JPS6246842B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a connector used for a light input section to an optical fiber used in a therapeutic laser device having an optical fiber for transmitting high-energy laser light. It is.

[Technical background and problems of the invention]

Currently, various medical devices using laser light have been proposed, and examples of those used in the field of extraplastic treatment include laser treatment devices that remove and treat colored birthmarks such as birthmarks, age spots, and freckles. .

Conventionally, there are many methods used to treat birthmarks, including cell destruction with dry ice, skin grafting, excision, scraping, and baking with electric drying. Methods are known, but none of these methods is very effective compared to the size of the invasion, the treatment itself causes pain to the patient, requires hospitalization, and requires a long treatment period. There are drawbacks such as
Improvements in treatment methods have been desired. Recently, with the development and improvement of laser devices, a method of burning the affected area using a laser beam has been proposed, and although the number of cases is small, it is being put into practical use, and its therapeutic effects are also being recognized.

However, when performing treatment using laser light, conventional devices use a method in which the laser light from the laser light source is guided through a lens system, resulting in significantly poor operability during the process of guiding the laser light to the affected area. . For example, positioning when performing laser irradiation treatment on an affected area is performed by moving the laser oscillator or the patient himself.

As one of these improvements in operability, attempts have been made to use optical fibers in the laser beam guide path, and for example, there is a laser treatment device as shown in FIG.

In the figure, 1 is a main body of the apparatus, in which a laser oscillator, a power supply, and an operation panel are built into the same housing. The laser light emitted from the laser oscillator is connected via the connector 2 to a light guide section 3 containing a built-in optical fiber, and the output end of the light guide section 3 is used to uniformize the light intensity distribution of the laser light. For example, a hand piece 4 for manual operation equipped with a kaleidoscope made of rod-shaped optical glass is connected to constitute the device.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the connector 2, that is, the connector portion that inputs the laser beam output from the laser oscillation source 2 to the end face of the optical fiber with high positional accuracy. That is, in the connector part, the optical fiber 11 forming the light guiding member is inserted into the tubular sleeve 12 and fixed with adhesive, and the protective coating forming the optical fiber 11 and the cladding forming the reflective surface are attached. A cap-shaped core supporter is formed by peeling off a certain length from the end face of the fiber to expose the core 13, and using this exposed end face as a laser input end, and having a core holding hole 14a in the center of the outer circumferential surface of the tip of the exposed core 13. It is held at 14. The core supporter 14 is fixed to the sleeve 12, and the surface on the laser beam incident side is generally a mirror surface or a diffusive surface, which reflects or scatters the laser beam and prevents it from coming from other than the end surface of the core 13. Prevents laser light from entering. 15 is a plug provided outside the sleeve 12 and has a cap nut 18;
The lens 16 is connected by screwing with a cap nut 18 to a receptacle 17 which is fixed inside.
The convergent light is coupled to the laser beam incident end face of the core 13 with high positional accuracy.
The laser beam 20 oscillated from the laser oscillation source 19 is focused by the lens 16, and the laser beam 20 is focused at a position in front of the lens focal point and at a position close to the diameter of the core 13 so that all of the output light enters the laser beam incident end surface of the core 13. The core 13 is configured to be located at a position where the optical path is converged to the same diameter. Thereby, the laser beam is guided to the core 13 of the optical fiber 11, propagated within the core 13, and sent to the handpiece 4.

By the way, there are three types of lasers for the laser oscillation source 19 for nevus treatment: argon laser, YAG laser, and ruby laser. Among these, solid-state lasers such as ruby lasers are used, and their oscillation method is high energy. In the case of pulse oscillation, the destructive power is large and dangerous because the laser light output is high energy, and therefore the laser oscillator 1
9, lens 16, and core 13, it is difficult to perform optical alignment of each of them, so generally, another guide light (one with good directionality, continuous light emission, and high safety, such as a He-Ne laser) is used. etc.) is used to carry out the optical alignment and align each optical component, but since the guide light is only for convenience, it is difficult to use the laser oscillation source 19 that originally needs to be aligned. The success or failure of alignment with the laser beam cannot be determined unless the laser beam is actually irradiated, so when making adjustments, irradiate the high-energy laser beam each time to confirm the relative position of the guide beam and the laser beam. It is necessary to do it.

