Method for closing tissue wounds using radiative energy beams

Abstract

The method and apparatus of the invention use a beam of laser emitted optical energy to effect wound closure and reconstruction of biological tissue. In response to input as to tissue type and thickness, a computer determines the output power, exposure time and spot diameter of the emitted beam to control the application of optical energy to produce thermal heating of biological tissue. The tissue is heated to a degree suitable for denaturing the tissue proteins such that the collagenous elements of the tissue form a "biological glue" to seal immediately and/or to reconstruct the tissue being heated without any injurious tissue shrinkage. In a given embodiment, the computer directly controls output power of the laser by regulating the laser's input current, and limits exposure time by deactivating a shutter mechanism when the predetermined time is reached. Beam diameter is manually set in response to a displayed value with a scale that controls the working distance between the end of a fiber optic beam guide and the tissue site.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.