A Laser Steering Endoscope with High Laser Transmission Efficiency

This paper reports a miniaturized endoscope that transmits a high-power infrared laser beam to arbitrary points in the endoscopic view for the treatment of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. The miniaturized endoscope has an external diameter of 3.5 mm expect for illumination and also improved on the laser transmission efficiency by using a GRIN rod lens as a relay lens. The experiment showed the laser transmission efficiency on the unit of the object and relay lens system was 72%. The thermal increase of the endoscope tip during the laser irradiation was 0.5°C. The maximum laser power was almost 30 W at the source power of 50 W. The laser power has the possibility to coagulate vessels. The steerable ranges were a total of 28.7 degrees in horizontal direction and a total of 25.9 degrees in vertical direction. This large range of selecting target provides easier use.

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