JPS59121007A - Optical fiber device for infrared laser treating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make operation easy and to make a titled device applicable to a part where the operation is hardly performed by providing a function for cooling a fiber for conducting an IR laser of itself and a function for conducting or condensing the guide light indicating the converging point of the IR laser and providing flexibility over the entire part. CONSTITUTION:IR laser light 28 and He-Ne laser light 25 which is guide light are converged by a condenser lens 9 to propagate in a core 10, and are converged by a condenser lens 27 so as to be irradiated to the affected part, by which said part is treated. The air fed into an outside cylinder 22 passes the flow passage between a protective tube 20 and an outside covering material 21 and is ejected from the clearance between the lens 27 and a ring 26 to protect the surface of the lens 27 against contaminant and to cool the side face of the core 10 by passing the clearance between the core 10 and a holding member 11'. The cooling air entering a ring 8 is discharged through a discharging hole 23 and a filter 25.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to an optical fiber device for an infrared laser treatment device.

[Background technology and its problems]

Conventional laser scalpels are articulated, in which the infrared laser beam is refracted and focused by mirrors and lens groups, and then emitted from the tip of the manipulator, but with this method, the entire device is formed into a solid structure, making it difficult to repeat. However, there were expectations for a laser scalpel that would improve this and use a flexible optical fiber.

However, when using an optical fiber as a light guide path for medical infrared laser light, the optical fiber is heated by the infrared laser guided inside the fiber, causing early deterioration, especially in the center core. Some means for cooling is required, but installing this means often impedes the operability of the optical fiber, and conventionally it is difficult to use visible guide light to indicate the convergence point of an infrared laser. However, in the joint method, this directional light is focused on the same point as the infrared laser light, which makes the entire device complicated.
In addition, the single optical fiber type requires a separate guide mechanism, which makes the device complicated and many other problems that need to be solved.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it not only has the function of guiding and condensing the light of an infrared laser, but also has the function of cooling the infrared laser light guiding fiber by itself. It is equipped with all functions such as guiding the guide light that indicates the convergence point and converging the light, and is flexible as a whole, making it extremely easy to handle and operate, making it suitable for difficult surgical areas. The aim is to provide a fiber device which has a number of advantages such as:

[Summary of the invention]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention guides laser light emitted from a laser source through a flexible light guide, and directs the laser light emitted from the tip of the light guide to the affected area. In an infrared laser treatment device that irradiates a laser beam to A gas flow path corresponding to the diameter to be supplied and discharged is arranged, the gas flow path in contact with the light guide is used as an exhaust flow path, and the gas flow path on the outer periphery of the exhaust flow path is used as an air supply flow path; The tip of the light guide is equipped with a lens that focuses the laser light emitted from the end face, and the clean gas supplied from the air supply aperture is directed to the tip side of the light guide through the air supply flow path. A part of the clean gas is injected from the outer edge of the lens to the affected area, and the other part returns to the laser beam condensing part on the air supply side through the exhaust flow path. It is characterized in that it can be discharged to the outside from the exhaust port.

[Embodiments of the invention]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an infrared laser treatment device to which an optical fiber device according to the present invention is applied. 1st
In the figure, an oscillation tube 1 that oscillates an infrared laser beam and an oscillation tube 2 that oscillates a He-Ne laser beam that is visible light as kite light for indicating the focus of the infrared laser beam are installed in parallel. It is being In front of oscillation tube 2 is B.
Mirror 6 for bending the e-He laser beam almost at right angles
is provided. Further, a mixing filter 4 is provided in front of the oscillation tube 1, through which the infrared laser beam passes and which bends the He-Ne laser beam in a substantially right-angled direction.

