithium-Fluoride laser.
47. A system in accordance with claim 41, wherein said laser source comprises a Thulium-doped Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet laser.
48. A system in accordance with claim 41, wherein said laser energy source is operated at a repetition rate in the range of from about 1 to about 10 pulses per second.
49. A system in accordance with claim 41, wherein said laser source is operated with a pulse width substantially equal to 1 millisecond.
50. A system in accordance with claim 41, further comprising an aiming laser source generating visible light output and means for directing said visible light output through said laser source and said optical fiber to align said laser and said fiber and to visually illuminate said plaque target.
51. A system for the removal of atherosclerotic plaque comprising:
a laser energy source operating in a pulsed mode with an output wavelength in the range of 1.4-2.2 micrometers, said laser energy source operating at an energy level of at least about 1 joule per pulse for a plaque target of the order of 1.5 millimeters in diameter;
a catheter having at least one lumen passing therethrough;
at least one optical fiber comprised of silica passing through said catheter lumen, said silica fiber being purified to reduce the hydroxyl ion con-tent as low as possible;
a focusing lens for directing the output of said laser source onto the proximal end of said optical fiber; and a lens attached to the distal end of the optical fiber for directing laser energy propagating down said fiber to a plaque target.
a laser energy source operating in a pulsed mode with an output wavelength in the range of 1.4-2.2 micrometers, said laser energy source operating at an energy level of at least about 1 joule per pulse for a plaque target of the order of 1.5 millimeters in diameter;
a catheter having at least one lumen passing therethrough;
at least one optical fiber comprised of silica passing through said catheter lumen, said silica fiber being purified to reduce the hydroxyl ion con-tent as low as possible;
a focusing lens for directing the output of said laser source onto the proximal end of said optical fiber; and a lens attached to the distal end of the optical fiber for directing laser energy propagating down said fiber to a plaque target.
52. A system in accordance with claim 51, further comprising a fiber optic connector affixed to the proximal end of said fiber for holding said fiber.
53. A system in accordance with claim 51, wherein said catheter has an additional lumen passing there-through, said additional lumen having an opening at the proximal and distal ends for communicating with said plaque target.
54. A system in accordance with claim 51, wherein said optical fiber comprises a silica fiber purified to reduce the hydroxyl ion content as low as possible.
55. A system in accordance with claim 51, wherein said laser source comprises a Holmium-doped Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet laser.
56. A system in accordance with claim 51, wherein said laser source comprises an Erbium-doped Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet laser.
57. A system in accordance with claim 51, wherein said laser source comprises a Holmium-doped Yttrium-Lithium-Fluoride laser.
58. A system for performing surgical operations on biological tissue in accordance with claim 51, wherein said laser source comprises an Erbium-doped Yttrium-Lithium-Fluoride laser.
59. A system in accordance with claim 51, wherein said laser source comprises a Thulium-doped Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet laser.
60. A system in accordance with claim 51, wherein said laser source is operated in a pulsed-mode.
61. A system in accordance with claim 60, wherein said laser source is operated in a pulsed-mode with a pulse width substantially equal to 1 millisecond.
62. A system in accordance with claim 51, further comprising an aiming laser source generating visible light output and means for directing said visible light output and means for directing said visible light output through said laser source and said optical fiber to align said laser and said fiber and to visually illuminate said plaque target.
63. A system in accordance with claim 41, wherein the plaque target is accessed percutaneously.
64. A system in accordance with claim 51, wherein said laser source is operated with a pulse width of the order of 1 millisecond.
65. A system in accordance with claim 51, wherein the plaque target is accessed percutaneously.
66. A system in accordance with claim 51, wherein said laser energy source is operated at a repetition rate in the range of from about 1 to about 10 pulses per second.
67. A system for the removal of atherosclerotic plaque comprising:
a Holmium-doped laser energy source operating in a pulsed mode with an output wavelength in the range of from about 2.06-2.1 micrometers, said laser energy source operating at an energy level of at least about 1 joule per pulse for a plaque target of the order of 1.5 millimeters in diameter;
an optical fiber for conducting laser energy from said laser energy source from a proximal end of said fiber to a plaque targeted at a distal end there-of; and means for directing an output of said laser source to the proximal end of said optical fiber.
a Holmium-doped laser energy source operating in a pulsed mode with an output wavelength in the range of from about 2.06-2.1 micrometers, said laser energy source operating at an energy level of at least about 1 joule per pulse for a plaque target of the order of 1.5 millimeters in diameter;
an optical fiber for conducting laser energy from said laser energy source from a proximal end of said fiber to a plaque targeted at a distal end there-of; and means for directing an output of said laser source to the proximal end of said optical fiber.
68. A system in accordance with claim 67, wherein said laser is operated with a pulse width of the order of 1 millisecond.
69. A system in accordance with claim 67, wherein said laser energy source is operated at a repetition rate in the range of from about 1 to about 10 pulses per second.
