Side Fire Optical Device Thermal Stress Reduction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional side fire optical devices for medical procedures face issues with thermal stress-induced fracturing and devitrification due to rapid heating and cooling cycles, especially with high-power surgical lasers, leading to inefficient energy redirection and potential harm from distorted and scattered electromagnetic radiation.
Innovation Solution
A side fire optical device with a one-piece construction featuring a thermally fused and annealed solid cylindrical element within a tube, eliminating Fresnel and Snell reflections, and allowing for interchangeable caps and adjustable output spot size without altering the fiber design, using low-cost materials and reducing thermal stress.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional side fire optical device with a beveled optical surface and protective cap is used, then electromagnetic radiation can be redirected off-axis, but thermal stress from rapid heating and cooling cycles causes cap fracturing and devitrification
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the protective cap and the optical fiber into a single integrated structure where the optical fiber extends through the cap with its distal end positioned at the cap's end. This eliminates the interface between separate components that creates stress concentration points, thereby preventing thermal stress-induced fracturing and devitrification while maintaining reliable off-axis radiation redirection.
2Power
If high-power surgical lasers are used, then surgical effectiveness is improved, but thermal stress accelerates devitrification and causes cap perforation
Solution Approach 1:
By integrating the optical fiber directly through the cap structure, the patent creates a unified thermal management system that can better withstand high-power laser irradiation. The continuous structure distributes thermal stress more evenly, preventing the localized overheating that accelerates devitrification and cap perforation in conventional devices with separate components.
3Ease of manufacture
If a cylindrical transmissive surface is used, then manufacturing is simplified, but Fresnel reflections and complex internal reflections cause energy loss and scattered radiation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the cap structure by positioning the optical fiber distal end at the cap end rather than using a curved cylindrical transmissive surface. This geometric modification eliminates the complex internal reflection pathways and Fresnel reflection issues associated with curved surfaces, reducing energy loss and scattered radiation while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through precise fiber positioning.
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 solution effectively minimizes thermal damage, maintains focused electromagnetic radiation, and allows for interchangeable caps and adjustable output profiles, enhancing surgical precision and reducing device costs.
Implementation Method 1
exploiting total reflection at or below the critical angle as described by Snell's Law
Implementation Method 2
The redirected output laser light is transmitted through a transmitting surface on the protective cap
Implementation Method 3
thermally fusing and annealing a solid cylindrical element within a tube
Implementation Method 4
Thermal cycling can induce stresses in the cap that are large enough to induce fracturing
Implementation Method 5
eliminating Fresnel and Snell reflections
Data Source
AI summary
Herein is provided a side fire optical device for redirecting electromagnetic radiation, methods of its manufacture, and methods of its use. The herein described side fire optical device minimizes potential Fresnel reflections at fused surfaces and eliminates Snell and Fresnel reflections in a self-contained lateral output assembly (within which a transmitting optical fiber conduit may be subsequently attached). The construction of which involved lower cost raw materials and fewer manufacturing steps; provide a side fire fiber where the protective cap can be replaced interoperatively and even intraoperatively; and provide mechanisms and processes for altering the size or shape of the output spot without altering the lateral fiber design.