Laser pulses from a flashlamp pumped, solid state Ti:sapphire laser (Vuman, free running untuned wavelength 792 nm, 2 microseconds pulse width and up to 240 mJ pulse energy) have been successfully and efficiently coupled into thin optical fibers. The coupling efficiency can be up to 67% for 300 micron and 43% for 200 micron core diameter optical fibers. With these two optical fibers in vitro laser lithotripsy has been performed successfully on various human calculi including gall bladder, kidney, ureter and salivary duct stones. The bright white flash of the induced plasma emission, strong shock waves, fiber recoil and stone propulsion and the splattering of the stone chips have been observed during the calculi fragmentation.
The feasibility of new forms of monitoring the fragmentation and ablation process through the plasma feedback signals in laser lithotripsy and laser angioplasty has been investigated. In laser lithotripsy it has been found that shock wave feedback monitoring is not as reliable as the plasma emission feedback monitoring. The plasma emission spectra indicate clearly plasma formation on calculi or calcified plaque, while an audible signal can be observed on targets such as dark tissue, catheter, and blood. This technique was successful in ex-vivo experiments in which calculi were inserted into pigs' ureter and then fragmented. Spectra were obtained in vivo indicating calcium abundance in calculi and the feasibility of real-time stone composition analysis. Ex-vivo gallstone fragmentation was also performed successfully under plasma spectra feedback monitoring. In laser angioplasty, in vitro experiments have shown a discriminative effect at laser pulse energies of 40 mJ or greater. Strong plasma spectra can only be observed from calcified plaque and not from normal artery tissue or fibrous plaque. The threshold for plasma formation on calcified plaque increases in blood compared to that in saline while the spectral structure becomes more specific. This study shows promising prospects for the technique in both laser lithotripsy and laser angioplasty.
Following a series of opto-acoustic-mechanical and spectroscopic studies into the basic mechanisms of laser lithotripsy, a plasma-mediated opto-mechanical energy transfer model is presented. Laser energy, first absorbed by the calculi material at the surface and couples into the initiated plasma following ionization of vaporized material, is finally transformed into destructive mechanical energy via a shock wave induced by the impulsive expansion of the resulting plasma. This leads to the fragmentation of the calculi. The laser-plasma energy coupling gives a new definition for the fluence threshold to laser induced breakdown, which agrees with shock wave detection and analysis. A laser pulse shape with initial low intensity and sufficient fluence to vaporize a required amount of target material (lasting a few microsecond(s) ) and terminating in a short, intense pulse of about 1microsecond(s) or less, to couple most of the laser energy into the dense young plasma and so create high pressures, is required to produce optimum effect for laser lithotripsy. An opto-mechanical coupler has been designed which transfers the maximum laser energy into mechanically destructive energy, and successfully fragments various types of urinary and biliary calculi even including those calculi with poor surface absorptance, like pure white cystine. A solid state laser, Ho:YAG (2.1 micrometers wavelength and 150 microsecond(s) pulse width), has also been tested as an alternative to the flashlamp-excited dye laser. The underwater shock wave induced by this laser has been measured and has successfully fragmented calculi with poor absorptance in the visible region.
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