Liquid circulation system for cooling a laser head
Granted: July 14, 1998
Patent Number:
5781574
A liquid circulation system for cooling a laser head is disclosed. The circulation system comprises a main storage tank for holding a cooling liquid and a pump for circulating the liquid from the tank through the laser head and back into the tank. The cooling system includes a heat exchanger for cooling the liquid. The heat exchanger includes liquid carrying coils and an impeller fan rotatable about an axis. The fan being located adjacent the coils for drawing air across the coils in an…
Side firing fiber optic laser probe
Granted: June 30, 1998
Patent Number:
5772657
A side firing fiber optic probe is disclosed. The delivery end of the probe is provided with an angled face oriented to totally internally reflect the treatment beam out of the side surface of the fiber in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis thereof. The delivery end of the probe is further configured to reduce secondary reflections which occur as the light strikes the side surface of the fiber. This result can be achieved by modifying the shape of the cladding material which…
Method and apparatus for treating vascular lesions
Granted: May 19, 1998
Patent Number:
5754573
An apparatus and method is disclosed for treating vascular lesions. In the preferred embodiment, an intracavity, frequency doubled Nd:YAG laser is used to generate output pulses having a duration of 0.5 to 10.0 milliseconds. This laser output is used to irradiate the lesions. The laser energy is absorbed in the blood of the vein, causing it to coagulate and collapse. The long pulse duration helps to minimize bleeding while controlling thermal damage to surrounding tissue.
Temperature correction circuit for wavelength stabilization in a laser diode
Granted: May 19, 1998
Patent Number:
5754574
Laser diode circuitry that controls the laser diode temperature as a function of laser diode current. Changes in the spectral output of the laser diode directly caused by adjustments to the operating current of the laser diode are offset by corresponding changes in the diode temperature. Diode temperature regulation circuitry automatically changes the diode temperature by monitoring the diode operating current. Alternately, when the diode current is adjusted to intentionally shift the…
Hand-held laser scanner
Granted: April 28, 1998
Patent Number:
5743902
A surgical laser scanner having optics that scans a pulsed laser beam onto a target tissue is disclosed. The laser scanner has a lens and a scanning mirror or mirrors located upstream of the lens at a distance substantially equal to the focal length of the lens. The laser beam hits the scanning mirror and is reflected onto the lens in a pattern defined by sequential positions of the scanning mirror. The laser beam is projected onto the target tissue by the lens in a direction parallel to…
Tapered composite optical fiber and method of making the same
Granted: March 17, 1998
Patent Number:
5729643
A composite optical fiber including a first optical fiber having a first core with a first diameter being optically fused to a second optical fiber having a second core with a second diameter that is smaller than the first diameter. The first optical fiber has an output end with a tapered end section. The first core tapers down in diameter in the tapered end section from the first diameter and terminates at the output end with a third diameter that is smaller than the first diameter and…
Spectral noise compensation for telecommunication signal processing
Granted: February 24, 1998
Patent Number:
5721730
A telecommunication signal processor includes a noise compensation system for preventing undesirable spectral modulation of the noise component of a telecommunication signal subjected to a process wherein subband portions of the signal are variably attenuated. A noise component is injected into each attenuated error signal in order to compensate for attenuation of background noise incidental to the variable attenuation of the subband signals. The amplitude of the noise components are…
Power meter head for laser power measurement apparatus
Granted: October 21, 1997
Patent Number:
5678924
Apparatus for measuring laser power includes a target disc of a predetermined thickness located within, and in thermal contact with, a heat-sink. The heat-sink has an opening therein for directing laser radiation to be measured onto the target disc. A thermal gradient is established in the target disc when laser radiation to be measured is directed onto one surface of the disk. The opposite surface of the disc includes means for detecting the thermal gradient. The heat-sink includes a…
Multi-wavelength laser beam detector with refractive element
Granted: August 26, 1997
Patent Number:
5661737
A detector system for providing a plurality of output beams for monitoring the output beam of a laser system. The detector system includes a refractive element having a pair of opposing spaced-apart faces. The laser beam enters the refractive element where it undergoes multiple internal reflections off of the faces. A portion of the beam is transmitted out of the refractive element at each of the reflections to form a plurality of increasingly attenuated output beams having different…
Solid state laser with relay optics
Granted: August 19, 1997
Patent Number:
5659563
A pulsed solid state laser system is disclosed which utilizes a plurality of individual laser rods which are sequentially pumped and whose beans are combined into a single interleaved output bean. The individual laser rods are pumped at an average power level which is below that for maximum output power from each rod, thereby obviating the need for refrigeration cooling. A compact optical system is disclosed which permits a constant beam size even at different pump levels and other…
