Ball-tipped fibers for laser angioplasty with the pulsed-dye laser

Author

Prince, Martin R. ; LaMuraglia, Glenn M. ; Seidlitz, Christine E. ; Prahl, Scott A. ; Athanasoulis, Christos A. ; Birngruber, Reginald

Author_Institution

Wellman Labs. of Photomed., Massachusetts Gen. Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

Volume

26

Issue

12

fYear

1990

fDate

12/1/1990 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

2297

Lastpage

2304

Abstract

A method of introducing high-intensity laser radiation into arteries has been developed and tested in amputated human limbs. The device consists of a small-diameter, flexible, quartz optical fiber which tapers to a large-diameter, smooth, rounded-ball tip. The small-ball tip minimizes the chance of mechanical dissection or perforation of the vessel wall. The spot size can be varied over a large range by varying the fiber input coupling, taper length, and numerical aperture. With 480-nm radiation, which is preferentially absorbed by atherosclerotic plaque and thrombus, at 80 μs pulse durations, the device effectively recanalized occluded human peripheral arteries creating a 2-3-mm diameter channel

Keywords

biomedical equipment; cardiology; fibre optics; laser applications in medicine; surgery; 480 nm; 8 mus; amputated human limbs; atherosclerotic plaque; ball tipped fibers; channel; fiber input coupling; high-intensity laser radiation; large diameter smooth rounded ball tip; laser angioplasty; mechanical dissection; numerical aperture; occluded human peripheral arteries; perforation; pulsed-dye laser; small diameter flexible quartz optical fiber; spot size; taper length; thrombus; vessel wall; Angioplasty; Arteries; Fiber lasers; Hospitals; Laboratories; Laser ablation; Optical fiber devices; Optical fibers; Optical pulses; Surgery;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9197

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/3.64368

Filename

64368