Department of Biomechanical Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands.
Department of In-Body Systems, Philips ResearchRoyal Philips, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Expert Rev Med Devices. 2022 Mar;19(3):259-271. doi: 10.1080/17434440.2022.2054334. Epub 2022 Mar 17.
Steering light is relevant to many medical applications that require tissue illumination, sensing, or modification. To control the propagation direction of light beams, a great variety of innovative fiber-optic medical devices have been designed.
This review provides a comprehensive overview of the patent literature on light beam control in fiber-optic medical devices. The Web of Science Derwent Innovation Index database was scanned, and 81 patents on fiber-optic devices published in the last 20 years (2001-2021) were retrieved and categorized based on the working principle to steer light (refraction/reflection, scattering, diffraction) and the design strategy that was employed (within fiber, at fiber end, outside fiber).
Patents describing medical devices were found for all categories, except for generating diffraction at the fiber end surface. The insight in the different designs reveals that there are still several opportunities to design innovative devices that can collect light at an angle off-axis, reduce the angular distribution of light, or split light into multiple beams.
导光在许多需要组织照明、传感或修饰的医学应用中都很重要。为了控制光束的传播方向，已经设计了各种创新的光纤医疗设备。
本文综述了光纤医疗设备中光束控制的专利文献。扫描了 Web of Science Derwent Innovation Index 数据库，检索到过去 20 年（2001-2021 年）发表的 81 篇光纤设备专利，并根据工作原理（折射/反射、散射、衍射）和所采用的设计策略（光纤内、光纤末端、光纤外）对其进行分类。
除了在光纤末端表面产生衍射的类别外，还找到了描述医疗设备的专利。对不同设计的深入了解表明，仍然有几个机会可以设计出创新的设备，这些设备可以在离轴角度收集光线，减少光线的角分布，或者将光线分成多束。