At that time, if a part of the high-energy laser beam from the laser oscillation source 19 does not enter the incident end face of the core 13, this laser beam will hit the core supporter 14. Further, even if the optical alignment is misaligned due to vibrations, shocks, etc., part or all of the high-energy laser beam may be irradiated onto the core supporter 14.

The core supporter 14 is generally made of brass or stainless steel due to the need to provide it with high processing precision and at low cost. Since it requires energy (for example, in the case of a ruby laser device, 40 Joules and irradiation time of 1/1000 seconds), if the core supporter 14 is irradiated with laser light by mistake, the irradiated metal surface will easily melt. The transpiration material generated at that time attaches or evaporates to the laser beam incident end face and lens surface of the core 13 of the optical fiber 11, lowering the transmittance of the laser light, and eventually causing end face breakage, resulting in damage to the hand. There is a problem that variations occur in the distribution of the guided laser light to the piece, resulting in variations in the laser light output during treatment, which has a serious adverse effect on the therapeutic effect and makes it unusable.

[Purpose of the invention]

This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and is aimed at guiding a therapeutic laser device that uses high energy that can melt metals etc. when the oscillated laser light is focused by a condensing lens or the like. When using an optical fiber as the optical path material, when the laser beam is incident, the optical axis may shift due to, for example, optical alignment adjustment or vibration shock, and the laser beam may erroneously irradiate a part of the core supporter. Another object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber connector for transmitting laser light without adversely affecting optical components.

[Summary of the invention]

That is, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a laser device that condenses a laser beam from a laser oscillation source with a condensing lens and guides the laser beam by making it incident on the end face of the core of an optical fiber for guiding the laser beam. As a connector for connecting the optical fiber to a laser oscillation source, the core at the end of the optical fiber on the laser light incident side is exposed by a predetermined length from the outer covering part, and the outer covering part is arranged so as not to come into contact with the exposed core. a protective ring provided on the end face; and a protective ring disposed on the front laser beam arrival side of the core, the surface on the laser beam incidence side being formed as an inclined surface with respect to the laser optical axis, and a light transmission hole provided at the laser optical axis position. a high melting point or high reflectance shielding tool; and a position adjustment tool for adjusting the position of the condenser lens so that the laser beam from the laser oscillation source is focused slightly in front of the light transmission hole of the shielding tool. The focus of the laser beam is set slightly in front of the light transmission hole of the shielding device to prevent the laser beam from hitting the shielding device at its highest density, and to prevent the laser beam from hitting the shielding device at its highest density. Even if the laser beam passes through the light transmission hole of the shield, it is easily dispersed due to the slope of the shield, thereby suppressing secondary damage to the surrounding area due to reflected light. The energy density of the laser beam is lowered even if the laser beam deviates from the core end face by making it incident, and the outer sheath end face of the thermally weak optical fiber is placed behind the core end face by exposing the core. To suppress damage caused by laser beam energy inside the connector even when the optical axis of the laser beam is deviated by separating the connector and protecting it with a protective ring.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. Reference numerals in the figure that are common to those in FIG. 2 are given the same reference numerals.

The features of the present invention are that the laser beam input end face of the core 13 is located after the focal point of the lens 16;
Instead of the core support 14 shown in the figure, use a mirror-polished metal with a high melting point such as tungsten, ceramic, or stainless steel plated or vapor-deposited with a substance that reflects laser light well, and set the angle so that it reflects laser light well. The focal position of the lens 16 is positioned slightly forward near the light passage hole of the shielding fitting, and the outer sheath, that is, the cladding and the protective coating that make up the fiber, are protected. A protective ring is placed on the end face of the outer cover.

