Flexible Waveguide for CO[sub]2[/sub] Laser Surgery
Author(s): Michael B. Levy; Katherine D. Laakmann
CO2 laser beam delivery through a flexible waveguide has many potential clinical (and some industrial) applications. We have developed a pair of 75cm long, hollow flexible waveguides with square lumen cross-sections of 3/4mm X 3/4mm and limm X 1/2mm respectively; both sizes have a 11/2mm outside diameter. The larger waveguide has a transmission efficiency of 80%; the smaller a transmission efficiency of 70%. Both waveguides will handle more than 30 watts of power. The device is fabricated from two aluminum substrate halves onto which a dielectric optical coating has been applied. The two halves are then assembled into the completed unit. We have also fabricated a short "nozzle" extension tip with tapered lumen which can produce an output spot size as small as .3mm. Gas flow through the waveguide lumen in conjunction with the disposable, nozzletips ensure that the interior of the waveguide is kept free from backstreaming smoke and debris. While this device does not have the flexibility of a wet noodle, we believe it has immediate applications in many topical and endoscopic procedures.
Date Published: 5 August 1986
PDF: 2 pages
Proc. SPIE 0605, Optical and Laser Technology in Medicine, (5 August 1986); doi: 10.1117/12.956349
Michael B. Levy, Laakmann Electro-Optics, Inc (United States)
Katherine D. Laakmann, Laakmann Electro-Optics, Inc (United States)
Optical and Laser Technology in Medicine
Robert J. Landry; David H. Sliney; Robert Scott, Editor(s)