Laser rod assembly for side pumped lasers
Granted: November 5, 1996
Patent Number:
5572541
A composite, glass or crystalline laser rod having a doped, light-absorbing core portion surrounded by a transparent cladding portion that is either undoped or doped with a nonabsorbing material is side-pumped with a plurality of laser diodes dispersed angularly around the laser rod. A reflective coating or sleeve substantially surrounds the laser rod, except for entrance slits for the pump light, to confine unabsorbed pump light in the crystalline laser rod by reflecting and…
Echo canceler with subband attenuation and noise injection control
Granted: October 1, 1996
Patent Number:
5561668
An echo canceler for canceling echo components of a send-input signal, includes an analysis filter bank for dividing the send-input signal into a plurality of subband send-input signals. A receive-signal is also divided into a plurality of subband receive signals. Each of the subband receive signals is convolved with an impulse response function pertaining the echo path coupling the receive signal to the send-input signal within each subband. The convolutions yield a plurality of…
Handpiece for producing highly collimated laser beam for dermatological procedures
Granted: September 24, 1996
Patent Number:
5558666
A handpiece for use in delivering the output beam of a laser to the surface of a patient's skin for performing a dermatological procedure. In a first and second embodiment of the present invention, the handpiece provides a highly collimated beam of a fixed, non-variable spot size which is largely insensitive to movement of the handpiece over a range of working positions. In a third embodiment the handpiece provides a highly collimated and well defined focused laser spot of variable size…
Method and apparatus for treating vascular lesions
Granted: September 24, 1996
Patent Number:
5558667
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.
Optical system for improving the symmetry of the beam emitted from a broad area laser diode
Granted: September 17, 1996
Patent Number:
5557475
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…
Full-duplex adapter for PBX telephone system
Granted: August 27, 1996
Patent Number:
5550901
An adapter for interconnecting a tip-ring telephone, a PBX telephone, and a private branch exchange (PBX) is configured to pass out-of-band signals between the PBX telephone and the PBX and to attenuate voice-band signals therebetween when the tip-ring telephone is being used. The adapter includes a band-reject filter and a switching mechanism for connecting the band-reject filter between the PBX telephone and the tip-ring telephone.
Anti-astigmatic ophthalmic contact lens for use in performing laser surgery
Granted: August 20, 1996
Patent Number:
5548352
A contact lens for viewing the interior of a patient's eye during an argon laser trabeculoplasty (ALT) procedure and for delivering laser energy to desired regions of the trabecular meshwork of the eye. The contact lens is fabricated from a hollow plastic body which is filled with a medium having an index of refraction which is substantially the same as that of the aqueous humor within a patient's eye. Visible and laser light enter the lens by means of a thin window of substantially…
Method of treating veins
Granted: July 2, 1996
Patent Number:
5531739
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…
Method of treating veins
Granted: June 4, 1996
Patent Number:
5522813
A method of treating vascular lesions is disclosed which includes using a focused beam from a high energy, carbon dioxide laser to irradiate a spot on the surface of the skin over the vessel to be treated. The carbon dioxide output wavelength is highly absorbed by the tissue. By using short, high energy pulses, a small volume of skin can be vaporized or ablated with each pulse with little thermal damage beyond the ablated region. Using multiple pulses, a small channel is drilled in the…
System for minimizing the depolarization of a laser beam due to thermally induced birefringence
Granted: April 2, 1996
Patent Number:
5504763
A system is disclosed for minimizing the depolarization of a laser beam due to thermally induced birefringence in a rod-shaped gain medium over a wide range of excitation levels. After passing through the gain medium, the polarization of the beam is rotated by ninety degrees and either redirected back into the same gain medium or a substantially identical gain medium. By this arrangement, the portion of the beam that was radially polarized during the first pass is tangentially polarized…
Laser system with collinear process and alignment beams
Granted: February 20, 1996
Patent Number:
5493579
Apparatus for providing a visible or viewable alignment beam for an invisible process beam, wherein the beam generating elements are arranged in a tandem configuration to improve alignment and stability.
