Apparatus for emitting laser pulses
AssigneeBoston Scientific Scimed, Inc.
InventorsHyun Wook KANG, Raymond Adam NEMEYER, Michael Ray HODEL
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Abstract
A laser resonator includes a gain medium that produces light from pump energy and a variable light attenuator, which receives light and emits either (i) a first light including a continuous series of micropulses, or (ii) a second light including a series of macropulses at spaced time intervals, where each macropulse includes a series of micropulses. Each micropulse has a duration of 0.1 to 10 microseconds, and a duration of each macropulse is less than the time interval between each macropulse, and the micropulses have a frequency of 5 kHz to 40 kHz.
Claims21
1-20. (canceled)
A laser resonator, comprising:
- a gain medium that produces light from pump energy;
- and
- a variable light attenuator configured to receive light and emit either (i) a first light including a continuous series of micropulses, or (ii) a second light including a series of macropulses at spaced time intervals, wherein each macropulse includes a series of micropulses, wherein each micropulse has a duration of 0.1 to 10 microseconds, wherein a duration of each macropulse is less than the time interval between each macropulse, and wherein the micropulses have a frequency of 5 kHz to 40 kHz.
A laser resonator, comprising:
- a gain medium that produces light from pump energy;
- and
- a variable light attenuator configured to receive light and emit either (i) a first light including a continuous series of micropulses, or (ii) a second light including a series of macropulses at spaced time intervals, wherein the first light is configured to coagulate tissue and the second light is configured to vaporize tissue.
A method for performing a medical procedure using a laser apparatus, comprising:
- generating a pump energy;
- generating a light using the pump energy;
- outputting, in a first mode, a first light from the laser apparatus including a continuous series of micropulses is emitted from the laser apparatus;
- and
- outputting, in a second mode, a second light from the laser apparatus including a series of macropulses at spaced time intervals, wherein each macropulse includes a series of micropulses, wherein each successive one of the macropulses has a magnitude greater than a magnitude of a preceding macropulse, and the micropulses have a frequency of 5 kHz to 40 kHz.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.