High repetition rate Eribum-YAG laser for tissue ablation
Granted: July 1, 1997
Patent Number:
5644585
A medical laser system is disclosed for ablating biological material. The system includes an Erbium:YAG gain medium capable of generating a pulsed output having a wavelength of 2.9 microns. The laser is optimized to generate a pulsed output having a repetition rate of at least 50 hertz and preferably at least 100 hertz. The output is delivered to the target tissue via an optical fiber. Preferably, a suction source is provided to aspirate the tissue as it is being ablated. The erbium…
High repetition rate erbium; YAG laser for tissue ablation
Granted: June 24, 1997
Patent Number:
5642370
A medical laser system is disclosed for ablating biological material. The system includes an Erbium:YAG gain medium capable of generating a pulsed output having a wavelength of 2.9 microns. The laser is optimized to generate a pulsed output having a repetition rate of at least 50 hertz and preferably at least 100 hertz. The output is delivered to the target tissue via an optical fiber. Preferably, a suction source is provided to aspirate the tissue as it is being ablated. The erbium…
Housing for electronic audio communication device
Granted: June 17, 1997
Patent Number:
D379989
Prism folded laser cavity with controlled intractivity beam polarization
Granted: June 17, 1997
Patent Number:
5640412
A folded Q-switched laser cavity uses total internal reflections of prisms to fold the intracavity beam. The index of refraction and the orientation of the prisms are selected to induce a predetermined phase delay between the two orthogonal polarization components of the linearly polarized intracavity beam. The predetermined phase delay rotates the intracavity beam polarization to an orthogonal direction such that an intracavity polarizer rejects the beam and the laser is held off from…
Coupler for attaching an articulated arm to a laser
Granted: June 3, 1997
Patent Number:
5634737
A coupler for conveniently coupling an articulated arm to a laser housing whereby the laser beam need not be realigned down the articulated arm each time the arm is coupled to the laser housing. The coupler includes a kinematic plate attached to the laser housing, a sleeve rotationally attached to the plate forming a center bore, and a connector attached to an articulated arm. The connector has a cylindrical shaped projecting member that inserts into the bore of the sleeve. Races are…
Optical system for improving the symmetry of the beam emitted from a broad area laser diode
Granted: June 3, 1997
Patent Number:
5636069
An optical system is disclosed for improving the brightness symmetry of a beam emitted from a laser diode where the beam has a large width and a narrow height. The optical system includes a tilt plate for displacing one half of the width of the beam downwardly. A first beam steering prism functions to tilt the remaining, second half of the beam width in a plane parallel to the width dimension so that the second half travels towards the first half. A second beam steering prism is provided…
Automatic echo cancellation for an integrated services digital network interface
Granted: May 20, 1997
Patent Number:
5631958
An echo canceler is connected to an ISDN Primary Rate Interface. The echo canceler is provided with an activation processor for monitoring call control messages on the D-channel and for selectively enabling or disabling echo cancellation on any of the B-channels in response to information contained within the call control messages. In particular, the activation processor decides whether to enable cancellation depending upon the Information Transfer Capability and Protocol Identification…
Optimized laser energy conversion through automatic mode matched pumping
Granted: May 6, 1997
Patent Number:
5627853
An apparatus and method for stabilizing the transverse mode of laser oscillation in a vertical cavity semiconductor laser and a microchip laser are disclosed. A preferred embodiment includes a quantum-well region formed over a semiconductor substrate. A first reflective surface is formed over the quantum-well region, and a second reflective surface is formed over the substrate, opposite the first reflective surface, forming a laser cavity. The quantum-well region is optically pumped,…
Sealed crystalline windows for hollow laser fibers
Granted: April 29, 1997
Patent Number:
5625638
A device is disclosed for delivering laser radiation to a target. The device includes an elongated, hollow, tubular member having an input end and a delivery end. A window is mounted near the delivery end of the device. The window provides a seal preventing smoke and debris from contaminating the interior of the device. In the preferred embodiment, the window is formed from a crystalline material, such as diamond, which has low absorption level for laser light and excellent thermal…
Method of treating veins
Granted: November 26, 1996
Patent Number:
5578029
A method is disclosed for treating veins. In the subject method, the skin is pierced with the sharpened tip of a fiber optic probe. The probe is advanced to a location underneath the vessel to be treated. Once in position, the vessel is irradiated with a treatment beam having a fluence sufficient to coagulate and collapse the vessel at that location. The procedure is then repeated at multiple sites along the length of the vessel so that it will collapse along its length and no longer…
