Patent ID: 9610124
Date: 2017-04-04
CPC Classifications: A61B,A61F,H01S

Claim:
1. A medical laser having a standby mode, a ready mode, and a treatment mode, the medical laser comprising: (a) a laser source for delivering a laser output, wherein said laser source receives, from a laser power supply, no current in said standby mode, a current passing through said laser source at an idle level that does not cause said laser source to emit said laser output in said ready mode, and the current at a commanded level that causes said laser source to emit said laser output in said treatment mode; and (b) an electronic shutter circuit for monitoring and safely controlling said laser output, wherein said electronic shutter circuit comprises: (i) a safety monitor circuit; (ii) a first current sensor and a second current sensor, wherein said first current sensor and said second current sensor each independently provide input to said safety monitor circuit, and wherein said first current sensor controls the current at said commanded level while the medical laser is in said treatment mode, and wherein said second current sensor provides input to disable current flow through said laser power supply if the current exceeds a threshold current while the medical laser is in said ready mode; (iii) a first electronic safety current switch receiving input from said safety monitor circuit and being independent from said laser power supply, said first electronic safety current switch being coupled in parallel with said laser source as a shunt across said laser source; and (iv) a first photodetector and a second photodetector that each monitor an emission power of said laser output and provide an input to said safety monitor circuit; wherein the medical laser does not include a mechanical shutter mechanism for controlling said laser output.