JPH0363045B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an optical fiber light guide member used in a laser device, such as a medical laser device.

Medical laser devices use laser light generated by CO ₂ laser, argon laser, Nd.YAG laser, etc. to incise body surface tissues, stop bleeding, and the like. The light generated by this CO ₂ laser has a wavelength
106μ, YAG laser: 0.06μ, argon laser:
The laser beam is approximately 0.61μ, and these laser beams are used depending on the area of the human body to which it is applied. For example, when used for making incisions on the body surface, CO ₂ lasers are used.
On the other hand, YAG laser and argon laser are used to stop bleeding on the inner wall of the stomach, and argon laser is used for eye treatment. And YAG for hemostasis in the stomach lining.
Lasers and argon lasers are used because these laser beams can pass through thin and flexible light guiding members such as glass fibers and quartz glass fibers. This is because it is possible to perform a hemostasis operation at the hemostatic site.
Attempts have also been made to remove tumors in blood vessels by passing optical fibers into them. In this case, it is good if the laser beam can be irradiated while viewing with an endoscope, but if the optical fiber is to be passed through the blood vessel, X-rays should be used for positioning, and the position of the optical fiber should be confirmed using X-ray fluoroscopy. However, as shown in Fig. 2, in the conventional optical fiber light guide member, the outer surface of a quartz fiber 1 with a diameter of 80μ through which the laser beam passes is coated with a silicon cladding 2 with a diameter of 125μ. The diameter of the outer surface of the tube 2 is
It is covered with a 240μ reinforcing Teflon cover 3. Therefore, due to the thin thickness of the optical fiber and the low X-ray absorption rate, it is difficult to visualize the image on a monitor or the like using X-ray fluoroscopy. For this reason, if the laser beam is emitted without accurately determining the position of the optical fiber, the laser beam will hit the normal area.
There were problems such as burnout of blood vessel walls and, in extreme cases, perforation, which could lead to bleeding and other accidents.

This invention was made based on the above-mentioned circumstances, and it is possible to reliably confirm the position of the irradiation terminal of the optical fiber on a monitor or the like when performing X-ray fluoroscopy by passing an optical fiber into a blood vessel. Optical fiber light guide member for laser equipment that can accurately apply the light to the target area, prevent operational accidents, and provide products with extremely simple construction and high reliability at low cost. The purpose is to provide

This invention will be described with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

First, the medical laser device shown in FIG. 1 will be described. This medical laser device 10 includes a main body 11 having wheels 11a at the bottom, a power supply section 12, and a controller 13. An oscillator section 15 is disposed on the upper part of the main body 11 via an arm 14 so as to be rotatable in the direction of arrow A.
5 and the power supply unit 12 of the main body 11 are the power supply cable 16
and are connected via a cooling water channel 17. The oscillator section 15 is configured to normally generate laser light. The oscillator section 15
Although the configuration of the power supply unit 12 differs depending on whether it is a YGA laser or an argon laser, a known and appropriate configuration is used, so a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

An optical fiber light guide member 18 is connected to the oscillator unit 15 configured in this way, and the laser light generated in the oscillator unit 15 passes through the optical fiber light guide member 18.
Laser light is irradiated onto the target area from the irradiation end portion of the optical fiber light guide member 18. Although the controller 13 is shown as being assembled integrally with the main body 11 having the power source section 12, it may be configured to be provided separately from the main body 11. The optical fiber light guiding member 18 has a diameter as shown in FIG.
The outer surface of the quartz fiber 19, which transmits a laser beam of 80μ, is coated with a material that reduces X-ray transmittance, such as gold 20, and the outer surface of the gold 20 is coated with a silicon clad 21 having a diameter of 125μ. The outer surface of the tube 21 is covered with a reinforcing Teflon cover 22 with a diameter of 240μ, and the laser beam that has passed through the quartz fiber 19 is irradiated from the irradiation end toward the target area. .

By coating the outer surface of the quartz fiber 19 of the optical fiber light guide member 18 with gold 20 in this way, X-ray absorption is increased, and the position of the irradiation end can be displayed on a monitor or the like using X-ray fluoroscopy. , its position can be confirmed accurately.
Note that the portion covered with the gold 20 is a quartz fiber 19.
It is not necessary to cover the entire axial direction of the irradiation terminal, and it is sufficient that the length is such that it can be provided in a part of the irradiation end portion and its position can be recognized by X-rays. Moreover, it is not limited to the entire circumferential surface of the irradiation end portion of the quartz fiber 19, but may be a part of it as long as it can be recognized.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing another embodiment of the optical fiber light guide member in the medical laser device of the present invention, in which the gold 20 covers the outer surface of the silicon cladding 21. This point is different from the optical fiber light guiding member of the previous embodiment, and the other parts are almost the same as those of the previous embodiment.
A detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

It should be noted that the above embodiment is merely an example, and it goes without saying that each member can be replaced with another member having the same function. For example, quartz fibers may be glass fibers or other materials;
Further, the silicone cladding may be made of Teflon or other materials, and the Teflon cover may be made of Dacron or other materials. Furthermore, instead of gold, the member for reducing the X-ray transmittance may be made of an appropriate material such as silver, platinum, or rhodium, which has a large atomic number and does not affect the human body. Furthermore, the coating method is not particularly limited and may be any suitable method such as electroless plating or CUD method.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a medical laser device, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a part of a conventional optical fiber light guiding member used in a medical laser device, and FIG.
This figure is a perspective view showing a part of one embodiment of the optical fiber light guiding member for a laser device of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a part of another embodiment. 1...Quartz fiber, 2...Silicon clad, 3
...Teflon cover, 10...Medical laser device, 1
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Main body, 12... Power supply part, 13... Controller, 14...
Arm, 15... Oscillator section, 16... Power cable,
18... Optical fiber light guiding member, 19... Quartz fiber, 20... Gold, 21... Silicon clad, 22...
Teflon cover.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Optical fiber guide in a laser device that is connected to an oscillator section and irradiates a laser beam from an irradiation terminal section through an optical fiber consisting of a fiber section, a clad section, and a cover that covers these. In the optical member, an X-ray transmittance made of a material having a large atomic number and having no effect on the human body is provided on at least the irradiation end portion of the optical fiber and on the outer surface of the fiber portion or the outer peripheral portion of the clad portion. An optical fiber light guiding member in a laser device, characterized in that the optical fiber light guide member is coated with a member that reduces the amount of light.