JPH08280704A - Laser probe device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Object] An object of the present invention is to realize a laser probe device used for laser light treatment, which is excellent in output loss and in which an optical fiber is not easily damaged by overheat. [Structure] Optical cable 11 incorporating optical fiber 1
A hand piece 12 for accommodating the optical cable 11, a tip tip 13 attached to the tip of the hand piece 12,
By providing the lens 7 mounted inside the handpiece 12, the laser light emitted from the tip end surface of the optical fiber 1 enters the tip tip 13 through the lens 7 at a shallow angle close to parallel light, and thus the tip tip 13 The number of reflections of the laser light on the inner surface of the laser decreases, and the output loss decreases. Further, since the position of the optical cable 11 can be far away from the tip 13, the damage due to overheating of the optical fiber 1 can be reduced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fiber type laser scalpel irradiation unit probe device used for laser light treatment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as laser light treatment technology has advanced, the importance of a fiber type laser scalpel irradiation unit probe device (hereinafter referred to as a laser probe device) has become important as it has a great influence on its handling and treatment results. It has been pointed out.

A conventional laser probe device will be described below. FIG. 3 shows a cross section of a conventional laser probe device. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 11 denotes an optical cable, which comprises a silver halide optical fiber 1 made of silver chloride / silver bromide for guiding carbon dioxide laser light, a sheath 2 for housing and protecting the optical fiber 1, an optical fiber 1 and a sheath 2. It is composed of a tip fixing member 3 that is connected and fixed. Reference numeral 12 denotes a handpiece, which is a handling portion main body 4 and a handling portion distal end portion 5.
And a fixed rubber 6. Handpiece 12
Each of the members constituting the above has a hollow structure, and the optical cable 11 is penetrated into this, and the handling portion tip portion 5 is screwed into the handling portion main body 4 to deform the fixing rubber 6 to fix the optical cable 11. . Reference numeral 13 denotes a tip that is detachably attached to the tip of the handling section tip 5 by a detaching section 9, and is composed of the detaching section 9 and a metal tube 10 fixed to this.

The operation of the laser probe device constructed as described above will be described below. First, laser light emitted from a carbon dioxide gas laser oscillator (not shown) is incident on the optical fiber 1, travels while repeatedly undergoing total internal reflection within the optical fiber 1, passes through the handpiece 12, and is emitted from the tip surface thereof. Although the laser light originally has strong directivity and is close to parallel light, it is normally incident on the optical fiber 1 at a certain incident angle, and thus is emitted at a spread angle (about 20 °) corresponding to the incident angle. . The laser light emitted from the front end surface of the optical fiber 1 enters the inside of the metal tube 10, is repeatedly reflected on the inner surface of the tube, is guided, and then is emitted from the front end of the metal tube 10 to be treated. Is irradiated. In this case, the laser beam output loss of the laser probe device depends on the reflection loss on the inner surface of the tip 13.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional structure, since the laser light emitted from the optical fiber 1 has a large divergence angle (about 20 °), the number of reflections on the inner surface of the tip 13 increases and the output is produced. The loss is likely to increase, and the tip end surface of the optical fiber 1 needs to be positioned near the tip tip 13, and the inner surface of the tip tip 13 is contaminated with an adhered substance or the like, which easily absorbs light. In this case, there is a problem that the optical fiber 1 is easily overheated and damaged.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a laser probe device which has a small output loss and is less susceptible to overheat damage to an optical fiber.

[0007]

In order to achieve this object, a laser probe device of the present invention comprises an optical cable incorporating an optical fiber, a handpiece for accommodating the optical cable, and a tip tip provided at the tip of the handpiece. The light diffusion preventing means is provided inside the handpiece.

[0008]

In this structure, the laser light emitted from the front end face of the optical fiber is incident on the inside of the front end chip at a shallow angle close to parallel light through the light diffusion preventing means. For this reason, the number of times the laser light is reflected on the inner surface of the tip is reduced and the output loss is reduced. Further, the position of the optical cable can be far away from the tip, and damage due to overheating of the optical fiber can be reduced.

[0009]

【Example】

(Embodiment 1) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, 1 is an optical fiber, 2 is a sheath, 3 is a tip fixing member, 4 is a handling section main body, 5 is a handling section tip, 6 is a fixed rubber, 9 is a detachable section, 1
Reference numeral 0 is a metal tube, and the above is the same as the configuration of FIG. 3, and it is also the same that the optical cable 11, the handpiece 12, and the tip chip 13 are respectively configured. The difference from the configuration of FIG. 3 is that
The point is that the handpiece 12 is constructed by screwing and holding the lens holder 8 of the zinc selenide (ZnSe) lens 7. In addition, the handling tip 5 and tip 1
3 is configured such that the distance between the tip surface of the optical fiber 1 and the light input end of the metal tube 10 becomes long.

The operation of the laser probe device configured as described above will be described. First, a laser beam emitted from a carbon dioxide gas laser oscillator (not shown) is incident on the optical fiber 1, travels while repeatedly being totally reflected inside the optical fiber 1, passes through the inside of the handpiece, and is emitted from the tip surface thereof. Although the laser light has a strong directivity and is close to parallel light, since it is normally incident on the optical fiber 1 at a certain incident angle, it is emitted at a divergence angle (about 20 °) corresponding to the incident angle. . The above is the same as the operation of the conventional laser probe apparatus shown in FIG.