The method of inputting laser light to the input end face of the core 13 is as follows:
Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 2, the laser beam is focused to a value with a small energy density using a lens 16 so that the laser beam can be input to the entire input end face of the core 13 as much as possible.

In this case, the focal position of the lens 16 will be after the input end face of the core 13, and if the optical axis is misaligned, the cladding, protective coating, or connector that has not been prepared to prevent melting due to laser beam reception may be damaged. There is a risk of adversely affecting the sleeve 12.

The protective coating is generally made of a plastic material such as Teflon or nylon, and the cladding may also be made of silicone. If such materials are hit by even reflected light, there is a risk of melting if a large amount of laser light is used.

Therefore, in the present invention, as a countermeasure against this problem, as shown in FIG. 3, a predetermined length of the outer sheath (cladding, protective coating covering the core 13) of the optical fiber 11 on the laser beam incident side is peeled off to expose the core 13. The laser beam incident end surface of the core 13 is located behind the focal point of the lens 16, and a protective ring 22 made of an inexpensive metal material such as brass or stainless steel and having a hole in the center through which the core 13 passes is attached to the outer cover of the fiber 11. Fix to the peeled end surface. The inner diameter of the hole in the protective ring 22 is made slightly larger than the outer diameter of the protective ring 13 so that it does not come into contact with the core 13. This is because when the protective ring 22 comes into contact with the core 13, the law of total reflection is violated, energy is absorbed at the contact portion, and the side surface of the core 13 is further damaged.

Further, a cap-shaped shielding member 21 having a light transmission hole in the center is provided on the distal end side of the sleeve 12. This shielding device 21 has a shape like a dome protruding forward, and is made of a metal with a high melting point such as tungsten, and at least the surface on the side where the laser beam enters is mirror-polished so that it can reflect the light well. Stainless steel plated or vapor-deposited with a substance that reflects light well is used, or ceramic is used.

The shielding device 21 is arranged with its light transmission hole located slightly behind the focal point of the lens 16, and the laser beam 21 focused by the lens 16 is
After converging just before the light transmission hole of this shielding tool 21, it spreads and passes through this light transmission hole, and the light transmission hole of the shielding tool 21
The light is incident on the end face of the core 13 located at the rear of the core 13.

The diameter of the light passing hole of the shielding device 21 is such that the condensing diameter D of the focal point of the lens 16 is D≒f・θ (mm) (where f is the focal length of the lens 16 and θ is the spread angle of the laser beam). Since it is represented schematically, it can be easily calculated from the distance between the light passing hole and the focal point.

As mentioned above, the shielding device 21 is provided in front of the core 13, and is made of a material with a high melting point such as ceramic or tungsten, and the laser beam incident side surface is mirror-polished so that it will not melt even if it is directly hit by the laser beam. do. Alternatively, the surface of a material such as stainless steel is plated with a material that efficiently reflects laser light or is coated with a total reflection film such as a dielectric multilayer film, and the angle to the laser light is adjusted to increase the reflection efficiency. It has the following configuration. Therefore, if optical axis misalignment occurs during adjustment of the optical axis or for some reason such as vibration or impact, first remove the shielding device 2.
1 is struck by a laser beam, but since the incident side surface is angled, it is reflected and spread. Moreover, shielding device 2
1 is made of a material with a high reflectance or a high melting point, so it is not easily damaged by laser energy.
Further, the light reflected by the shielding device 21 is transmitted to the shielding device 21.
Since the position of point 1 is slightly behind the focal point of the lens 16, the light beam is in the direction of spreading, and after reflection, it spreads further and the energy density becomes lower, so even if there is a part on the connector side that receives the reflected light, it will not be damaged. becomes difficult to receive.

Further, the laser beam 20 passing through the light transmission hole of the shielding device 21 enters the end face of the core 13, but if some light deviates from the end face of the core 13 due to optical axis deviation, it may reach the rear of the core 13. become. but,
Since the core 13 is exposed for a predetermined length and the end surface of the outer sheath of the optical fiber 11 is behind the core end surface,
At the core end face, the laser beam has a light flux in the direction of diffusion, so its energy density is low.Furthermore, the outer sheath of the optical fiber 11, which is particularly sensitive to heat, is provided with a protective ring 22 on the end face, so that the laser beam is can be protected from damage caused by Further, since the energy density of the laser beam is low, an inexpensive metal is sufficient for the protective ring 22.

