MEDICAL OPTICAL FIBER WITH PROTECTIVE TIP AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE THEREFOR

Abstract

The present invention is directed towards medical optical fibers with protective tips for use with endoscopes for laser based treatment of internal bodily organs and method of manufacture therefor. The medical optical fibers have a short stripped medical optical fiber section and a protective tip provided thereon to encapsulate both the stripped medical optical fiber section and the jacket tip immediately therebehind.

Claims

1. A medical optical fiber for use with an endo scope for laser based treatment of internal bodily organs, the medical optical fiber comprising: an optical fiber comprising a distal optical fiber tip having an optical fiber end face transverse to a longitudinal axis of the optical fiber; a jacket axially enclosing the optical fiber, the jacket comprising a distal jacket tip having a jacket end face transverse to the longitudinal axis, wherein the jacket end face is a first length from the optical fiber end face; and a protective tip encapsulating the distal jacket tip and extending along the longitudinal axis a second length greater than the first length, the jacket end face, and the optical fiber end face, wherein the protective tip is configured to fragment or melt responsive to incidence of laser energy and wherein the protective tip has a dimension greater than a dimension of the jacket.

2. The medical optical fiber of claim 1, wherein the jacket is made from a polymeric material having a melting temperature and the protective tip is made from a polymeric material having a curing temperature, wherein the melting temperature is greater than the curing temperature.

3. The medical optical fiber of claim 1, wherein the distal jacket tip comprises an aperture exposing the optical fiber enclosed by the jacket and wherein the protective tip contacts the optical fiber layer through the aperture.

4. The medical optical fiber of claim 3, wherein the aperture is one of a plurality of apertures and wherein the plurality of apertures are co-directional with the longitudinal axis.

5. The medical optical fiber of claim 4, wherein the plurality of apertures extend from the jacket end face.

6. The medical optical fiber of claim 3, wherein the aperture is transverse to the longitudinal axis.

7. The medical optical fiber of claim 1, wherein the first length is greater than or equal to 200 micrometers (m) and less than or equal to 500 (m).

8. The medical optical fiber of claim 1, wherein the second length is greater than or equal to 400 μm and less than or equal to 1100 μm.

9. A medical optical fiber configured to be inserted into an endoscope, comprising: an optical fiber comprising a distal optical fiber tip having an optical fiber end face transverse to a longitudinal axis of the optical fiber; a jacket axially enclosing the optical fiber, the jacket comprising a distal jacket tip having a jacket end face transverse to the longitudinal axis; and a protective tip encapsulating the distal jacket tip, the jacket end face, and the optical fiber end face, the distal jacket tip comprising an aperture exposing the optical fiber enclosed by the jacket, wherein the protective tip contacts the optical fiber layer through the aperture, wherein the protective tip is configured to fragment or melt responsive to incidence of laser energy, and wherein the protective tip has a dimension greater than a dimension of the jacket.

10. The medical optical fiber of claim 9, wherein the jacket is made from a polymeric material having a melting temperature and the protective tip is made from a polymeric material having a curing temperature, wherein the melting temperature is greater than the curing temperature.

11. The medical optical fiber of claim 9, wherein the aperture is transverse to the longitudinal axis.

12. The medical optical fiber of claim 9, wherein the first length is greater than or equal to 200 micrometers (μm) and less than or equal to 500 (μm).

13. The medical optical fiber of claim 9, wherein the second length is greater than or equal to 400 μm and less than or equal to 1100 μm.

14. A medical optical fiber configured to be inserted into an endoscope, comprising: an optical fiber comprising a distal optical fiber tip having an optical fiber end face transverse to a longitudinal axis of the optical fiber; a jacket axially enclosing the optical fiber, the jacket comprising a distal jacket tip having a jacket end face transverse to the longitudinal axis; and a protective tip encapsulating the distal jacket tip, the jacket end face, and the optical fiber end face, the distal jacket tip comprising a plurality of apertures exposing the optical fiber enclosed by the jacket, wherein the protective tip contacts the optical fiber layer through the plurality of apertures, wherein the protective tip is configured to fragment or melt responsive to incidence of laser energy, and wherein the protective tip has a dimension greater than a dimension of the jacket.

15. The medical optical fiber of claim 14, wherein the jacket is made from a polymeric material having a melting temperature and the protective tip is made from a polymeric material having a curing temperature, wherein the melting temperature is greater than the curing temperature.

