Handling And Safety Aspects Of Fiber Optic Laser Beam Delivery Systems

K.-H. Schonborn; W. Wodrich

doi:10.1117/12.945287

21 June 1988 Handling And Safety Aspects Of Fiber Optic Laser Beam Delivery Systems

K.-H. Schonborn, W. Wodrich

Proceedings Volume 0906, Optical Fibers in Medicine III; (1988) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.945287
Event: 1988 Los Angeles Symposium: O-E/LASE '88, 1988, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Abstract

Using lasers for therapeutic applications is getting more and more accepted. In ophthalmology Ar-lasers for intraocular applications are quite common. The Nd:YAG-laser is used as a high power tool in connection with silica fibers for different extracorporal and intracorporal applications. The CO2-laser is the cutting laser, one problem being the beam transmission: The state of the art in fibers is not sufficient up to now. Because of the high power used safety against laser radiation hazard is of great importance. The safety in laser use is primarily dependent on the surgeons cautiousness, e.g. using laser protection goggels, observing that the spot of the aiming beam is present etc. On the other hand the laser and fiber system has to be inherently safe by appropriate technical means as far as possible. An additional aspect adding to safety is the handling: With easier system handling less attention of the surgeon is necessary for driving the apparatus. Thus he can concentrate on the patient and on the procedure. In considering the fiber system one important point in handling and safety is the coupling of the fiber to the laser head. The development philosophy in this coupling may be divided into two groups: - one is trying to use standard connectors which were initially developed for data transmission; - the other is using special connectors. One example of the first group is the guiding of the laser beam from the Ar-laser to the slit-lamp in ophtalmology. Here the well-known F-SMA connectors together with a special fiber with adapted numerical aperture are used. The advantage of such a system is the low price of the connector. For high power lasers such as the clinical Nd:YAG lasers with 40 to 150 W those connectors are not suitable. Up to now every laser manufacturer developed his own connector system in this field.

Citation Download Citation

K.-H. Schonborn and W. Wodrich "Handling And Safety Aspects Of Fiber Optic Laser Beam Delivery Systems", Proc. SPIE 0906, Optical Fibers in Medicine III, (21 June 1988); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.945287

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