Abstract:
A balloon for injecting material into a wall of a hollow organ of a human, comprising: an expandable balloon body having a surface and having an axis; at least one predefined ejection port on said body adapted for ejection of fluid therefrom, in a transaxial direction; and an impulse source configured for and adapted to eject material out of said point at a velocity and shape suitable for mechanically penetrating tissue adjacent said port.
Abstract:
Laser systems medical or cosmetic applications, comprising diode lasers or diode lasers with other solid state lasers which can deliver up to 30 cw or more, and which generally operate at a wavelength within the range of 1000 to 1300nm are presented. Individual emitter or emitter groups within the diode laser system can be powered independently. These laser systems provide maximum penetration depths for procedures such as Laser-induced Interstitial Tumor Therapy, alone or in conjunction with other therapies such as Photo-Dynamic Therapy, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy. Where beneficial for the procedure, the operating wavelength of the system can be changed without interruption. In some variants, active tissue cooling at the distal end of the delivery fibers is incorporated as well as individual feedback loops to control and stabilize the temperature induced in the tissue. To enhance thermal or photo effects and thereby increase efficiencies, absorbers can be administered and the laser system tuned to the specific absorption band of the absorber.
Abstract:
An apparatus and related method are disclosed for directing a continuous or pulsed, polychromatic light beam through a hand-held light guide at a target biological tissue, as part of a health-related treatment in medicine or dentistry. The non-laser polychromatic light beam can be pulsed at a duration and duty cycle selected to provide optimal heating of the target issue, e.g., to temperatures in the range of 37 DEG to 175 DEG C, while allowing the tissue to undergo a thermal relaxation response between successive pulses. The treatment delivers a photo-specific energy density in the range of 10 to 5000 watts/cm2, selected to achieve the desired treatment. In the case of dental procedures on hard dental tissue, such treatments can include tooth bleaching, curing of dental composite materials, detecting of caries, cutting of enamel, dentin and bone, desensitizing of dentin, etching of enamel, osteoplasty, ostectomy, shade matching and other cosmetic procedures, trans-illumination, imaging and/or illumination.
Abstract:
Light is administered during photodynamic therapy (PDT) for an extended period of time at a plurality of sites (52) distributed within the abnormal tissue of a tumor (22). A clinical study has shown that a substantially greater volume of abnormal tissue in a tumor is destroyed by the extended administration of light therapy from a plurality of probes (50a-50e) than would have been expected based upon the teaching of the prior art. In this process, a plurality of light emitting optical fibers or probes are deployed in a spaced apart array. The greater volume of necrosis (38) in the tumor (22) is achieved due to one or more concomitant effects, including the inflammation of damaged abnormal tissue, and resultant immunological response of the patient's body; and the collapse of the vascular system that provides oxygenated blood to portions of the tumor outside the expected fluency zone.
Abstract:
Partial or total occlusions of fluid passages within the human body are removed by positioning an array of optical fibers in the passage and directing treatment radiation pulses along the fibers, one at a time, to generate a shock wave and hydrodynamic flows that strike and emulsify the occlusions. A preferred application is the removal of blood clots (thrombi and emboli) from small cerebral vessels to reverse the effects of an ischemic stroke. The operating parameters and techniques are chosen to minimize the amount of heating of the fragile cerebral vessel walls occurring during this photoacoustic treatment. One such technique is the optical monitoring of the existence of hydrodynamic flow generating vapor bubbles when they are expected to occur and stopping the heat generating pulses propagated along an optical fiber that is not generating such bubbles.
Abstract:
A needle for collecting a tissue sample includes a needle body extending longitudinally from a proximal end to a distal end and including a channel extending therethrough and a plurality of optical fibers extending along a length of the needle body and configured to pass laser energy therethrough to the distal end of the needle body to cut and collect a tissue sample within the channel.
Abstract:
A surgical laser system includes an array of laser diodes that are configured to output laser energy, a fiber bundle, a delivery fiber, and a tubular sheath. The fiber bundle includes a plurality of optical fibers and has a proximal end that is configured to receive laser energy from the array of laser diodes. The delivery fiber includes a proximal end that is configured to receive laser energy from a distal end of the fiber bundle. The tubular sheath defines a lumen, in which at least a portion of the delivery fiber is disposed. The tubular sheath is insertable into a working channel of an endoscope or a cystoscope. A distal end of the tubular sheath is configured to deliver laser energy discharged from the delivery fiber into a body of a patient.
Abstract:
Devices and methods are provided for indicating treatment efficiency by illuminating a signal onto surrounding tissue. The signal may be dynamic and is configured to indicate specific parameters of the treatment, the device and the patient. Various signal features may denote different parameters. Devices and methods are provided for maintaining a fiber tip effective throughout a treatment procedure by regenerating or replacing the tip. Devices and methods are provided for controlling emission from bended fibers. Cordless configurations of laser treatment devices are also provided.
Abstract:
The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for removing a vascular obstruction in a subject using a combination ofthrombolytic and laser ablation therapy. Treatment methods include positioning a catheter adjacent to an obstruction within a vessel of a subject. A portion of the obstruction may be ablated by delivering laser energy through the optical fibers to the distal end of the catheter, where the optical fibers are exposed, and circulating a fluid containing one or more thrombolytic agents to a remaining portion of the obstruction for a predetermined amount time. Fluid containing one or more thrombolytic agents capable of dissolving a remaining portion of the obstruction may be circulated through the fluid delivery lumen and removed through the fluid removal lumen.
Abstract:
A device for insertion into a mammalian patient comprises a shaft and a light delivery element. The shaft comprises a proximal end, a distal end, and a lumen therebetween. The light delivery element is constructed and arranged to deliver light to prevent infection, reduce infection and/or cause a therapeutic benefit or physiologic effect.