Laser scanning method, laser irradiation device, and laser treatment system
AssigneeOlympus Corporation
InventorsYuhei TAKATA, Takumi HAYASHI
Life of this patent
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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 treatment system comprising:
- an optical fiber with a distal end configured to be disposed in a liquid medium;
- 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
- an operation member:
- configured to be disposed in the liquid medium;
- and
- comprising a plate-shaped structure adjacent to the distal end of the optical fiber that is configured to:
- for each pulse of the pulsed laser beam, contact a bubble generated at the distal end of the optical fiber by the respective pulse;
- 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,
- wherein the optical fiber is configured to move away from the optical member by a restoring force of the optical fiber when the bubble vanishes.
An operation member for a laser treatment system, the operation member comprising:
- a plate-shaped structure configured to:
- be disposed adjacent to a distal end of an optical fiber;
- for each pulse of a laser beam emitted from the distal end of the optical fiber, contact a bubble generated at the distal end of the optical fiber by the respective pulse;
- for each period between pulses of the laser beam, cause the distal end of the optical fiber to be drawn toward the operation member via a contraction force generated by the contact between the bubble and the operation member as the bubble shrinks non-isotropically;
- and
- allow the distal end of the optical fiber to move away from the optical member when the bubble vanishes.
An endoscope comprising:
- a channel comprising a distal end;
- an optical fiber disposed within the channel such that a distal end of the optical fiber protrudes from the distal end of the channel;
- and
- a plate-shaped operation member attached proximate the distal end of the channel that extends parallel to the optical fiber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.