Claims
- 1. A laser surgery apparatus, comprising:
- a contact tip for receiving laser energy, said tip absorbing at least a portion of said laser energy to heat said tip;
- a shield mounted adjacent to and along a portion of said tip, said shield being thermally shielded from said tip to protect tissue adjacent to said shield from undesired thermal damage; and
- a mount, disposed adjacent to a base of said contact tip, said mount having at least one fluid channel which conducts a fluid said mount configured to direct a flow of said fluid between the shield and the tip to provide said thermal shielding.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said contact tip is diametrically asymmetric.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of said shield is spaced from said contact tip to form a gap between the shield and the contact tip, said shield being curved around said tip, and having a diameter not substantially greater than that of the contact tip.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said apparatus further comprises a thermal insulation pad between the contact tip and the shield to provide said thermal shielding.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said contact tip has a generally hemispherical tip.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said contact tip has a generally wedge-shape tip.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said contact tip has a generally offset conical tip.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said shield extends circumferentially around said contact tip through at least 30 degrees of circumference.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said shield has a generally semi-circular shape in an axial direction.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said shield extends longitudinally along a major portion of said contact tip.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said shield extends longitudinally beyond a distal end of said contact tip.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein a distal end of said contact tip extends longitudinally beyond said shield.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said mount directs a stream of gas along said shield to provide said thermal shielding.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said contact tip comprises a material substantially transparent to said laser energy and a coating on said transparent material, said coating being substantially opaque to said laser energy.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said at least one channel comprises a plurality of cooling gas channels disposed around a base of the contact tip, such that a flow of gas is provided between the shield and the contact tip to provide said thermal shielding.
Parent Case Info
This application is a divisional of Ser. No. 08/291,344, filed Aug. 16, 1994 now abandoned; which is a divisional of Ser. No. 08/150,276, filed Nov. 10, 1993, now abandoned; which is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/999,572, filed Dec. 30, 1992, now abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/643,570, filed Jan. 18, 1991 now abandoned which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 07/607,372, filed Oct. 31, 1990, now abandoned.
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Divisions (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
291344 |
Aug 1994 |
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Parent |
150276 |
Nov 1993 |
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Continuations (2)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
999572 |
Dec 1992 |
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Parent |
643570 |
Jan 1991 |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
607372 |
Oct 1990 |
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