An X-Y alignment device 5 is provided on an extension of the oscillation tube 1 and the mixing filter 4 to which an infrared laser beam and a He-Ne laser beam are incident. The output section of the XY alignment device 5 is connected via an optical fiber device 6 to a handpiece 7 that projects a laser beam onto a living body. In the above-mentioned infrared laser treatment device, the infrared laser beam oscillated by the oscillation tube 1 is oscillated by the oscillation tube 2.
The laser beam is incident on the optical fiber 6 through the mixing filter 4 and the X-Y alignment device 5, guided through the fiber 6 while undergoing total reflection, and projected onto the living body from the tip of the hand piece 7.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of essential parts of the fiber device according to the present invention. Components in FIG. 2 having the same functions as those in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals. In Figure 2, an oscillation tube 1 and a mixing filter 4 that oscillate infrared laser light are shown.
and the X-Y% core device 5 are arranged substantially in a straight line. X
-Y alignment device 5 is composed of a ring 8 constituting a box and a condenser lens 9 housed in one end of ring 8. Material 1d of condensing lens 9 Desirably ZnSe, which can transmit a 10.6 μm infrared laser beam through a 0.63 μm He-Ne kite beam and has no deliquescent property. ring 8
At the other end, a core 10 that transmits laser light is attached to a holding member 11.
Inserted via The material of the core 10 is C, which can efficiently transmit from infrared light to visible light. I'm hopeful. The holding member 11 holds the core 10 and maintains the positional accuracy of the core 10, and its material is CsBr for the following reason.
is desirable. That is, the refractive index of CsBr is 1.66 for a wavelength of 10.6 μm (corresponding to infrared laser light), and that of Cgl, which is the material of Shicor 10, is 1.74, which is C'x
The brim of Br (larger than the refractive index).

Therefore, even if the holding member 11 contacts the core 10, the holding member 1
1 acts as if it were a cladding, and the infrared laser light propagating within the core 10 does not leak to the outside from the contact portion with the holding member 11.

) A suction hole 12, which is an air suction hole, is provided in the radial direction of the outer cylinder 22. The suction hole 12 is connected to the filter 4 by a tube 16. Dryer 15. It is connected to a compressor 7 that sends compressed air into the outer cylinder 22 via a tank 16. The filter 4 contains activated carbon or the like in order to remove contaminants such as dust and dust contained in the compressed air sent from the dryer 15. A desiccant such as silica gel or activated alumina is sealed in the dryer 15 in order to dry the compressed air sent from the tank 16. The tank 16 is for removing the pulsating flow of air sent from the compressor 17.

A male thread is cut on the outer periphery of the end portion of the ring 8 where the core 10 is held. This male screw has a through hole through which air or the like can penetrate in the axial direction, and a sleeve 19 having a female thread cut on the inner surface thereof is screwed. A protective tube 20 is airtightly inserted between the sleeve 19 and the holding member 11. Furthermore, an outer covering material 21 is adhesively fixed to the outer periphery of the sleeve 19. Furthermore, the outer covering material 21. An outer cylinder 22 is compressed and fixed to the outer peripheries of the sleeve 19 and the ring 8. Similarly, an exhaust hole 26 is provided in the diametrical direction of the ring 8 to exhaust the air sent through the holding member 11, and the air is exhausted to the atmosphere through the tube 24 and the filter 25.

Next, in FIG. 6, which shows a cross-sectional view taken at position A in FIG. 2 and seen from the condenser lens 9 side, there is an outer cylinder 22 on the outermost periphery;
An outer covering material 21 is inserted airtightly inside thereof. Furthermore, inside the sleeve 1 having a through hole 19 in the axial direction,
9 has been inserted. Furthermore, a protection tube 20 is inserted inside it. Further inside, a holding member 11 is divided into two symmetrically arranged parts, interposed between the core 10 and the storage tube 20, and holding the core 10 in the ring 8. There is a gap between the core 10 and the ring 8 or the protective tube 20 where the holding member 11 is not present, so that air and the like can pass therethrough.

