Optimization of the non-contact fiber delivery systems for clinical laser applications

The objective of the study was to design, to investigate and to optimize non-contact fiber delivery system for different clinical applications. This system eliminate the main disadvantages both applied contact and non-contact probes, namely surface contamination with further probe's thermal deterioration and large beam divergence, respectively. The main part of the proposed non-contact fiber delivery system is probe made in fused silica or synthetic sapphire which produces quasi-collimated beam with specific outside diameter and power distribution along this beam. These probes were designed for different laser clinical applications, especially for interstitial thermotherapy and photodynamic therapy. Five different types of them were manufactured by InnovaQuartz, Inc. (Phoenix, AZ, USA) and Tochpribor (Kharkiv, Ukraine). To provide comparative analysis and optimization of the optical properties of the novel fiber delivery systems with commercially available ones "steady beam distance"; "steady beam ratio" and "power density efficiency" coefficients are proposed. The improved versions of the commercial urologic devices "transurethral optical laser knife" (Mayo Clinic), TULIP (Intrasonics), UroLase (Bard), SideFire (Myriadlase), ADD (Laserscope), UltraLine (Heraeus Lasersonics), ProLase II (Cytocare) are examined. The received results could provide a tool useful to designers of non-contact fiber delivery systems intended for different clinical applications with cw and pulse lasers..