Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA.
J Biophotonics. 2010 Jun;3(5-6):277-83. doi: 10.1002/jbio.200900104.
The long-pulse (200-350 micros) Holmium: YAG (Ho: YAG) laser (lambda = 2.12 microm) is used extensively in urology for laser lithotripsy. The long-pulse Erbium: YAG (Er: YAG) laser (lambda = 2.94 microm) fragments urinary calculi up to 5 times more efficiently than the Ho: YAG laser, however, no optical fibers are available to transmit efficiently 2.94 microm laser light for laser lithotripsy. We report results of a study evaluating a fluoride glass fiber to transmit Er: YAG laser light for laser lithotripsy and compare to a sapphire fiber that provides good transmission of Er: YAG light at low irradiance. The fluoride fiber provides superior light transmission efficiency over the sapphire fiber at an Er: YAG wavelength (2.94 microm). The sapphire fiber provides a more durable and robust delivery waveguide than the fluoride fiber when ablating urinary calculi in contact mode. Results of our study suggest that further development to improve performance of fluoride fibers for laser lithotripsy is warranted.
长脉冲（200-350 微秒）钬：钇铝石榴石（Ho: YAG）激光（λ=2.12 微米）在泌尿科中广泛用于激光碎石术。长脉冲铒：钇铝石榴石（Er: YAG）激光（λ=2.94 微米）比 Ho: YAG 激光更有效地粉碎尿路结石，然而，没有光纤可有效地传输 2.94 微米激光用于激光碎石术。我们报告了一项研究结果，该研究评估了一种氟化物玻璃光纤传输 Er: YAG 激光用于激光碎石术，并与在低辐照度下提供良好 Er: YAG 光传输的蓝宝石光纤进行了比较。在 Er: YAG 波长（2.94 微米）下，氟化物光纤提供了比蓝宝石光纤更高的光传输效率。在接触模式下消融尿路结石时，蓝宝石光纤比氟化物光纤提供更耐用和更坚固的输送波导。我们的研究结果表明，有必要进一步开发氟化物光纤以提高激光碎石术的性能。
