Patent ID: 6024738
Filing Date: 2000-02-15
Classification: A61B,A61M

Abstract:
A laser catheter for treatment of biological materials within arteries or other narrow passages of living organisms comprising:a substantially non-thermally conductive, non-metallic optically transparent dual-phase contact member having a planar laser energy input surface at a proximal end of the contact member and a generally rounded laser output surface at a distal end of the contact member for contacting biological material and outputting laser energy opposed to the input surface;a catheter conduit having at least one lumen;a housing member for rigidly retaining said contact member and coupling the contact member to said catheter conduit; andan optical fiber positioned within one of the at least one conduit lumen, having an input end and an output end, said input end adapted for coupling to a source of laser energy and said output end having a generally planar output surface and disposed adjacent and in operative proximity to the contact member input surface, the contact member input surface disposed at an angle to the optical fiber output surface;whereby laser energy, emitted from said output surface of the optical fiber, propagates in a path generally normal to and forward of said output surface and couples into the contact member at the contact member input surface, the input surface canting the laser energy path resulting in laser energy emitting from the contact surface at an angle to the laser energy path emitted from the optical fiber and impinging biological material residing along walls of the narrow passages surrounding the catheter.