A system to treat a patient comprises a user interface that allows a physician to view an image of tissue to be treated in order to develop a treatment plan to resect tissue with a predefined removal profile. The image may comprise a plurality of images, and the planned treatment is shown on the images. The treatment probe may comprise an anchor, and the image shown on the screen may have a reference image marker shown on the screen corresponding to the anchor. The planned tissue removal profile can be displayed and scaled to the image of the target tissue of an organ such as the prostate, and the physician can adjust the treatment profile based on the scaled images to provide a treatment profile in three dimensions. The images shown on the display may comprise segmented images of the patient with treatment plan overlaid on the images.

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.

[Object] To provide an ablation system capable of suppressing heat damages to the lumen intima. [Solution] An ablation system 10 has an ablation device 11 in which a balloon 21 is provided on the distal end side of a shaft 22 and an in-side tube 27 causing a fluid to flow into the balloon 21, the internal space of the shaft 22 causing a fluid to flow out of the balloon 21, and an optical fiber 29 guiding laser light into the balloon 21 are individually provided along the shaft 22, a laser light generating unit 12 emitting laser light to the optical fiber 29, and a fluid returning unit 13 returning a fluid into the internal space of the balloon 21. The ablation device 11 has a reflector 33 reflecting laser light emitted from the optical fiber 29 in the balloon 21, in which the reflector 33 is movable along the axial direction 191 in the balloon 21 and is rotatable in the axial direction 101 as the axis line.

A catheter device provides a balloon structure and a side-firing laser lumen within the balloon to create lesions in the pulmonary vein (PV) in the treatment of atrial fibrillation. Mounted on the balloon so as to contact the PV when the balloon is inflated are one or more electrodes which may be used in a measurement mode, a treatment mode, or both.

Embodiments of a surgical laser systems may include a laser source configured to generate a laser energy; a laser fiber optically coupled to the laser source to discharge laser energy; a photodetector configured to generate an output signal indicative of an intensity level of electromagnetic energy feedback produced in response to the discharge of the laser energy; and a controller configured to control the laser source based on the output signal. Embodiments of a method of controlling a surgical laser system also are disclosed, wherein laser energy is generated using a laser source and discharged through a laser fiber. Electromagnetic energy feedback produced in response to discharging the laser energy is delivered to a photodetector. An output signal from the photodetector is analyzed using a controller. The laser source is controlled in response to analyzing an output signal using the controller.

This invention relates to an advance in the delivery of laser beams to internal surgical sites using optical fibers with a novel distal tip design made using a fusion assembly procedure suitable for directing laser beams out of the side of an optical fiber. This side-fire fiber delivery tip assembly is fabricated by fusing a transparent tube onto the distal ends of a laser beam delivery fiber and an associated coaxial stub fiber that have beveled and parallel end faces that meet inside of the transparent tube. The result is a rugged fiber delivery tip assembly that is almost entirely solid, except for a very narrow gap between the beveled end surfaces of the two fibers. A loose fitting transparent capsule is placed over this fiber tip to contain a transparent perfluorocarbon lubricating oil or a perfluorocarbon heat-transfer agent that serves as a cooling agent for the fiber tip assembly.

An insertable light-dispensing catheter device, comprising a shaft including a proximal and distal end, a light guide extending through the shaft, and a mirror displaceably extendable from the catheter into a position where the mirror receives and reflects light emitted from the light guide. The mirror can be in the form of a coating on an inflatable balloon; and the balloon, when inflated, can press a patch against a defect (e.g., a ventricular septical defect), while the light cures an adhesive that binds the patch to the structure with the defect, thereby remedying the defect.

The present disclosure provides a method and system for distinguishing between a stone and a tissue based on reflected light from the stone or the tissue. It is to be appreciated that the efficiency of treatments using lasers often depend upon the relative position and orientation of the optical fiber tip with respect to the target. Further, the safety of the patient often depends on accurate aiming of the distal end of the fiber optic cable at the intended target. For example, where a stone is the intended target, unintentionally activating the laser while aimed at tissue could damage the tissue. This may lead to unnecessary complications, and in some cases, it can also lead to permanent damage to the tissue, which could make portions of the body of the subject dysfunctional.

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.

A fiber optic probe that eliminates extreme tip temperatures by radiating laser energy in a radial, 360 pattern from the surface of an exposed fiber optic tip is disclosed. In an embodiment, a fiber optic core is configured to operatively engage with a source of laser energy at a proximal end of the fiber optic tip, and, at a distal end of the fiber optic tip, includes a plurality of refracting surfaces configured to disperse laser energy in a radial pattern. In one embodiment, the refracting surfaces may be arranged as a plurality of annular prisms defined around the fiber core. In another embodiment, the refracting surfaces may be arranged as a plurality of concave lenses defined in the fiber optic tip. The temperature distribution of the disclosed probes is controlled and uniform, and may be tailored to radiate laser energy in any desired pattern which may be suitable to achieve an intended objective.