Next, the optical fiber 6 will be explained. The optical fiber device 6 has a core 10 in its center and a protection tube 20 to prevent the sides of the core 10 from being contaminated with dust, debris, etc.
and an outer material 21 on the outer periphery thereof. The material of the protection tube 20 is preferably Teflon or the like. Also core 10
Air exists in the gap between the protective tube 20 and the protective tube 20 and the gap between the protective tube 20 and the covering material 21 for the following reason. That is, the optical fiber device according to the present invention has a structure generally called an air clad, in which the air existing between the core 10 and the protection tube 20 serves as the clad, and the laser light incident on the core 10 is It undergoes repeated total reflection at the interface between the core 10 and air and propagates toward the output end. If the side surface of the core 10 becomes contaminated, there is a risk that laser light will leak at the contaminated location. Therefore, the core 10 is protected by the air interposed between the core 10 and the protective tube 17. It also has the function of cooling the straw core 10 by flowing this air.

One end of the protective tube 20 and the covering material 21 is hermetically inserted into one end of the ring 8 via the outer cylinder 22, and the other end is hermetically inserted into one end of the hand piece 7, which will be described later.

Next, the configuration of the hand piece 7 will be explained.

The handpiece 7 has a ring 26 that forms a box body thereof, and a condenser lens 27 that is airtightly housed in one end of the ring 26.
It consists of The material of the condenser lens 27 is preferably ZnSg, similar to the material of the condenser lens 9 in the XY alignment device 5. The condensing lens 27 has a function of converging the laser light incident from the core 10. A tapered portion 26A is formed at the tip of the ring 26, and a core 10. which constitutes the optical fiber device 6 is formed at the other end. Protective tube 20 and outer covering material 21 are inserted. The method of attaching the optical fiber device 6 to the ring 26 is the same as the method of attaching the optical fiber device 6 to the outer cylinder 22. That is, on the inside of the ring 26, there are, in order, an outer covering material,
Sleeve 19', protection tube 20. Holding member 11', core 1
0 is attached, and its cutaway view at B saturation is the same as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 4 in a cross-sectional view at position C, the condenser lens 27 is supported by the protrusion 26B in the ring 26, forming a plurality of gaps 26C.

Next, the operation of the optical fiber device for an infrared laser treatment device according to the present invention configured as described above will be explained. Infrared laser light 28 oscillated from oscillator 1 is incident on mixing filter 4 . At the same time, the direction of the Hs-Ne laser beam 29 emitted from the oscillator 2 is changed by the mirror 5, and then multi-directionally converted by the mixing filter 4, where it is combined with the infrared laser beam 28 and the He-Ne laser beam as the guide light. 25 optical axes are aligned. The laser light that passes through or is reflected from the mixing filter 4 and enters the condenser lens 9 is efficiently converged by the condenser lens 9 onto the input end face of the core 10 . Thereafter, the laser beam incident on the core 10 propagates within the core 10, is output from the output end face of the core 10, and is incident on the condenser lens 27 within the hand piece 7. The laser light incident on the condensing lens 27 is efficiently converged by the condensing lens 27. This focused laser light is irradiated onto the affected area at the focal position to treat the affected area. Unavoidable losses occur in the laser beam propagation path inside the X-Y alignment device 6, the input/output end face of the core 100 in the handpiece 7, and the core 10 in the optical fiber 6.

If this loss is, for example, 30%, the oscillator 1 shown in FIG.
If the output of is 60F, the loss due to core 10 is 18F
become. If the core 10 is not cooled due to this heat loss, the core 10 will deteriorate over time and eventually break.

z On the other hand, the air compressed by the compressor 17 is transferred to the tank 16.
The pulsating flow is removed, the humidity is adjusted to below a certain level in the dryer 15, and the humidity is filtered through the filter 14. 2#l bacteria etc. are removed and sent into the outer cylinder 22 from the suction hole 12 via the tube 13. The air sent into the outer cylinder 22 passes through the through hole provided in the sleeve 19, passes through the flow path between the mackerel preservation tube 20 and the covering material 21, and then passes through the through hole in the sleeve 19'. The extracted material is sent to the space 61 within the ring 26. The air sent into the space 31 is ejected from the gap between the condenser lens 27 and the ring 26 as described above, and protects the surface of the condenser lens 27 from various contaminants, as well as protects the core 10 and the holding member. The side surface of the core 10 is cooled through the gap 11'.

