A surgical laser system includes a surgical optical fiber optically coupled to a light source and a light detector configured to receive a portion of light reflected from a treatment target and generate optical data corresponding to the portion of the reflected light interacting with the light detector. The system also includes a computing device configured to analyze the optical data relative to characteristic criteria, and based on the comparison of the optical data to the characteristic criteria, control operation of a laser source.

Apparatus and methods for ablating material in a region within a vascular system of a patient are provided. A determination of at least one of a type of material in the region and an indication of a distance to the material in the region is made based on at least one property of the region determined from light reflected from the region. Light from a light source is transmitted in at least one of a plurality of optical fibers based on the determination, and at least some of the transmitted light is received at a first emitter disposed along a length of a laser catheter proximate a distal end thereof. The first emitter radially transmits the at least some of the light from the length of the laser catheter so that the light impinges upon and ablates the material through an opening in the length of the laser catheter.

Described herein are shock wave devices and methods for the treatment of calcified heart valves. One variation of a shock wave device may comprise an elongated flexible tube carried by a sheath. The tube may have a fluid input end, which may be located near a proximal end of the sheath. The tube may include a loop portion. The loop portion may be configured to be at least partially accommodated within a cusp of the heart valve. The tube may be fillable with a conductive fluid. In some variations, the shock wave device may include an array of electrode pairs associated with a plurality of wires positioned within the loop portion of a tube. The electrode pairs may be electrically connectable to a voltage source and configured to generate shock waves in the conductive fluid in response to voltage pulses.

A photoacoustic catheter can include an elongate shaft and a first photoacoustic transducer. The elongate shaft can extend from a proximal region to a distal region and can include a first light guide that is in optical communication with a light source. The first photoacoustic transducer can be disposed within the distal region of the elongate shaft and can be in optical communication with the first light guide. The first photoacoustic transducer can impart acoustic pressure waves upon a calcified lesion to induce fractures. The first photoacoustic transducer can include a light-absorbing material and a thermal expansion material that can be in contact with one another. The thermal expansion material can include polydimethylsiloxane, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyimide, polyisobutylene, polyisobutylene polyurethane, polyurethanes, styrene isoprene butadiene, ethylene propylene polyacrylic, ethylene acrylic, fluorosilicone, polybutadiene, polyisoprene, and/or thermoplastic elastomers. The light-absorbing material can include nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, candle soot, candle soot nanoparticles, carbon black, a nanotube array, multiwall carbon nanotubes, and/or light absorbing dye. The first light guide can be an optical fiber and the light source can be a laser.

Image-guided therapy of a tissue can utilize magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or another medical imaging device to guide an instrument within the tissue. A workstation can actuate movement of the instrument, and can actuate energy emission and/or cooling of the instrument to effect treatment to the tissue. The workstation and/or an operator of the workstation can be located outside a vicinity of an MRI device or other medical imaging device, and drive means for positioning the instrument can be located within the vicinity of the MRI device or the other medical imaging device. The instrument can be an MRI compatible laser probe that provides thermal therapy to, e.g., a tissue in a brain of a patient.

A laser atherectomy device includes a light delivery catheter equipped with sensors for monitoring physical characteristics at a laser application site. An integrated control unit utilizing data from said sensors is provided to optimally adjust laser energy parameters and to provide for safe and efficacious ablation of the blood vessel occlusion.

Embodiments of the present invention comprise a fiber optic guidewire having a hypotube with a plurality of openings that provide variable stiffness and tracking characteristics between at least one proximal segment and one distal segment of the guidewire. In some embodiments, the guidewire further comprises a mandrel disposed within the hypotube, the mandrel cooperating with the optical fibers to permit the distal end of the hypotube to be shaped as desired by a user. Methods of manufacturing and using the guidewire are also disclosed.

Catheters for ablation and removal of occlusions from blood vessels are provided. Laser cutting systems and mechanical cutting systems are provided in catheter devices, the cutting systems operable to ablate, cut, dislodge, and otherwise remove occlusions within a blood vessel that may limit or prevent proper circulation. Catheters include expandable distal ends to facilitate, in some cases, relatively high bodily material removal rates compared to other devices.

A laser therapeutic apparatus includes a laser and a therapeutic optical fiber. The therapeutic optical fiber is configured for being implanted into a body of a patient during surgery to perform a repair treatment on a spinal cord site to-be-treated by irradiation and then being removed from the body of the patient after the surgery. The therapeutic optical fiber includes N number of laser fibers, N1 number of optical fiber connection components, an optical fiber guiding structure, and an optical fiber controller; the N number of laser fibers are coupled with one another by the N1 number of optical fiber connection components to form a cascaded optical fiber structure, an end of the cascaded optical fiber structure is coupled to the optical fiber guiding structure, and another end of the cascaded optical fiber structure is coupled to the optical fiber controller.

Aspects of this disclosure pertain to a device with an elongated body having a distal end. The distal end may comprise a port that permits discharge of a laser energy towards a tissue from an optical fiber located in the distal end. An exterior surface of the distal end may include a cauterization portion that permits discharge of a cauterization energy towards the tissue. In some aspects, the device includes an insulative portion that attaches the distal end to the elongated body and limits energy transfer therebetween. Related systems and methods are also disclosed.