16. The medical optical fiber of claim 14, wherein the aperture is transverse to the longitudinal axis.

17. The medical optical fiber of claim 14, wherein the first length is greater than or equal to 200 micrometers (μm) and less than or equal to 500 (μm).

18. The medical optical fiber of claim 14, wherein the second length is greater than or equal to 400 μm and less than or equal to 1100 μm.

19. The medical optical fiber of claim 14, wherein the plurality of apertures are co-directional with the longitudinal axis.

20. The medical optical fiber of claim 14, wherein the plurality of apertures extend from the jacket end face proximally along the longitudinal axis.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] In order to understand the invention and to see how it can be carried out in practice, preferred embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which similar parts are likewise numbered, and in which:

[0020] FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross section of a medical optical fiber including a tip addition in accordance with commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 9,968,404;

[0021] FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross section of a medical optical fiber including a protective tip in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross section of a medical optical fiber including a grooved distal jacket tip and a protective tip in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross section of a medical optical fiber including a grooved jacket tip and a protective tip in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] FIG. 5 is a transverse cross section of the FIG. 4 medical optical fiber along a line A-A in FIG. 4; and

[0025] FIG. 6A to FIG. 6D show a method of manufacturing a medical optical fiber with a protective tip in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

[0026] Medical Optical Fibers with Protective Tip

[0027] FIG. 1 shows a medical optical fiber 10 having a longitudinal medical optical fiber axis 11 and a tip addition 12 in accordance with commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 9,968,404. The medical optical fiber 10 includes a concentric arrangement of an optical fiber 13 and a jacket 14 surrounding the optical fiber 13. The optical fiber 13 includes an innermost optical core 16, a cladding layer 17 surrounding the optical core 16 and a mechanical support layer 18 surrounding the cladding layer 17. The optical fiber 13 has a distal optical fiber tip 19 with an optical fiber end face 21 transverse to the longitudinal medical optical fiber axis 11. The jacket 14 has a distal jacket tip 22 with a jacket end face 23 transverse to the longitudinal medical optical fiber axis 11.

[0028] The medical optical fiber 10 has a stripped medical optical fiber section 24 from a tip addition's trailing surface 26 to the jacket end face 23. The stripped medical optical fiber section 24 has a length L1 in the region of 50-2,000 micron along the longitudinal medical optical fiber axis 11. The jacket 14 has an external maximum dimension D1. The tip addition 12 is cured on the optical fiber tip 19 and encapsulates the optical fiber end face 21 therewithin. The tip addition 12 has an external maximum dimension D2 transverse to the longitudinal medical optical fiber axis 11 where D2>D1. The tip addition's D2 is smaller than a working channel of an endoscope's internal diameter for passage therethrough.

[0029] FIG. 2 shows a medical optical fiber 30 has a longitudinal medical optical fiber axis 31 and includes a concentric arrangement of an optical fiber 32 and a jacket 33 surrounding the optical fiber 32. The optical fiber 32 includes an innermost optical core 34, a cladding layer 36 surrounding the optical core 34 and a mechanical support layer 37 surrounding the cladding layer 36. The optical fiber 32 has a distal optical fiber tip 38 with an optical fiber end face 39 transverse to the longitudinal medical optical fiber axis 31. The optical core 34 has an optical core end face 34A centered at the optical fiber end face 39. The jacket 33 has a jacket tip 41 with a jacket end face 42 transverse to the longitudinal medical optical fiber axis 31. The jacket 33 has an external maximum dimension D1. The medical optical fiber 30 has a stripped medical optical fiber section 43 from the optical fiber end face 39 to the jacket end face 42. The stripped medical optical fiber section 43 has a length L2 in the region of 350±150 μm measured from the optical fiber end face 39 along the longitudinal medical optical fiber axis 31.

[0030] The medical optical fiber 30 has a protective tip 44 mounted on the optical fiber tip 38 to encapsulate the optical fiber end face 39 and the jacket end face 42. The protective tip 44 has a leading protective tip surface 46 forward of the optical fiber end face 39. The protective tip 44 has a trailing protective tip surface 47 longitudinally spaced apart from the jacket end face 42 by a length L3 in the region of 800±300 μm measured from the optical fiber end face 39 along the longitudinal medical optical fiber axis 31. Accordingly, the protective tip 44 encapsulates the stripped medical optical fiber section 43 and overlaps the jacket tip 41 between the jacket end face 42 and the trailing protective tip surface 47. The protective tip 44 has an external maximum dimension D2 transverse to the longitudinal medical optical fiber axis 31 where D2>D1.

