The Use Of Multiple Fibreoptic Systems In The Medical Application Of Lasers

Most current applications of lasers at high or low power use a single fibre. There are many uses for such delivery systems for tumour debulking, and at low powers for interstitial laser hyperthermia and photodynamic therapy. However, there are limitations due to the comparatively small amount of necrosis that can be achieved in photodynamic therapy and interstitial laser hyperthermia with a single fibre. With multiple fibre application, larger areas of tissue can successfully be irradiated, affecting a volume similar to that of clinical tumours, making this extention of laser usage of potential in the clinical treatment of some cancers. There is a need for further developments in fibreoptic technology to allow more efficient application of multiple fibre systems both for power delivery and also to use the same system for simultaneous fibreoptic sensory measurements to monitor tissue changes during irradiation.