JPH0578801B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to a laser beam transmission fiber,
In particular, the present invention relates to a laser beam transmission fiber for transendoscopically irradiating a laser beam into a hollow organ.

[Background of the invention]

Rapid advances in laser technology have already made it possible to diagnose and treat lesions such as tumors in hollow organs by transendoscopically irradiating laser beams. Medical optical transmission fibers used in such laser scalpels and the like are usually used through endoscopes. That is, for example, an optical fiber with a laser scalpel section at its tip is inserted through the forceps hole of the endoscope's hand operation section, and the laser knife section at the tip of the optical fiber is exposed from the tip of the endoscope insertion section, and the laser scalpel section at the tip of the optical fiber is exposed from the tip of the endoscope insertion section. The lesion is treated by irradiating it with a laser beam.

However, laser medical optical transmission fibers generally have an extremely small diameter and a relatively long length, and it is necessary to insert the optical fiber in such a shape into the forceps hole, which is a small hole in the insertion part of the endoscope, and to successfully internalize it. It is extremely difficult to reach the distal end of the endoscope insertion section.
In particular, the endoscope insertion section is curved so that its tip can be directed toward the diseased area, and the curved shape of the insertion section tip makes it difficult to insert the optical fiber. That is, when inserting a laser medical optical fiber into a forceps hole, the optical transmission fiber may not be inserted smoothly due to the frictional force between the outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber and the forceps hole, or the optical transmission fiber may not be inserted into the forceps hole forcibly. If you try to insert it, there is a risk that an accident such as the optical transmission fiber breaking inside the forceps hole may occur.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to propose a laser beam transmission fiber that can be smoothly inserted into even extremely small holes such as the forceps holes in the hand control section of an endoscope. It is an object.

[Summary of the invention]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized in that a coiled spring is wound around the outer periphery of an optical fiber consisting of a core and a cladding having different refractive indexes.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Preferred embodiments of the laser beam transmission fiber according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a commonly used endoscope, which includes a hand-held operating section 10 and a hand-held operating section 10 that is connected to the hand-held operating section 10 and that can be inserted deep inside the body. It is composed of a flexible insertion section 12 and a connecting section 16 that connects the hand operation section 10 and a control device 14 that incorporates a light source and various other control mechanisms necessary for this endoscope. As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 2, the hand operation section 10 is provided with an eyepiece section 18 including an eyepiece lens at its upper part, and on the front thereof there are an operation button 20 for air and water supply, an operation button 22 for suction, A forceps insertion port 24 is provided. A laser beam transmission fiber having a laser scalpel section formed at its tip is normally inserted through the forceps insertion port 24, passes through the hand operation section 10 and the insertion section 12, and is exposed from the tip of the insertion section 12.

First, the structure of the laser scalpel portion formed at the tip of the laser beam transmission fiber used in this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. In FIG. 3, a direct laser scalpel section is shown. That is, in FIG. 3, the optical transmission fiber 26 is composed of a core 28 and a cladding 30. The tip of the output end of the optical transmission fiber 26 forms an output end 32 formed in a substantially hemispherical shape. This hemispherical output end 32 has a peripheral portion 30A excluding a central portion 28A composed of the core 28, which is made up of fibers 26.
It is covered with a continuous cladding layer starting from the cladding 30 of the main part, and is formed into a hemispherical shape as a whole.

In FIG. 4, a side-emitting type laser scalpel section is shown. i.e. approximately 45° to the centerline of the fiber 26.
An inclined plane 34 is formed at the tip, and a reflective layer 36 is further deposited thereon. An output plane 38 parallel to the fiber centerline is formed at the output portion of the laser beam reflected by the inclined reflection plane 34. Preferably, the output plane 38 is formed so that a cladding layer of 15 to 20 .mu.m remains between it and the core 28 of the fiber 26.

5 and 6 show a laser beam transmission fiber according to the invention. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, a coiled spring 42 is wound around the outer periphery of the fiber 26. As described above, the fiber 26 is composed of a core 28 and a cladding 30 made of a quartz glass cladding or a polymer cladding located around the core 28, and these claddings have different refractive indexes. Further, the outer periphery of the cladding 30 may be coated with silicone, and the outer periphery may be further protected with a coating layer made of nylon. These coatings and covering layers are applied to reinforce the optical fiber and improve its mechanical properties, depending on the purpose of use.

As the material of the coiled spring 42, high tensile strength steel wire, piano wire, phosphor bronze spring material, hard copper wire, stainless steel spring material, etc. are used. In particular, stainless steel spring material is advantageous in that it has a rust-proofing function.

A coiled spring 4 is attached to the outer periphery of the optical fiber 26.
There are the following methods for wrapping 2. The first method is to wrap a spring around the outer periphery of the optical fiber 26, and then wind the coiled spring 42 around the outer periphery of the fiber 26. The second method is to insert the optical fiber 26 into a spring 42 that has been previously formed into a coil shape, thereby wrapping the coiled spring 42 around the outer periphery of the optical fiber 26. A third method is to pass the fiber 26 through a spring 42 that has been previously coiled and is shorter than the length of the fiber 26, then stretch the spring 42, secure both ends to the fiber 26 by caulking, etc. This is a method of winding the spring 42. This method uses the spring 42
This has the advantage that the fibers adhere tightly to the outer periphery of the fiber 26.

