METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SUPERCONTINUUM LIGHT FOR MEDICAL AND BIOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS

• US 20100234837A1
• Filed: 03/12/2010
• Published: 09/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Alfano
• Original Assignee: City College of New York
• Inventors: ALFANO, Robert R.
• Granted Patent: US 9,414,887 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 606/16
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/20 using laser
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00508 using laser
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/1807 using light other than laser radiation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/2065 Multiwave; Wavelength mixing, e.g. using four or more wavelengths pilot laser A61B2018/2025
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0066 Optical coherence imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/0659 infrared
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/0622 Optical stimulation for exciting neural tissue
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/067 using laser light
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/4833 of solid biological material, e.g. tissue samples, cell cultures tissue in vivo A61B5/00; cell suspensions G01N33/48735
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/0032 Optical details of illumination, e.g. light-sources, pinholes, beam splitters, slits, fibers G02B21/0036 - G02B21/008; means for illumination of specimens in general G02B21/06
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/0064 multi-spectral or wavelength-selective arrangements, e.g. wavelength fan-out, chromatic profiling G02B21/0076 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/0084 time-scale detection, e.g. strobed, ultra-fast, heterodyne detection
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/3515 All-optical modulation, gating, switching, e.g. control of a light beam by another light beam G02F1/353, G02F1/37, G02F1/39 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/3528 for producing a supercontinuum
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/3536 Four-wave interaction
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/355 characterised by the materials used
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/3551 Crystals
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/365 in an optical waveguide structure G02F1/377, G02F1/395 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 10/00 Quantum computing, i.e. information processing based on quantum-mechanical phenomena

Abstract

A method and an apparatus are provided for producing SuperContinuum (SC) light for medical and biological applications is provided. Pulses are focused from a laser system into at least one of a pressurized cell and one or more fibers. A pump pulse is converted into the SC light at a specified rate of repetition. The SC light is applied at the specified rate of repetition to tissue for medical and biological applications.

Claims

1. An apparatus for producing SuperContinuum (SC) light for medical and biological applications comprising:

a laser system for producing pulses; and

at least one of a pressurized cell and one or more fibers, for receiving the pulses for conversion into the SC light at a specified rate of repetition and application of the SC light at the specified rate of repetition to a tissue for medical and biological applications;

wherein the pulses are focused through a lens having a focal length of approximately 100-200 centimeters (cm) for the pressurized cell, and the pulses are focused through a microscope objective lens having a magnification of approximately 10×

-40×

for the one or more fibers.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pressurized cell contains a rare gas.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the pressurized cell is pressurized at 2-10 atmospheres (atm).

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the rare gas comprises at least one of Argon (Ar), Krypton (Kr) and Xenon (Xe).

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pressurized cell has a length of approximately 100 cm.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pulses are provided at <

100 femtoseconds (fs).

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more fibers comprise at least one of microstructure fibers and photonic crystal fibers.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the laser system comprises at least one of a Ti-sapphire and Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) laser system with 400 nanometer (nm) and 800 nm pulses, a Cr:

Forsterite laser system with 1250 nm pulses, an LiInGeO4 (LIGO) laser system with 1500 nm pulses, and a LiInSiO4 (LISO) laser system with 1500 nm pulses.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the SC light stimulates molecular activity of native molecules in the tissue by exciting electronic states and overtone and combination vibrational states of the native molecules via absorption.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein a 280-500 nm band of the SC light is used to excite the electronic states of the native molecules, and an 800-2500 nm band is used to excite overtone and combination vibrational states of the native molecules.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the native molecules having excited electronic states comprise one or more of collagen, elastin, flavins, tryptophan, proteins, DNA and RNA.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the native molecules having excited overtone and combination vibrational states comprise one or more of water, collagen and elastin.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein absorption peaks of collagen are at one or more of 1750 nm, 1950 nm and 2250 nm, and absorption peaks for elastin are at one or more of 1600 nm, 1750 nm, 2150 nm, 2200 nm and 2300 nm.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the SC light has a spectral irradiance of GW/nm cm² that creates nonlinear optical effects in materials that excites molecules into upper electronic states and disassociates polyatomic bonds causing a breakdown in organic molecules which kills at least one of bacteria, viruses and cancers.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the nonlinear optical effects comprise SHG, Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS), 4 Wave Mixing (4WM), Third Harmonic Generation (THG) and self focusing.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a spectrum of the SC light covering UltraViolet (UV), visible and Near InfraRed (NIR) bands is created through at least one of Self Phase Modulation (SPM), Cross Phase Modulation (XPM) and 4WM.

18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the medical and biological applications comprise at least one of healing wounds, burns, cuts and bruises, fusing arteries, reducing scarring, producing angiogenesis, stimulating nerves, and killing bacteria, viruses and cancers.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein an 800-1700 nm band of the SC light stimulates nerves to be activated via vibrational excitation of water and lipid molecules near the nerves for therapeutic improvement of nerve based diseases.

8. The apparatus of Clam 1, wherein the pump pulse is 1 milliJoule (mJ) and the specified rate of repetition is 1 kiloHertz (kH).

20. A method for producing SuperContinuum (SC) light for medical and biological applications comprising the steps of:

producing pulses from a laser system;

focusing the pulses with at least one of a lens having a focal length of approximately 100-200 centimeters (cm) and a microscope objective lens having a magnification of approximately 10×

-40×

, wherein the lens focuses the pulses into a pressurized cell and the microscope objective lens focuses the pulses into one or more fibers;

converting the pulse into the SC light at a specified rate of repetition; and

applying the SC light at the specified rate of repetition to tissue for medical and biological applications.