The laser light emitted from the tip surface of the optical fiber 1 with a certain divergence angle is condensed by a lens 7 incorporated in the handpiece, and inside the metal tube 10 of the tip chip 13 at a shallow angle close to parallel light. Is incident on. After that, the laser light is guided while being reflected on the inner surface of the metal tube 10. Since this laser light is close to parallel light, the number of repetitions of the reflection is smaller than the number of repetitions of the reflection of the conventional laser probe apparatus shown in FIG. .

By converging the laser light with the lens 7, the distance between the tip surface of the optical fiber 1 and the light input end of the metal tube 10 can be increased.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the lens 7 made of zinc selenide (ZnSe) is screwed into the inside of the tip portion 5 of the handling portion and the lens holder 8 is screwed to hold the laser light close to parallel light. By reducing the number of reflections on the inner surface of the distal tip 13, it is possible to emit laser light with a small output loss and a high light intensity to irradiate the treatment target site. Further, by separating the position of the optical cable 11 from the tip 13, the damage due to overheating of the optical fiber 1 is reduced even when the inner surface of the tip 13 is contaminated with an adherent or the like and is in a state of easily absorbing light. be able to. Further, by separating the tip end surface of the optical cable 11 from the treatment target site with the lens 7, it is possible to prevent the adhered matter from being soiled on the tip end surface of the optical cable 11.

(Second Embodiment) A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 2, the components denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 are the same as those in FIG. The difference from the configuration of FIG. 1 is that instead of the lens 7, the inside of the handling portion tip portion 5 has an hourglass-shaped inner surface and an inner surface roughness of 1 μm.
This is the point in which a metallic reflecting member 71, which has been polished to m or less to improve the reflectance of laser light, is inserted.

The operation of the laser probe device configured as described above will be described below. Similar to the first embodiment, the laser light emitted from the tip end surface of the optical fiber 1 with a certain divergence angle is condensed while the inner surface built into the handpiece is reflected inside the hourglass-shaped reflecting member 71, and is parallel. The light is incident on the inside of the metal tube 10 of the tip 13 at a shallow angle close to light. After that, the laser light is guided while being reflected on the inner surface of the metal tube 10,
Since this laser beam is close to parallel light, the number of reflection repetitions thereof is smaller than the number of reflection repetitions of the conventional laser probe apparatus shown in FIG. 3, which is the same as the first embodiment.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the reflecting member 7 having an hourglass-shaped inner surface is provided inside the tip portion 5 of the handling portion.
1 is inserted to bring the laser light close to parallel light and reduce the number of reflections on the inner surface of the tip 13, so that laser light with a small output loss and high intensity can be emitted and irradiated to the treatment target site. it can. In addition, by separating the position of the optical cable 11 from the tip 13, the damage due to overheating of the optical fiber 1 is reduced even when the inner surface of the tip 13 is contaminated by an adherent or the like and is in a state of easily absorbing light. be able to.

In the first and second embodiments, the optical fiber 1 is a silver halide fiber of silver chloride / silver bromide because a carbon dioxide gas laser is used as the laser, but the wavelength is 2 to 6 μm. In the infrared laser, the optical fiber 1 may be a chalcogenide fiber, and in a laser having a wavelength of 2.3 μm or less, a quartz fiber may be used. Similarly, although the lens 7 is made of zinc selenide (ZnSe) in the second embodiment, it may be a silica glass lens for a short wavelength laser.

Further, in the first and second embodiments, the light to the tip is directly incident on the metal tube. However, even if the light is reflected before entering the metal tube, the same effect can be obtained if the number of times is small. Is obtained. Further, the configuration of the optical cable is not limited to the configurations of these embodiments, and for example, it does not prevent provision of a window or the like at the tip. Further, although the tip 13 and the handpiece 12 are detachable, they may be of a fixed type that cannot be detached.

Further, in the second embodiment, the reflecting member 71 is made of a metal polished to have an inner surface roughness of 1 μm or less, but if a dielectric film is applied, the reflectance of laser light can be improved. . Gold plating may be applied to prevent oxidation. Similarly, as the metal tube 10 in the first and second embodiments, a metal tube polished to have an inner surface roughness of 1 μm or less in order to improve the reflectance of laser light,
A metal tube having a dielectric film attached to its inner surface or a metal tube plated with gold for preventing oxidation may be used.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, an optical cable incorporating an optical fiber, a handpiece for accommodating the optical cable, a tip tip provided at the tip of the handpiece, and a light diffusion preventing means inside the handpiece. By providing the above, it is possible to realize an excellent laser probe device capable of emitting a laser beam having a low output loss and a high light intensity and reducing damage due to overheating of the optical fiber.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of a laser probe device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of a laser probe device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a partial sectional view of a conventional laser probe device. FIG. 3B is a partially enlarged sectional view of a conventional laser probe device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Optical Fiber 7 Lens (Light Diffusion Preventing Means) 11 Optical Cable 12 Handpiece 13 Tip Tip 71 Reflecting Member

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An optical cable incorporating an optical fiber,
A laser probe device comprising a handpiece for accommodating an optical cable, a tip tip provided at the tip of the handpiece, and a light diffusion preventing means inside the handpiece. 2. The laser probe device according to claim 1, wherein the light diffusion preventing means is a condenser lens. 3. The laser probe device according to claim 1, wherein the light diffusion preventing means is a reflecting member having an hourglass-shaped inner surface.