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EP-4736940-A2 - NON-ABLATIVE PHOTONIC DEVICES

EP4736940A2EP 4736940 A2EP4736940 A2EP 4736940A2EP-4736940-A2

Abstract

A non-ablative photonic device for delivering non-ablative photonic therapy comprises a cannula, an optical element located adjacent a proximal end of the cannula and configured to emit light energy with a substantially uniform irradiance profile, and a cylindrical sapphire rod in thermal contact with a distal end of the cannula, the cylindrical sapphire rod configured to transmit the light energy emitted from the optical element to pathological tissue located distal to the cylindrical sapphire rod and configured to conduct thermal energy from the pathological tissue to the cannula.

Inventors

  • DE TABOADA, LUIS
  • PRYOR, BRIAN

Assignees

  • Litecure, LLC

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20180824

Claims (15)

  1. A non-ablative photonic device for delivering non-ablative photonic therapy, comprising: a cannula; an optical element located adjacent a proximal end of the cannula and configured to emit light energy with a substantially uniform irradiance profile; and a cylindrical sapphire rod in thermal contact with a distal end of the cannula, the cylindrical sapphire rod configured to transmit the light energy emitted from the optical element to pathological tissue located distal to the cylindrical sapphire rod and configured to conduct thermal energy from the pathological tissue to the cannula.
  2. The non-ablative photonic device of claim 1, wherein the cylindrical sapphire rod extends past a distal end region of the cannula by about 1.0 mm to about 3.0 mm.
  3. The non-ablative photonic device of claim 1 or 2, wherein the cylindrical sapphire rod is coated with a metalized substance to maximize thermal contact between the cylindrical sapphire rod and the cannula.
  4. The non-ablative photonic device of any of the previous claims, wherein the cylindrical sapphire rod has an aspect ratio of less than one.
  5. The non-ablative photonic device of any of the previous claims, wherein the cylindrical sapphire rod has a length of about 45 mm to about 55 mm and a diameter of about 5.9 mm to about 6.1 mm.
  6. The non-ablative photonic device of any of the previous claims, wherein the cylindrical sapphire rod has a uniform diffuser polish along a distal surface and a 40/60 scratch and dig quality along a proximal surface.
  7. The non-ablative photonic device of any of the previous claims, wherein the cylindrical sapphire rod is configured to transmit light wavelengths in the NIR range up to 12 µm.
  8. The non-ablative photonic device of any of the previous claims, wherein the optical element comprises an optical fiber.
  9. The non-ablative photonic device of any of the previous claims, further comprising one or more lenses positioned within the cannula between the optical element and the cylindrical sapphire rod and configured to relay light energy to a distal surface of the cylindrical sapphire rod.
  10. The non-ablative photonic device of any of the previous claims, wherein the optical element extends distally into a lumen of the cannula.
  11. The non-ablative photonic device of any of the previous claims, wherein the substantially uniform irradiance profile has a non-circular cross-sectional shape.
  12. The non-ablative photonic device of claim 11, wherein the substantially uniform irradiance profile has a hexagonal cross-sectional shape or a square cross-sectional shape.
  13. The non-ablative photonic device of any of the previous claims, further comprising a laser that generates the light energy.
  14. The non-ablative photonic device of any of the previous claims, further comprising a light-emitting diode (LED) that generates the light energy.
  15. A light delivery assembly comprising a plurality of the non-ablative photonic devices according to any of the previous claims.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates to non-ablative photonic devices and related methods of delivering photonic therapy to pathological tissues. BACKGROUND Light energy (e.g., visible light and infrared light in the electromagnetic spectrum from about 400 nm to about 14 µm) can be used to treat various pathological tissues on human patients or other animal bodies. In some instances, light treatments may be invasive and/or include focused, pulsed light energy (e.g., having high peak irradiance and high peak energy), which can ablate tissues. Ablative treatments can potentially harm healthy tissues surrounding pathological tissues. In other instances, light treatments may be invasive and/or include high average irradiances, which may potentially carbonize the tissues (i.e., both pathological tissues and healthy tissues). It is highly desirable to precisely control light energy dosages and thermal energy generated by tissue absorption of light energy to achieve safe and effective therapeutic results. US 2003 / 0 299 202 A1 discloses a laser channeling device configured for ablating material from a target. US 8 498 506 B2 discloses an illuminator system and method for surgical applications, i.e. again not for non-ablative purposes. Further, laser surgical probes are disclosed e.g. in US 7 344 528 B1, US 7 783 346 B2 and US 6 620 154 B1. An object of the invention is to present improved non-ablative photonic devices ensuring easy handling and secure operation. SUMMARY The above object is solved by a non-ablative photonic device with the features of claim 1. Further embodiments of the invention are referred to by the dependent claims. In general, this disclosure relates to photonic devices (e.g., light delivery assemblies) for light sources (e.g., lasers) used to deliver non-focused, controlled photonic therapy to pathological tissues in mammals. Such photonic devices are advantageously designed to be non-invasive and accordingly may be used for direct access to certain areas of a body, such as skin or various body cavities. The photonic devices are non-ablative devices, such that the devices can deliver light energy to treat a tissue without vaporizing the tissue, exploding the tissue, burning the tissue, carbonizing the tissue, or otherwise removing or eroding the tissue. Rather, the photonic devices are designed and constructed to radiate light energy in the visible and infrared wavelength ranges onto a human patient or another animal body to destroy a pathological tissue by heating the pathological tissue. The photonic devices can produce uniform irradiance profiles characterized by a substantially constant intensity, such that a pathological tissue irradiated by the light energy can be adequately, uniformly, and gently treated (e.g., heated). Such photonic devices include a cannula and a thermally conductive element (e.g., a rod) secured to a distal end of the cannula. The thermally conductive element is made of a material that can be directly exposed to tissues and bodily fluids, can transmit light energy from a light source to a tissue, and can conduct heat energy from the tissue to the cannula. The thermally conductive element has a shape (e.g., a cylindrical shape) that is optimized according to thermodynamics of heat flow such that maximal light energy can be delivered to a surface of a pathological tissue without ablating the tissue. Therefore, maximal light energy can be delivered at any given depth of the pathological tissue to cause photothermal necrosis to destroy the pathological tissue. Advantageously, the photonic devices can also deliver light energy to nanoparticles or other particles within pathological regions (e.g., tumors or other pathological tissues) to provide photonic therapy. For example, nanoparticles are designed to preferentially accumulate within a pathological tissue and to selectively absorb a wavelength to be used for photonic therapy delivered to the pathological tissue. The nanoparticles can be selectively heated by the light energy and can advantageously destroy the pathological tissue without harming surrounding healthy tissues. In some embodiments, the photonic devices can deliver photonic therapy directly to a pathological tissue (e.g., without the presence of nanoparticles). In one aspect, a non-ablative photonic device includes a cannula, a first optical element located adjacent a proximal end of the cannula and configured to produce light energy with a substantially uniform irradiance profile, and a second optical element in thermal contact with a distal end of the cannula. The second optical element is configured to transmit the light energy emitted from the first optical element to a pathological tissue located distal to the second optical element and configured to conduct thermal energy from the pathological tissue to the cannula. Embodiments may include one or more of the following features. In some embodiments, the first optical element is an optical fiber. In