Abstract
We report a novel radial-firing optical fiber tip containing a conical-shaped air-pocket fabricated by deforming a hollow optical fiber using electric arc-discharge process. The hollow optical fiber was fusion spliced with a conventional optical fiber, simultaneously deforming into the intagliated conical-shaped region along the longitudinal fiber-axis of the fiber due to the gradual collapse of the cavity of the hollow optical fiber. Then the distal-end of the hollow optical fiber was sealed by the additional arc-discharge in order to obstruct the inflow of an external bio-substance or liquid to the inner air surface during the surgical operations, resulting in the formation of encased air-pocket in the silica glass fiber. Due to the total internal reflection of the laser beam at the conical-shaped air surface, the laser beam (λ = 632.8 nm) was deflected to the circumferential direction up to 87 degree with respect to the fiber-axis.
Highlights
Optical fiber-based endoscopic laser devices have been widely used for operation of the several minimally invasive medical surgeries such as gastroenterological surgery, prostatectomy, lithotripsy, varicose vein surgery, and herniated disk surgery in modern medicine [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
A hollow silica glass optical fiber (HOF, inner/outer diameters; 70/125 μm) was fusion spliced with a conventional optical fiber (COF, core/cladding diameters; 8.2/125 μm) by discharging an electric-arc at the interface between the COF and HOF [Fig. 1(a)]
We assumed that the fluent radial emission in the case of the present optical fiber tip was originated from the refraction of the fractional laser beam instead of being reflected through the air surface owing to the propagation angle (αo (> 0 °) = αNA) of the laser beam passing through the glass fiber
Summary
Optical fiber-based endoscopic laser devices have been widely used for operation of the several minimally invasive medical surgeries such as gastroenterological surgery, prostatectomy, lithotripsy, varicose vein surgery, and herniated disk surgery in modern medicine [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. The endoscopic fiber-optic probe is inserted into deep diseased tissues through the small incision site and an intense light beam is transmitted from the one end to the other end of the optical fiber in order to treat in vivo lesions. Due to this distinctive therapeutic modality, a remote operation on a deep tissue in human body without a large incision is feasible by physicians [8]. The side-firing and the radial-firing optical fibers were introduced as the effective alternative to the forward-firing optical devices for treatment of the diseased tissue which locates at hard-to-access areas
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