EP-4739243-A1 - MEDICAL OPTICAL FIBER WITH INTRA-PROCEDURE RENEWABLE TIP

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a medical optical fiber comprising a renewable distal end. The renewable distal end comprising several detachable segments where the detachable segments can be selectively and/or automatically detached to renew the distal most tip of the optical fiber.

Inventors

• ZHANG, JIAN
• LEMIEUX, Alex
• PENG, STEVEN YIHLIH
• BRIAL, Caroline
• O'BRIEN, MICHAEL

Assignees

• Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc.

Dates

Publication Date

20260513

Application Date

20240705

Claims (15)

1. 1. A medical optical fiber, comprising: a non-renewable portion; and a renewable portion coupled to a distal end of the non-renewable portion, the renewable portion comprising a plurality of detachable segments.
2. 2. The medical optical fiber of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of detachable segments comprises an optically transparent material having a generally cylindrical shape.
3. 3. The medical optical fiber of any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein each of the plurality of detachable segments has a length between 0.2 millimeters (mm) and 6.0 mm.
4. 4. The medical optical fiber of any one of claims 1 to 3, each of the plurality of detachable segments comprising a ferrous material, the ferrous material configured to interact with an electromagnetic field to selectively decouple one of the plurality of detachable segments.
5. 5. The medical optical fiber of claim 4, the medical optical fiber configured to be inserted through a working channel of an endoscope, the endoscope comprising a catheter having one or more electromagnets disposed at a distal end, the one or more electromagnets configured to generate the electromagnetic field.
6. 6. The medical optical fiber of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the plurality of detachable segments are coupled to each other via an adhesive material.
7. 7. The medical optical fiber of claim 6, wherein the adhesive material is configured to melt, dissolve, or substantially weaken when exposed to specific wavelengths of light, when exposed to a select combination of laser pulse frequency and/or power, upon reaching a specific temperature, or upon exposure to a quantity of transmitted laser energy.
8. 8. The medical optical fiber of claim 6, wherein the adhesive material between a first one of the plurality of detachable segments and a second one of the plurality of detachable segments is configured to melt when exposed to a first quantity of laser energy, wherein the adhesive material between the second one of the plurality of detachable segments and a third one of the plurality of detachable segments is configured to melt when exposed to a second quantity of laser energy, wherein the second one of the plurality of detachable segments is proximal to the first one of the plurality of detachable segments, wherein the third one of the plurality of detachable segments is proximal to the second one of the plurality of detachable segments, and wherein the second quantity of laser energy is higher than the first quantity of laser energy.
9. 9. The medical optical fiber of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of detachable segments comprises a machined end surface, wherein the machined end surface of a first one of the plurality of detachable segments is configured to attract via intermolecular attraction the machined end surface of a second one of the plurality of detachable segments when the end surfaces are positioned proximate to each other.
10. 10. An endoscope system comprising: an endoscope configured for use with a renewable optical fiber, the endoscope having a working channel; and the renewable optical fiber configured to be inserted through the working channel, the renewable optical fiber comprising: a non-renewable portion; and a renewable portion at a distal end of the non-renewable portion, the renewable portion comprising a plurality of detachable segments.
11. 11. The endoscope system of claim 10, the endoscope comprising a catheter, the working channel extending from a proximal end to a distal end of the catheter, the distal end of the catheter comprising a cleaving apparatus configured to cleave the plurality of detachable segments.
12. 12. The endoscope system of claim 1 1 , the endoscope comprising a handle, the handle comprising an actuator arranged to actuate the cleaving apparatus.
13. 13. The endoscope system of any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein each of the plurality of detachable segments comprises an optically transparent material having a generally cylindrical shape.
14. 14. The endoscope system of any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein each of the plurality of detachable segments have a length between 0.2 millimeters (mm) and 6.0 mm.
15. 15. The endoscope system of any one of claims 11 to 14, the distal end of the catheter comprising one or more electromagnets, wherein each of the plurality of detachable segments comprise a ferrous material, the ferrous material configured to interact with an electromagnetic field generated by the one or more electromagnets to selectively decouple a one of the plurality of detachable segments.