Further, the coiled spring 42 may be wound around the fiber 26 in a single (one) manner, or in a plurality (two or more). Further, the spring 42 can be either honey-wound or coil-wound. Further, the linear cross-sectional shape of the coiled spring 42 is not limited to a circular shape, but may also be an elliptical or rectangular shape.

The fiber 26 and the spring 42 may be connected by caulking both ends as described above, or they may be joined by heat fusion of an external member (glass or synthetic resin material) of the fiber 26. It's okay. Alternatively, the two may be connected using an adhesive.

The operation of the embodiment of the laser beam transmission fiber according to the present invention constructed as described above is as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 5, the fiber 26 having a coiled spring 42 wound around its outer periphery is inserted through the forceps hole 24 of the endoscope hand control section 10 shown in FIG. In this case, in the conventional fiber, the forceps hole and the outer peripheral surface of the fiber were in line contact, but since the fiber 26 according to this embodiment has a coiled spring 42 wound around the outer circumference, the fiber 26 and the forceps hole are in line contact. The contact with is a point contact relationship. Therefore, the frictional force when inserting the fiber 26 is reduced, and the fiber can be inserted smoothly even in the insertion portion 12 having a curved tip. Furthermore, even if the laser scalpel at the tip of the fiber needs to be replaced due to damage or the like, it can be easily pulled out and replaced quickly. Furthermore fiber 2
Since the outer periphery of the fiber 26 is protected by a spring 42, breakage accidents are less likely to occur compared to a laser scalpel using only the fiber 26.

Furthermore, since the spring 42 is wound around the outer periphery of the fiber 26, the followability of the fiber 26 is improved, and the laser scalpel portion at the tip of the fiber 26 can be easily directed to a desired position. That is, the seventh
As shown in the figure, the objective lens 5 at the tip of the endoscope insertion section
When the field of view of 0 is in the range shown by diagonal lines 52, we want to direct the laser scalpel section 56 exposed from the forceps hole 54 within the shaded range 52, but in such a case, conventional tracking was poor. However,
The interposition of the spring 42 improves followability and allows the laser scalpel to be easily directed within the viewing range 52 of the objective lens 50. Furthermore, the seventh
In the figure, 56 is a light guide, and 58 is an air/water channel.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the laser beam transmission fiber according to the present invention, a coiled spring is wound around the outer periphery of the optical fiber consisting of a core and a cladding having different refractive indexes. This has the effect of making it extremely easy to insert, remove, replace, etc. the laser scalpel.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall shape of the endoscope, Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the overall shape of the endoscope.
The figure is an enlarged front view of the hand control part of the endoscope, Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the direct-firing type laser scalpel part, Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the side-firing type laser scalpel part, and Figure 5 is related to this embodiment. FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the fiber according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of use of the embodiment. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Endoscope hand control unit, 24... Forceps insertion port, 26... Optical fiber, 28... Core, 30...
...Cratsud, 42...Spring.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a laser beam transmission fiber that is inserted through a forceps hole in an endoscope hand operation section and a laser scalpel section at the tip of the optical fiber is extended from a forceps hole at the distal end of the endoscope insertion section, 1. A fiber for transmitting a laser beam, characterized in that a coiled spring is wound around the outer periphery of an optical fiber consisting of a core and a cladding having different refractive indexes, so that contact with the inner wall of the forceps hole is approximately at a point. 2. The output end of the optical fiber is formed in a hemispherical shape, and the output end is covered with a cladding layer that continues to the cladding of the optical fiber up to an arbitrary position. Fiber for laser beam transmission. 3. The output end of the optical fiber forms an inclined reflective surface at an angle of approximately 45° with respect to the center line of the fiber, and the output side surface of the laser beam reflected by this inclined reflective surface has an output plane parallel to the fiber center line. A laser beam transmission fiber according to claim 1, characterized in that the fiber is formed with: 4. The laser beam transmission fiber according to claim 1, wherein the coiled spring is wound in a coil around the outer periphery of the optical fiber. 5. The spring is formed in advance into a coil shape,
2. The laser beam transmission fiber according to claim 1, wherein an optical fiber is inserted into the hollow portion of the coiled spring and the coiled spring is wound around the outer periphery of the optical fiber. 6. Claim 5, characterized in that after the optical fiber is inserted into the hollow portion of the coiled spring, the coiled spring is extended in the longitudinal direction and the spring is wound around the outer periphery of the optical fiber. Fiber for laser beam transmission. 7. Claim 1, wherein the outer circumferential surface of the optical fiber and the coiled spring are bonded together by self-thermal fusion of the outer material of the optical fiber.
Fiber for laser beam transmission as described in . 8. The laser beam transmission fiber according to claim 1, wherein the outer circumferential surface of the optical fiber and the coiled spring are bonded with an adhesive. 9. The laser beam transmission fiber according to claim 1, wherein the cladding of the optical fiber is a silica glass cladding or a polymer cladding.