Plastic hollow waveguides: Properties and possibilities as a flexible radiation delivery system for CO₂‐laser radiation

Abstract

The results of this study show good cutting quality and durability of these flexible plastic hollow waveguides, which render possible to deliver CO2 radiation in the power range needed for most surgical applications with affordable transmission losses. Plastic hollow waveguides are, therefore, a real alternative to replace the mirror arms.

Ultrashort pulse laser ossicular ablation and stapedotomy in cadaveric bone*†

“…The Er:YAG and Ho:YAG beams can be delivered by ®beroptic cables to the target tissue, eliminating the need for an aiming beam. Commercial CO 2 lasers require articulating arms with mirrors, micromanipulators coupled to microscopes, or hollow waveguides to deliver radiant energy [12,28]. Since, this laser also requires a visible aiming beam, frequent alignment and testing are required to ensure both the CO 2 and aiming beam are coincident.…”

Lasers in pediatric airway surgery: Current and future clinical applications

“…Conceivably, if the fibers were flexible enough they could be used in conjunction with flexible bronchoscopy, which would enhance treatment of disease affecting the distal tracheal-broncheal tree. Several flexible hollow waveguides have been developed with encouraging transmission characteristics [17]. Surgical application is currently being developed.…”

<title>Hollow plastic waveguides for sensor applications</title>

“…5,6,7 Hollow guides are ideal for laser power delivery due to the inherent high damage threshold of the air-core structure. 8,2,9,10 Sustained high power transmission has been demonstrated with hollow glass fibers. 11,12 However, in hollow plastic waveguides, the power transmission capability is limited due to the low thermal conductivity and operating temperature of the plastic substrate.…”

“…chemically inert) and range of operating temperatures. Extensive work has been done on plastic waveguides by Croitoru et al 1,2,3,4 They used plastics like Teflon and nylon as the waveguide substrate material. The greater surface roughness of these materials resulted in higher loss with these waveguides compared to the plastic guides we are using.…”

“…Flexible hollow fibers are used for surgical procedures as a laser power delivery system and also for thermal imaging in medicine. 2,3,14,15,16 In chemical sensing, they can be used either as a passive or active component. In the passive role, they transmit the signal from the chemical sensor to a remote detector.…”