[0031] The protective tip 44 can be made from a wide range of polymeric materials which may be cured. Curing can be way of temperature curing, chemical curing, radiation curing, and the like. Radiation curing can include IR curing, UV curing, visible light curing, and the like. Suitable protective tip materials include inter alia epoxy, acrylate, and the like. Different materials can be used for different jacket/protective tip combinations depending on a selected manufacturing technique. A necessary condition in the case of temperature curing is that a jacket's polymeric material has a melting temperature T1 and a protective tip's polymeric material has a curing temperature T2 where T2<T1 to avoid melting a jacket. Preferably T2/T1>1.1. Depending on a polymeric material employed for a protective tip, temperature curing of a protective tip can take place at room temperature.

[0032] In use, delivery of laser energy through a medical optical fiber 30 causes at least some of the leading protective tip surface 46 forward of the optical fiber end face 39 to fragment or melt for enabling delivery of laser energy through the optical core end face 34A to an internal bodily organ.

[0033] FIG. 3 shows a medical optical fiber 50A similar to the medical optical fiber 30 and therefore similar parts are likewise numbered. The medical optical fiber 50 differs from the medical optical fiber 30 insofar as the jacket 33 is formed with at least one aperture constituted by one or more grooves 51 transverse to the longitudinal medical optical fiber axis 31 to expose the mechanical support layer 37 therethrough. Accordingly mounting of the protective tip 44 on the optical fiber 50A leads to protective tip material contacting the mechanical support layer 37 or cladding layer 36 through grooves 51. Contact of protective tip material on the mechanical support layer 37 has greater adhesive strength than contact on the jacket 33. Grooves 51 can be made even deeper such that they expose the cladding layer 36.

[0034] FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show a medical optical fiber 50B similar to the medical optical fiber 50A but differing therefrom in terms its apertures for exposing the cladding layer 36 or the mechanical support layer 37. The medical optical fiber 50B includes grooves 52 co-directional with the longitudinal medical optical fiber axis 31. Grooves 52 can optionally extend from the jacket end face 42.

Method of Manufacture of Medical Optical Fiber with Protective Tip

[0035] The method of manufacturing a medical optical fiber 50A is now described with reference to FIG. 6A to FIG. 6D and includes the following steps:

[0036] Step 1: Provide a standard medical optical fiber 60 having a longitudinal medical optical fiber axis 61. The medical optical fiber 60 includes a concentric arrangement of an optical fiber 62 and a jacket 63 surrounding the optical fiber 62. The optical fiber 62 includes an innermost optical core 64, a cladding layer 66 surrounding the optical core 64 and a mechanical support layer 67 surrounding the cladding layer 66. The optical fiber 62 has an optical fiber end face 68. The jacket 63 has a jacket end face 69 flush with the optical fiber end face 68.

[0037] Step 2: Strip the medical optical fiber 60 to form a stripped medical optical fiber section 71. The stripped medical optical fiber section 71 has a length L2 in the region of 350±150 μm measured from the optical fiber end face 68 along the longitudinal medical optical fiber axis 61.

[0038] Step 3: Form grooves 72 in the jacket 63 towards the jacket end face 69 to expose the mechanical support layer 67. The grooves can be possibly deepened to expose the cladding layer 66.

[0039] Step 4: Treat stripped medical optical fiber section 71's peripheral surface to improve adhesion by a protective tip 73.

[0040] Step 5: Provide a protective tip 73 on the medical optical fiber 60 to encapsulate the optical fiber end face 68 and the jacket end face 69. The protective tip 73 has a leading protective tip surface 74 forward of the optical fiber end face 68. The protective tip 73 has a trailing protective tip surface 76 spaced apart from the jacket end face 69 along the longitudinal medical optical fiber axis 61 by a length L3 measured from the optical fiber end face 68 where L3 in the region of 450±50 μm.

[0041] While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, it will be appreciated that many variations, modifications, and other applications of the invention can be made within the scope of the appended claims.