Miniature ureteroscope distal tip designs for potential use in thulium fiber laser lithotripsy.

Thulium fiber laser lithotripsy using smaller optical fibers may enable development of miniature ureteroscopes. Two ureteroscope distal tip prototypes were built and characterized. The first design was 4.

Advances in laser technology and fibre-optic delivery systems in lithotripsy.

The flashlamp-pumped, solid-state holmium:yttrium-aluminium-garnet (YAG) laser has been the laser of choice for use in ureteroscopic lithotripsy for the past 20 years. However, although the holmium laser works well on all stone compositions and is cost-effective, this technology still has several fundamental limitations. Newer laser technologies, including the frequency-doubled, double-pulse YAG (FREDDY), erbium:YAG, femtosecond, and thulium fibre lasers, have all been explored as potential alternatives to the holmium:YAG laser for lithotripsy.

Fiber optic muzzle brake tip for reducing fiber burnback and stone retropulsion during thulium fiber laser lithotripsy.

The experimental thulium fiber laser (TFL) is being explored as an alternative to the current clinical gold standard Holmium:YAG laser for lithotripsy. The near single-mode TFL beam allows coupling of higher power into smaller optical fibers than the multimode Holmium laser beam profile, without proximal fiber tip degradation. A smaller fiber is desirable because it provides more space in the ureteroscope working channel for increased saline irrigation rates and allows maximum ureteroscope deflection.

Analysis of thulium fiber laser induced bubble dynamics for ablation of kidney stones.

The Thulium fiber laser (TFL) is being explored as an alternative to the Holmium : YAG laser for lithotripsy. TFL parameters differ in several fundamental ways from Holmium laser, including smaller fiber delivery, more strongly absorbed wavelength, low pulse energy/high pulse rate operation, and more uniform temporal pulse structure. High speed imaging of laser induced bubbles was performed at 105,000 frames per second and 10 μm spatial resolution to determine influence of these laser parameters on bubble formation and needle hydrophone data was also used to measure pressure transients.