The compressor 17 is equipped with a flow rate regulator (not shown) so that the flow rate of air sent can be adjusted to be sufficient for protecting the surface of the condenser lens 27 and cooling the core 10. There is. The cooling air that has passed through the gap between the core 10 and the holding members 11' and 11 and entered the ring 8 is discharged through the exhaust hole 2.
6, passes through a filter 25, and is discharged to an exhaust port typically provided in the operating room. Therefore, even if the core material is disconnected due to an accident or the like and harmful steam is generated, it will not be absorbed by activated carbon or the like in the filter 25 and leak to the outside. As described above, the air flow becomes as shown by the arrows in FIG.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As detailed above, according to the present invention, materials that can transmit 11t-Ne laser light, which is kite light, and infrared laser light for cauterizing the affected area are used for the core that propagates the laser light and the condensing lens. Then, air is supplied to protect the surface of the condenser lens and cool the sides of the core through a flow path arranged concentrically with the core, and the air that has cooled the core is sent to the X-Y alignment device, which is the inlet of the fiber device. Since the exhaust is discharged to the outside via a filter through an exhaust hole provided in the outer cylinder held inside, the foot is flexible and flexible with safety in mind, and operability has been significantly improved. This means that it is possible to provide a fiber device with improved performance. Furthermore, since an optical fiber device is used, there are advantages such as ease of handling as a whole.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an overall explanatory diagram of an infrared laser device using an infrared fiber to which the present invention is applied, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of elements of the infrared fiber device according to the present invention, and Fig. 6 is a Δ of Fig. 2. 4 is a sectional view at position C in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a sectional view at position C in FIG. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Oscillation tube, 2... Oscillation tube, 4... Mixing filter, 5... x-y KIAI core arrangement, 6... Optical fiber, 7... Hand piece, 9... Condensing lens, 10... Core, 11... Holding member, 12...
・Suction hole, 16...tube, 14...filter,
15... Dryer, 16... Tank, 17... Compressor, 19... Sleeve, 20... Protection tube, 2
1... External value material, 23... Exhaust hole, 24... Tube, 25... Filter, 26... Ring, 27...
·Condenser lens. Agent Patent attorney Kensuke Chika (and 1 other person) 39
- 〈721 Fig. 6 Seven Kisuketsuchi J/I9A N/;; Mi-ni\-17 7

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) An infrared laser treatment device that guides laser light emitted from a laser oscillation source through a flexible light guide, and irradiates the affected area with the laser light that is emitted from the tip of the light guide. A plurality of apertures for supplying and discharging clean gas are provided in the laser beam focusing portion of the light guide, and a plurality of apertures corresponding to the plurality of apertures for supplying and discharging are provided concentrically on the outer periphery of the light guide. A gas flow path is arranged, the gas flow path in contact with the light guide is used as an exhaust flow path, the gas flow path on the outer periphery of the exhaust flow path is used as an air supply flow path, and the tip of the light guide is provided with a gas flow path. , is provided with a lens that focuses the laser beam emitted from the end face, and allows the clean gas supplied from the air supply aperture to reach the tip side of the light guide through the air supply flow path, and the clean gas is A part of the purified body is ejected from the outer edge of the lens to the affected area, and the other part of the purified body passes through the exhaust flow path, returns to the laser beam condensing part on the air supply side, and exits from the exhaust aperture. An optical fiber device characterized in that it can be discharged. (2) The light guide is a member that transmits both infrared laser light used as treatment energy and visible light used as guide light. Fiber optic equipment. (3) Using CO and laser light as the infrared laser light,
Furthermore, using a He-He laser beam as a guide light,
An optical fiber device according to claim 2.