Importance

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Abstract

A liquid core laser optical scope for illuminating, viewing, and delivering laser energy to a site in a lumen of an animal or human body which includes a flexible tube for insertion into the lumen, a conduit housed within the tube, a fluid source for coupling a flow of light transmissive liquid into the conduit, a light source for transmitting visible light through the tube to illuminate the site, an optical fiber bundle having an optical receiving end disposed at the distal end of the optical scope for imaging the illuminated site and transmitting a visible image thereof through the optical scope to an external viewing port, and a fluid core light guide for transmitting laser energy from an energy source into the conduit where the conduit has a sidewall capable of internally reflecting light into the liquid in the conduit so that the liquid waveguides the laser energy through the conduit to the site. The fluid core light guide serves not only to couple laser energy to the site in the lumen but to transmit illumination light to the site and reflected images back to the viewing port.

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First Claim