It should be noted that similar diffusion efficiency can be expected even if the shielding device 21 has a recessed inclined surface as shown at 23 in FIG. 4.

Furthermore, since it is only necessary to add the protective ring 22 and provide the shielding device 21 in place of the core holder, it can be implemented without major changes to the configuration of the conventional device, and therefore an inexpensive connector can be obtained. It will be done.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described in detail above, the present invention provides a laser device in which a laser beam from a laser oscillation source is condensed by a condensing lens, and the laser beam is guided by making it incident on the end face of the core of an optical fiber for guiding the laser beam. As a connector for connecting an optical fiber to a laser oscillation source, the core at the end of the optical fiber on the laser light incident side is exposed for a predetermined length from the outer jacket part, and a connector is attached to the end face of the outer jacket part so as not to contact the exposed core. A protective ring is provided, and a height is provided on the front laser beam arrival side of the core, the surface on the laser beam incident side is formed to be an inclined surface with respect to the laser optical axis, and a light transmission hole is provided at the laser optical axis position. a melting point or high reflectance shield;
A position adjustment tool for adjusting the position of the condenser lens so as to focus the laser light from the laser oscillation source is provided slightly in front of the light transmission hole of the shielding tool, and the focus of the laser light is Tie it slightly in front of the light transmission hole of the shielding device to prevent the laser beam from hitting the shielding device at its highest density, and even if the laser light does hit it, it will be easily dispersed by the slope of the shielding device. In addition, secondary damage to the surrounding area caused by reflected light is suppressed, and the laser light that passes through the light transmission hole of the shielding device enters the core with the speed of light spread, so that the laser light that deviates from the core end face is prevented. Even if there is, the energy density will be low,
In addition, by exposing the core, the end face of the jacket of the optical fiber, which is thermally weak, can be pulled away from the end face of the core, and protected by a protective ring, so that the end face of the jacket part of the optical fiber can be protected from the core end face in the event that the optical axis of the laser beam deviates from the optical axis. We have also made it possible to suppress damage caused by laser light energy inside the connector, so with a simple configuration, it is possible to prevent melting of component parts and staining due to scattering of melted material due to laser light irradiation inside the connector due to optical axis misalignment. can be prevented,
As a result, it is possible to provide an optical fiber connector with excellent features, such as eliminating concerns about reduction in laser beam propagation efficiency and thermal damage due to energy absorption.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, it goes without saying that this invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be implemented with various modifications without changing the gist of the invention. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a laser treatment device, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of elements of a conventional optical connector, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are sectional views of elements of an optical connector that is a specific example of the present invention. 13... Core, 16... Lens, 21, 23...
...shielding device, 22... protection ring.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. The optical fiber in a laser device in which a laser beam from a laser oscillation source is condensed by a condensing lens, and the laser beam is guided by making it incident on the end face of the core of an optical fiber for guiding the laser beam. As a connector for connection to the laser oscillation source side of the optical fiber, the core at the end of the laser beam incident side of the optical fiber is exposed for a predetermined length from the outer sheath, and provided on the end face of the outer sheath so as not to contact the exposed core. a high melting point or A shielding device with high reflectance and a position adjustment device for adjusting the position of the condenser lens so as to focus the laser beam from the laser oscillation source slightly in front of the light transmission hole of the shielding device are provided. An optical fiber connector characterized by the following configuration. 2. The optical fiber connector according to claim 1, wherein the shielding member is made of a mirror-polished metal material with a high melting point. 3. The optical fiber connector according to claim 1, wherein the shielding member is made of ceramic. 4. The optical fiber connector according to claim 1, wherein the shielding device has a light reflecting layer formed on its surface.