Method and apparatus for dot matrix writing using a continous wave laser
Granted: November 14, 1995
Patent Number:
5467121
A method and apparatus for writing bits (or pixels) on a target by scanning a continuous wave laser beam across an array of concave mirrors. The radiation reflected from the concave mirror array images a row of stationary dots on the target during each scan. To write a dot matrix pattern, after each row of dots is written on the target, the target is translated (perpendicularly to the row of dots) by an increment, and another row of dots is then written on the target. The laser beam can…
Surgical laser handpiece for slit incisions
Granted: October 3, 1995
Patent Number:
5454808
A slit incision handpiece that receives a circular laser beam, reshapes the beam to have an elliptical cross-section, and focuses the beam onto target tissue. Slit incisions of approximately the dimensions of the elliptical beam are formed by stationary exposures on the target tissue from the output of the slit incision handpiece.
Flashlamp energy control circuit
Granted: October 3, 1995
Patent Number:
5455837
A circuit is disclosed for controlling the output of a flashlamp used to excite a gain medium. The circuit functions to supply energy to the flashlamp for fixed time intervals to generate repetitive pulses having a uniform duration. The circuit includes a photodetector for generating an output signal which is proportional to the light generated by the flashlamp. During a first phase of the fixed interval, the circuit delivers a first voltage level to the flashlamp. At the end of the…
Laser coagulation system
Granted: June 20, 1995
Patent Number:
5425729
An apparatus for ophthalmic laser treatment of the eye of a patient has a slit image projector which projects a slit image along a common optical axis into the eye of a patient to illuminate the eye, and a laser beam projector which projects a laser beam spot along the common optical axis into the eye of the patient to treat the eye. A common reflector is disposed on the common optical axis for selectively reflecting the slit image and the laser beam spot toward the eye. The reflector…
Laser system selectively operable at two competing wavelengths
Granted: June 20, 1995
Patent Number:
5426662
A laser system is disclosed which is capable of selectively generating radiation at two competing wavelength regions. A gas discharge tube is provided which includes krypton as the lasing medium. A primary mirror is mounted at one of the tube. A switchable mirror assembly is mounted at the other end of the tube. The mirror assembly includes a frame. A cradle is pivotally mounted in the frame and is rotatable between two angular positions. A pair of mirrors are mounted to the cradle in a…
Surgical laser handpiece for slit incisions
Granted: March 14, 1995
Patent Number:
5397327
A slit incision handpiece that receives a circular laser beam, reshapes the beam to have an elliptical cross-section, and focuses the beam onto target tissue. Slit incisions of approximately the dimensions of the elliptical beam are formed by stationary exposures on the target tissue from the output of the slit incision handpiece.
Damage resistant sterilizable fiber optic probe assembly
Granted: March 7, 1995
Patent Number:
5395360
An approach for sterilizing and reusing a fiber optic probe is disclosed. The fiber optic probe includes an input end having an axially projecting stem containing the input face of the fiber. Prior to sterilization, a cap member is mounted on the stem to prevent damage by the pressurized steam encountered in an autoclave. After being sterilized, the probe is brought to the operating theater. The sterilized probe is transferred to the sterile field while the stem and cap member are…
Optical coating for reflecting visible and longer wavelength radiation having grazing incidence angle
Granted: February 28, 1995
Patent Number:
5394501
A waveguide including a folded, coated reflector highly reflective of radiation having two different wavelengths over a wide range of incidence angles, including grazing incidence angles. The waveguide can be employed for guiding laser radiation useful for medical or other applications, such as a combined HeNe and CO.sub.2 laser beam. In some embodiments, the invention is a hollow waveguide formed by folding a flat, coated substrate into a polygonal shape. Because the coated substrate is…
Transceiver module for a table-top teleconferencing system
Granted: February 14, 1995
Patent Number:
D355416