70. A system in accordance with claim 67, wherein the plaque target is accessed percutaneously.
71. A system for the percutaneous removal of atherosclerotic plaque comprising:
a laser energy source operating in a pulsed mode with an output wavelength in the range of about 1.4-2.2 micrometers, said laser energy source operating at an energy level sufficient to ablate atherosclerotic plaque;
an optical fiber for conducting laser energy from said laser energy source from a proximal end of said fiber to a plaque target at a distal end thereof;
and means for directing the output of said laser energy source to the proximal end of said optical fiber.
a laser energy source operating in a pulsed mode with an output wavelength in the range of about 1.4-2.2 micrometers, said laser energy source operating at an energy level sufficient to ablate atherosclerotic plaque;
an optical fiber for conducting laser energy from said laser energy source from a proximal end of said fiber to a plaque target at a distal end thereof;
and means for directing the output of said laser energy source to the proximal end of said optical fiber.
72. A system for the removal of a-therosclerotic plaque in accordance with claim 71, wherein said laser energy source is operated with a pulse width of the order of 1 millisecond.
73. A system for the removal of atherosclerotic plaque in accordance with claim 71, wherein said laser energy source is operated at a repetition rate in the range of from about 1 to about 10 pulses per second.
74. A system for the removal of atherosclerotic plaque in accordance with claim 71, wherein said optical fiber comprises a silica fiber purified to reduce the hydroxyl ion content as low as possible.
75. A system for the removal of atherosclerotic plaque comprising:
a laser energy source operating in a pulsed mode with an output wavelength in the range of about 1.4-2.2 micrometers, said laser energy source operating at an energy level of at least about .057 joules per square millimeter per pulse;
an optical fiber for conducting laser energy from said laser energy source from a proximal end of said fiber to a plaque target at a distal end thereof;
and means for directing the output of said laser energy source to the proximal end of said optical fiber.
a laser energy source operating in a pulsed mode with an output wavelength in the range of about 1.4-2.2 micrometers, said laser energy source operating at an energy level of at least about .057 joules per square millimeter per pulse;
an optical fiber for conducting laser energy from said laser energy source from a proximal end of said fiber to a plaque target at a distal end thereof;
and means for directing the output of said laser energy source to the proximal end of said optical fiber.
76. A system for the removal of atherosclerotic plaque in accordance with claim 75, wherein said laser energy source is operated with a pulse width of the order of 1 millisecond.
77. A system for the removal of atherosclerotic plaque in accordance with claim 75, wherein said laser energy source is operated at a repetition rate in the range of from about 1 to about 10 pulses per second.
78. A system for the removal of atherosclerotic plaque in accordance with claim 75, wherein said optical fiber comprises a silica fiber purified to reduce the hydroxyl ion content as low as possible.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US76118885A | 1985-07-31 | 1985-07-31 | |
| US761,188 | 1985-07-31 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1275450C true CA1275450C (en) | 1990-10-23 |
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ID=25061440
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000514972A Expired - Fee Related CA1275450C (en) | 1985-07-31 | 1986-07-30 | Infrared laser catheter system |
Country Status (7)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (2) | US5843073A (en) |
| EP (1) | EP0214712B1 (en) |
| JP (1) | JPS6234553A (en) |
| AU (1) | AU623117B2 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1275450C (en) |
| DE (1) | DE3686621T2 (en) |
| ES (3) | ES8900225A1 (en) |
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1986
- 1986-05-27 DE DE8686303982T patent/DE3686621T2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1986-05-27 EP EP86303982A patent/EP0214712B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1986-06-19 ES ES556296A patent/ES8900225A1/en not_active Expired
- 1986-06-27 JP JP61151291A patent/JPS6234553A/en active Pending
- 1986-07-30 CA CA000514972A patent/CA1275450C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
1988
- 1988-04-15 ES ES557830A patent/ES8900034A1/en not_active Expired
- 1988-04-15 ES ES557831A patent/ES8900035A1/en not_active Expired
-
1989
- 1989-03-20 AU AU31513/89A patent/AU623117B2/en not_active Ceased
-
1995
- 1995-03-29 US US08/411,581 patent/US5843073A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
1998
- 1998-11-30 US US09/201,072 patent/US6547780B1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| ES8900034A1 (en) | 1988-11-16 |
| DE3686621D1 (en) | 1992-10-08 |
| ES557831A0 (en) | 1988-11-16 |
| EP0214712A1 (en) | 1987-03-18 |
| ES557830A0 (en) | 1988-11-16 |
| ES8900225A1 (en) | 1989-04-01 |
| ES556296A0 (en) | 1989-04-01 |
| AU623117B2 (en) | 1992-05-07 |
| EP0214712B1 (en) | 1992-09-02 |
| US6547780B1 (en) | 2003-04-15 |
| AU3151389A (en) | 1990-11-08 |
| US5843073A (en) | 1998-12-01 |
| ES8900035A1 (en) | 1988-11-16 |
| DE3686621T2 (en) | 1993-02-25 |
| JPS6234553A (en) | 1987-02-14 |
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| MKLA | Lapsed |