Method of treating intervertebral discs using optical energy and optical temperature feeback

摘要

A method of controllably heating the annulus of an intervertebral disc is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of forming an access channel through the annulus, inserting a light source into the intervertebral disc, activating the light source to emit diffuse light, optically measuring the temperature of tissue near the light source, and modifying the intensity of the light emitted from the source according to the measured temperature.