Description

MEDICAL OPTICAL FIBER WITH INTRA-PROCEDURE RENEWABLE TIP CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63/512,266 filed on July 6, 2023, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] The present disclosure generally relates to medical optical fibers. Particularly, but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to renewing the tip on the distal end of the medical optical fiber intra-procedure and specifically without removing the fiber from an endoscope. BACKGROUND [0003] Medical optical fibers typically include an optical fiber and a jacket surrounding the optical fiber. Optical fibers may comprise an innermost optical core and optionally a cladding layer surrounding the optical core. Some optical fibers can optionally include a mechanical support layer surrounding the cladding layer. Additionally, medical optical fibers often include jackets (or protective layers) and many have portions of their jackets stripped at a distal end (e.g., similar to electrical wires) leaving a bare optical fiber at the distal end. Medical optical fiber diameters are in the range of a few tens of microns to a few hundreds of microns. [0004] A common use for medical optical fibers is in ureteroscopic laser lithotripsy (URSL). During a URSL procedure, a flexible endoscope is inserted through a patient's urinary channel to access the kidney region. A small core fiber (sub 300 pm) is inserted through a working channel of the flexible endoscope and used to treat (e.g., fragment, ablate, etc.) a stone in the kidney region. It is to be appreciated that during such a procedure, laser energy is emitted from the distal end of the fiber, which can cause degradation of the distal tip before the procedure is completed. [0005] The Holmium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Ho:YAG) laser has been the favored lithotripter for the treatment of urinary calculus since shortly after its introduction in the 1990s because it can fragment all calculus compositions and produces less calculus migration (retropulsion) during treatment than the short-pulsed lasers. As more and more small core fibers become available for high-power laser application (>20 W), fiber distal tip degradation during URSL has become a more critical issue as the small core fibers have lower mechanical strength and higher laser energy intensity versus larger core fibers. BRIEF SUMMARY [0006] The present disclosure provides a medical optical fiber comprising an optical fiber disposed along a longitudinal axis. The medical optical fiber further includes an optical fiber distal tip configured to be reconditioned intra-procedure without removing the tip from an endoscope. Further, some embodiments provide an endoscope configured to recondition the distal tip of the optical fiber. [0007] Embodiments of the disclosure can be implemented as a medical optical fiber. The medical optical fiber can comprise a non-renewable portion; and a renewable portion coupled to a distal end of the non-renewable portion, the renewable portion comprising a plurality of detachable segments. [0008] In further embodiments of the medical optical fiber, each of the plurality of detachable segments comprises an optically transparent material having a generally cylindrical shape. [0009] In further embodiments of the medical optical fiber, each of the plurality of detachable segments has a length between 0.2 millimeters (mm) and 6.0 mm. [0010] In further embodiments of the medical optical fiber, each of the plurality of detachable segments can comprise a ferrous material, the ferrous material configured to interact with an electromagnetic field to selectively decouple one of the plurality of detachable segments. [0011] In further embodiments of the medical optical fiber, the medical optical fiber configured to be inserted through a working channel of an endoscope, the endoscope comprising a catheter having one or more electromagnets disposed at a distal end, the one or more electromagnets configured to generate the electromagnetic field. [0012] In further embodiments of the medical optical fiber, the plurality of detachable segments are coupled to each other via an adhesive material. [0013] In further embodiments of the medical optical fiber, the adhesive material is configured to melt, dissolve, or substantially weaken when exposed to specific wavelengths of light, when exposed to a select combination of laser pulse frequency and/or power, upon reaching a specific temperature, or upon exposure to a quantity of transmitted laser energy. [0014] In further embodiments of the medical optical fiber, the adhesive material between a first one of the plurality of detachable segments and a second one of the plurality of detachable segments is configured to melt when exposed to a first quantity of laser energy, wherein the adhesive material between the second one of the plurality of detachable