Grooved Optical Fiber Jacket for Controlled Laser Erosion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Optical fiber jackets in medical laser devices tend to erode unevenly, causing interference with the laser beam and complicating medical procedures due to uncontrolled breakage and jagged edges, which can obstruct the optical path and limit field of vision.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating peripheral grooves into the outer jacket material, which can be partially or fully encompassing, varying in depth and spacing, to facilitate controlled erosion and separation of excess jacket material, allowing for synchronized disintegration with the optical fiber tip, reducing mechanical and thermal strain and preventing interference with the laser beam.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a polymeric jacket is used to provide mechanical support to the optical fiber, then the fiber's mechanical strength is improved, but the jacket erodes unevenly and interferes with the laser beam during medical procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The jacket is divided into multiple segments by introducing peripheral grooves that circumferentially penetrate the jacket wall. These grooves create discrete segments between adjacent grooves that can erode independently and fall away separately, preventing large interfering fragments and enabling controlled erosion patterns that reduce laser beam interference during medical procedures
Solution Approach 2:
The peripheral grooves are pre-formed in the jacket before the optical fiber is used in medical procedures. This preliminary action creates predetermined erosion pathways that guide how the jacket will erode during use, ensuring that erosion occurs in a controlled manner that minimizes interference with the laser beam and surgical field of vision
2Reliability
If the jacket material is made robust to provide protection, then the fiber's durability is improved, but the jacket becomes jagged and prevents contact with bodily material
Solution Approach 1:
The robust jacket is segmented by peripheral grooves into erodible sections that can break away cleanly. This segmentation allows the jacket to maintain its protective durability while enabling controlled erosion that produces smooth edges rather than jagged fragments, thereby restoring contact capability with bodily material as the fiber erodes during use
Solution Approach 2:
The jacket structure is modified by changing its geometric parameters through the introduction of grooves with specific depths and spacing. These parameter changes create stress concentration points that guide erosion patterns, allowing the jacket to transition from a solid protective barrier to a controlled erosion structure that maintains durability while enabling operational contact
3Temperature
If the jacket is made to withstand thermal strain from laser energy, then the fiber's thermal resistance is improved, but the jacket fragments and obstructs the optical path
Solution Approach 1:
The heat-resistant jacket is divided into segments by peripheral grooves that allow controlled thermal erosion. When exposed to laser-induced thermal strain, the jacket erodes segment by segment through the groove pathways, preventing the formation of large obstructing fragments and maintaining clear optical paths during high-temperature medical procedures
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The controlled erosion and separation of the jacket material prevent interference with the laser beam, ensuring a clear optical path and improved efficiency in medical procedures by synchronizing the jacket's disintegration with the optical fiber tip, thus enhancing the effectiveness and safety of medical laser treatments.
Implementation Method 1
reducing mechanical and thermal strain
Implementation Method 2
the jacket material 4, due in part to heating from the laser beam energy
Data Source
AI summary
An optical fiber is disclosed which includes a protective outer jacket. The outer protective jacket is grooved to include one or more peripheral grooves formed into the jacket. In operation of a laser device, laser energy passes through the optical fiber to the distal tip of the optical fiber. As the distal tip erodes, the outer protective jacket also erodes in a controlled fashion such that portions of the outer jacket flake off as the fiber tip erodes to the position of the peripheral grooves formed in the outer jacket rather than in a random fashion.