Medical laser apparatus

• US 20060161140A1
• Filed: 12/27/2005
• Published: 07/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nidek Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nidek Company Limited
• Inventors: Hayashi, Kenichi, Yamada, Tsuyoshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,846,151 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 606/3
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/20 using laser
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/2065 Multiwave; Wavelength mixing, e.g. using four or more wavelengths pilot laser A61B2018/2025

Abstract

A medical laser apparatus for irradiating an affected tissue with a laser beam to treat the affected tissue, comprises: a laser source unit which emits an infrared beam as a fundamental wave having a spectral bandwidth; a wavelength demultiplexing optical system which spatially demultiplexes the emitted infrared beam by wavelengths; a wavelength converting optical system including a wavelength converting element disposed in correspondence with an optical path position of each of the demultiplexed infrared beams and for converting each of the infrared beams to a visible beam as a second harmonic wave; a wavelength multiplexing optical system which multiplexes the visible beams obtained by the conversion; and a delivery optical system which guides the multiplexed visible beams to the affected tissue.

Claims

1. A medical laser apparatus for irradiating an affected tissue with a laser beam to treat the affected tissue, comprising:

a laser source unit which emits an infrared beam as a fundamental wave having a spectral bandwidth;

a wavelength demultiplexing optical system which spatially demultiplexes the emitted infrared beam by wavelengths;

a wavelength converting optical system including a wavelength converting element disposed in correspondence with an optical path position of each of the demultiplexed infrared beams and for converting each of the infrared beams to a visible beam as a second harmonic wave;

a wavelength multiplexing optical system which multiplexes the visible beams obtained by the conversion; and

a delivery optical system which guides the multiplexed visible beams to the affected tissue.

2. The medical laser apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wavelength converting element is obtained by integrating quasi phase matching crystals each having a polarization inversion period structure and in which period structures satisfying quasi phase matching are formed continuously or step by step in correspondence with the wavelengths of the infrared beams at the optical path positions of the demultiplexed infrared beams.

3. The medical laser apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wavelength converting element also converts a beam having a wavelength of a wavelength range including fluctuation amounts of a center wavelength of the emitted infrared beam to a visible beam as a second harmonic wave.

4. The medical laser apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wavelength demultiplexing optical system and the wavelength multiplexing optical system include a prism respectively.

5. The medical laser apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wavelength demultiplexing optical system and the wavelength multiplexing optical system is an optical systems formed with waveguides respectively.

6. The medical laser apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the wavelength converting element is a wavelength converting element formed with the waveguides.