The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 23, 1997
Filed:
Jan. 15, 1993
Kenton W Gregory, West Linn, OR (US);
Hanqun Shanqquan, Portland, OR (US);
Thomas E Haw, Portland, OR (US);
Sisters of Prividence in Oregon, Portland, OR (US);
Abstract
Illumination devices (20, 20', 20', 20'') for delivering ultraviolet light to an in vivo treatment site comprise an optical fiber (22) having an illumination window (40, 40', 40', 40''). A circumferential contour (46, 46', 46', 46'') of the core is shaped along the illumination window so that, for an internally reflected ray travelling in the core, the internally reflected ray has differing angles of incidences along the illumination window. In addition, the contour of the circumferential core causes rays travelling parallel to a major axis of the optical fiber to strike the core-scattering layer interface, thereby resulting in greater irradiance. In one embodiment, in the illumination window (40') a circumferential contour (46') of the core is shaped by etching to have an essentially semi-conical shape. In another embodiment, in the illumination window (40') the circumferential contour of the core has a plurality of circumferential segments (46a', 46b', 46c'), one of which has an essentially semi-conical shape and another of which has a reduced radius annular shape. In another embodiment, a reflective surface (60) is formed at a distal end of the optical fiber. An optical scattering material (48, 48', 48') is formed over the fiber core in the illumination window. The optical scattering material is preferably an admixture of optical epoxy and Al.sub.2 O.sub.3.