Back to results
US 12,636,080 B2Granted
Laser scanning method, laser irradiation device, and laser treatment system
AssigneeOlympus Corporation
InventorsYuhei Takata, Takumi Hayashi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A laser scanning method that is a method for scanning a laser beam emitted from a distal end of an optical fiber in a liquid medium. The laser scanning method includes emission of a pulsed laser beam from the distal end in the medium, wherein the emission of the pulsed laser beam includes: generating a bubble that is to come into contact with the distal end and an operation member by means of the laser beam emitted from the distal end, the operation member being disposed only at one side of the distal end in a radial direction of the optical fiber; and contracting the bubble by stopping the emission of the laser beam from the distal end.
Claims20
A laser scanning method for scanning a laser beam emitted from a distal end of an optical fiber disposed in a liquid medium, the laser scanning method comprising:
- emitting the laser beam from the distal end of the optical fiber in the liquid medium, wherein the emitting the laser beam is effective to generate a bubble at the distal end of the optical fiber that contacts an operation member, the operation member being disposed within the liquid medium, adjacent to the distal end of the optical fiber, and only at one side of the distal end of the optical fiber in a radial direction of the optical fiber;
- stopping the emission of the laser beam from the distal end of the optical fiber, wherein the stopping the emission of the laser beam is effective to:
- cause the bubble to shrink non-isotropically toward the operation member based on a contraction force generated by the contact between the bubble and the operation member effective to draw the optical fiber towards the operation member;
- and
- cause the optical fiber to move away from the operation member by a restoring force of the optical fiber when the bubble vanishes and the contraction force dissipates;
- and
- repeating the emitting and the stopping at a pulse frequency.
4 more elements
A laser irradiation device comprising:
- a laser oscillator configured to supply a pulsed laser beam to a distal end of an optical fiber in a liquid medium;
- and
- a controller configured to cause the laser oscillator to supply the pulsed laser beam, wherein the causing the laser oscillator to supply the pulsed laser beam is effective to, when the optical fiber is in the liquid medium:
- for each pulse of the pulsed laser beam, generate a bubble at the distal end of the optical fiber that contacts an operation member disposed adjacent to the distal end of the optical fiber and disposed only at one side of the distal end of the optical fiber in a radial direction of the optical fiber;
- and
- for each period between pulses of the pulsed laser beam:
- cause the bubble to shrink non-isotropically toward the operation member based on a contraction force generated by the contact between the bubble and the operation member effective to draw the optical fiber towards the operation member;
- and
- cause the optical fiber to move away from the operation member by a restoring force of the optical fiber when the bubble vanishes and the contraction force dissipates.
6 more elements
A laser treatment system comprising:
- an optical fiber configured to be disposed in a liquid medium;
- an operation member configured to be disposed in the liquid medium, disposed adjacent to a distal end of the optical fiber, and disposed only at one side of the distal end of the optical fiber in a radial direction of the optical fiber;
- a laser oscillator configured to supply a pulsed laser beam to the optical fiber for emission from the distal end of the optical fiber;
- and
- a controller configured to cause the laser oscillator to supply the pulsed laser beam, wherein the causing the laser oscillator to supply the pulsed laser beam is effective to, when the optical fiber is in the liquid medium:
- for each pulse of the pulsed laser beam, generate a bubble at the distal end of the optical fiber that contacts the operation member;
- and
- for each period between pulses of the pulsed laser beam:
- cause the bubble to shrink non-isotropically toward the operation member based on a contraction force generated by the contact between the bubble and the operation member effective to draw the optical fiber towards the operation member;
- and
- cause the optical fiber to move away from the operation member by a restoring force of the optical fiber when the bubble vanishes and the contraction force dissipates.
8 more elements
A laser treatment method comprising:
- disposing a distal end of an optical fiber and an operation member in a liquid medium, the operation member being adjacent to the distal end of the optical fiber and only at one side of the distal end of the optical fiber in a radial direction of the optical fiber;
- emitting a laser beam from the distal end of the optical fiber effective to generate a bubble at the distal end of the optical fiber that contacts the operation member;
- stopping the emission of the laser beam from the distal end of the optical fiber effective to:
- cause the bubble to shrink non-isotropically toward the operation member based on a contraction force generated by the contact between the bubble and the operation member effective to draw the optical fiber towards the operation member;
- and
- cause the optical fiber to move away from the operation member by a restoring force of the optical fiber when the bubble vanishes and the contraction force dissipates;
- and
- repeating the emitting and the stopping at a pulse frequency.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.